Cape Trainer Neil Bruss has brought his promising fillies Flying Ice and Zante back to Summerveld for further tilts at South African Champions Season feature races.

Neil Bruss (Nkosi Hlophe)

The three-year-old Go Deputy filly Flying Ice won the Listed Devon Air Stakes over 1400m at Greyville last season before finishing a 0,75 length fourth in the Gr 1 Thekwini Stakes over 1600m. She was a touch unlucky last time out in first time blinkers when a 1,25 length runner up in the Gr 3 Prix Du Cap over 1400m at Kenilworth.

She had to be continually switched out and only saw daylight 200m out. She then flew home, but it was too late to catch the winner, the decent four-year-old Cuvee Brut. Bruss had been confident of winning the Prix du Cap, despite her 33/1 odds, as she had recovered from the illness which had affected her previous run. Cuvee Brut raced off a 103 merit rating that day and the 98 merit-rated Flying Ice faced her on weight for age terms, so it was a fine performance by the latter considering her bad luck in running. The progeny of Go Deputy show continual improvement with age and she has been doing well since arriving at Summerveld, so is one to follow.

Four-year-old Zante is another filly who should be improving being by the top class sire Ideal World. She ran a 3,25 length fourth to Smart Call in last year’s Gr 1 Woolavington 2000 and, of course, that form now looks outstanding. Bruss was forced to race Zante mainly against males in the Cape Summer, as there were no suitable races for her, and she has consequently dropped to an attractive 89 merit rating. Bruss said there would be many opportunities for this staying type during the SA Champions Season and she starts her campaign on Sunday in a 1600m Conditions Plate at Scottsville. She is affective over a mile, despite preferring further.

Bruss has also brought another decent four-year-old staying type in the Go Deputy filly Deputy Ryder. She won three races in KZN last year for the Alyson Wright yard, including the Listed Queen Palm Stakes over 2400m at Greyville. She should love being back at Summerveld and is likely to have as many opportunities as the similar type, Zante. She only found the frame once in four starts during the Cape Summer, but was up against some good types, and the handicapper has consequently only dropped her one point to a 94 merit rating.

By David Thiselton

Summerveld trainer Robbie Hill’s Pathfork colt Red Chesnut Road was the talk of the Scottsville meeting on Sunday after running away with a Maiden Juvenile Plate over 1000m on his debut.

Later there was a good front-running performance from the useful Sean Tarry-trained Serissa to win the Listed Easter Handicap over 1950m under S’Manga Khumalo, while the Louis Goosen-trained Trip Tease showed how classy he is by coming from off the pace to win the innovative Easter Dash over 600m.

Red Chesnut Road (Nkosi Hlophe)

Hill, a top jockey for many years who once completed a rare Durban July/Gold Cup double, knows the game well and is not allowing himself to be carried away by Red Chesnut Road’s performance, despite the effortless win by 7,75 lengths under Brandon Lerena.

The Highlands-bred chestnut colt showed fine gatespeed and early speed, allowing him to overcome a high draw, which is usually viewed as unfavourable down the Scottsville straight. He steadily increased his lead under hands and heels.

The only possible downside to the victory was the winning time of the following race, won by the strapping Gavin van Zyl-trained two-year-old Just As Well filly Princess Analia. The latter’s time was just 0,48 seconds slower than Red Chesnut Road’s. This might bring in to question the quality of the field Red Chesnut Road beat. However, the Dennis Drier-trained Western Winter colt Lee’s Star, who was beaten 11,5 lengths into third place, was the subject of a big whisper and started 13/10 favourite, so must show a lot at home. Furthermore, Gavin van Zyl rates Princess Analia a “smart filly” and she certainly gave that impression in Sunday’s race, which followed her debut second on the poly in which she was green. Her big action took her to the front and she held on by 0,75 lengths from the Drier-trained debutant Sail, who is by Philanthropist. The 8/10 Duncan Howells-trained favourite Dawn Calling was beaten 3,5 lengths with the rest beaten ten lengths and more.

Hill liked Red Chesnut Road from the moment he saw him at the KZN Suncoast Yearling Sale and was surprised to pick him up for just R250,000. His pedigree suggests he should get a mile and more. Pathfork by Distorted Humor won a Gr 1 over seven furlongs at the Curragh in Ireland in soft going and the narrow runner up Casamento subsequently won a Gr 2 over a mile by four lengths before winning the Gr 1 Racing Post Trophy over a mile at Doncaster. Red Chesnut Road’s dam Scarlet Sky by Fort Wood won three times from 1200-1600m and his second dam Fading Light won the Gr 1 Empress Club Stakes over 1600m and was third in the SA Oaks.

Princess Analia (Nkosi Hlophe)

Hill has had a high regard for Red Chesnut Road from day one, but is wisely not getting ahead of himself. The acid test will obviously be when he faces some of the best from the Highveld and the Cape. Consequently, no Gr 1 targets are being spoken about just yet.

Front-runners appear to be favoured by small fields, as they are able to dictate, and such was the case with Serissa in the Easter Handicap over 1950m. The tough six-year-old gelding by Black Minnaloushe started favourite despite having been given a six point merit rated raise to 95 for an easy win in the Non-Black Type Umthombothi Stakes over 2000m on the poly in his penultimate start. The Dean Kannemeyer-trained Solar Star, who sat second in the running, was chasing throughout the straight but was still 1,5 lengths shy at the line and second favourite No Worries finished third. Serissa is just below the best, so won’t be easy to place during the South African Champions Season. However, he has proven able to stay 2400m and has not been tried over further than that yet, so there are a range of possibilities.

Trip Tease was able to come from about two lengths off the pace under Gunther Wrogemann in the Easter Dash, despite his rivals going all out from gun to tape, and he got up in the shadow of the post to beat outsiders Piano Man and Zinnavar by 0,75 lengths.

By David Thiselton

Horses from visiting stables are rolling in with 117 boxes booked for Summerveld, 38 in Ashburton while Neil Bruss will be stabled off limits near Summerveld with 6 boxes.

The visitors are dominated by Western Cape trainers with Mike Bass, Brett Crawford, and Vaughan Marshall all allocated 20 boxes. Joey Ramsden has been allocated 15 boxes while Justin Snaith will fill 22.

The only Highveld visitor with boxes at Summerveld will be Mike Azzie with 20.

Johan Janse van Vuuren has applied for 20 boxes at Ashburton along with Louis Goosen (10) and Stanley Ferreira (8).

Sean Tarry and Dean Kannemeyer have permanent satellite yards at Summerveld while Weiho Marwing has a satellite yard at Turffontein and is now based in Ashburton.

The majority of Highveld trainers, but most notably Geoff Woodruff and Gary Alexander, will raid.

By Andrew Harrison

Picture: Louis Goosen (Nkosi Hlophe)

Cape Cross, the sire of outstanding performers Golden Horn, Ouija Board and Sea The Stars, has been retired from covering after suffering from fertility problems this season.

The 22-year-old son of Green Desert has been a stalwart of Kildangan Stud, having stood every season at Darley’s stallion base in County Kildare in Ireland since his retirement in 2000.

Cape Cross earned his shot as a stallion by winning the Lockinge Stakes, Queen Anne Stakes and Celebration Mile for Godolphin.

Cape Cross (Darleystallions.com)

Introduced to breeders at a fee of just Ir£8,000, he demonstrated he was capable of upgrading his mares by supplying a double-digit tally of first-crop two-year-old winners by Royal Ascot of 2003.

By the end of his freshman season he had four stakes winners along with a number of stakes-placed horses – including Ouija Board, who had finished third in the Listed Montrose Stakes.

As Cape Cross entered his sophomore season his fee was doubled to €20,000 from €10,000 and better was to come as Ouija Board established herself as an exceptional talent by winning the Epsom and Curragh Oaks and the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

In 2005 Cape Cross had his fee increased to €50,000 and it was that year that the Tsui Family, inspired by Ouija Board, decided to send their iconic mare Urban Sea, winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and the dam of Galileo, to him. The result of the mating was Sea The Stars, who lit up the 2009 season by winning the 2,000 Guineas, Derby, Eclipse, Juddmonte International, Irish Champion Stakes and Arc.

Sea The Stars’ exploits no doubt encouraged Anthony Oppenheimer to breed his mare Fleche D’Or to Cape Cross, which created the third pivotal horse in the stallion’s career – Golden Horn, who also won the Derby, Eclipse, Irish Champion Stakes and Arc last year.

In all, Cape Cross has produced 51 Group winners and 52 Listed winners, figures which could be improved by a Classic squadron for this year that includes the unbeaten colt Moonlight Magic out of Sea The Stars’ half-sister Melikah. He has plenty of runners in the pipeline, too, as he covered 114 mares last year, 108 in 2014 and 116 in 2013.

However, Darley’s director of stallions Sam Bullard said: “We are approaching the end of March and he has failed to get a mare in foal, so it has been decided that he should be retired from stallion duties.”

– Racingpost.com

The National Horseracing Authority is to bring in a rule making owners responsible for ensuring that their horses are given good homes when they retire from racing.

Retired Racehorses (Supplied)

The NHA has given notice of this on its website, saying: “Thoroughbreds are not designed to withstand meagre or rural conditions, every effort must be made to prevent them ending up in circumstances where they would be neglected or abused, and owners have certain obligations to make sure that their horses do not end up in unpleasant conditions.”

There are already certain charitable organisations, such as the Western Cape Equine Trust’s racehorse rehoming programme, which finds suitable homes (at no cost to owners) and these are capable of handling more horses.

However recent letters to newspapers would suggest that some owners – and indeed racing as a whole – do not do enough to prevent suffering in horses’ post-racing lives.

The Byerley Turk at Greyville on Friday week could be next on the agenda for last year’s Cape Of Good Hope Nursery winner Captain Chaos who is on secondment to Mark Dixon in KZN.

Ronnie Sheehan said: “The owners wanted me to take the horse to Durban but it was impractical to go with one horse and they already had others with Mark. Captain Chaos needed his first run up there as it was his first since being gelded and he was second at Greyville last week. He will come back to me at the end of the Durban season.”

Andre Nel has abandoned plans to send Lohnromance to join his Durban string, saying: “She hasn’t wintered well so far but she might run in the Olympic Duel Stakes (at Kenilworth on May 21) if she is right.”

By Michael Clower