The Mike de Kock-trained Wild One went one better than last year when winning the country’s premier staying race, the Gr 1 eLan Property Group Gold Cup over 3200m, at a sun-bathed Greyville yesterday under Anthony Delpech.

Later the country’s highest rated horse, the Justin Snaith-trained Futura, secured the Equus Horse Of The Year title with a stunning victory in the Gr 1 Champions Cup over 1800m under Bernard Fayd’Herbe, despite not getting the best of starts.

The Scott Brothers-bred six-year-old Mogok gelding Wild One provided a first Gr 1 win for passionate Hillcrest-based owner Sean Phillips and his yellow and red colours also flashed past the post in third place as he owns a share in the Joey Soma-trained Savage Wind.

It was a third Gold Cup win for De Kock and a first for Delpech. The latter had finished second in the race on no fewer than six occasions.

The Dean Kannemeyer-trained rank outsider Balance Sheet ran a gallant second. The Dominic Zaki-trained Gauteng raider Storm Warning ran fourth and the Geoff Woodruff-trained Wild Ash was the first female home in fifth place.

After his narrow second in last year’s Gold Cup, Wild One was given a ten month layoff due to a soft tissue injury. De Kock said that he had come back sounder than ever and his problems appeared now to be behind him. This has been shown in his recent starts, as he finished second in both the Gr 3 Cup Trial over 1800m and the KZN Breeders Million Mile in his two comeback runs.

Kingston Mines led for the first half of the race and Savage Wind then took it up. Wild One was beautifully positioned in a handy position throughout.

Savage Wind set sail for home on the inside rail and looked full of running, but Wild One soon had his measure. Balance Sheet then appeared from nowhere and looked dangerous, but as he came alongside the blinkered Wild One the latter found another gear and surged to the line a one length winner. Balance Sheet pipped the gallant Savage Wind for second. Storm Warning stayed on well to catch Wild Ash and secure the final quartet position.

Phillips had a dispersal sale in January and expected to get a good price for Wild One, but it was not to be. However, his decision to buy him back for R200,000 has now paid dividends.

Summerveld trainer Jeff Freedman found Wild One at the KZN Yearling Sale and bought him for R95,000, before training him for Phillips for his first couple of seasons.

In the Champions Cup Futura appeared to hit the gate before they had opened and lost a little bit of ground early. He consequently had to be used up quite significantly to find a good position and this left many of his supporters a tad concerned. His stablemate and chief rival Legislate began pulling his way around horses just before they turned for home and the Charles Laird-trained Ice Machine was sitting in behind him ominously. When Ice Machine switched out it looked race over because he showed his usual magnificent acceleration to shoot past Legislate and he had Futura in his sights.  However, the incredible Futura, despite having used that early energy, clawed his way back after being overtaken and got his nose in front on the line. Legislate finished third.

The five-year-old entire Futura, owned by John Freeman, Jack Mitchell and Drakenstein Stud and bred by Guy Murdoch, will be a most deserved winner of the Horse of The Year Award as he also won the L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate and J&B Met. However, his sire Dynasty will not be so lucky because the prize money for the Champions Cup counts towards the new season and he would otherwise likely have overtaken Captain Al and won the National Sires title.

The Gr 1 Premier’s Champions Stakes over 1600m saw one of the meeting bankers, the Mike Azzie-trained Brave Tin Soldier colt Rabada, keeping his unbeaten record in impressive style under Marcus.

He was given a lead by his stablemate High Game and went for his run down the inside. Meanwhile, the Zaki-trained raider Prospect Strike and Rabada’s stablemate Abashiri were flying home on the outside.

However, Rabada held on to win by 0,75 lengths with Abashiri a shorthead further back. Mogok Master and Nephrite were next best.

It was the third time Azzie had won this race. Rabada was bred by Summerhill Stud and is owned by Markus and Ingrid Jooste.

Earlier, the De Kock-trained Ideal World filly Persian Rug looked to have the Gr 1 Thekwini Stakes wrapped up as she hit the front early in the straight and was beginning to stretch away from them. However, she dug her toes in when she came to the grandstand shadow and this allowed the Duncan Howells-trained Elusive Fort filly Lauderdale to take the lead and stay on to win under Muzi Yeni. The Mike Azzie-trained Querari filly Melliflora stayed on well for a 0,25 length second and Persian Rug came back in eyecatching fashion for third. The latter looks to be a class sort in the making. Flying Ice was another unlucky horse as she had to come wide into the straight and then had to be switched inward. She only finished 0,75 back in tie fourth. The favourite Chestnuts N Pearls was having her first run in the Drakenstein Stud silks as a share was sold in her after her fluent win in the Gr 1 Zulu Kingdom Golden Slipper Stakes over 1400m. She was lying in a handy position turning for home and ran on for tie fourth. Lauderdale is owned by Brian Burnard and was bred by Dr RJ Antrobus.

The Gr 2 Gold Bracelet saw a deserved win for the ever improving Joey Ramsden-trained Silvano filly Gallica Rose, who produced a late run to overtake the De Kock-trained Estidraaj and the Snaith-trained Acrostar was third.

The Mike Bass-trained Trippi gelding Night Trip retained his Listed Darley Arabian crown over 1600m on the poly with a flying finish under Anton Marcus, despite being eleven points higher in the merit ratings and carrying topweight.

By David Thiselton