HOLLYWOODBOULEVARD SCORES BIG FOR MARKUS JOOSTE

Markus Jooste and Charles Laird lead in Hollywoodboulevard with Guilermo Figueroa aboard
(Photo : JC Photographics / Summerhill Stud)

EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN CUP 2010

Charl Pretorius www.racingweb.co.zaHollywoodboulevard, a R900,000 buy at the 2009 Emperors Ready To Run Sale, scooped the R937,500 first prize in Saturday’s R1,5 million Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup over 1400m at Turffontein.

The Charles Laird-trained filly, at 25-1, scored a surprise win over the 7-20 favourite Igugu, and with couplings no longer qualifying in the Jackpot, was the main contributor to a R46,000 payout, the biggest in ages.

Igugu ran a very good race, gave her legion of supporters a fair run for their money and wasn’t disgraced in second.

Mike de Kock’s filly was touted to be an almost certain winner after her success against older rivals in the Spring Fillies and Mares Stakes, but she found the trip a fraction short and was beaten for pace when jockey Willy Figueroa pushed the button on Hollywoodboulevard and she skipped two lengths clear with 250m to run.

Igugu tried hard and closed in late, but ‘Figgy’ had stolen a march and his mount had a length in hand at the line, winning convincingly. Charles Laird’s Maiden, Al’s Mark was four lengths further back in third ahead of Dominic Zaki’s Oh Driscoll, whose owners pocketed a cool R75,000, an amount which took his career earnings to R155,000, their charge, like the winner, recovering his purchase price.

Hollywoodboulevard, by Machavellian stallion Street Cry from Soneria, was originally bought for just $6,000 as a weanling at the Magic Millions National Sale when consigned by Bridgeview Stud. She was sent to South Africa and was named Emakhaya when she appeared at last year’s sale.

Hollywoodboulevard’s dam never raced and comes from an unremarkable family with no stakes-winners in the next three dams, but she is a smashing and athletic-looking individual and owners Markus and Ingrid Jooste had to go to R900,000 to secure the bid, the third highest price at the sale.

Laird said: “Hollywoodboulevard was everyone’s favourite at the sale and we had to pay a lot of money to get her, but now she’s made it back and we’re very pleased. She lost her form when we took her to Durban last season but today’s run was the type of run we’d been expecting from her.”

Laird thanked veteran jockey Paul Whitmore who, he said, had to stand down for Figueroa because he “had to look after another filly.”

Markus Jooste praised Summerhill’s Mick Goss for the Ready To Run concept and Bob Yearham of Emperors Palace and said that he was excited to have been at the track to see Hollywoodboulevard win.

R1,500,000 EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN CUP
(Non-Black Type) For 3 Year Olds
Turffontein, Turf, 1400m
6 November 2010

#	LBH	Horse	Kg	MR	Dr	Jockey	Trainer
1	0.00	HOLLYWOODBOULEVARD (AUS)	55.5	89	8	G Fugueroa	Charles Laird
2	1.00	IGUGU (AUS)	55.5	98	5	R Simons	Mike de Kock
3	5.00	AL’S MARK	58.0	0	2	A Marcus	Charles Laird
4	6.25	OH DRISCOLL (AUS)	58.0	87	14	B Lerena	Dominic Zaki
5	6.75	SINGLE TEMPO	58.0	86	13	D David	Alyson Wright
6	8.25	HONOLULU	55.5	82	6	P Strydom	Mark Dixon
7	8.50	PAINTYOURFACE	58.0	86	7	G Lerena	Roy Magner
8	9.00	DRACONIAN	58.0	88	12	P Whitmore	Charles Laird
9	10.00	CHEKECHE	55.5	79	15	K Shea	Mike de Kock
10	10.50	RUNNING ROGUE	55.5	84	11	S Brown	Leon Erasmus
11	12.00	UMFUTHO	58.0	87	10	A Fortune	Alec Laird
12	12.25	DANEHILL DARLING	55.5	82	3	*T Appie	Mike de Kock
13	16.00	CHIP SHOT	58.0	0	9	F Naude	Dianne Stenger
14	18.00	SQUADRON	58.0	0	1	M Mienie	Paul Matchett
15	22.00	CHARLIE’S BOY	58.0	0	4	S Khumalo	Erico Verdonese
		Late Scratching
16	0.00	CHECCETTI	55.5	100	18	A Delpech	Mike de Kock

Extract from Racingweb