David Thiselton

ALEC LAIRD said Pack Leader had come through his two WSB Summer Cup preparation runs well but believed he would have to “run the race of his life” to win the big 2000m event at Turffontein Standside on Saturday.

Pack Leader was not given any merit rating raise after his 4,50 length win in a Progress Plate over 1600m last time out.

He won that race effortlessly despite the lead rein having mistakenly been left attached to his bridle and lashing around in front of him before S’Manga Khumalo managed to gather it up around the turn.

The six-year-old Philanthropist gelding seems to have blossomed since joining Laird’s Randjesfontein yard.

Laird said a change could be as good as a holiday and added he was also suited to the tracks on the Highveld before pointing out he had been just as good a horse with Glen Kotzen.

“Those last two runs were quite easy races and he has not had the chance to run in such plate races for quite a while.”

Pack Leader’s seventh place finish in the Sun Met, beaten 6,70 lengths on weight for age terms, proves Laird’s point.

In that race he had One World, Rainbow Bridge, Hawwaam, Twist Of Fate, Bunker Hunt, and Vardy ahead of him and among the horses he beat were Undercover Agent and Do It Again. He had also beaten Undercover Agent and Do It Again in the Green Point Stakes about seven weeks earlier.

He now runs off a 109, which ranges from 13 to 25 points lower than the respective merit ratings of the aforementioned horses he mixed it with in the Met.  

On the other hand he ran disappointingly in a number of lesser races last season and hence the seven point drop in his merit rating from the 116 it was at the time of the Met.

However, one of his most eyecatching runs last season was in the Cup Trial at Scottsville over 1800m when running on strongly from last to finish fourth. 

That run and his Met run, when coming from near the back, gave indicators that he would appreciate the galloping nature and long straights of Highveld courses like Turffontein Standside and the Vaal. And so it has proved.

He is enjoying himself on the Highveld too, so looks set to reproduce that Met run. 

One possible detractor is he has the daisy-cutting type of action that is usually best suited to fast ground.

Therefore, Laird was asked if he foresaw any problems Pack Leader would have handling soft going. 

He said, “We don’t work them on soft going so it is always difficult to tell. I think if there is just a bit of cut in the ground he should be fine although if it turns out heavy it will be difficult for any horse unless he or she is a mudlark.”    

There is rain forecast most days this week in Johannesburg so the going is likely to be on the soft side. 

Pack Leader jumps from a plum draw of four and has a nice galloping weight of 54,5kg with S’Manga Khumalo in the irons.  

Laird won the Summer Cup in 2006 with the Rakeen colt Malteme, who converted 14/1 odds carrying 51kg under Brett Smith. 

Khumalo has also won it one once, aboard the Joey Soma-trained Wagner, who converted odds of 16/1 in 2012 carrying 52.5kg.

David Thiselton

PIERE STRYDOM is the winning-most Summer Cup rider to be taking part in Saturday’s big race, having been in the winner’s enclosure of Johannesburg’s flagship event four times, and he will need to cause an upset to increase his tally as he is aboard the 25-1 chance Astrix.

Strydom has never ridden the Paul Peter-trained four-year-old Vercingetorix gelding but has spoken to his regular rider Warren Kennedy. The latter confirmed there was a bit of a concern he would stay the tough 2000m trip. 

Vercingetorix is appearing to impart more speed and less stamina in his progeny than his prolific sire Silvano does. However, Astrix’s damsire Victory Moon, who won a Grade 3 and a Grade 2 over 2000m and was an unlucky fifth in the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes over 2007m, provides some hope he will stay. On the other hand Astrix’s dam Victory Dance is a half-sister to the dual Grade 1 winner Thunder Dance (Jet Master), who was essentially a miler. Furthermore, his second dam Shadow Dancing is a half-sister to the speed influence Captain Al. 

However, the point that does give hope is that both Astrix’s attempts at 1800m to date did not pan out well. He was caught wide throughout in the Grade 1 SA Classic from draw 16 so was entitled to find no extra in the straight, finishing a 4,85 length tenth. In the Victory Moon Stakes last time out he had to do some work to overcome another wide draw. Yet he stayed on well for a 2,50 length second. He now has a good draw of three so should find cover and this will give him a chance of staying.

Strydom said he would have to give Astrix a chance due to the stamina doubt. He said the detractor in this case was the big field, as he might then end up too far back.

He concluded, “I don’t know the horse but it is an open race and if he stays he must have a chance.”

Astrix is 2,5kg better off with Christopher Robin for a 2,50 length beating in the Victory Moon so on paper should finish alongside that one, although the latter has no stamina concerns. 

Strydom’s four Summer Cup wins have been with Roland’s Song in 1990, Eventuail in 2002, Tyson in 2004 and Louis The King in 2014. 

Strydom intends retiring at the end of this season.

However, this depends on two things. Firstly, he wants to reach 5500 career winners. He should pass this mark before July 31 next year as he currently has only 29 winners to go.

He will also insist upon going out with a winner. If his last ride of the season is not a winner he will be back for another meeting next season.

He said, “I hope COVID-19 is over by then because after I have ridden that last winner I am going to throw my boots into the stands!”

An ambition before bowing out is to win the Vodacom Durban July next year and thus join Anton Marcus on a record five wins of the country’s premier horseracing event.

Five Summer Cup wins and five July’s will fit nicely as he will be the ripe age of 55 upon retiring.    

Michael Clower

RAINBOW BRIDGE, winner of the 2019 Sun Met and a string of other big races including the Champions Cup and the Gold Challenge, makes his eagerly-awaited reappearance in the Tabonline.co.za Pinnacle Stakes over 1 400m at Kenilworth today when rising star Luke Ferraris  will ride him in public for the first time.

The six-year-old opened a prohibitive 3-10 when World Sports Betting opened its book (on adjusted ratings he has the proverbial stone in hand). But there will be almost as much interest in African Night Sky who runs for the first time since his controversial run in the 2018 Vodacom Durban July.

“Rainbow Bridge has been doing pretty well but he is nowhere near fit yet,” said Eric Sands this morning. Sands is already eyeing the Green Point Stakes at the Cape Town course on December 12. “My aim is the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate (Jan 9) and the Met three weeks later. I want the Queen’s Plate to be his third run back and the Met his fourth of the campaign because his second run of the season can be a little bit flat even though he always runs well in it. Luke rode the horse in a spin on Saturday and did so again this morning.”

Stable companion and half-brother Golden Ducat will return at Kenilworth on December 2. “We had a little hiccup with him so he is not as fit as he might be. He will gallop this week and will come back in a progress plate, either over a mile or over 1 200m.”

African Night Sky started a warm favourite for the 2018 July but the slow gallop proved fatal. He fought for his head and for rider Grant van Niekerk the race turned into a living nightmare. In a last, despairing throw of the dice he decided to give the horse his head and let him go. Not surprisingly his mount tired before the end and finished a bitterly expensive fifth. “They went slower and slower but I thought that if I went on the horse would settle,” Van Niekerk explained afterwards.

The jockey was widely, and unfairly, criticised by the riders in the stands – his mount’s defeat was guaranteed once he started fighting his jockey – and significantly this season’s leading Cape Town rider is back on him on Wednesday.

Owner Fred Crabbia transferred the horse from Justin Snaith to Dean Kannemeyer, possibly to race in Dubai, but he damaged a tendon and couldn’t go. He was returned to Snaith last December.

“Obviously he hasn’t raced for a long time but everything has gone well and I’m looking for a nice positive run,” said Justin today.

He also runs Wild Coast on whom Richard Fourie will be hoping to celebrate Wednesday’s 35^th birthday in appropriate style. “It’s a strong field but Wild Coast has been doing well at home and we are looking for a good run to give us confidence for the future, “ said the trainer.

Vaughan Marshall is also double-handed with Silver Operator and Captain Of Stealth who looked a future star when winning his first two races last season by an aggregate of almost 12 lengths. Then disaster struck. In a freak accident he wrapped himself below the joint and just above the coronet. Many thought he would never race again but Vaughan Marshall predicted ten months off.

He has had two runs this season and Marshall said today: ”He is just about back to his best but it hasn’t been plain sailing and he has had a lot of little minor issues including bouts of urticaria.”

The trainer probably has a better chance with his other runner Silver Operator, the mount of four-time champion Anton Marcus – “He has done very well and I am very happy with him.”

The Paul Reeves-trained Photocopy completes the line-up but he is the rank outsider.

Latest betting: 3-10 Rainbow Bridge, 8-1 Wild Coast, 17-2 Silver Operator, 15-1 African Night Sky, 18-1 Captain Of Stealth, 20-1 Photocopy.

YOU will have  received our penalty of R35 000 from the NHA in regards to  Herodotus’s positive identification for O-Desmethyltramadol, reports Glen Kotzen.

I would like to inform the public that this is the first time in South African racing history this product has been picked up in a racehorse and on receiving the identification I’m beyond shocked as this is not a veterinary product used in horses but a human pain killer. 

I have taken it upon myself to investigate the contamination from water source, environmental factors and human contamination and employed some of the best forensic experts both here and abroad. With thorough investigation together with SAP’s I together with my wife, Kathi,   found three staff members with IOD injuries in and around Herodotus’s win that were taking the medication which we have since learnt is routinely given to IOD patients who have undergone surgeries. 

Since this incident every employee in our employment  has to sign a  basic conditions of employment contract which includes declaring  and advising us of any schedule medication they are taking and we have also put up signage in our yard forbidding urination in and around our stable yard together with  general hand sanitization. 

Worldwide we have learnt that most O-Desmethyltramadol cases were human or environmental contamination.   Similarly Richard Hannon in the UK received many positives over many years for the same product and he was pulling his hair out not being able to find the source  –  https://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/richard-hannon-fined-de-bruyne-horse-failed-drug-test-tramadol-metabolite-epsom-639033

Whilst we respect the part the NHA takes in protecting our industry and know the value of their service it is very sad that the strict liability clause ultimately makes me a guilty party and has caused our family tremendous emotional turmoil let alone the enormous financial losses we have incurred.

 Whilst I will not be appealing this ruling  as it is based purely on wrongful interpretation of the strict liability rule in this country which automatically renders one liable as the trainer of the horse that tested positive.

Abroad if a trainer can prove that they took all reasonable precautions  to prevent a positive finding then the authorities won’t make a finding against the trainer concerned.  I will, however, request the review board to look at the finding with regards to my case.

We would like to thank the owners of Herodotus who have from the very beginning stood by us whilst we investigated the cause of the contamination.

The Algoa Cup race meeting at Fairview this Friday 27 November will be run on the Polytrack circuit following an inspection of the turf track by racing and track management and several trainers.

It had been hoped to resume racing on the turf surface this Friday after unseasonal cold weather retarded grass growth and delayed the scheduled resumption of turf racing last month following the track’s annual spring treatment.

The turf surface has come on in leaps and bounds since and is generally in excellent condition, but problem areas remain in spite of track staff’s best efforts to stimulate growth in these sections.

The inspection team unanimously agreed that because of these affected areas the track is not yet safe race for racing and it has been decided to only resume racing on the turf surface from 1 January next year.

Declarations for Friday’s big meeting will go ahead as scheduled this Monday 23 November with distances of all races remaining unchanged. – Phumelela