Category Archives: Y-Champions Season

Big names for Mercury Sprint

Posted on by

Talktothestars and Carry On Alice head the list of entries for the Mercury Sprint to be run over 1200m at Greyville on Saturday.

However, both have drawn wide so the ball will be in the court of two of the next highest rated runners in the field, Trip To Heaven, who is drawn in five out of 24 nominations, and Trip Tease, who is drawn in pole position and will be out to land a deserved first Gr 1 trophy.

Piere Strydom has jumped ship from Talktothestars on to Trip Tease, who is trained by his former brother-in-law Louis Goosen. Strydom has won three Gr 1s, including the Vodacom Durban July, since returning from a three-and-a-half month layoff for a broken collar bone on May 24. He partnered Trip Tease to a facile 3,25 length victory in a Pinnacle Stakes race over 1000m at Turffontein on June 16. This was the six-year-old Trippi gelding’s 15th win in 25 starts and his sixth win with Strydom up. Trip Tease has won around the bend on the Turffontein Inside track before, but the bend only constitutes about 300m of a race over that course and distance whereas at Greyville it will constitute 750m of the Mercury Sprint course and distance.

Talktothestars (Nkosi Hlophe)

Talktothestars (Nkosi Hlophe)

Furthermore, that Turffontein Inside track run remains Trip Tease’s only ever run around the turn on turf and happened in his fifth career start over two years ago. He did run around the turn on the Vaal sand once, finishing third over 1200m in a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1200m, but the bend was only negotiated for 200m over that course and distance. On the bright side Trip Tease proved just how much speed he has when winning the Easter Dash over 600m, so jumping from pole position will be especially advantageous on Saturday, provided he handles the turn. However, another downside is he has only ever raced beyond 1000m once, and that was in the aforementioned defeat on the Vaal sand.

The talented and versatile Trip To Heaven, who only lost the Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge in the boardroom, will also be out to land a first Gr 1 and looks to have a massive shout in a race which could pan out well for him. He showed just how exceptional his turn of foot is in the Rising Sun, coming from last to first in a matter of strides despite going around the field. He will likely be dropped out again, unlike in this race last year when handy and fighting for his head from a draw of two, which led to him falling in a hole. Another reason to drop him out is he has developed a bit of a tardy starting habit. The pace will be the key to his chances.

Carry On Alice (Nkosi Hlophe)

Carry On Alice (Nkosi Hlophe)

Three-times Gr 1-winning sprinter Carry On Alice ran on strongly for a 4,5 length second in last season’s Mercury Sprint when dropped out from a  draw of six. On the downside her wide draw (19 of 24 nominations) means she might have to be dropped out again. However, on the plus side there appears to be more pace in the race than there was last year and there are no horses quite of the calibre of Captain Of All in the field, even if Talktothestars on 121 is rated one point higher than Captain Of All was at this time last year.

The Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint-winner Talktothestars has run around the turn four times in races of 1400m and beyond and was unplaced in all of them, while his sprint record around the turn is limited to a second place over 1000m on the Turffontein Inside track in a handicap at which stage he was a lowly rated 71 three-year-old. However, the four-year-old gelding, who usually races without shoes, has clearly improved considerably since then. He proved when finishing second in the Computaform Sprint how strongly he can turn it on from off the pace and he later proved his versatility by winning from a handy position in the Tsogo Sun Sprint. The jockey is yet to be declared, but will have plenty of planning to do from the wide draw (21 among the nominations).

Real Princess, who beat a luckless Carry On Alice in the Gr 1 City Of Pietermaritzburg Sprint over this trip, has drawn quite well in eight. She has a fine turn of foot, so Greyville should suit her.

Gulf Storm, the Gr 1 Cape Flying Championship winner, is better than his Tsogo Sun unplaced effort and is the fourth highest runner in the field. His wide draw (currently 13) is a concern for one who likes to be up there.

The classy Red Ray should be cherry ripe having his third run after a long layoff and will be hoping for more luck than he had when joint-topweight in the Gr 2 Post Merchants over course and distance, although from a current draw of 12 he might not be any better drawn.

Flybynight won this race two years ago when it was it was still being run at Clairwood and bounced back to form with a second place in the City Of Pietermaritzburg Sprint. However, she is drawn way out in 18 as opposed to five when finishing fourth last year.

Computaform Sprint third-placed Barbosa is better than his Tsogo Sun Sprint run, but is another with a very wide draw (23).

Redcarpet Captain is an intriguing entry in a current draw six, despite having a lot to do off a merit rating of 101, as he showed just how much gelding had benefited him on Vodacom Durban July day when winning well over 1200m on the poly.

Other intriguing entries include Night Trip and Heartland, who stay further but have a touch of class, and both are well drawn. A notable absentee from the nomination is the facile winner of the Post Merchants, Kangaroo Jack.

However, just about all of the best sprinters in the land will likely line up and it is going to be one to savour.

David Thiselton

 

wealthy

Hawks land Rider Cup

Posted on by

Anton Marcus was the rock that the KZN Falcons rested on in the second Rider Cup Interprovincial Jockeys Challenge held at Scottsville today but in the end it all turned to sand as the Highveld Hawks sneaked home via an objection in the last leg to edge out the Cape Eagles. The final points tally was Hawks 139 points, Eagles 133 and KZN Falcons 132.

The Eagles were first to strike as Aldo Domeyer rode the perfect race on the Duncan Howells-trained favourite Gordon’s Cungee. There were a lot of not so happy punters after the Australian-bred was run over when favourite for her last start but this time Domeyer followed instructions and got home narrowly ahead of the two Mark Dixon runners Honorary and Dundrum.

This win gave Domeyer his first century of winners in a season at the course where he recorded his first victory.

Domeyer had a tough time of things early in his career, being turfed out of the Jockeys Academy on the premise that he would not make it.

It took him a lot of faith and six years to make it back and with a J&B Met victory to his credit and now 100 winners in a season it was battle worth fighting.

Marcus notched up two winners for the Falcons but it was not enough to claim the title. His first came aboard the Mike de Kock-trained Very Vary in the second leg but there were a few hairy moments before he got the son of Var through to the line. With Escovitch looking to hang in under pressure Very Vary got tight on the inside rail as Kimberley was pressed onto him. “At the 200 I thought they should have been arrested for attempted murder,” quipped Marcus post-race. “It was a courageous run, having to put his head in front and win.”

Marcus was back in the winner’s box in the third leg when the well fancied Wealthy ran up to expectations, keeping on strongly to hold off Silver Rose and Starrett City.

There was drama in the last leg of the Challenge with the reversal of the result resulting in the Hawks edging out the Eagles.

The 1200m handicap produced a blanket finish with the Chris Erasmus-trained Jason Argo ridden by Eagles captain Grant Van Niekerk pipping stablemate Panza with Hawks captain S’manga Khumalo up. However, Khumalo objected and the decision to uphold the protest proved crucial to the outcome of the inter-provincial with the Hawks snatching it on the line.

Andrew Harrison

 

Fly By Night (Liesl King)

Bass trio for Mercury Sprint

Posted on by

Mike Bass will be three-handed in his bid to win the Mercury Sprint for the third time in five seasons at Greyville on Saturday.

With stable jockey Grant van Niekerk sitting out a ten-day interference suspension – when winning the Garden Province on Inara – Brandon Lerena gets the call for 2014 winner Fly By Night while Stuart Randolph will be on Lanner Falcon and Callan Murray rides Night Trip.

Brett Crawford is expecting a much-improved performance from his Cape Flying Championship winner Gulf Storm who ran below his best under second top weight in last month’s Tsogo Sun Sprint.

He explained: “I put blinkers on for the five furlong Cape Flying and I made the mistake of leaving them on over six at Scottsville and as a result he pulled too hard. He will race without them on Saturday and I am sure he will run a much better race.”

Justin Snaith will return his three-year-old stars It’s My Turn, Bela-Bela and Black Arthur to Cape Town this week after the trio finished fourth, sixth and seventh in the Vodacom Durban July.

He said: “They are top horses so we are saving them for next season but Dynamic may stay for the Champions Cup (July 30). He is an older horse who has been there and done that.

“Golden Horseshoe winner Zodiac Ruler will run in the Premiers Champion on the same card assuming all goes well and there are no hiccups. He is drawn one but a bad draw would have meant him coming home.”

July runner-up Marinaresco is among the 20 nominations for the Champions Cup but he is unlikely to line up. “He came out of the July fine but he is drawn 18 in the Champions so I don’t think he will run,” said Candice Robinson. “Next season he will be aimed at the Queen’s Plate and the Met.”

Michael Clower

Solid Speed (Nkosi Hlophe)

Solid Speed retired

Posted on by

The talented five-year-old bay gelding – one of the best-fancied runners – cantered home with a bloody nose in last Saturday’s Vodacom Durban July. After the race Kannemeyer, owner Lady Christine Laidlaw and Jehan Malherbe, racing manager for her Khaya Stables, discussed the matter and decided to retire Solid Speed.

Said Kannemeyer: “He ruptured blood vessels in both nostrils. He was travelling exceptionally well at the 1200m but was suddenly off the bit. Jockey Stuart Randolph started pushing but finally just put his hands down.

“Lady Laidlaw is absolutely passionate about her horses and, given Solid Speed has had issues before, we all felt strongly he had done enough. He has been very good to us.

“We fancied him in the Durban July, but unfortunately these things do happen.”

Solid Speed (left) & Mambo Mime at the VDJ Gallops (Nkosi Hlophe)

Solid Speed (left) & Mambo Mime at the VDJ Gallops (Nkosi Hlophe)

Solid Speed will be staying with Kannemeyer to become schoolmaster to his babies and in the paddock. “I love all my horses, but he’s a stable favourite,” said the Cape-based trainer. “I don’t think he knows how to kick or bite – but he certainly knows how to run. He’s a magnificent, big, beautiful horse. He’s a special one.”

Solid Speed, a gelded son of Dynasty, ran only 15 times in his career for eight wins from 1600m to 2400m, including the Grade 2 Betting World 1900 in May. His four places include a third in last year’s Grade 2 Gold Vase and a fourth in the stayers’ race on Met Day.

Kannemeyer also saddled Mambo Mime in the Durban July. He is happy enough with the colt’s 3.85-length 10th behind The Conglomerate. “It was a very good run, given the grey filly rolled on to him in the final 100m. Jockey Keagan de Melo said he thought Mambo Mime was coming through to win the race. Without the interference, he would have been closer.”

Mambo Mime might have one more run this season, in the Grade 1 Mike and Carol Bass Champions Cup over 1800m at Greyville on Saturday 30 July.

The Champions Cup is run on Gold Cup Day and Kannemeyer has two horses lined up for the country’s biggest marathon – Balance Sheet and Solar Star, who both ran in last Saturday’s 3000m Gold Vase.

Balance Sheet started favourite for the Gold Vase but finished second last, while Solar Star ran a “great race” in fifth behind the Mike de Kock-trained Quartet: Enaad, Smart Mart, Kingston Mines and Kinaan.

Kannemeyer said punters should “put a line” through Balance Sheet’s Gold Vase run. “He stopped to nothing but knocked himself and was a bit swollen the next day. He’s back to normal now.”

So, he could well recoup losses in the R1.25-million eLAN Gold Cup (Grade 2) over 3200m at Greyville at the end of the month.

TABnews (Nicci Garner)

Punta has more to offer

Posted on by
Punta Arenas (Nkosi Hlophe)

Punta Arenas (Nkosi Hlophe)

Dennis Drier was thrilled with the win of the “old man” Punta Arenas under Keagan de Melo in Saturday’s Gr 3 Delta Airlines 2200 at the Vodacom Durban July meeting on Saturday and will enter him for both the Gr 1 Mike and Carol Bass Champions Cup and the Gr 2 eLan Property Group Gold Cup.

Drier said the way the seven-year-old Silvano gelding switched off in the running, he should stay the 3200m Gold Cup trip.

Drier said Sail, who ran a fine third in the Gr 2 Gold Circle Golden Slipper on Saturday, was on track for the Gr 1 Thekwini.

Drier’s two-year-old Mauritzfontein-owned Var filly La Revere was impressive over the Scottsville 1000m under Sean Veale two weeks ago.

Drier said he had not discussed her future with Jessica Slack of Mauritzfontein yet, but was eyeing the Gr 2 Debutante over 1200m on Gold Cup day for her.

The Drier-trained Count Dubois filly Anime might also become a candidate for that race considering the good impression she created over 1000m at Scottsville yesterday when wining a maiden by 4,75 lengths. Her owners Mike Fullard and James Drew also own Punta Arenas.

David Thiselton

 

Zodiac Ruler’s not done

Posted on by

Justin Snaith’s horses have all pulled up well from Vodacom Durban July day and he said the unbeaten Gr 2 Durban Golden Horseshoe winner Zodiac Ruler would be considered for the Gr 1 Premier’s Champions Challenge on eLan Gold Cup day.

He also spoke of his empathy for distraught owner Adriaan van Vuuren, having been in the same boat before, while at the same time coming out in defence of Gold Circle and KZN racetracks.

Snaith said the only reason Zodiac Ruler had ended up being at his Summerveld SA Champions Season yard was because the colt had been at his satellite yard in Johannesburg at the time of the latter’s closure. The two-year-old had not been allowed to return to Cape Town without going through quarantine. Snaith said his Johannesburg satellite yard had been closed because it had not been financially viable. He added it had only been opened in the first place because he had been led to believe restricted races would be included in the National Trainer’s Championships, but the NHRA had later changed their minds.

Zodiac Ruler (Nkosi Hlophe)

Zodiac Ruler (Nkosi Hlophe)

Snaith said about the classy Zodiac Ruler, “I had never thought much of him, because we don’t push our babies. We have done very little with him.”

On debut over 1400m on the Greyville poly Zodiac Ruler was allowed to go off at odds of 14/1. Yet, despite losing four lengths at the start, he had still managed to get up to win under apprentice Lyle Hewitson.

 

On Saturday, just two-and-a-half weeks after that debut and now ridden by Richard Fourie, he was slow away by two lengths in the 1400m turf contest and was green early on the turn before settling beautifully on the rail behind a fast pace. Class usually comes through in a true run race and so it proved. He was last at the 400m mark, but then moved through effortlessly to put himself in contention. He responded well to the whip from the 250m mark and won with what looked to be plenty in hand by 1,5 lengths, converting odds of 8/1. The time of 82,23 seconds was only just outside the class record.

Zoidac Ruler is one of a number of successful horses Paul Lafferty has bought in Australia during his time as South African ambassador to the Magic Millions Sales company. The Summerveld trainer  said he had always believed Zodiac Ruler’s sire Zoffany would make it. He was proven correct immediately as the son of Dansili was the European Champion first crop sire in Europe in 2015. Zoffany won a Gr 1 over six furlongs in Ireland, but his biggest claim to fame was finishing just three-quarters of a length runner-up to the mighty Frankel in the Gr 1 St. James Palace Stakes over a mile at Royal Ascot.

Prolific owner Fred Crabbia spotted Zodiac Ruler on Lafferty’s website, liked the look of both him and the pedigree and duly bought him. He was spelled by Jane Thomas at Far End Pre-training in Mooi River and she described him as being “magic”. Crabbia then put him through the CTS Lanzerac Ready To Run Sale and had to go to R450,000 to buy him back, despite Thomas having not gone anything other than slowly with him either at home or at the Ready To Run breeze ups due to him still being too “big and dum”.

Snaith continued, “The Greyville track doesn’t look good, but all of our horses have pulled up well. Our horses have in fact had more injuries in other centres than in KZN this season and I have the statistics to prove it.”

He added, “It is not easy these days and I think Graeme Hawkins and Gill Simpkins and others at Gold Circle did a fine job in making the July a success and the Tote turnovers were up.”

Snaith said the field and draw for the Premier’s Champions Challenge would be “looked at”, before a decision to run Zodiac Ruler was made.

He said of his July runners, “The main thing is they all came back safely.”

He had few excuses, but said Black Arthur had unfortunately been carried outward at the top of the straight and had thus ended up on the outside rail, where they had not wanted him to be. The colt had then been conscious of the crowd, so was reluctant to take the gap. Jockey Douglas Whyte believed he could have otherwise possibly finished third.

Bela-Bela (Nkosi Hlophe)

Bela-Bela (Nkosi Hlophe)

Richard Fourie lamented not being able to have a horse to offer cover for his mount It’s My Turn, who had to jump from a tricky draw of 12. He said his reasons were more due to “peace of mind” than anything else as the horse had settled nicely throughout. It’s My Turn sat in third on the quarters of Ten Gun Salute. Fourie pointed out the winner had sat behind him, so he believed he had been in the right place. The Crabbia-owned horse stayed on well for fourth. Fourie concluded by saying the Dynasty colt might have even won had he been “more forward (mature).”

Anthony Delpech said yesterday Bela-Bela had lost her position when bumped around early and felt she might otherwise have finished in the top four.

Snaith said none of his July runners were likely to appear again this season.

Snaith said about Triple Crown-winning owner Adriaan van Vuuren’s shock statement he would be pulling out of horseracing, “He is talking from his heart, he loves his horses and I know what it is like to have a horse injured, we had to endure this anxiety with Legislate two years ago. He (Van Vuuren) doesn’t deserve to be taken to pieces like this in the media and it is due to people like him that so many are able to be employed in the industry.”

David Thiselton

redcarpet captain

The Captain is back

Posted on by

The Gareth van Zyl-trained Redcarpet Captain displayed the benefit of gelding at the Vodacom Durban July meeting on Saturday, as well as a drop in trip, when bursting through to win the eleventh race on the card, the Non-Black Type tabGold Sprint over 1200m on the poly under stable jockey Warren Kennedy from a tricky draw of seven.

The Captain Al gelding had drifted out from 8/1 to 33/1.

As a two-year-old he won the Gr 3 Englezakis Protea Stakes over 1100m and then finished second in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion over 1200m at Scottsville.

This season he has been tried over as far 2000m. The Gr 1 Daily News 2000 was his last run before Saturday’s race.

Van Zyl had brought the Brian Burnard-owned No Worries down from a staying trip to win the Million Mile a week before the July and managed the feat again on Saturday with Redcarpet Captain, who is also owned by Burnard and was bred by Klawervlei Stud.

Van Zyl said about Redcarpet Captain, “We are excited about him again.”

He believed the athletic bay’s future “definitely” lay in sprinting.

David Thiselton

final judgement

Kotzen plans come together

Posted on by

Glen Kotzen experienced the highs and lows of racing at the Vodacom Durban July meeting on Saturday when first winning the Gr 2 Gold Circle Golden Slipper with Final Judgement, but later seeing his fancied Shizam scratched from the KZN Yearling Sale Million.

A plan came together in the Golden Slipper after Kotzen and jockey Stuart Randolph had analysed the previous run of the Varsfontein-bred Judpot filly Final Judgement.

In the Listed Devon Air Stakes, over the same Greyville turf 1400m course and distance, she had been cramped for galloping room behind a slow pace, so was unable to use her big action. Late in the race, after a challenger had edged ahead of her, she took off and came back to beat the latter for third place.

Kotzen and Randolph thus planned to go to the front from pole position on Saturday, where she would be able to use her action and it would also put the ball in the court of the other jockeys to use up energy and go around her if they wanted to overcome their wider draws.

She bounced out into the front and strode out nicely on the rail, while two of the dangers, Visuality and Al Hawraa, were trapped wide and burnt up some valuable energy. The eventual third-placed Sail, who looks full of promise, initially used up some energy before being reined in.

Final Judgement

Final Judgement (Nkosi Hlophe)

However, Final Judgement’s tactics did appear to have played into the hands of the hot odds-on favourite Maleficent, who had been drawn in barrier two. The latter was able to park in behind her on the rail.

However, the second reason for Kotzen and Randolph’s plan proved spot on. After using that big stride to keep Maleficent at bay, Final Judgement was challenged by Dawn Calling late in the race. However, just as the latter put her nose in front, Final Judgement once again picked up a gear and surged to get up by a neck.

Maleficent did not find the kick she had displayed in the Devon Air Stakes and perhaps ran below par.

Kotzen said about Final Judgement, “The further for her the better. We avoided the Allan Robertson, because we knew she would be better suited to the bend.”

However, the connections are in no rush to run her in the Gr 1 Thekwini on eLan Gold Cup day, as they believe she has a fine three-year-old career ahead of her, and will see how the field and the draws look before committing. Dawn Calling and Sail will likely enjoy the 1600m of the Thekwini too.

Final Judgement is owned by Peter De Beyer and Hugo Hattingh’s Triple H Trust.  At last year’s Bloodstock South Africa Val de Vie Sale, Hattingh had arrived with the resolve of not buying any fillies. However, Kotzen asked him to have a look at just one of them, Final Judgement, whom he believed to be the pick of the Sale. It did not take Hattingh long to agree.

Peter de Beyer later arrived and liked the pedigree. She is out of the Gr 1 Garden Province Stakes-winning Proclaim mare Final Claim, who is a daughter of the 1996 ARCSA Champion Broodmare Ollies Last (Highborn Harry), who also produced Gr 1 Cape Guineas-winner Alpha Omega as well as Gr 3-winner Over Bearing. Hattingh and De Beyer  landed Final Judgement for R500,000, which now looks a bargain.

Kotzen said, “I was very pleased for Hugo on Saturday as he has put his money down to buy some well bred horses and it was lovely to see him rewarded. Being out of a Gr 1-winning mare she is now worth bombs.”

Kotzen was also pleased for Peter de Beyer, although the latter is no stranger to success and judging by his record looks to be one of the most intuitive buyers in the country.

A dampener was later put on Kotzen’s day. Apparently noise from revellers unnerved his strongly fancied Kahal filly Shizam as she was leaving the parade ring for the KZN Yearling Million and her left hind leg became caught over the wooden railing, which is on the left hand side of the chute entrance. She had blood on the leg and was scratched down at the start. The injuries have proved to be superficial. However, the incident was costly to the owners, who could have recouped plenty of costs and more.

Gold Circle will be looking into the structure of the parade ring at the entrance to the chute to see whether any changes could lessen the chances of a repeat of such an incident. The KZN Million was moved this year from the last race on the day to the ninth, due to it being dark by the 12th and the crowd by that stage being rowdy. There might now be renewed requests to bring it forward even further.

David Thiselton

vdj crowd

Tote players win big

Posted on by

Nearly R150 million was wagered on the tote on Vodacom Durban July day last Saturday and several TAB and tabGOLD customers won huge amounts for relatively small outlays.

The TAB Quartet pool on the big race, boosted by a R1.2-million carryover, soared to more than R17 million and several Quartet players had six-figure wins for small amounts.

A TAB customer in Embalenhle in Mpumalanga and a tabGOLD client selected the first four past the post in the Durban July and played them in a R24 Quartet Box. Each collected the full payout of R152,149 – over 6,000 times their outlay.

Another tabGOLD customer in Chatsworth bet a R20 Quartet on the Durban July and took home R126,790, while a player in Howick in KwaZulu-Natal bet a R100 Quartet and collected R633,954.

The biggest winner on the meeting was a TAB telephone betting customer in the Western Cape, who bet a R3,120 Pick 6 permutation and won nearly R1.5 million.

A Stanger-based player was another big winner, playing a R500 Pick 6 permutation and collecting R902,615!

A TAB customer bet a R220 Pick 6 at Gold Reef City and collected R176,510 and a Mabopane player won R103,155 on the Pick 6 with a R150 bet.

A Western Cape-based digital customer was the sharpest Pick 6 player on the day with a R120 permutation delivering a payout of R541,569.

The Pick 6 pool started with a R4-million carryover and the total pool was more than 14 million.

 

Shining moment for Ramsden

Posted on by

Joey Ramsden consolidated himself as a top echelon trainer on Saturday when adding the Vodacom Durban July to his glittering CV with the Australian-bred The Conglomerate, while Piere Strydom showed once again why he is regarded as one of South Africa’s greatest ever jockeys.

That it takes a top trainer to win the country’s premier race is evident in the winner’s roll. In fact, Ramsden became only the ninth trainer this century to have won the July.

Pundits are always experts afterwards, but a look at last year’s July ultimately provided the best clue to The Conglomerate’s chances.

He jumped from the widest draw of all in last year’s race as a three-year-old and connections were left wondering what might have been. His inexperienced jockey had panicked coming up the hill and from last place on the rail had soon found himself widest of all entering the straight, but still last. Yet, the horse still managed to move up strongly on the standside rail and looked to have a ton in hand when faced with a wall of horses and nowhere to go. In retrospect, had the jockey remained patient at the back and made his run down the centre or inside, he could have threatened the winner, or at least the placed horses.

This year, The Conglomerate jumped from the same barrier position, but significantly had one of the all-time great jockeys in world history aboard. However, what had likely led to him being largely ignored by pundits was his form since last year’s July. Furthermore, Strydom had only been given second choice of the Markus Jooste-owned horses behind retained jockey Anton Marcus, who had plumped for St. Tropez.

Joey Ramsden (Nkosi Hlophe)

Joey Ramsden (Nkosi Hlophe)

The Conglomerate’s two best performances in seven outings this season had been fourth place finishes in both the Gr 2 Betting World 1900 and Gr 3 Cup Trial over 1800m. He had lacked zip in the finish in the 1900, but in his defence it was his second run after a four month layoff and gelding. His Cup Trial run was difficult to analyse as he was involved in a bumping match with Saratoga Dancer on the outside which led to him being demoted from third to fourth.

The four-year-old son of Lonhro duly ran in this year’s race off a merit rating of only 101, seven points lower than a year ago, and from being 1kg under sufferance last year, he was now 2,5kg under sufferance.

Furthermore, as the Cup Trial was a handicap and the Betting World 1900 a merit-rated bands conditions race, he was going to have improve a number of lengths from those last two runs.

Ramsden thus pulled off a magnificent training feat on Saturday. He had spoken beforehand of the tremendous work The Conglomerate had been putting in at Summerveld and of a faultless preparation. Strydom then came to the party and rode a fantastic race, managing to slot the bay into a handy position from the wide draw.

The final factor was the trip, only the horse’s second attempt beyond 2000m. He once again relished it and quickened well before staying on resolutely.

Ironically, The Conglomerate was one of the many horses in the race affected by the much talked about “manipulation” of the weights. Had Legal Eagle been scratched before the setting of the weights, The Conglomerate would have been perfectly handicapped i.e. scraping into the handicap with the minimum weight for an older horse of 53kg. Instead, he carried 55,5kg and was 2,5kg under sufferance.

The charismatic Ramsden provided entertainment in the build up to the July with his antics at the draw ceremony and was also at his best on Saturday, bowing ceremoniously to President Zuma with hands out-stretched before receiving the trophy.

David Thiselton