David Thiselton

Gavin Lerena’s moment of madness at Turffontein on Sunday had his fans scrambling to check whether there had been a jockey change before the race, because this was not in keeping with his known high standards of professionalism.

However, Jason Gates might also be in hot water, because some fans are agreeing after viewing online video available that Lerena’s sudden loss of temper was in reaction to being whipped by Gates.

Lerena’s good previous record and the above mitigating circumstance might help in the sentencing.

However, it cannot detract from the seriousness of the incident in which he stood up in the saddle either in retaliation or frustration 150m from the line and whipped Gates on the back with full force three times.

The consequences could have been catastrophic i.e. Gates could have flinched and consequently fallen off. 

In predicting the penalty that he will receive, one has to consider whether the action was right or wrong, the penalty for such an action if it was wrong, and then the jockey’s previous record.

Lerena’s actions were seriously wrong, even if the mitigating circumstance makes it more understandable.

The NHA are viewing it in such a serious light they did not allow an “acknowledgement of guilt” hearing, and instead it is going straight to an inquiry.

The NHA’s reaction is understandable because South Africa, as a member of the International Federation Of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), are signatories of the International Agreement on Breeding, Racing and Wagering IIABRW) and the incident has made international news.

The video has gone viral as far away as Australia and New Zealand.

As South Africa are a Part I country in the IFHA, the world will be watching the inquiry process.

Looking at an international incident which was perhaps even more serious because the jockey fell off i.e. Christophe Soumillon elbowing Rossa Ryan off his horse in France, Soumillon was given a two month suspension.

Locally, Muzi Yeni took his hand off his left rein and placed it on Lyle Hewitson’s arm in a race at Hollywoodbets Greyville and was given a three month suspension.

Therefore, Lerena is predicted to be given a three month suspension with perhaps half of it suspended for five years owing to his good previous record.

If Gates is also found guilty of whipping Lerena it might also earn a suspension.

The incident happened in the second race, a Maiden Plate over 1400m.

Lerena was on the favourite Gimme A Storm, who had been backed from 28/10 into 18/10, while Gates was on the biggest outsider in the seven horse field, the 66/1 shot Blurred Vision.

It did not pan out well for Gimme A Storm from draw three as he fly-jumped slightly and was then headstrong early before being caught one wide without adequate cover as Blurred Vision was only about half-a-width wide between the first and third horses.

Gimme A Storm turned for home alongside Blurred Vision and as the second favourite Green Street had stolen a march down the inside with the third favourite Great Notion chasing him, the feeling was that Gimme A Storm would have to accelerate past Blurred Vision and then have the space to use his action to its fullest to chase the leaders.

However, Blurred Vision held his line and Gimme A Storm could not shake him off, meaning, with what looked like a tendency to want to hang inward, he could not get into full stride.

There were also one or two bumps between the pair and Gates had changed the whip to his left hand, while Lerena had changed his whip to his right hand.

This meant their whipping actions were restricted and the whip stroke itself would have been at risk of striking the other embattled horse and jockey.

Just before Lerena loses his temper, there appears to be a sideways strike from Gates.

It was not initially evident at normal speed, but in the slow motion it becomes evident and then switching it back to normal motion it becomes clear that one of Gates’ whipping strokes is directed with a sideways arc onto Lerena, who reportedly returned with a welt on his arm.

That the strike was hard and deliberately directed is lent credence by the fact that Lerena’s action happened immediately afterwards and appears to be an act of retaliation.

However, the above comes from just looking at a YouTube video, whilst the pending inquiry will have full use of the patrol film from all angles and both jockeys will also be able to give their account of the unsavoury incident.

RACE 1     

7 MAVERICK QUEEN 8 UP THE ANTE 1 TIPPERARY 2 JILTED

Preview: 7 MAVERICK QUEEN has run two good races and has a good opportunity from a good draw here. 8 UP THE ANTE ran a much improved race second time out but does have a tough draw here. 1 TIPPERARY has shown enough to be able to earn here. 2 JILTED is not straight forward but has the ability to earn. (David Thiselton 7-8-1-2) 

RACE 2     

6 BAD MEDICINE 7 CASUS BELLI 2 THE MERCIFUL 1 ALAKANANI

Preview: 6 BAD MEDICINE has improved over middle distances and has a chance here from a fair draw. 7 CASUS BELLI ran a race in his penultimate over 1800m and should enjoy the return to a middle distance trip. 2 THE MERCIFUL is a runner in this field. 1 ALAKANANI can earn if producing his best. (David Thiselton 6-7-2-1)

RACE 3     

5 FLAG BEARER 3 CREPUSCOLO 4 INCREDIBLE INDRANI 7 FUTUREWOLFF

Preview: 5 FLAG BEARER is a tough and consistent campaigner who has a chance again in this line up.  3 CREPUSCOLO has shown hints of ability over this sort of trip and can earn again. 4 INCREDIBLE INDRANI can earn if producing her best. 7 FUTUREWOLFF is usually thereabouts and could earn here. (David Thiselton 5-3-4-7)

RACE 4     

6 COCOMELON 4 CEUTA 2 DONNA MO 8 AVOONTOAST

Preview: 6 COCOMELON ran a cracker last time in a Gr 3 and has a chance back in this line up. 4 CEUTA has been catching the eye and from pole position should go close. 2 DONNA MO has plenty of ability but needs to bounce back 8 AVOONTOAST has been given one point relief from the handicapper so might be in the shake up. (David Thiselton 6-4-2-8)

RACE 5     

10 PRETTY ANALIA 2 BOOM BOOM 8 SNEAK PREVIEW 9 HONORABLE MEMBER

Preview: 10 PRETTY ANALIA usually stays on well and deserves a win. 2 BOOM BOOM ran on strongly to win when running on his own on the outside, so that could be the key to him and might be able repeat the performance. 8 SNEAK PREVIEW disappointed last time but is better than that and has a plum draw. 9 HONORABLE MEMBER has come down three point and could earn here. (David Thiselton 10-2-8-9)

RACE 6     

2 ROYAL FORCE 1 POTBERRIE 5 PALACE DANCER 6 THERES A LIGHT

Preview: 2 ROYAL FORCE impressed on debut and could follow up from pole position despite being given a 92. 1 POTBERRIE ran a cracker in a Gr 3 last time and should go close with a repeat. 5 PALACE DANCER won in fine style last time and could follow up despite a five point raise.  THERES A LIGHT looks set to deliver in his fourth run after a layoff. (David Thiselton 2-1-5-6)

RACE 7     

6 COSMIC QUEEN 10 KIA KAHA 3 VIRGINIA BEACH 1 CHROME TOURMALINE

Preview: 6 COSMIC QUEEN has run well in both of her races and could do well despite having been given a 90. 10 KIA KAHA should have a big chance from a favourable high draw. 3 VIRGINIA BEACH has pace and off a competitive mark can earn again. 1 CHROME TOURMALINE  is usually thereabouts and Strydom now rides. (David Thiselton 6-10-3-1) 

RACE 8     

3 FLIGHT OF A CONDOR 2THE NAVY LARK 7 PHANTOM EXPRESS 5 ILHA DA ORANGE

Preview: 3 FLIGHT OF A CONDOR won nicely last time and can build on that 2THE NAVY LARK has a lot of pace and should be a contender. 7 PHANTOM EXPRESS is capable if popping up and Lerena rides. 5 ILHA DA ORANGE surprised last time when beating Flight Of A Condor but could be in the shake up off an opening mark of 73. (David Thiselton 3-2-7-5)

Soccer13 GUARANTEED JACKPOT R 6.5 Million (13 of 13) on Wednesday, 29 January 2025. Pool Closes at 21h15. Sport 11 and Pool 1.

David Thiselton

The legacy of the champion broodmare Mystic Spring gained a new milestone when the Justin Snaith-trained three-year-old colt Eight On Eighteen became the first of her descendants to win Cape Town’s biggest race, the WSB Met.

It is significant that Eight On Eighteen is still an entire, because his late sire Lancaster Bomber has proven to be very influential and he was responsible for two Gr 1 winners on the day, which meant the son of War Front has now had four individual Gr 1 winners from just two crops to race.

Earlier, the Glen Kotzen-trained Lancaster Bomber filly Rascova had won the Gr 1 Maine Chance Farms Majorca Stakes , pipping her arch rival Double Grand Slam.  

Fittingly, Rascova was bred by Vaughan Koster’s Cheveley Stud, which was where Mystic Spring stood.

Eight On Eighteen was bred by Gaynor Rupert’s Drakenstein Stud, which was where Lancaster Bomber stood, and that meant Drakenstein have bred the winner of the Met for the second time in the last three years, having also bred the 2023 winner Jet Dark (Trippi).

Gaynor’s husband Johann is in fact a part-owner of Eight On Eighteen, who runs in the colours of prolific owner Nick Jonsson.

It was the third successive year the Met winner had run in the Jonsson colours and it has been achieved with three different horses, Jet Dark, Double Superlative (Twice Over) and Eight On Eighteen. That is likely a record and one that will take some equalling.

Justin Snaith trained all of Jet Dark, Double Superlative and Eight On Eighteen and it was Justin’s fourth Met win overall. 

One remarkable feat is that there have only been five-three-year-old winners of the Met since the war, Feltos (1945), Horse Chestnut (1999), Badger’s Coast (2000), Oh Susanna (2018) and Eight On Eighteen, and they have only three trainers between them as Mike De Kock trained both Horse Chestnut and Badger’s Coast, while Justin Snaith is the trainer of Oh Susanna and Eight On Eighteen. Oh Susanna was the first three-year-old filly to win the Met for over a hundred years. 

All of Snaith’s three male Met winners will likely stand at stud.

Jet Dark is already standing at Drakenstein, Double Superlative was earmarked for stud and Eight On Eighteen will be one of two valuable successors to Lancaster Bomber, the other being the Snaith-trained Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas winner Snow Pilot.

It was not surprising Eight Of Eighteen ended up in the yard of Justin Snaith as he is out of the unraced Captain Al mare Sempre Libre, who is out of Mystic Sprint, which makes her a half-sister to the champion Snaith-trained three-times Gr 1-winning filly Bela-Bela and also to champion three-year-old colt Rabiya.

The family is rich in black type performers, although most of them are females and Eight On Eighteen will likely become the first stallion descendant of the legendary mare.

Mystic Spring was a full sister to the first British Classic winner Michael Roberts rode, the 1991 2000 Guineas winner Mystiko, and it was Roberts advising Karen Newsome of Springfield Racing that the latter had been a good fast ground horse that was partly behind the decision to send Mystic Spring to SA.

Roberts also had a Jonsson-owned runner in Saturday’s Met, See It Again (Twice Over), who finished fourth for the second year in succession.

Jonsson has not only owned the last three Met winners, but his runners finished first, third and fourth last year and first and fourth this year.

The connections might rue removing the blinkers from See It Again as he bounced back to his best, having been reunited with Piere Strydom, but appeared to hit a flat spot halfway down the straight which might have proved crucial in the end.

He had been following Eight On Eighteen and at the end was angled outward for a clear run and produced a late charge for the line but was 1,10 lengths shy.

Fourie produced a finely judged ride.

Finding cover in midfield from draw nine, he steadily made up ground on the pacemaker Oriental Charm, who was angled on to the outside fence and the handy Montien, who was briefly overtaken by the filly Red Palace before fighting back.

Fourie went inside of the latter embattled pair and won by half-a-length from Oriental Charm, who stayed on gallantly. Montien was a 0,90 length third.

Eight On Eighteen was never earmarked for the Met, but it became a good option after One Stripe had won the L’Ormarins King’s Plate, because Eight On Eighteen was beaten only 1,25 lengths in the latter race.

However, Eight On Eighteen is unlikely to be given a merit rating as high as One Stripe’s 132 (which makes the latter  the official best horse in the country at present).

The Met field finished in a heap on Saturday, which usually makes the handicapper reluctant to rate the race too highly.

Two obvious line horses are Oriental Charm, who was the Hollywoodbets Durban July winner, and Rascallion, who was the Met runner up last year and came into this year’s race off a win in the Gr 2 Anthonij Rupert Wyne Premier Trophy over 1800m.

With Oriental Charm as line horse Eight On Eighteen will get 126 or 127 and with Rascallion he will get 124 or 125.

That is not to say Eight On Eighteen won’t get better.

It was only his seventh career start and he looks to have plenty of scope for further improvement.

Graeme Hawkins

It’s seldom that a Grade 1 Weight-for-Age race over 2000m produces a finish in which only two lengths separate the first eight horses past the post, but such was the case in Saturday’s 163^rd running of the R5-million World Sports Betting Cape Town Met at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth. Predictably, the resolute galloper Oriental Charm attempted to make all the running from his advantageous barrier position and, though drifting to the outside in the home straight, last season’s Hollywoodbets Durban July winner was still going strong as the field approached the final 200m.

Montien and Red Palace were sticking gamely to their task from handy positions on the far side of the track but by now Richard Fourie was unwinding a strong run on Eight on Eighteen from the back half of the field and the 3yo son of Lancaster Bomber had the crowd on their feet as he stormed through late to grab the honours by half-a-length. Eight On Eighteen completed a “Met” hattrick for trainer Justin Snaith and owner Nick Jonsson, having scored with Jet Dark and Double Superlative in the previous two years. Jonsson races Eight On Eighteen in partnership with Johan Rupert who was sadly not on course to witness Eight On Eighteen’s spectacular performance.

Eight On Eighteen was bred at Gaynor Rupert’s record-breaking Drakenstein Stud and is a graduate of the 2023 National Yearling Sale. Eight On Eighteen’s victory on Saturday boosted his earnings to more than R3,8-million from only seven starts and, surely, he need only pitch up for the Splashout Cape Derby on 22 February to further boost his burgeoning career. Should the connections decide to go the “Derby” route, Eight On Eighteen is likely to start the shortest priced favourite in Cape Derby history.

Spare a thought for Oriental Charm! He was superb in defeat and trainer Brett Crawford reflected afterwards that his charge might have found extra if not running in splendid isolation on the stand’s side of the course. Montien looked magnificent in the preliminaries and ran accordingly, holding onto third spot ahead of a low flying See It Again who came from near last with an explosive finishing burst. Rascallion ran his usual honest race to finish a close fifth, taking home a minor share of the prize money.

As if we ever needed convincing of Lancaster Bomber’s sad loss to the breeding industry, then the results of two of the Grade 1 races on Saturday were a stark reminder. Apart from Eight On Eighteen’s glorious “Met” victory, Lancaster Bomber’s 4yo daughter Rascova showed tremendous grit to land the R1-million 1600m Maine Chance Farms Majorca Stakes (Gr1) following a nip-and-tuck struggle with Double Grand Slam over the final 100m. The pair were inseparable as they flashed across the line, but the photo showed that Rascova had prevailed by the proverbial whisker to give Eugene and Sandy Arundel their first taste of Grade 1 success. Rascova was bred by Vaughan Koster at his Cheveley Stud in Ceres.

Amazingly the same margin separated Rascova and Double Grand Slam when finishing 2^nd and 3^rd behind Princess Calla in last year’s Majorca Stakes and the rivalry between these two classic fillies has been a feature of their respective careers. Roccapina stayed on nicely in her first foray beyond 1200m to finish a creditable third but Fillies Guineas winner, Fatal Flaw, proved a huge disappointment.

Without wishing to take anything away from Eight On Eighteen’s moment in the sun, the performance of the day was undoubtedly Gimme A Prince’s mind-blowing runaway victory in the R1,5-million HKJC World Pool Cape Flying Championship (Gr 1) over 1000m. Just three weeks after running third in the 1600m L’Ormarins King’s Plate, Gimme A Prince reverted to the minimum trip for the first time since winning this race in 2023 and blew the opposition away to score by nearly six lengths. Dean Kannemeyer has often ventured the opinion that Gimme A Prince is amongst the best he has ever trained but that continuous struggles with unsoundness have prevented the 6yo son of Gimmethegreenlight from reaching his full potential. He now has three Grade 1 victories to his credit from only 16 starts with the obvious potential of more to follow if Kannemeyer can continue to successfully manage his soundness issues.

While riding honours were evenly spread across the 12-race programme, Champion Trainer Justin Snaith dominated with six winners and many placings throughout the day. Incredibly Snaith’s six winners were partnered by six different jockeys, but Fourie will be delighted that he was aboard the most significant of these.