The victory of Red Ray in Saturday’s Gr.1 Mercury Sprint was a bittersweet occasion, as just four days earlier, Lammerskraal Stud had lost his dam Nacarat.

According to stud manager Sally Bruss, the 20-year-old mare had been suffering from Cushing’s disease (a dysfunction of the pituitary gland) and suddenly foundered very badly in the days leading up to her death.

Founder is the layman’s term for Laminitis, an acutely painful affliction of the feet where the laminae, which lie between the horny wall of the hoof and the pedal bone, become inflamed. This notoriously dreaded affliction has claimed the lives of many prominent thoroughbreds, amongst which the great Secretariat.

A Lammerskraal homebred herself, Nacarat, one of just a handful of daughters of Pas De Quoi at stud, showed ability on the track by winning four races as a three-year-old. However, it was as a broodmare that she was destined to make her mark. Red Ray is one of seven stakes performers amongst her ten winning foals, of which six were sired by the late resident champion stallion Western Winter.

A sibling to Gr.1 Thekwini winner Nania and Listed East Cape Oaks victress Valor Red, Red Ray is also an own brother to Brutal Force, winner of this season’s Gr.2 Merchants in the same Jooste silks, and to the Listed Summer Juvenile Stakes third, Bishops Bounty, all of which must surely now put Nacarat in line for the Equus award of Broodmare of the Year.

The mare’s last two foals are a yearling own brother by Go Deputy to the triple stakes winner Adobe Pink and a weanling colt by Western Winter’s champion sprint son What A Winter.

Nacarat’s legacy as a broodmare looks assured, as Red Ray is destined to exchange the rigours of a racing stable for life as a stallion. More importantly though, at least four daughters are treasured members of the Lammerskraal broodmare band: Valor Red, Adobe Pink, Gr.3-placed Vermillion and Chambre, who is already the dam of Gr.3-placed three-year-old Mr Roy.

Nacarat’s demise counts not just as a huge loss to the stud’s broodmare band, she has also taken a piece out of Sally’s heart: “She was a great mare to me and I will not only miss her grand presence, but also her extremely loving nature.”

Ada van der Bent

Vodacom Durban July-winning trainer Joey Ramsden spoke of the emotional roller coaster he had ridden as trainer of the luckless “machine” Red Ray and of just how much the five-year-old entire’s Gr 1 Mercury Sprint victory on Saturday meant to both himself and jockey Anton Marcus.

Ramsden has bundles of outstanding memories in his training career, but one which will never fade is of a gallop Red Ray put up over six furlongs at Kenilworth under Andrew Fortune in which he annihilated the older Gr 1-winning filly Blueridge Mountain by some ten to fifteen lengths giving away weight.

In his next start, his first as a three-year-old, Red Ray beat the subsequently named Equus Horse Of The Year Legislate by 2,5 lengths in the Gr 3 Cape Classic over 1400m under Marcus. It was an impressive display, but Legislate was not well known at that stage and had started at odds of 20/1.

Joey Ramsden (Nkosi Hlophe)

Therefore the talking point became Ramsden’s seemingly over bold statement of Red Ray’s ability when interviewed for a live Tellytrack audience in the winner’s enclosure. He said in the interview he regarded Red Ray as “similar but probably better than Variety Club”. The latter had by that stage won four Gr 1s, had proved himself one of the best milers the country had ever seen, and had twice been named Equus Horse Of The Year.

However, Ramsden stood by his statement on Saturday after the Mercury Sprint win.

He said,  “I always felt Red Ray was the equivalent of Variety Club, if not better. This horse was a living, running machine of absolute epic note. I have never been one to cry when horses move on, but when this horse went away to Dubai I absolutely cried. He was a very unlucky horse at three from terrible, terrible draws and should have won a Gr 1. When we brought him to Scottsville and he got beaten from a 15 draw when they all went up the other side, I literally cried that night. We ran him in races like the Queen’s Plate from bad draws.

“He is an amazing horse and he’s just as good going to the front, although he probably doesn’t quite get home over a mile, as he is being held up. I was lucky enough that year to have some brilliant horses like Variety Club and a very good filly called Blueridge Mountain, and Red Ray made mincemeat of them all. And he was never a morning glory horse, everything he did he reproduced. Whether it happened on the track due to various factors, it was just one of those unlucky things. If ever I was frustrated over a horse, and through none of his own fault, it was with him.

“He is and was a living, walking machine and one of the most handsome horses I have trained. You only have to look at his head to see this horse will make it no matter what he does. I am glad the public got to see the best of him today. They could tell from Anton’s interview how much he thinks of him and thought of him too. I would like to think we were not totally bananas in what we felt about his true ability.”

Marcus said in the winning interview on Saturday, “This horse on raw ability is probably the best horse in the country.”

The great jockey had been at “sixes and sevens” to explain Red Ray’s below par run in the Gr 2 Post Merchants. Ramsden said simply nothing had gone right for Red Ray that day and felt he had also been a touch unlucky in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint, which was his comeback from a year-and-a-half layoff.

Ramsden and Markus Jooste’s racing manager Derek Brugman went back to the drawing board and decided to fit blinkers for the first time in the Mercury Sprint.

Anton Marcus retrospectively described this decision as “a stroke of genius.” The great jockey said working out how the race would pan out had been like trying to decipher hieroglyphics. However, Red Ray travelled down to the start well in the blinkers and after breaking well managed to find the rail quite comfortably in suitably fast conditions. He was then given a perfect lead by Captain Alfredo at a fast enough pace to allow him to use his considerable stride.

Red Ray Gr1 Mercury Sprint (Candiese Marnewick)

When asked the question in the straight, Red Ray responded magnificently and passed the line full of running and two lengths clear of a quality field. It was the second year in succession the Markus and Ingrid Jooste silks had been carried to victory in the Mercury Sprint. This time they did the one-two as the Mike Bass-trained six-year-old Night Trip enjoyed the step down in trip and stayed on strongly from a handy position for second. Three Gr 1-winning sprinters, Real Princess, Gulf Storm and Talktothestars, filled the next three places.

The Western Winter entire’s winning time of 69,31 seconds, albeit with the aid of a tailwind, was considerably quicker than Captain Of All’s time of 70,84 last year, despite the latter having won by five lengths and being accorded a merit rating of 126.

The race put the cherry on the top of a fine season for Red Ray’s breeders Lammerskraal Stud, who also bred SA Triple Crown winner Abashiri.

Ramsden heaped praise on his Summerveld assistant trainer Alson Ndzilana, whom he described as a “supreme horseman.”

He added later, “Today Anton (Marcus) showed exactly how good the horse really is, he made me feel very, very proud of Red Ray and exceptionally proud of Anton himself.”

Ramsden was going to savour every moment of the vindication on Saturday and it was not a selfish vindication because his only concern after making that bold statement back in October 2013 had been the fear he had made a fool of the horse.

He concluded, “Maybe this horse means a bit more to me than The July.”

David Thiselton

Pictures: Nkosi Hlophe and Candiese Marnewick

Mike Bass’ Summerveld assistant trainer Robert Fayd’Herbe made the two mares Fly By Night and Lanner Falcon big runners in Saturday’s Gr 1 Mercury Sprint, while admitting Night Trip was “taking his chances” over a trip too sharp.

They have all been doing well at Summerveld and Fayd’Herbe said, “Fly By Night has been doing well in KZN this season, but is drawn wide (12) so will have to come from off them. There is not much between her and Lanner Falcon.”

Fly By Night (pictured) ran on well in the Gr 2 Post Merchants over this 1200m course and distance a month ago for second, albeit from a good draw. In last year’s Mercury Sprint she ran on well for fourth despite being caught wide behind a slow pace early. She will be out to reclaim the crown she won two years ago when the race was run at Clairwood for the last time.

Lanner Falcon (Liesl King)

Lanner Falcon was a touch unlucky in the Gr 1 City Of Pietermaritzburg Sprint over this trip at Scottsville when having to be switched outward considerably to get a clear run. She only finished two lengths behind Mercury Sprint contender Real Princess there and was only 0,75 lengths behind Fly By Night. From a fine daw of four she has a chance on Saturday at a course where her fine turn of foot is a valuable asset. She last ran on Vodacom Durban July day in the Gr 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes where she was cramped for room close to home and not disgraced. Fayd’herbe expected her to come from about midfield on Saturday.

Officially both mares have a tough task on paper as Laner Falcon is merit rated 107 and Fly By Night 105, way below the 121 rating of Talktothestars.

Fayd’herbe said about the 103 merit rated six-year-old Night Trip, who jumps from a plum draw of three, “It is a bit short for him, but he hasn’t run for a while so is fresh. We had to take our chances from the draw and he will then go for the Darley Arabian on Super Saturday (which he bids to win for the third time in succession). He seems to like a right hand bend and could maybe sneak into the quartet.”

Brandon Lerena is aboard Fly By Night, Stuart Randolph rides Lanner Falcon and Callan Murray rides Night Trip.

David Thiselton

Dean Kannemeyer believes his Gr 1 City Of Pietermaritzburg Sprint winner Real Princess deserves a crack at the Gr 1 Mercury Sprint against the boys and has freshened up his other runner Captain Alfredo.

He said, “Real Princess has got the credentials. I said before the Scottsville Sprint if Carry On Alice could win it then on form so could she (having finished on top of Carry On Alice in the Gr 2 Southern Cross Stakes) and she then proved it.”

The beautifully bred Trippi filly also beat Fly By Night and Lanner Falcon in the City Of Peiermaritzburg Sprint and Kannemeyer rated that pair as ”very good fillies.”

Real Princess (Nkosi Hlophe)

He continued, “I stayed out of the Gr 2 Diadem Stakes and Lanner Falcon and Fly By Night beat the boys there and finished one-two (six months ago in December). Real Princess is a better horse as a late four-year-old than she was six months go.”

She will be suited to Greyville as Kannemeyer pointed out she had “fantastic cruising speed” and she also showed at Scottsville how good her turn of foot was.

He said about Captain Alfredo, “He’s a tough campaigner and was a little below his very best in his last two starts. He found a bit of interference in the straight last time in the Post Merchants and before that in the Tsogo Sun Sprint didn’t quite finish, so I have freshened him up now. He is a bull of a horse and is tough and sound, but he hasn’t got a great draw.”

Real Princess has a good draw of six with Anthony Delpech retaining the ride and Lyle Hewitson rides Captain Alfredo from draw eleven.

Kannemeyer concluded, “They are both very well, but it’s a very strong race.”

Kannemeyer said his first-timer in race one over 1600m, The Slade, who is a big colt by Philantropist and a half-brother to Gr 1 winner Afrikaburn, would likely need a run or two for the penny to drop  but felt he could develop into a promising sort.

David Thiselton

Vodacom Durban July-winning trainer Joey Ramsden has no doubt Red Ray is as good as he was before leaving for overseas two years ago and is happy with his work ahead of Saturday’s Gr 1 Mercury Sprint.

However, Ramsden does have a little doubt whether running the five-year-old Western Winter entire in first-time blinkers from a tricky draw is the right thing to do for obvious reasons (he could end up caught wide.) However, it is difficult to tell where the pace will come from in the race and it could pay to have him handier than he was in the Gr 2 Post Merchants.

Red Ray ran a good fourth in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint, despite likely needing it in his first run since his only disappointing run overseas a year-and-a-half before. That run is one reason Ramsden believes he still retains his ability.

In the Post Merchants he had traffic problems in the straight and could have got closer. Anton Marcus stays aboard from a draw of nine.

David Thiselton

Trainer Justin Snaith said his Gr 1 Mercury Sprint contender Heartland had been doing very well at home since gelding and he made him the dark horse in Saturday’s weight-for-age 1200m race.

He said, “He won very well last time at Scottsville over 1400m. He is a brilliant 1400m horse so this is a bit on the sharp side. But there is a slight hill at Greyville which makes it more testing. It is certainly a lot harder than the Scottsville 1200m. He is drawn well and it was very important to have a good jockey, so we are very happy to have Weichong Marwing aboard. I think the pace will be quite fast and he will come from just off them.”

The four-year-old Dynasty gelding displayed his liking for Greyville when winning the Gr 3 Byerley Turk over 1400m at Greyville last year. He was handy in a slow run race there and won the sprint for home, which augurs well for his chances on Saturday. He then disappointed in the KRA Guineas and was laid off for the rest of the season.

He finished second to Act Of War in the Gr 3 Matchem Stakes over 1400m at Durbanville in his reappearance last October and then won the Listed Jet Master Stakes over 1600m at Kenilworth in December two runs later. However, he disappointed in both the L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate and Calulo Mile, so the gelding was clearly necessary. This always highly regarded sort is indeed an intriguing runner, despite having a lot to do on paper off an official merit rating of 106. He jumps from draw two.

Snaith has one other runner on the day, three-year-old Dynasty gelding Shenyang, who runs in the eighth over 1000m on the poly. He said this horse had been doing “better” at home. He pointed out the horse had “run away” down to the start last time so that run could be ignored.

Shenyang has speed and finished just 1,5 lengths behind Captain Swarovski over 1200m at Kenilworth in January with Piere Strydom up, albeit when receiving 2,5kg. Now off a four point lower merit rating, pole position draw and Strydom back aboard, he can’t be ignored despite having finished last in both of his KZN outings to date.

David Thiselton