David Thiselton

Candice Bass Robinson has an impressive up-and-coming sprinter on her hands, the four-year-old Tenango, who on Saturday at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth made it three wins from four starts after coming back from a nine-month layoff. 

On Saturday, in a 1200-meter Class 3 handicap, Ian Longmore’s homebred Canford Cliffs gelding jumped from draw nine out of ten starters and sat off the pace early. Aldo Domeyer clearly had a double handful as the horse moved up into midfield during the race, although he was always nicely covered up.

Upon switching Tenango out for a run at the 400m mark the gelding took off and quickly put the field to bed, winning by two lengths under a tight hold.

The time told a story, too. It was just short of a second quicker than the previous race over the same course and distance won by Golden Destiny. 

Bass Robinson was asked whether Tenango would travel to KZN for the Gr 1 Golden Horse Sprint.

She said she was not sure at this stage, one of the reasons being she doubted his merit rating would be high enough for him to qualify.

He won off a 98 on Saturday and even with an expected few points raise it would not be high enough for him to be a definite inclusion in the Golden Horse field.

Last year the lowest merit rating to qualify for the big 1200m sprint at Hollywoodbets Scottsville was 104, so he will is a border line horse at present as his merit rating looks likely to go up six points to that same mark.

However, Bass-Robinson said she was thinking of running him in the Gr 2 Khaya Stables Diadem Stakes, which is run over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on February 22.

If he runs well there he should book his place in the Golden Horse as his merit rating will likely get a sizeable hike if he finishes close up to the like of the 134 merit rated Gimme A Prince.

The risk is getting too high a merit rating.

Aldo Domeyer, who rode a treble on Saturday, said after Tenango’s win, “He has always shown us he is going to be a smart horse and I think the step up to the 1200m was right up his alley. I loved it that he switched off whenever I needed him to. The pace was fair but it did not really matter because whatever I asked him to do he did quite professionally. I think he is a decent little sprinter and he keeps on improving. We’re not sure how much more he will improve, but I think there is a feature race there, the way he turns it on and the length of time that he turns it on for is quite impressive. It’s nice we could build him up like we have up until now, but I think it’s time we pointed him in that direction now (features) as there is no reason we shouldn’t.”

Tenango’s nine month break was for a wind operation, which has clearly been a success.

Domeyer said with him being more mature and more relaxed his breathing now sounded as clear as a whistle.

Domeyer concluded by saying he did not think he had asked Tenango for top gear in the race, which augurs well for feature races to come.

Bass-Robinson said Tenango used to be quite an uptight horse before the breathing operation, but said his temperament had changed since the operation and he was now a “gentleman”.

Bass-Robinson’s other good four-year-old sprinter, Future Variety, might be taken to Johannesburg for the Gr 1 Jonsson Workwear Computaform Sprint over 1000m at Turffontein on March 29. The Golden Horse might be on the cards for him too.

She said Rainbow Lorikeet would be one defeiite KZN campaigner, with the Gr 1 Woolavington 2000 being her chief target.

Scarlet Macaw, the Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas runner up, was also a possibility for KZN.

However, Candice admitted the three-year-old fillies looked a bit below par this season with the exception of her own Roccapina, whom had stepped up to 1600m for the Gr 1 Maine Chance Farms Majorca Stakes and run a fine third, having run a fine close up second in the Gr 2 Cartier Sceptre Stakes over 1200m before that.

Candice said Roccapina (One World) would not get more than a mile.

She is not sure yet whether Roccapina will be going to KZN yet for the Champions Season.

Her obvious targets if she did go would be the Gr 1 SA Fillies Sprint and the Gr 1 Ridgemont Garden Province Stakes.   

Graeme Hawkins

Aldo Domeyer, who rode three winners at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday, could again be the man to follow at the City track this afternoon. Domeyer has only four rides, all for Candice Bass-Robinson, but each have strong winning claims, the best of which – dare I say this? – could be Fly Futura in the seventh race, a Cape C Stakes over 2200m. The 4yo son of Futura won his maiden exactly a year ago and has performed consistently since without finding the winner’s enclosure. He finished third in his last two starts over 2000m and I believe the extra 200m here will be right up his alley.

Fly Futura’s stable companion, Heliotrope, looks well treated here and rates a threat while the Justin Snaith pair, Prime Venture and Repetition, must be respected. Prime Venture brings decent hard-knocking form into the race and Repetition won his maiden at only the third time of asking when defeating Global Reef in a Maiden Handicap over 2400m. He rises in class here but the 3yo son of Twice Over stays well and could be open to a lot more improvement.

Domeyer rides Whatastar in the first of nine races, a Maiden Juvenile Plate (Fillies) over 1200m. The 2yo daughter of What A Winter finished in second in both 1000m starts to date and her pedigree suggests that the extra 200m should not pose a problem. Take It As Red finished behind Whatastar in both these races but there is every chance that the daughter of Hawwaam will take a step forward over the more testing 1200m. Jordash was not disgraced on debut and there has already been ante-post support for Peter Muscutt’s runner. Richard Fourie retains the ride and Jordash clearly warrants utmost respect. Inspiration is a choicely bred newcomer from the stable of Sean Tarry and any market support must be respected while Paralegal can improve on her fair debut effort behind subsequent winner Wild Wild Green.

Domeyer partners Rahhaba in the third race, a Maiden Plate (F&M) over 1200m. The daughter of Vercingetorix steps back in trip this afternoon and while I would stop short of labelling her a “good thing”, there is no doubt that she is the leading light in the field. She has been priced up at 7/2 in the early exchanges which I feel represents excellent value. Another Dream may have needed her last unplaced run when attracting plenty of betting support and warrants respect here, while both Red State and Hoerikwaggo are likely to improve on their first two starts.

Domeyer’s only other carded ride comes aboard King’s Quest in the sixth race, a Class 4 Handicap over 1600m. The well-bred son of Querari caught the eye on his handicap debut when third behind Legal Counsel over 1400m on WSB Cape Town Met Day and is clearly progressive. Please Be True was nearly five lengths behind King’s Quest on that occasion but Snaith’s runner blew the start and then found traffic issues. He is clearly better than that form suggests, and the pair could finish a lot closer together this time around. It does appeal as something of a boatrace between King’s Quest and Please Be True and I would be surprised if the winner came from outside of this duo.

Gavin Lerena jets into Cape Town to partner the exciting Soqrat filly Sohot Sowhat for the Lucinda Woodruff stable in the eighth race, a Class 4 Handicap (F&M) over 1400m. Lightly raced Sohot Sowhat won her last two starts in stylish fashion, the most recent when beating the useful and more seasoned Captain’s Destiny by half-a-length. That form was franked over the weekend when Captain’s Destiny ran second to Golden Destiny and Sohot Sowhat will be a popular choice to complete her hattrick this afternoon. The obvious question mark is that she steps up in trip and goes around the turn for the first time, but I have a feeling she may even prefer the extended sprint. Jou Lekker Ding is 2,5kgs better off with Sohot Sowhat for a three-length beating and should get a lot closer today.

RACE 1

1 JORDASH ran a fair race on debut behind the very talented Winter Snap, she was very green in running and stayed on well to finish just under three lengths behind the winner, she will love the step up in trip to 1200m, if she has made the necessary improvement back at home, she will be hard to beat. 2 WHATASTAR has done everything right in her first two starts at the races, she is a lovely filly that tries really hard, there is no doubt she will be involved in the finish. 9 TAKE IT AS RED will enjoy the step up in trip to 1200m, her first two runs have been good, watch her late, she will be running on strongly. 5 PARALEGAL was only beaten just over two lengths on debut, she ran against winners in that race and caught the eye late, watch for big improvement from this well-bred filly. (Brandon Bailey: 1 – 2 – 9 – 5)

RACE 2

4 MISS WORLD has been in cracking form of late, she was heavily backed in the market last time when running second to Mai Sensation, the blinkers come off, on her best form, she will go very close to winning this tricky race. 5 BABELICIOUS quickened up smartly with the blinkers on to win a lovely race on the 28th of December, this will be a step up in class for her on Tuesday afternoon, but she is progressive and must be respected. 2 TRIP TO MAPUTO had absolutely no luck in running on the 18th of December, she had traffic problems throughout the race and then stayed on strongly to make up good ground late, watch her closely, she will be flying at the finish. 3 ARTISTE is much better than her recent start, she is very talented on her day, include her into all bets. (Brandon Bailey: 4 – 5 – 2 – 3)

RACE 3

5 ANOTHER DREAM was heavily supported in the market on the 18th of January when showing plenty speed early and then getting tired late behind shock winner Princessontherun, she needed that run quite badly and should improve significantly, include her into all bet types. 7 RAHHABBA has been in great form of late, she drops in trip for this Maiden Plate on Tuesday afternoon, she will be stalking the speed early and should be working into the race late, she must have a good each way chance here. 13 HOERIKWAGGO never got into the race when it mattered most last time, she was very disappointing, if she can bring her first run to the races and build on that performance, she will be hard to beat. 9 PLAYFUL JOULES ran a good race on the 18th of January behind Shesgotclass, on her best form she can sneak into the Quartet. (Brandon Bailey: 5 – 7 – 13 – 9)

RACE 4

11 MEG’S LEGACY comes back to the races from a small break of 62 days, her first run was super impressive behind Love Story and then she backed that up with a fair run behind Casa Estiva, she is well related this filly, she will be switched off early and then run on strongly late, watch her closely at a decent price. 5 FLYING FINLEY never runs a bad race, his form is solid and super consistent, Jockey Richard Fourie sticks with him, he will be right there again on his best form. 6 POETIC PRINCESS has been well tried in the maiden ranks, she was fairly beaten in her last start behind Shesgotclass, with some luck in running, she could earn some money for the connections. 4 HERITAGE RIDGE was well beaten in her last start, she is much better than that performance, include her into the play. (Brandon Bailey: 11 – 5 – 6 – 4)

RACE 5

8 LANDOFTHERISINGSUN gets the perfect opportunity to exit the maiden ranks, despite him carrying top weight in this Open Maiden, he brings in solid form and will be very hard to beat. 9 CRESCENT showed good improvement last time when running second behind My Archangel, he is still improving and should enjoy the step up in trip to 1600m, include him into all bets. 4 REAL STUNNER ran a much better race over 1600m in his last start behind Red Dawn, the form lines of that race have worked out well, from a good draw he will get the run of the race, watch him closely at a decent price. 5 ARIOVISTUS has changed stables and been gelded, he is a lovely looking individual that just needs time to mature, he could sneak into the places if he doesn’t need the run. (Brandon Bailey: 8 – 9 – 4 – 5)

RACE 6

7 PLEASE BE TRUE was desperately unlucky in his last start behind Legal Counsel, he was continuously baulked in running from the moment they turned for home, this is a smaller field, and he will love the step up in trip to 1600m, if the race works out for him, he will be extremely tough to beat. 6 KING’S QUEST ran a terrific race out of the maidens in his last start on the 25th of January, he looks very progressive and must be respected in a big way here. 3 TOUCHDOWN is much better than his last start when running just over four lengths behind the winner, he should enjoy the drop in trip, on his best form, he would have a good money chance. 1 BOOGIEFIED has been rested for a long time, if he doesn’t need the run badly, he could sneak into the places at a decent price. (Brandon Bailey: 7 – 6 – 3 – 1)

RACE 7

4 BOMBERS IN THE SKY quickened up really well to win a good race on the 18th of January, he is a lovely looking gelding that will get better and stronger with every race, this will be his first run out of the maidens and he steps up in trip, off this rating, he will have a good winning chance again. 9 HELIOTROPE stayed on strongly from a long way back in her last start behind Aladdin’s Lamp, she stays well and she will keep grinding all the way to the line, watch her closely at a decent price. 5 PRIME VENTURE has been in good form of late, he needs a particular ride, if the race works out for him, he should be competitive. 8 FLY FUTURA has run two good races in succession, if he stays the 2200m trip, he would naturally have a good place chance. (Brandon Bailey: 4 – 9 – 5 – 8)

RACE 8

6 LA DIVINA is much better than her recent run behind Alltheboysiveloved, she unfortunately had one or two hard luck stories in the race, she can be a strong front runner on her day, if she manages to go off and lead the field, she will be hard to peg back late, include her into all bets. 5 SOHOT SOWHAT looks to be a smart filly in the making, her last two wins have been nothing short of impressive, the yard think highly of this filly, the step up in trip should be no problem at all for this individual, she will be the horse they all need to beat. 3 JOU LEKKER DING never runs a bad race, there should be no excuses for her from a good draw, she must have a good place chance again. 7 FROM A DISTANCE will need to improve quite a bit to win a race like this, but on her best form, she could easily sneak into the places and make the exotics pay. (Brandon Bailey: 6 – 5 – 3 – 7)

RACE 9

7 GRAVITY stayed on well in a driving finish to run third behind Electric Feels on the 1st of February, this looks to be a nice race for him to be very competitive again, if the race hasn’t come too soon for him, he should run a cracker for the connections. 1 WINTERONTHEGREEN has run two fair races in her last two starts up the straight at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, she looks like the type that will get better and stronger with every start, this doesn’t look to be a strong race on paper, she could easily show the improvement needed to win a race like this. 2 EASY MONEY always has a money chance at this level, if she can build on her recent performance behind King Viserys, she will be right there in the finish. 3 COUNTRY TIME continues to drop in the ratings, her recent form suggests that she is getting closer and closer to winning her next race, she could be the value in a wide open race. (Brandon Bailey: 7 – 1 – 2 – 3)

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David Thiselton

Luke Ferraris looks to have made the breakthrough in Hong Kong that is so difficult to achieve and there have been two other good items of South African news on the island over the weekend with Brett Crawford being issued a trainer’s licence last Friday morning and Lyle Hewitson riding a double at Sha Tin yesterday (Sunday).

Ferraris has ridden the feature winner for the last three Hong Kong meetings.

At the Chinese New Year meeting on January 31 at Sha Tin he joined his father—who saddled 461 winners in Hong Kong—on the Hong Kong Classic Mile honour board with a perfectly judged ride on the Mark Newnham-trained My Wish to fend off the Francis Lui-trained pair of Divano and Packing Hermod.

Jumping away cleanly from barrier 8, Ferraris settled the gelding in fourth place, one off the fence and, approaching the home turn, angled into clear running before staving off a charging Divano.

David Ferraris won this race back in 2012 with Sweet Orange ridden by Weichong Marwing and Luke was watching on the sidelines.

He recalled, “I remember it like it was yesterday. Weichong was three-deep without cover the whole way, loomed up on the bend, and fought off Fay Fay at the furlong.”

“There were a few flashbacks which entered my mind today when he (My Wish) had to get game at the furlong and he did. He is 990 pounds of pure heart and he hasn’t been the easiest customer, so big credit to Mark and his team. It really shows the calibre of trainer he is. He improved with each and every run and it’s good to get one on the board.”

With his fourth win from eight starts, My Wish gave Ferraris and Newnham their most important success in Hong Kong and the first leg of the 4-Year-Old Classic Series, which continues with the Hong Kong Classic Cup March 2 and the Hong Kong Derby March 23.

On the same day Ferraris rode an important victory from a SA perspective on the Drakenstein-bred Western Winter gelding Mid Winter Wind on the latter’s Hong Kong debut, as it proved the impact direct travel would have on the form of exported horses.

It was a continuation of good form for Ferraris as he had now climbed to fourth spot on the Jockeys log.

Then at Happy Valley last Wednesday, Ferraris combined with trainer Ricky Yiu to land the midweek feature, the HK$3.12 million Class 2 Tsun Yip Handicap over 1650m, aboard Mr Ascendency, with a perfectly-timed ride.

Sitting second last on the rails throughout, Ferraris angled Mr Ascendency (122lb) into the clear approaching the 300m before taking a narrow gap between leader and eventual runner-up Telecom Fighters (119lb) and Helene Feeling (133lb), who finished third, to win comfortably.

Built on similar lines to My Wish, Mr Ascendency concedes weight and stature to his rivals, but compensates with determination.

“He (Mr Ascendency) is a lovely horse, this little fellow. He’s got plenty of heart. He’s another one who lacks size, but makes up for it in heart,” said Ferraris, who celebrated post-race with his father David. 

“I had a dream run throughout and the splits came when I needed them to and he hit them really hard. He’s a game little horse. Credit to Ricky and his team, he’s backed up over a short period and he’s never felt better and he’s won a good race.”

Then on Sunday it was Ferraris to the fore again in the day’s feature with success aboard veteran sprinter Lucky With You in the HK$3.72 million Class 1 TVB Cup Handicap (1200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (9 February), leaving the young South African jockey with three feature victories in 10 days.

Ferraris, 23, produced a copybook ride on Frankie Lor’s seven-year-old, who had been competing at Group 1 level against champion sprinter Ka Ying Rising and clearly appreciated the drop in grade.

Sitting fourth on the rails throughout, Ferraris drove dual Group 1 runner-up Lucky With You (129lb) between Harmony N Blessed and Magic Control inside the final 100m before powering clear of Gorgeous Win (123lb) and Magic Control (127lb) in 1m 08.47s.

Having his first ride on the Artie Schiller gelding, Ferraris was elated after extending a remarkable run of form.

“He (Lucky With You) is a lovely, game horse. He’s a real soldier. He does have a bit of a short sprint so the way the race panned out was ideal. We got behind a nice horse, Magic Control, and he pulled us through to the 250m and when he had done his job, Harmony N Blessed started to fall away,” Ferraris said.

“It worked out really nicely and he hit the gap really strongly and powered away to the line, so thanks to Frankie and his team. Hopefully we can keep rolling. The support has been fantastic and I’ll be looking to keep that going and if it does, hopefully I can keep capitalising on the decent rides.”

Ferraris’ 27^th win of the season took him to joint third on the log together with local hero Vincent Ho, who was booked off after a nasty fall yesterday and will miss at least one meeting.

Hewitson won the first two races at yesterday’s meeting for Benno Yung and Francis Lui respectively and it put him on 13 wins for the season and 12^th place on the log.

Crawford said being issued a Hong Kong Trainers licence was “the opportunity of a lifetime” and he will start training in the island for the 2025/2026 season. 

He said, “This opportunity has come at a fantastic time for me because my son and I did a joint training partnership in December, and he’s now well established in South Africa.”

“James will take over the stable on the first of June and it’s a nice pool to look at now with the export protocol being the way it is and obviously we’ll be looking hard to bring some nice young horses to Hong Kong.”