Category Archives: Y-Champions Season

Real Princess (Nkosi Hlophe)

Kannemeyer bullish about Princess

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In form trainer Dean Kannemeyer’s Tsogo Sun Sprint contender Captain Alfredo is interestingly weighted and could be his yard’s best chance of a Gr 1 winner at Scottsville’s Festival Of Speed meeting on Saturday.

However, he is also bullish about City Of Pietermaritzburg Fillies Sprint runner Real Princess and hopeful about Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion contestant Paperback Writer.

Kannemeyer’s first comment about Captain Al four-year-old gelding Captain Alfredo was, “He carries a bit of pudding.” Connections had hoped to get him into the race carrying closer to 52kg or 53kg but instead he has 56,5kg to contend with. However, on the bright side, his merit rating of 109 is almost certainly capped.

He beat line horse Ernie by a wide margin of 4,75 lengths last time out in the Listed In Full Flight Stakes over 1100m at Scottsville. He was given a maximum eight point raise in accordance with the new guidelines for a Listed handicap race winner, but without the restriction it would likely have been more.

Captain Alfredo (Nkosi Hlophe)

Captain Alfredo (Nkosi Hlophe)

He will face In Full Flight runner up Captain’s Causeway on only 0,5kg worse terms, despite a 1,75 length beating, and he will be 3,5kg worse off with Ernie. On paper he should have the beating of both of them again, although the In Full Flight was run in “very soft” going, which tends to cause fields to be more spread out.

On the other hand, Exelero is 1,5kg better off with Captain Alfredo from their last meeting in mid-April over the Tsogo Sun Sprint course and distance, despite beating the latter by 1,25 lengths.

However, Kannemeyer believed there was a possible explanation for that run and said, “It seemed faster down the outside that day (Exelero stuck to the outside), and we followed Natal down the inside.”

Kannemeyer has been pleased with Captain Alfredo at Summerveld and said, “He is a tough, solid horse and is sound-sound, so he takes his races very well.”

Jockey Anthony Delpech worked him on Tuesday morning and confirmed he was “doing well”.

Delpech has already won five Graded races this SA Champions Season and rides Captain Alfredo from draw 11.

Real Princess (Nkosi Hlophe)

Real Princess (Nkosi Hlophe)

Kannemeyer pointed out Real Princess had been squeezed at the start before running on to win the Gr 3 Poinsettia impressively over the City Of Pietermaritzburg Fillies Sprint course and distance on May 1. That was despite it having been her first start since finishing a 0,8 length third to Carry On Alice in the Gr 2 Southern Cross Stakes over 1000m in late December.

He said, “She has got ability and has been thriving since that last run. Carry On Alice is probably the best sprinter in the country, but if Real Princess puts her best foot forward she is going to be very competitive, you could see in her last win how she turned it on.”

On the downside the four-year-old Trippi filly will be 2kg worse off with Carry On Alice from the Southern Cross Stakes and 2kg worse off with Lanner Falcon for a mere 0,25 length beating in the Poinsettia. She is drawn eight with Delpech up.

Kannemeyer said he had probably made a mistake running Paperback Writer at Scottsville on debut around the bend over 1400m, but had wanted to take advantage of a good draw. He over raced in the early stages of a messy affair and was never in it.

In his second start the well-bred Var colt, who is out of Gr 1 SA Fillies Guineas runner up Classique Story, showed pace throughout over 1400m on the Greyville poly and after opening up a big lead in the straight held on to win by a comfortable 1,75 lengths, albeit against a moderate field.

Kannemeyer said, “He will be better over 1200m at this stage as he has so much speed and I am not just running him for the sake of it.” Delpech is up from draw five.

David Thiselton

snaith site

Tough task for Victoria

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This year’s top SA Champions Season trainer to date, Justin Snaith, has only one runner at Scottsville’s Festival of Speed meeting on Saturday.

He said about the Captain Al filly Victoria Lavelle, who runs in the weight for age (wfa) Gr 1 City Of Pietermaritzburg Sprint over 1200m, “She is doing very well at home. She is a beautiful filly and is an out and out sprinter. She will be a nice horse for trifectas and quartets.”

However, he believed, especially being a three-year-old, she had a tough task at the weights.

She did beat City Of Pietermaritzburg Sprint contender Real Princess by 1,1 lengths in the Listed Laisserfaire Stakes over 1100m at Kenilworth in December, but was 2kg better off than wfa on that occasion.

In her first KZN start last time out, in the Gr 3 Poinsettia Stakes over 1200m, she was beaten only 0,3 lengths by Real Princess on wfa terms and a short-head by Lanner Falcon on terms 2kg better than weight for age. However, that was her first run for four months.

Victoria Lavelle is drawn six on Saturday and Piere Strydom rides.

Meanwhile, the connections have not yet decided whether Saturday’s Snaith-trained Gr 1 Woolavington 2000 winner Bela-Bela will take her place in the Vodacom Durban July.

David Thiselton

Fourie on It’s My Turn

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Richard Fourie, who won the 2014 Vodacom Durban July for Justin Snaith on Legislate, has been booked by his old boss for the plum ride on Cape Derby winner It’s My Turn.

Jonathan Snaith said: “Piere Strydom was originally booked but he is unable to ride anywhere close to the weight of 53kg. Justin is very excited to have Richard up.”

The Daily News runner-up will be Fourie’s sixth July ride. He had his first in 2007 and, bar Legislate, all his mounts so far have finished unplaced.

Michael Clower

Red Ray (Liesl King)

Marcus in charge

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Anton Marcus, as possibly the country’s most sought after jockey, surprisingly has only two rides in the jackpot of Gr 1s at Scottsville on Saturday.

One of them is aboard the always vaunted Joey Ramsden-trained five-year-old entire Red Ray, who makes his comeback from a 16-month layoff in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint, a race he finished second in two years ago.

Marcus looks to have a top ride in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion aboard the Vaughan Marshall-trained colt Always In Charge.

Red Ray (Liesl King)

Red Ray (Liesl King)

Red Ray made the long sojourn via Mauritius and England to Dubai after his runner up finish at Scottsville in 2014 but only ended up having one run overseas, finishing a 6,25 length seventh in the Gr 2 Al Fahidi Fort over 1400m on the turf, despite starting 2/1 favourite.

Marcus said about Red Ray’s well-being at Summerveld, “He is doing fairly well and I am looking forward to riding him.”

Markus Jooste’s racing manager Derek Brugman elaborated and said due to previous soundness issues they had not pushed Red Ray to the limit in training, so could only have him about 80% fit. He added, “We would have preferred to have a run under the belt.” However, he said the Western Winter entire was as fit as they could have him under the circumstances, as well as sound, and connections were hoping for a good run. He runs off the identical merit rating of 108 he had in the race as a three-year-old and carries 56kg from a middle draw of eight.

The Captain Al colt Always In Charge, who like Red Ray is owned by Markus and Ingrid Jooste, lived up to his name in his second start over 1200m at Kenilworth on April 23. He was cruising at the head of affairs until the business end where he pulled away impressively to win by 3,25 lengths under MJ Byleveld. Anthony Delpech, who rides the Dean Kannemeyer-trained Paperback Writer in Saturday’s race, confirmed he had been impressed by Always In Charge, having been on the runner up that day, Cock-A-Hoop.  Kannemeyer only mentioned Always In Charge when talking about the horses to beat in the Gold Medallion.

Marcus confirmed, “He is a nice horse.”

Marshall has a fine record in Scottsville’s two-year-old Gr 1s and last won the Gold Medallion in 2009 with Var colt Villandry.

Marcus has a prolific recent record in the Gold Medallion, winning it with Seventh Rock in 2007, Warm White Night in 2008, Delago Deluxe in 2011, Guiness in 2014 and Seventh Plain last year. All of them were owned by Jooste.

By David Thiselton

Mike Azzie (Nkosi Hlophe)

Azzie’s got Oomph

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High-flying trainer Mike Azzie has a strong hand in all four of the Gr 1 1200m races at Scottsville on Saturday.

The most interesting of them is Oomph, who was bought out of a Port Elizabeth yard by Azzie’s chief clients Adriaan and Rika Van Vuuren and runs in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion from draw eight.

Mike Azzie (Nkosi Hlophe)

Mike Azzie (Nkosi Hlophe)

This former Alan Greef-trained Tiger Ridge colt has obliterated all before him in three sprint events at Fairview, including when giving weight away to all bar one runner in the Listed Epol Dahlia Plate over 1200m last time out and winning easing up by 6,25 lengths.

Oomph has been at Summerveld for a week. Azzie has only given him two half pace workouts to date and he will have a sprint up tomorrow (Thursday). He said, “He is a very good looking horse. I have kept Aldo (Domeyer) on, because he knows him well.”

However, Azzie also makes the stable companion, Var colt Rivarine, a “massive runner”. He pointed out he had finished just 0,9 lengths behind the much vaunted and unbeaten filly Cloth Of Cloud in the Gr 1 SA Nursery over 1160m at Turffontein last time out, despite initially tacking over towards the standside from a low draw and then tacking back in again in the closing stages.

He said, “He has been moving well.”

He is drawn seven and Karl Zechner retains the ride.

Azzie runs the temperamental Splendid Garden in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint and he must have a shout carrying a nice galloping weight of 54kg under JP van der Merwe. He is drawn high in 13, but horses have been winning from all draws at Scottsville lately, especially when the inside rail has been moved outward, as it will be on Saturday.

Aldo Domeyer (Nkosi Hlophe)

Aldo Domeyer (Nkosi Hlophe)

Azzie revealed the four-year-old Black Minnaloushe gelding had been coming off a virus before his below par penultimate start. His staying on 6,25 length fifth in the Computaform Sprint last time out had thus been a “cracker”, especially considering he had jumped from an unfavourable low draw.

Azzie said, “He is doing very well, his coat is glowing and if he behaves in the pens he will run a big race.”

Azzie has top sprinting filly Lazer Star in the Gr 1 City Of Pietermaritzburg Sprint, but revealed the Van Vuurens had bought her out of the Ormond Ferraris yard chiefly for breeding purposes and this might well be her last run.

He said Ferraris had done an amazing job with her considering her feet problems. Azzie and his team have worked on the few niggles she still has and he hoped she would run well for them. The jockey who knows her best, Weichong Marwing, is aboard the Toreador speedster from draw nine in a race where every horse seems to be running for second behind Carry On Alice.

Azzie admitted Trippi filly Announcing Rain had a tough task in the Allan Robertson Championship, but reckoned she was better than her last run when sent clear over 1400m and, not surprisingly, fading. She has been doing well at Summerveld and the yard are taking their chances and hoping she earns black type.

By David Thiselton

Joan Ranger (Nkosi Hlophe)

Joan Ranger can defy her merit rating

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Most punters were caught unawares when the Lucky Houdalakis-trained Joan Ranger won the Gr 2 Camellia Stakes over 1160m on Champions Day at Turffontein at odds of 20/1 and she is unlikely to start that long at Saturday’s festival Of Speed despite meeting a much stronger field in the Gr 1 City Of Pietermaritzburg Fillies Sprint over 1200m.

Those who had followed her closely would likely have been licking their lips at the price on Champions Day before helping themselves to an each-way opportunity which had slipped through the net.

Joan Ranger (Nkosi Hlophe)

Joan Ranger (Nkosi Hlophe)

Houdalakis summed it up yesterday by saying, “The bend is not for her.”

This is despite her being by Triple Crown hero Horse Chestnut out of Rambo Dancer mare Fashion Edition who won six times from 1300m to 1800m.

Joan Ranger won her maiden over 1400m and had been tried in four Gr 3 races from 1400-1600m. The fact she earned three close up thirds in the latter events proved her class as she had shown a lot of pace in all of them. When dropped in trip to 1200m at Scottsville, she duly romped home. The form of that event now looks good too, as she beat Elusiveenchantment by 2,25 lengths and the latter has won both of her subsequent  course and distance starts.

Joan Ranger was tried over 1400m again subsequent to the Scottsville race in the Gr 3 Umzimkhulu Stakes at Greyville and once again her pace was her undoing. She fought for her head after the jockey had attempted to settle her in second place behind the leader. Yet, she still managed to stay on for a 1,25 length third.

Carry On Alice (Nkosi Hlophe)

Carry On Alice (Nkosi Hlophe)

She was crying out for another sprint trip and duly, after being able to use her lengthy stride the whole way, admittedly from a favourable high draw, she found a strong finish in the Camellia Stakes and won cosily by 1,25 lengths.

She will arrive at Scottsville on the morning of the race, having travelled from her Vaal home base.

Houdalakis concluded, “The owner is the breeder, so it’s all about black type.”

Carry On Alice looks impossible to oppose in Saturday’s race.

However, Joan Ranger looks to have the class to defy her 102 merit rating and earn a place.

She is officially the second worst handicapped horse in the twelve horse field, but it should be borne in mind that since her debut she has only been given two opportunities to run in sprints and she has won both of them comfortably.

She is drawn eight and will be ridden by Brandon Lerena.

By David Thiselton

Grade 1 Jackpot of sprints

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Sprinting stars from around the country will thrill the crowds at the annual festival of speed, the Tsogo Sun Sprint day at Scottsville Racecourse in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday that boasts the only official Grade 1 Jackpot in the country.

The R1-million, Grade 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint tops the bill supported by the R600 000, Grade 1 City Of Pietermaritzburg Fillies Sprint and the two R600 000, Grade 1 clashes for juveniles, the Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion and the Allan Robertson Championship – all four races over the testing 1 200m trip.

Fields for the races have been confined to 14 runners and with the inside rail being brought in some four metres to eliminate the alleged better going down the inside, racing is expected to be fairer for all runners on the day.

While the flying filly Carry On Alice will be seen by many as the banker of the day when she bids to complete the race double in the City Of Pietermaritzburg Fillies Sprint having beaten Alboran Sea in the race last year, very competitive fields have been received for the three other events and racing should be hard, fast and exciting.

Carry On Alice won the Computaform Sprint at the end of April and under the weight-for-age conditions of Saturday’s race the Sean Tarry superstar looks very hard to beat.

Things are different, however, in the Tsogo Sun Sprint where the Computaform Sprint runner-up Talktothestars and third-placed Barbosa will lock horns again with the Dennis Drier-trained Barbosa being 4kg better off with Coenie de Beer’s charge for a four lengths beating recently at Turffontein. However Barbosa now has the “home town” advantage, things could be very close between them.

Adding to the interest in the race will be the return of former Tsogo Sun Sprint winner Red Ray from the Joey Ramsden stable that makes his re-appearance in this country after a two-year break during which he campaigned overseas.

In the Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion, Drier will be out to secure his seventh win in the juvenile race and his fifth on the trot. He races the Horse Chestnut colt Horse Guards that won impressively by five lengths on debut on the polytrack at Greyville. He meets some smart young horses including the Var colt Rivarine from the Mike Azzie stable that was beaten into second place in the SA Nursery at Turffontein by the exciting Tarry-trained filly Cloth Of Cloud.

Also likely to produce a strong challenge is the Mike Azzie trained Oomph. The Tiger Ridge colt has demolished his opposition by more than three lengths in each of his races to date.

In the Allan Robertson Championship, Cloth Of Cloud is likely to be all the rage on her beating of the male opposition in the SA Nursery. She will be up against the winner of the SA Fillies Nursery winner Fursa from the Mike de Kock stable as well as the Tarry-trained Captain Al filly Myfunnyvalentine that ran second with the top young filly from the Cape, the Vaughan Marshall trained daughter of Captain Al, The Secret Is Out, a talented addition to the mix. The Secret Is Out has cruised home in both her races including the Strelitzia Stakes at Scottsville last time out and is expected to be a major player in this race.

The stage is set and the star cast is ready for what should be a fabulous day of Grade 1 racing on Tsogo Sun Sprint Raceday at Scottsville on Saturday, a meeting not to be missed.

Red Chesnut Road (Nkosi Hlophe)

Red Chesnut ruled out

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Racing industry persons of all walks were watching the “public” section of the SA Horse Racing website with keen interest yesterday morning and the most notable scratching from Saturday’s big Scottsville Festival Of Speed meeting was the impressive Robbie Hill-trained Red Chesnut Road.

Hill said after withdrawing the unbeaten colt from the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion, “He has an abscess on his hoof. There are a lot of disappointed people, but it is what it is, we couldn’t run him.”

Hill has no doubt the blinkered Highlands Farm Stud-bred Pathfork colt will stay up to a mile, so he will still have two more big race opportunities this season, the Gr 2 Golden Horseshoe over 1400m and the Gr 1 Premiers Champions Stakes over 1600m.

Red Chesnut Road had looked likely to be the meeting banker on Saturday as no other juvenile male had come close to creating the impression he had in his respective 7,75 length and 6,25 length romps in a Maiden Juvenile Plate over 1200m and in the Gr 3 Godolphin Barb Stakes over 1100m, both at Scottsville, respectively.

Red Chesnut Road (Nkosi Hlophe)

Red Chesnut Road (Nkosi Hlophe)

However, the Gold Medallion has now been thrown wide open.

It would be a brave man to bet against the unbeaten Horse Guards as he represents the Dennis Drier yard, who have won five of the last six renewals of the Gold Medallion.

However, the most interesting entry is the Tiger Ridge colt Oomph, who has won all three of his races in Port Elizabeth with consummate ease, all of them over 1200m and one of them being a Listed event.

He has been bought out of the Alan Greeff yard by SA Triple Crown-winning owners Adriaan and Rika van Vuuren and will be saddled by their trainer Mike Azzie. However, his regular pilot Aldo Domeyer remains aboard.

The Mike de Kock-trained Australian-bred by More Than Ready, Act Of Loyalty, is another interesting entry as he beat a moderate field on debut over 1200m at the Vaal a lot more comfortably than the 0,2 length margin suggests and looks to have plenty of scope for improvement.

Corne Spies has shrewdly declared his classy filly Seattle Singer to face the boys in this race instead of pitting her against the like of The Seecret Is Out, who would have had her held, in the Gr 1 Allan Robertson Championship for fillies. To date she has been runner up in three stakes race, including two Gr 3s. As a maiden she had weight allowances in all of them, but when she did get off the mark last time out in a Maiden she did it in impressive style, getting the better of a ding-dong tussle with the Mike de Kock-trained Ektifaa over 1200m at the Vaal with the rest of the field nine lengths back. She will receive a 2,5kg gender allowance on Saturday.

Vaughan Marshall has a good record at the festival Of Speed meeting and has Captain Al colt Always In Charge involved, a facile winner of his maiden at Kenilworth and the form has worked out well.

Sean Tarry has had a magnificent season with his two-year-olds and Red Rock is his representative, although at first sight he will have to improve on his last run when only managing a well beaten fifth in the Gr 3 Godolphin Barb.

Azzie also has the promising Var colt Rivarine in the race. He was a 0,9 length runner up to the classy filly Cloth Of Cloud in the Gr 1 SA Nursery with the rest of the field well beaten.

The Kumaran Naidoo-trained Godolphin Barb runner up Over Sure is one of only two KZN-trained horses in the race.

Dean Kannemeyer has entered Paperback Writer, whose form isn’t too inspiring, but this will only be his third start and as a superbly bred horse, by Var out of an Elliodor Gr 1 SA Fillies Guineas runner up, he could still prove himself worthy.

Brett Warren will saddle the classy Rebel King colt Sporting Monarch, who won easily on debut and was then narrowly beaten by the promising British Royale, to whom he was giving 5kg, second time out over 1000m with the rest of the field in a different province.

By David Thiselton

Silver Mountain (Kenilworth Racing)

Tibouchina next for Silver Mountain

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Silver Mountain will take her chance in the Tibouchina Stakes at Greyville on Saturday week and her performance there will determine how long she stays in KZN.

The Mike Bass-trained Cape Fillies Guineas winner was originally to have run in last Saturday’s Woolavington but Candice Robinson said: “We are not 100% sure that she gets 2 000m and, had we run her, we might not have learned anything.

“She hasn’t been thriving in Durban and we will bring her back home to Cape Town if she doesn’t run well in the Tibouchina.”

Silver Mountain, fourth in the Cape Guineas, only managed sixth behind Bela-Bela when odds-on for the Daisy Fillies Guineas earlier this month. That was her first start since beating all except Illuminator in the CTS Million Dollar in January.

Michael Clower

Rabada (Left) It's My Turn (right)-Nkosi Hlophe

Rabada rules, Bela-Bela rocks

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The fireworks expected from a competitive field in Saturday’s R2-million, Grade 1 Daily News 2000 were reduced to a fizzle when the pace was slowed to a crawl and the 16 runners doddled through the first part of the classic event and turned it into a sprint in the home straight.

Rabada (Left) It's My Turn (right)-Nkosi Hlophe

Rabada (left) It’s My Turn (right)-Nkosi Hlophe

It played into the hands of favourite Rabada whose jockey Anton Marcus admitted he had had some doubts about the Brave Tin Soldier colt staying a true-run 2 000m trip. But when settling in behind pacemaker Sylvester The Cat at a moderate gallop those fears were dispelled – only to be replaced at the top of the straight by a different point of concern when he dropped his stick and was forced to urge the beautifully prepared colt along with his hands and heels and the flick of the reins.

And the Mike Azzie-trained colt responded admirably to hold off the challenge from the Dynasty gelding It’s My Turn that was on the verge of giving trainer Justin Snaith and jockey Anthony Delpech a Grade 1 double on the day after their win with Bela-Bela in the R1-million Woolavington 2000 a half an hour earlier. Rabada also scuttled Delpech’s bid for a feature race treble after taking the Grade 2 Lonsdale Stirrup Cup on favourite Balance Sheet for Dean Kannemeyer earlier.

The pace will also have affected the chances of a few other runners that might otherwise have given a better account of themselves but trainer Azzie took the win as a confirmation of his long-held belief that his charge, who recorded his second Grade 1 win having been successful in the Premier’s Champion Stakes last season, would see out the trip.

While there was little to be learned from the state of the three-year-old colts and geldings there was much to be excited about by the Dynasty filly Bela-Bela that put up a scintillating performance in the Woolavington 2000 that finished off the race in a manner that had one feeling she had just jumped into the contest at the top of the straight. Coming from well back behind pacemaker Negroamaro Delpech gave the filly her head and the rocket boosters kicked in to see her fly past everything to win by nearly two lengths.

Bela-Bela (Nkosi Hlophe)

Bela-Bela (Nkosi Hlophe)

However, as eye-catching as the performance was, it has to be seen in the light of the pace of the race which, like the main event that was to follow, was also more than two seconds slower than the class average.

Commenting after the race, Delpech said he had ridden some top fillies in his career and Igugu was the best but, referring to Bela-Bela, “she is the second best.”

Snaith hedged when questioned on the future plans for Bela-Bela as far as the Vodacom Durban July was concerned saying “we will have to make the right decisions. It is up to the owners.”

For Kannemeyer it was another great day at the office as his stable produced yet another feature winner in the season when taking the 2 400m Lonsdale Stirrup Cup with the Silvano gelding Balance Sheet ahead of Heidelberg Blue, No Worries and Crime Victim.

The four-year-old gelding is owned by Marsh Shirtliff and Bryn Ressell who also own Helderberg Blue, that is trained by Mike Bass, in partnership with Ingrid and Markus Jooste making it a one-two for the famous white, blue and pink colours associated with many top horses in the past including the great Pocket Power.