Summerhill BlogRacing, Breeding and Saleshttp://blog.summerhill.co.za/blog/2013-06-18T05:25:21ZSquarespaceWHERE ARE WE GOING TO, MY LOVELY?http://blog.summerhill.co.za/blog/2013/6/18/where-are-we-going-to-my-lovely.htmlAdmin2013-06-18T05:25:20Z2013-06-18T05:25:20Zwhere to my lovely rss

“Big deals make big men excited,
but racehorses turn big men into little boys.”

I have never really been far away from the world of racehorses. In that sense, I am a fully-paid-up member of the secret society. The racing fraternity gathers each morning on stud farms and at training tracks when normal people are still in bed: it’s a fellowship with its own language and humour, and an unwritten code of rules. Dinner table conversations at home were dominated by horses, and photographs of the noble beasts looked down upon the family from the walls. From the back door of the farmhouse, you smelt soiled straw and fresh hay.

Les Carlyon reminded me that racehorse owners are different. Most of them have an engineer’s sense of precision, a mind that gravitates towards the objective and the rational. They like to bring order and reason to complex matters. Horse people are seldom like that. We can be rational and pragmatic too, but we tend to rank those things behind matters of the heart. To be good in our game, you need a touch of the mystic and the artist, which is right enough, because we are in the racehorse business, and racing is seldom scientific. Thoroughbreds do things machines can’t; they’re crafted, not manufactured. If you witnessed Brian Joffe’s embrace of Mike de Kock following the Shea Shea massacre in Dubai, you’ll know what I mean. Big deals make big men excited, but racehorses turn big men into little boys.

I know things have been tough the past few years, but if you’ve survived till now, you’re going to be fine. Trying to predict the future is like trying to predict the weather. You can’t let the last storm impact the way you think. Besides the worm has definitely turned; you can feel it at racehorse sales the world over. Last November, the Emperors Palace Ready To Run posted its fourth consecutive record. When we initiated this event with our good friend Chris Smith 26 years ago, we held the cocktail party under the old oak tree outside the farm office. It was historic for the fact that it was the first sale of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Twenty turned up, six from the farm, six from the sales company, six customers and two children. Who would’ve thought that a quarter of a century on, the welcome address to a packed audience in the palatial gardens of the sponsor’s grounds, would open with “Their Majesties King Letsie and Queen Masenate, and Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene?”

At a time when many of my contemporaries are winding down, we’re gearing up for the next chapter. It’s a game you can play to the grave. Right now, South Africa is on the cusp of a scientific breakthrough with its export protocols: that, and Mike de Kock’s annus mirabilis in Dubai, will be the game-changers.

There is an exuberance to stallions which I can’t explain. I know the five senses well, but there is nothing to match the thrill of knowing you’ve got your hands on a gem. The trick is to keep calm. And book a test drive. Which leads me to my point: there are moments in the horse game you never forget. One of those was the running of Ireland’s Kilternan Stakes two years ago. My curiosity was pricked by the sight of an unknown youngster demolishing a Group class field by nine lengths, not so much for the fact he might one day find his way to Summerhill, but because it appeared to herald the dawn of a new international star. He repeated the dose at Chester on his next start, decimating his foes in the way Usain Bolt would exit a bunch of neighbourhood joggers. Racing can be an emotional journey: it is always yearning for a hero. This day seemed like an overture. It was. The opera took its form a month later.

Await The Dawn had kept his best for The Queen. As one who’d lived on a diet of the “boys in blue”; Dubai Millenium, Dubawi and the like, for the first time in twenty years, I felt my loyalties shift. Here was an opponent I could love. The only let-down was that he eased up to win by three when the heroic gesture would’ve been a display of galloping prowess rarely seen on a racecourse. It should’ve been, and it would’ve been heroic. But then Await The Dawn wasn’t just a hero. He’s was a star.

Fate then dealt us a generous hand. It is a sad statement on the value of our currency that we are unable to compete for the most accomplished of the world’s stallion prospects. We occasionally have to prosper through the adversity of others. A life-threatening illness put a line under the horse’s career; unfulfilled promise becomes the “kiss of death” in circumstances like these, and suddenly he is a possibility for the Summerhill paddocks. We weren’t alone in our belief that in Await The Dawn, we’d seen one of Europe’s best middle distance performers of his generation. The world’s most respected rating agency declared him a Group One winner in waiting, but the only ones waiting now are those of us who look forward to his “second coming”.

The fellows in our Stallion barn have long sung the virtues of Brave Tin Soldier. A world record priced foal, an elite juvenile and a top-notch Group quality miler, the “pope” combines two-year-old class with a classic heritage. Despite the intensity of the competition, nobody here was surprised to see him top the “First Crop” sires averages at the National Yearling Sale. If they run like they look, who’s going to control the noise?.

One of the most persuasive reasons for using Visionaire in his third season, comes from our fellow breeders. They’ve seen the foals, and they sent him a hundred choice mates because of them. But they’ve also seen the movie; they know the horse. Don’t be fooled by the muscular curves of his “engine”; when he straightened for the line in the King’s Bishop, he motored home like few other horses in the great race’s history. Sometimes, you just have to grab the keys, and run.

One thing we’ve learnt in this business, is that nothing is impossible. Miracles just take a bit longer. Thirty years ago, with little but hope on our side, we bought ourselves a cripple. But Northern Guest refused to play the invalid; he became the Southern Hemisphere’s most celebrated son of the greatest stallion the world had ever known. Now we have to believe that in our present assembly, our stallion barn has never been better served in the quality of its incumbents.

It seems the legacy of Sadler’s Wells will live on principally through the influences of Galileo, Montjeu and the remarkable High Chaparral. It may seem impudent to compare anything with the immortality of Sadler’s Wells, but it’s a fact that High Chaparral is the only stallion since his father to get six Group One winners from his first year at stud, as well as an Australian Triple Crown king this season. His best performed Northern Hemisphere product, Golden Sword, served a royal book of mares in his inaugural season, a tribute no doubt to the fact that in 18 years of World Cup history, none of the winners of the world’s richest race have covered the 2000 metre trip quicker than he did. Not Dubai Millenium, not Cigar, not Street Cry.

Kipling taught us to trust ourselves when others doubt us, and this time last year, some of us had already forgotten that Mullins Bay was not a precocious two-year-old. That he now ranks second only to his former barnmate Stronghold, in a formidable line-up of contemporaries, Trippi, Black Minnaloushe and King Of Kings, by the earnings of his individual runners, is a salute to patience, the exploits of an unbeaten filly, whose victims include the Group One queen, Blueridge Mountain, and a colt who’s within a stride or two of the best of his generation.

Another who did not race at two is A.P. Arrow, who turned out the best racing son of the best American stallion worldwide in 2009. While it is so that he already has a Black type juvenile in his first crop, the best of them are in some of the best yards, and the best is yet to come. It is one of the truisms of the “A.P. Indys” that they get better with age. And they get better with distance. Hell, man, they just get better.

If there’s one thing racing fans like more than a fairytale ending, it’s a great comeback. A while ago, the once-famous Halo male line looked headed for extinction. Out of the blue, Sunday Silence and More Than Ready have delivered a valedictory flourish to a strain that had been ebbing away for the best part of three decades. Right now, nothing is more current, more fashionable or more desirable in a stallion line-up, than a son of one of these two sires.

That Admire Main and Traffic Guard are part of our show, is an acknowledgement of the value of relationships. Our customers span twenty-two time zones from Japan to the United States, and it’s thanks to our good friends, the Yoshidas and Dr. Jim Hay, that these fine racehorses are here.

Admire Main was a cracking racehorse, we all know that. Second best of his classic generation. But siring quality juveniles was not on his radar; keen bloodstock students were always content to wait for his first progeny to turn three. With nine winners from twelve runners, three in Stakes class from 800 to 2000 metres, all their predictions were turned upside down. But then, they remind us, he’s a son of Sunday Silence.

Speed, heart, conformation, these are the trademarks of the best racehorses. For Traffic Guard  though, it was all in the family. A precocious, unbeaten juvenile, he carried his speed to the distance of the July. He carried his class to within a half length of the world’s best three-year-old, New Approach, in a Group One, and he carries the blood of one of the world’s sexiest sirelines. What else could a woman want?

We’ve always said that Summerhill is what it is today, because our people have shaped the course of their own destinies. History has not been kind to those who entrench the past, but almost always smiles on people who embrace the future. The acquisition of Await The Dawn is an epic in the annals of our sport. For the first time, members of our disadvantaged community have got “skin” in the game. The generosity of a like-minded banker has put them in the box seat for another industry revolution. For the sake of the sport and his connections, it would’ve been better if the horse had played to the full extent of his repertoire. Racing though, has never relied on the aesthetic: the primeval struggle is its essence. It is a contest, not a ballet. Beauty is the by-product, not the aim.

Racing has been good to Cheryl and I. And it has been good to the greater Summerhill family. It has taken us to faraway lands, it has made us many close friends. It’s taken us to the top of the mountain a modern record of eight consecutive times, and it’s sat us down with the Queen of England. Importantly, it’s shown us that kids from the sticks, like us, can make a name for themselves from nothing, and sometimes aspire to excellence.

Above all, it’s taught us that you only live once. But if you do it right, once is enough.

Enquiries :
Linda Norval 27 (0) 33 263 1081
or email linda@summerhill.co.za
www.summerhill.co.za

]]>DE KOCK-A-HOOPhttp://blog.summerhill.co.za/blog/2013/6/14/de-kock-a-hoop.htmlAdmin2013-06-14T14:29:31Z2013-06-14T14:29:31Zde kock a hoop rss

KING’S STAND STAKES (Group 1)
Ascot, Turf, 1006m
18 June 2013

The Aussies like to refer to the Melbourne Cup as “the race that stops a nation”. That’s right enough, because it has been known to interrupt Parliament, too. But the Brits have a festival that stops a racing nation for a week: Royal Ascot, and it starts next week.

South Africa has a runner, a big one, and the ANZ caught up with Mike de Kock on the prospects for Shea Shea in Tuesday’s King’s Stand Stakes (Gr.1).

Yesterday morning, while out for a pick of grass in front of the media, his trainer answered questions on his preparation. Shea Shea won the Al Quoz Sprint (Gr1, 1000m) at Meydan in March and has been based at Abington Place in Newmarket since. “The British public make this meeting, their enthusiasm over the five days is amazing,” de Kock began. “He [Shea Shea] is looking well and his work has been fantastic. He came out of his race in Dubai in pleasing fashion and had a few weeks off afterwards. I am really happy with him; he is looking well in his coat, which is important with him being a Southern Hemisphere horse who should be changing his cycle, and the fact that the weather here has been a bit chilly.

“I believe he is the real deal. He can be difficult when going to the start and can get fired up before his races but we will be prepared and are looking forward to the race. His ideal ground is in the firmer spectrum but I am not too worried about it.” With the unpredictable weather present during British summer time, the ground can often be a worry for international contenders and Chris Stickels, Clerk of the course at Ascot, was available yesterday to give everyone an update on the current conditions.

“We have had a dry start to June so we have been putting on a little bit of water and I think the ground should be good when I return to the track this afternoon. The outlook over the next few days is unsettled and although we are expecting thunderstorms on Sunday and Monday, next week should mainly be dry. Ideally the ground on Tuesday will hopefully be good, good-to firm range and it will be if the forecast is correct. We will not need to water again if this is the case.”

]]>AND NOW FOR THE BIG ONEhttp://blog.summerhill.co.za/blog/2013/6/14/and-now-for-the-big-one.htmlAdmin2013-06-14T08:36:07Z2013-06-14T08:36:07Zdurban july 2013 weights rss

R3.5 MILLION VODACOM DURBAN JULY (Gr1)
Greyville, Turf, 2200m
6 July 2013

The Gold Challenge (Gr.1) is behind us, and last year’s Horse Of The Year will be this year’s Horse Of The Year. Variety Club came home like the champion he is, and if he gets his chance to travel to the Breeders Cup in the USA, he could still become Horse Of The Year somewhere else. Brave words, we know, but you have to see the movies to understand what we mean. With Shea Shea and Soft Falling Rain in Europe and the possibility of Variety Club making his way to the States, this could be South Africa’s moment, particularly with the prospect that the restraints on our exports will be lifted shortly.

Now it’s on to the biggest fish of the lot, the Vodacom Durban July (VDJ), the best sporting idea that anyone ever had in Natal, a race as old as the Kentucky Derby, older than most football clubs in Europe, older than Ashes cricket, older for that matter, than the nation of South Africa. That doesn’t make it immune from shock, though. The biggest “bomb” came with Mike de Kock’s scratching of the race favourite, Vercingetorix, on the grounds of a slight lameness and reservations about his stamina. The other ground-shaker involves the possible inclusion of Variety Club, who has not been asked to go this far since his defeat by Jackson in the Investec Cape Derby two seasons back. The reservation has always been his stamina, and while he’s the toast of the nation, it remains a fact. One thing his inclusion would do though, is cause a tremor in the weights, because outside of a few, most of the field would have to come under sufferance at the minimum weight of 53 kgs. That would benefit all the high-weighted older horses and the best three-year-olds, but it would catch most of the field on the wrong foot.

That aside and these two interventions excepted, the past two weekends have been decisive in providing clues to the final field and the pricing of bookmakers, who’ve suspended betting pending a decision on Variety Club. The Daily News, the Gold Challenge and Sunday’s Jubilee Handicap have always been good July pointers, and this year they appear to have played an even more significant role. Firstly, they’ve enhanced the prospects of three of the older horses, last year’s VDJ hero Pomodoro, the Champions Cup ace Heavy Metal (both owned by Chris van Niekerk and trained by Sean Tarry), and Seal, who manfully shouldered a welterweight to victory in the Jubilee at a trip well short of his best. The Daily News enhanced the reputations of the first four home (in order,) Vercingetorix, No Worries, Capetown Noir and Wylie Hall, all of whom were elevated to prominence in the betting. On the same day, the Woolavington Stakes for fillies was the stage for Do You Remember to stake her claim, while it told the Triple Crown queen, Cherry On The Top’s connections, she was “over the top”. If Wylie Hall comes into the reckoning on his fast-finishing stretch run in the Daily News, then the Summerhill Ready To Run graduate, Gothic, on the strength of his runner-up effort to Wylie Hall in the S.A. Derby, must be in the thick of it, too.

Those that underperformed on the weekend include Hill Fifty Four, Knock On Wood and Shogunnar (a below par fourth in the Jubilee), while Whiteline Fever probably told us he’d be the third string in Tarry’s bow behind Pomodoro and Heavy Metal. One horse who did come from left field however, was Astro News, who thundered home in the Cup Trial for Charles Laird and Fred Crabbia, and while the form of this race might prove to be suspect, that may have just got him over the line for a place in the final lineup at the possible expense of stable companion, among others, of Master Plan. Don’t write the son of Solskjaer, Shogunnar off yet. This fellow can read and write; how many times has he disappointed at Group 2 and 3 level, only to come thundering back in Group One? He seldom fails at the top level, and the VDJ could just be his stage.

From a Summerhill perspective, while you’d always have to be pleased to have three runners in the race (No Worries, Shogunnar and the S.A. Classic ace, Love Struck), the latter was below par in the Daily News. He was however, having his first run in a couple of months, his first since his Group One victory, and it needs to be remembered that he was below par in the Guineas in his run immediately before the Classic. He was sitting on 19 in the merit list last week, and his participation will depend upon the rumoured withdrawal of Jackson, Thunder Dance and Cherry On The Top, in order to retain his spot in the field.

The wild card remains though, and that is whether or not the Horse Of The Year will be asked by his connections to step up for the extra 600 metres of the July. If he does, he’ll most certainly take his place at the top of the weights (60kgs) and on merit rating, that means that last year’s winner, Pomodoro, would then carry 57.5kgs with the top rated three-year-olds, coming in at the minimum for their age of 53.5kgs, as we’ve mentioned.

Whatever the outcome, it’s shaping up as a massive contest between the new generation and the old, the energetic and the enterprising, and envitably, between the well-drawn and the not-so-well drawn. Not that the draw worried Pomodoro (20) last year; as they say in Oz, “No Worries, mate”.

R3.5 MILLION
VODACOM DURBAN JULY (Grade 1)
Greyville, Turf, 2200m
6 July 2013

Entries, Merit Ratings and Weights as at 11 June 2013
Horse MR Kg Trainer
JACKSON 113 60.0 Brett Crawford
POMODORO 113 60.0 Sean Tarry
HEAVY METAL 112 59.5 Sean Tarry
HILL FIFTY FOUR 112 59.5 Vaughan Marshall
WHITELINE FEVER 112 59.5 Sean Tarry
MASTER PLAN 110 58.5 Alec Laird
SEAL 110 58.5 Gavin van Zyl
ICE MACHINE 109 58.0 Garth Puller
BRAVURA 108 57.5 Joey Ramsden
ASTRO NEWS 107 57.0 Charles Laird
TRIBAL DANCE 107 57.0 Vaughan Marshall
RUN FOR IT 106 56.5 Justin Snaith
SHOGUNNAR 106 56.5 Gavin van Zyl
THUNDER DANCE 106 56.5 Brett Crawford
ZAMBUCCA 107 56.5 Saeed Mohideen
BULSARA 105 56.0 Gavin van Zyl
TAIPAN 105 56.0 Dean Kannemeyer
E-JET 104 55.5 Sean Tarry
GOLD ONYX (NZ) 104 55.5 Sean Tarry
CAPETOWN NOIR 107 55.0 Dean Kannemeyer
NO WORRIES 107 55.0 Gavin van Zyl
WYLIE HALL (AUS) 107 55.0 Weiho Marwing
PESSOA 103 55.0 Alec Laird
DO YOU REMEMBER 106 54.5 Geoff Woodruff
JET BELLE 105 54.0 Robbie Sage
ROCK COCKTAIL (AUS) 105 54.0 Mike de Kock
JET EXPLORER 101 54.0 Justin Snaith
SMANJEMANJE 101 54.0 Tyrone Zackey
KING OF PAIN 104 54.0 Joey Ramsden
PIERRE JOURDAN 100 53.5 Gary Alexander
POTALA PALACE 100 53.5 Mike Azzie
PUNTA ARENAS 100 53.5 Stan Elley
RIVER CROSSING 100 53.5 Mike Bass
LOVE STRUCK 103 53.0 Paul Lafferty
TELLINA 103 53.0 Geoff Woodruff
YORKER 102 53.0 Geoff Woodruff
GLORIOUS JET 98 53.0 St John Gray
GOLDEN CHATEAU (AUS) 98 53.0 Duncan Howells
WAGNER 98 53.0 Joe Soma
GOTHIC 97 53.0 Kumaran Naidoo
PENHALIGON 97 53.0 Alyson Wright
PUTNEY FLYER 96 53.0 Weiho Marwing
WAR HORSE 96 53.0 Corne Spies
AMERICAN STORM 95 53.0 Spike Lerena
LOCKHEED JETSTAR 95 53.0 Geoff Woodruff
PATRIOTIC REBEL 95 53.0 Mike de Kock
RED FORT 95 53.0 Geoff Woodruff
SABADELL 95 53.0 Geoff Woodruff
TRUE MASTER 95 53.0 Justin Snaith
WILD ONE 95 53.0 Jeff Freedman
YER-MAAN 95 53.0 St John Gray
ABERCROMBIE 94 53.0 Mike Bass
FOURTH ESTATE 93 53.0 Colin Scott
GENERAL SHERMAN 93 53.0 Sean Tarry
SILENT PARTNER 92 53.0 Mike de Kock
TERRITORIAL WATERS 92 53.0 Tony Rivalland
BIG CITY ANGEL 91 53.0 Gavin van Zyl
MASTER SABINA 90 53.0 Geoff Woodruff
MEISSA 89 53.0 Gary Alexander
SAFE HOUSE 89 53.0 Mike Azzie
HAMMIE’S DYNASTY 87 53.0 Mike Bass
SILVER SPRING 77 53.0 Gavin van Zyl
DREAMBYTHEMASTER 76 53.0 Charles Laird
VIVA MARIA 97 52.0 Mike de Kock
CHERRY ON THE CAKE 94 52.0 Gavin van Zyl
PRICELESS JEWEL 86 52.0 Adam Marcus

Summerhill entries denoted by yellow

Declarations : Monday 24 June 2013
Final Field and Barrier Draw : Tuesday 25 June 2013
Gallops : Thursday 25 June 2013
Vodacom Durban July : Saturday 6 July 2013

www.vodacomdurbanjuly.co.za
]]>THE WORLD SPRINTING CHAMPIONSHIPhttp://blog.summerhill.co.za/blog/2013/6/14/the-world-sprinting-championship.htmlAdmin2013-06-14T06:30:48Z2013-06-14T06:30:48Z“Big deals get big men excited,
but racehorses can turn big men into little boys.”

Anyone who witnessed Brian Joffe’s embrace of Mike de Kock after the Shea Shea massacre in the Al Quoz Sprint (Gr.1) on World Cup night, will know what we mean when we say that racehorses do strange things to us. Big deals get big men excited, but racehorses can turn big men into little boys.

The news from England is that Shea Shea is the ruling favourite for both the King’s Stand Stakes (Gr.1) and the Golden Jubilee Stakes (Gr.1) for international racing’s smartest get together, Royal Ascot. If you want to make a statement on the world stage, Royal Ascot is your chance, and it’s a compliment to the son of National Emblem that he should be at the top of the boards against some of the finest sprinters in the world. There’ll be no excuses this time, as the Aussies and the Yanks both have entries, so if you’ve never taken time off to see The Queen, make a date now. The horse is reportedly in great shape, and should be raring to go.

The news though, on Highlands-bred Soft Falling Rain is not that encouraging, though we’ve not heard it from the “great within”, so treat it as such. It seems he has battled to adapt to the uphill gallops at Newmarket, having grown up on a diet of the flat ever since a saddle was thrown across his back. He was educated by a subtle team at Summerhill, and found his way to Randjiesfontein, where Mike de Kock and his team introduced him to the “gentle art” for the first time. Forays to Durban and Dubai changed nothing from a training perspective, but Newmarket is famous for its hills and climbs, and it seems he may not yet be ready for this assignment. Let’s not jump the gun though: he’s in the hands of the best professionals in the world, and with them, anything is possible.

]]>ODE TO A FINE LADYhttp://blog.summerhill.co.za/blog/2013/6/13/ode-to-a-fine-lady.htmlAdmin2013-06-13T13:36:52Z2013-06-13T13:36:52Zode to fine lady rss

TONI DOLSTRA
“Service, Courtesy and Generosity”

Most times, headings like this in these columns have to do with a great race filly or a venerable old broodmare, but this one isn’t. It’s about a lady who was there when I was a trustee of the Racecourse Development Fund in the mid 1980s, she was there when the elders of racing approved my submission for the establishment of a breeders’ premium fund, she was there for its implementation and she was there for its administration, and for the past twenty-six years, Toni Dolstra has been there for the pay-outs to breeders.

A handsome, intelligent, engaging lady, Toni Dolstra witnessed the rise of KwaZulu-Natal as the destination of choice among breeding’s investors in the 90s; she saw the emergence of Northern Guest, Foveros, Secret Prospector and Rakeen among the elite sires of the country; she was there when Jet Master was born and saw him reach for the top of the mountain, and she was still there to see KwaZulu-Natal’s three race clubs merge into Gold Circle, under the urging of our former Finance Minister, Peter Miller.

Toni Dolstra’s life has been one of service, of courtesy and generosity, and it’s fair to say there’s not a breeder in this fair land of ours who’s not known the kind touch of her hand which, I’m told, is deft at bridge. Toni’s retirement as the chief administrator of breeder’s affairs in the province marks the end of an era: it also signals the beginning of a new one, which we all should face with the faith and confidence that marked the closing decades of the last century. The foundations are good, and the history is eminently repeatable. As Toni goes, we will bid her well, as we do her successor, Candiese Marnewick. She has different boots to fill, in a new and complex world, but she has different tools at her disposal, and everything is possible.

]]>THE RATIONAL OPTIMISThttp://blog.summerhill.co.za/blog/2013/6/13/the-rational-optimist.htmlAdmin2013-06-13T05:14:58Z2013-06-13T05:14:58Zrational optimist rss

“It’s these little increments which make the
5% and 10% differences that deliver the championships.”

It’s at times like these that we appreciate the benefits of selection. You’ve read many times in these columns that the thoroughbred is a jigsaw of 300 years of meticulous welding of the best attributes of the breed on the part of the world’s best breeders. That chiselled head, those flared nostrils, the craned neck and the body sprung for action, the jaunty, arrogant swagger that belongs only to a racehorse, is what’s come of this work: to see a string of racehorses on their way to the track in the mornings here, is to look upon a gallery of the Old Masters.

That said, the “selection” of which I speak, is not that involved in the evolution of the racehorse, but rather the assembly of the team with whom I go to work every day. The people who get us up in the mornings at Summerhill have been some 35 years in the making, and we now have one of the smartest crews in the business.

Even at -5°C, as it’s been for the past few mornings in Mooi River, it’s a pleasure to join these fellows in the paddocks for the annual matings review, revisiting every detail of last year’s and the year before’s plans. Once we’ve run our hands and eyes over the yearlings and weanlings, we’ll be scrutinizing their mothers for clues as to which stallions they’d be best suited to. We’re not quite done with the weanlings yet, but what I can tell you, is they rank up there with the best I’ve seen at Summerhill. Yes, I’m an optimist, but a rational one at that (I’d like to think!), and what’s especially encouraging is the first crops of the young sires; Brave Tin Soldier and Visionaire, who’ve yet to debut at the races. Expect big wraps on these. For those who are interested, I think we’ve made a few innovative “tweaks” on the husbandry side, which has tilted the playing fields again; it’s these little increments which make the 5% and 10% differences that deliver the championships.

Those who read our previous column (Mating Musings) will recall our anecdotal reference to George Bernard Shaw, who to this day is said to be rivalled only by Winston Churchill in the sharpness of his wit. One regular wag posted this story on “GBS” “on our site”: Isadora Duncan, the famous (or notorious) dancer, is alleged once to have written to GBS, suggesting that they co-operate in producing a child. As an inducement she offered: “Just imagine, Mr. Shaw, the baby might be endowed with my body and your brains.” In regretfully declining Miss Duncan’s kind offer, GBS gave his reason: “Yes, Miss Duncan, but just imagine if the poor child were endowed with my body and your brains”. Couldn’t be more appropriate.

That’s our dilemma in the paddocks right now. And that’s why we leave the final decision to our customers.

]]>TOM MAGNIER : A HORSEMAN AT HEARThttp://blog.summerhill.co.za/blog/2013/6/12/tom-magnier-a-horseman-at-heart.htmlAdmin2013-06-12T05:47:21Z2013-06-12T05:47:21Ztom magnier horseman rss

WINTER WORKSHOP
School Of Management Excellence
8 - 9 July 2013

He is the son of arguably the world’s most powerful Thoroughbred identity, Coolmore principal John Magnier, but Tom Magnier, who prefers to stay firmly out of the limelight, is also every inch a farmer, writes Bronwyn Farr.

The owners of a dairy that neighbours the immaculate Southern Hemisphere arm of Coolmore, a 3642-hectare pocket of rich alluvial country at Jerrys Plains in the Hunter Valley, were surprised recently when a young man with an Irish accent popped by to tell them he’d seen a cow having trouble calving, and after assisting, had moved her into one of their sheds. Later, they learned it was none other than Tom Magnier.

On an impromptu tour of Coolmore, framed by the imposing Wollemi Ranges, Tom is as delighted as any other farmer about recent rain. His public profile, at least in Thoroughbred circles, has increased considerably in recent years, as he has set about purchasing superlative mares such as 2012 Magic Millions broodmare sale headline act Melito, a $1,650,000 buy, and at the same sale a few years earlier, Surrealist (pictured with Tom), for $1.6 million, and Gypsy Dancer, for $1.5 million.

But Tom has been determined to maintain a low-key presence at Coolmore Australia, quietly working in the background, undertaking hands-on stints in various roles on the farm. “I came down for three months in 2000, just before the Sydney Olympics, and my father encouraged me to make Australia home. He believes very strongly the future is here, in Australia, so I worked with yearlings, mares, stallions, basically,” Tom said.

In 1971, aged 23, John Magnier, along with his future father-in-law, the legendary Irish trainer Vincent O’Brien, and the visionary Robert Sangster, pioneered and established the business of global stallions. The trio raided Keeneland Yearling Sales with impunity in the early 1970s. The results from those sale-ring sorties turned the Thoroughbred world on its head as they essentially brought Irish blood back from Kentucky to Ireland: early purchases included yearlings that turned out to be Epsom Derby winners The Minstrel and Golden Fleece, French Derby winner Caerleon and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Alleged.

Within little more than two decades, Coolmore grew from a 160ha plot in Tipperary to an international operation of unparalleled success, with holdings in Ireland, Kentucky, and the Hunter Valley, and more than 50 stallions. Vincent O’Brien, Tom Magnier’s grandfather, was voted the greatest racing figure of the turf by the British racing public in 2003. He died, aged 92, in Ireland in 2009.

Tom’s love of riding was encouraged by his mother Susan, Vincent’s daughter. Such is her eye for horses, she purchased Moonfleet - a horse Tom described as a failed National Hunt horse - as a four-year-old at Tattersalls in 1995. Moonfleet famously went on to win the world’s most coveted eventing prize, with Australian Olympic gold medallist Andrew Hoy, winning Badminton in May 2006.

Tom and his four siblings rode at every possible opportunity and he evented successfully for Ireland. “Every spare moment we had, we were out schooling our horses. My mother is very keen on eventing,” he said. Tom never considered a career that did not involve horses. “We talked horses at breakfast, lunch and dinner. I would not have been any good at anything else,” he said. It is said Vincent O’Brien could “look into the soul of a horse” and Tom seems to have the same quiet, gentle approach, to horses and to people. “A lot of the guys here at Coolmore will tell you that when they were showing horses at the farm for Vincent years ago, Vincent would carry around one of those wooden chairs with a silver handle, and he would sit on it and observe the horse for ages,” Tom said. “If he came back for a third look at the horses he liked, he might look at the horse outside the stable for 20 minutes and then go inside the stable for 20 minutes and just be on his own with the horse and really see what this horse was.”

One such horse was the elegant bay Royal Academy - grandsire of Black Caviar - who died at Jerrys Plains in February this year. “His influence on racing here is enormous and will live on - he is probably one of the best examples of how shuttling stallions has worked.” Tom said Royal Academy’s Breeder’s Cup win in 1990 was his all-time favourite race. Royal Academy was a $US3.5 million yearling destined to join a roster of 36 sires at that time. Then eight-years-old, Tom vividly remembers watching the race with family on television at home in Ireland, knowing the entire country was cheering the horse home.

Vincent O’Brien had staked his reputation on the colt, and Royal Academy duly gave Ireland its first Breeders’ Cup victory. Glamorous Royal Academy captured everybody’s imagination winning the Irish 2000 Guineas and July Cup before being set for the Breeders’ Cup. “It was an incredible time,” recalled Tom. “My grandfather persuaded (champion jockey) Lester (Piggott) to come out of retirement to ride the horse. Vincent sent Lester to The Curragh and said ‘see how you get on today’ and The Curragh got a record crowd. Vincent offered him four rides and he rode four winners, and I think that proved to Vincent he could do it, so off they went to the Breeders’ Cup.”

“From a young age, it is the one race that sticks out my head. If anybody ever asks me, ‘what is a great race?’ that’s the first video I would put on to show them - I think Lester gave him the most unbelievable ride, while Royal Academy showed what a great racehorse he was and he beat a hell of a field. The atmosphere at that time was unbelievable - there was a lot of excitement, the stallions (Lomond, Caerleon, Sadler’s Wells, Last Tycoon, Storm Bird, El Gran Senor among them) were getting a lot of very good mares and the horses they were throwing were very good looking, and then they went on and did the job on the racetrack,” he recalled.

The tide is turning, and this spring Coolmore has a relatively fresh, young roster - Danehill stallion Fastnet Rock’s success is such that his fee is $275,000, although his fourth crop are only two-year-olds. Coolmore is synonymous with global supersire Danehill, who died prematurely in 2003, and seven of 15 sires on the roster are either by Danehill or have Danehill as their grand-sire. Tom thinks other racing jurisdictions would do well to take notice of Australia’s vibrant racing scene, apart from comparatively lucrative purses and bonuses, he notes the emphasis is hip, young, and innovative.

“Australian racing really caters for young people; it’s modern, it’s a fun place to be,” he said. Asked what he thinks are the most important sire-making races on both sides of the equator, Tom pointed to the fact Classic winners were prized in Europe while Australia was obsessed with two-year-old speed. He believes the Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington is a benchmark race; Black Caviar has snared the last two editions of the Group One feature, but it has been a launching pad for stallion success with Lightning winners including Choisir and Fastnet Rock now domiciled in Coolmore’s stallion barn.

As well as being the biggest consignor of yearlings in the Southern Hemisphere, Coolmore is a major purchaser of yearlings - often horses the team thinks could be stallion prospects - as well as mares. Tom has the responsibility of managing an expansive portfolio of expensive bloodstock, and a notebook on his desk contains detailed information on the progress of Coolmore-owned racehorses. It is a rather impressive office. “Yes,” he agreed, slightly embarrassed. “In fact, it is Dad’s, and if he comes down then I will have to move out of it.”

Editor’s Note: Tom Magnier is a keynote speaker at this year’s Winter Workshop in our School Of Excellence on Monday, 8th and Tuesday 9th July. He is part of an array of stellar personalities in the line-up, and will speak on the Coolmore Story, “one of racing’s most memorable tales. For more details click here or contact Heather Morkel on 033 263 1081.

Heather Morkel +27 (0) 33 263 1081
or email heather@summerhill.co.za
www.summerhill.co.za

]]>RACING MOURNS THE PASSING OF SIR HENRY CECILhttp://blog.summerhill.co.za/blog/2013/6/11/racing-mourns-the-passing-of-sir-henry-cecil.htmlAdmin2013-06-11T18:06:03Z2013-06-11T18:06:03Zsir henry cecil death rss

SIR HENRY CECIL
1943 - 2013

Sir Henry Cecil, one of Britain’s most successful trainers of all time, has died. He was 70 and had battled stomach cancer since 2006. The Warren Place conditioner registered 25 British Classic wins, and had lately guided the unbeaten Frankel (GB) (Galileo).

“It is with great sadness that Warren Place Stables confirms the passing of Sir Henry Cecil earlier this morning,” reported sirhenrycecil.com. “Following communication with the British Horseracing Authority, a temporary licence will be allocated to Lady Cecil. No further update is anticipated this afternoon.”

Born near Aberdeen in 1943, 10 minutes ahead of his brother David, who died in 2000, Cecil took out his trainer’s licence in 1969 and registered his first British Classic win with Bolkonski (Ire) (Balidar) in the 1975 G1 2000 Guineas, following up a year later with Wollow (Ire) (Wolver Hollow). Frankel became his third 2000 Guineas winner in 2011. He also won four renewals of both the G1 St Leger and the G1 Epsom Derby, winning the latter with Slip Anchor (GB) (Shirley Heights), Reference Point (GB) (Mill Reef), Commander in Chief (GB) (Dancing Brave) and Oath (Ire) (Fairy King).

Cecil, who was Knighted by The Queen for services to horseracing in 2011, was renowned for his record with distaffers and tallied six victories in the G1 1000 Guineas and eight in the G1 Epsom Oaks. He was crowned Britain’s champion trainer on 10 occasions, with the lastest of those titles in 1993, and amassed a record 75 Royal Ascot winners.

Despite the lack of a Group 1 success in the early part of the millennium, Cecil was resurgent when Light Shift (Kingmambo) bagged the 2007 G1 Epsom Oaks, but the best was saved until last. His career reached a pinnacle through his association with the unbeaten Frankel, who claimed 10 Group 1 events in an unbeaten 14-race career.

]]>RACING RUMOURShttp://blog.summerhill.co.za/blog/2013/6/11/racing-rumours.htmlAdmin2013-06-11T10:45:32Z2013-06-11T10:45:32Zracing rumours rss

“We tend to consign the progeny of a stallion to the bin
as soon as the next good idea emerges.”

Racing is a complex business, we know that. Ask anyone to define the sector we operate in, and you will get any number of answers. Some will tell you we belong to the gambling or agricultural sector, others will tell you it’s a marketing business, while the purists will say it’s a sport; a hijacked one, but a sport nonetheless. Nobody ever ventures the fact that we’re in the fashion game, where owners, trainers, breeders and jockeys switch allegiances from one week to the next. We tend to consign the progeny of a stallion to the bin as soon as the next good idea emerges, often enough at our own expense, because a good stallion is a good stallion, is a good stallion. Whether he is on a hot or a cold streak, sooner or later, his virtues will pop up again.

Given his own history and the fact that he was not a two-year-old himself (Solskjaer debuted in the Irish 2000 Guineas (Gr.1), a mark of the esteem he enjoyed in the eyes his trainer, Aidan O’Brien), so it wasn’t reasonable to expect he would be a sire of early two-year-olds. The scoreboard at the end of the sophomore year read two top class performers from the first relatively small crop; Mauritian Horse of the Year Ice Axe and multiple Group One performer, Shogunnar, among them. Spurred, no doubt, by the reception of his first yearlings at the sales (he had the top priced filly at the National Yearling Sale and an average in the region of R300,000), breeders supported him staunchly in his third season, and there’ve been more than a few juveniles this year accruing from that lot, suggesting that those who put their hands up at last November’s Ready To Run in particular, are standing in the “pay-out” queue.

On Sunday, the shortest priced favourite on the Turffontein card was the recent S.A. Fillies Nursery heroine, Virgo’s Babe (who pretty well destroyed that field by a growing five lengths), though there was steady money for the one-time winning Solskjaer juvenile, Winter Star, from the relatively unheralded Johan Janse Van Vuuren stable. She bounced out at 5-1 (“bounced” is hardly appropriate here, as she dwelt at the start, losing several lengths), and remained in the rear for the bulk of the 1200 metres. Approaching the last two furlongs, her pilot let out a notch in his reins, and she didn’t need a second invitation. She cruised through the field like a hot knife through butter, catching the leaders with 150 to run, and was 3.75 lengths clear of the Nursery winner going to the line. This performance ranked with the best we’ve seen from a juvenile filly this season, and it will be interesting to see whether her connections send her to Durban now for the big Group Ones on July day and Gold Cup day. Either way, she has to be the most aptly-named two-year-old in the land right now.

Nobody here (nor at Coolmore, from whence he came) would be surprised at Solskjaer’s ability to get a good horse. Coolmore have a habit of reserving the names of great people some years in advance, so that when the right horse shows them enough to warrant a great name, they allocate it to him. At the time, Coolmore’s principal, John Magnier, held a substantial interest in Manchester United, and they opted to name their two best youngsters Solskjaer and Van Nilsterooy respectively, after the two best players at the club. All Solskjaer is doing now, is what was expected of him.

Enquiries :
Linda Norval 27 (0) 33 263 1081
or email linda@summerhill.co.za
www.summerhill.co.za

]]>WHAT? DID YOU SAY A BILLION POUNDS?http://blog.summerhill.co.za/blog/2013/6/11/what-did-you-say-a-billion-pounds.htmlAdmin2013-06-11T05:58:01Z2013-06-11T05:58:01Zbillion pounds rss

“A billion dollars sure ain’t what it used to be.”
Nelson Bunker Hunt

It was the silver magnate Nelson Bunker Hunt who coined the famous phrase “a billion dollars sure ain’t what it used to be,” when his empire came crashing down in 1988. Yet, twenty-five years on, it remains a lot of money in the horse game. This past week, rumours abounded in the vicinity of English racing’s headquarters, Newmarket, that the most successful private racing and breeding operation of the modern era, Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Judmonte Farm, was in the process of being sold. That there is something in the wind is certain, but exactly what is involved has yet to be disclosed. While price is usually the last thing people settle upon in situations like this, a source pretty close to the action advises us that there could be as much as a billion pounds on the table. I guess the real issue though, is whether the transaction involves the sale of Frankel, the best idea anyone ever came up with in the world of racing. He was valued at the time he went to stud at somewhere between £100 and £125 million, which provides some credence to the numbers being bandied about.

There are not a lot of people in the world capable of paying that kind of money for what, in the end, would amount to a trophy, but it is believed that it is the Al Thani family, rulers of Qatar, are behind it. A billion pounds is more than the sovereign wealth fund of most countries, but not for the Qataris: it’s a splash in the ocean for them, and it makes sense. The prince has made Juddmonte his life’s work, and a billion is a bagatelle when you think they’re picking up one of history’s most successful operations, as a going concern.

In the course of a chat with an Irish pal last week, I disclosed my understanding of the amount involved. He went silent, and rang off. A minute later, he was on the line again: “Did you say a billion pounds, or a billion euros?”. It might make a difference to the Irish, but at the Southernmost tip of the darkest continent, it’s an awful lot of dough, either way.

]]>WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS...http://blog.summerhill.co.za/blog/2013/6/10/when-all-else-fails.htmlAdmin2013-06-10T20:07:00Z2013-06-10T20:07:00Zwhen all else fails rss

ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SHOW
2013

The one benefit in running a mixed farming operation, is that when the horses don’t bring home the bacon, you can always fall back on the cattle. Twenty-five years ago, Summerhill’s general manager at the time, John Slade (now making a “ripping” success of running Maine Chance Farm for Dr. Andreas Jacobs and his family,) suggested we acquire some cattle to”sweeten” our pastures. Anyone who’s been to a game reserve, will know there is a symbiosis between zebra and wildebeest, and they’re generally grazing together. The secret lies in their mutual reliance on one another in the combat of their respective parasites, and it’s no different in the domestic agricultural world.

John Slade is a perfectionist, and he was insistent that if we were going to do it, we should do it properly. There was little point in breeding anything less than the only beef “Woolies” would have on their shelves. The best herd of Angus cattle in our region belonged to Greenfields Farm, where the late Humphrey James had meticulously welded together the best strains of the best stock of the local breeders for more than three decades. So we were willing to pay “overs” to his successor, Mervyn Thompson, to acquire his genetics. These heifers were the foundation of the Summerhill herd, and in the ensuing time, they’ve earned some thirteen “champion” prizes at local shows, to the point that the revered Robert Armstrong Trophy for the “Best Grass-fed Animal” on show, is now a permanent fixture at Summerhill.

And to show that the herd remains in good shape under the stewardship of Haydn Bam and Bongaan Shangase, last week at the “Royal”, they brought home the “bacon” or should we say the “beef”, once again, with a first and a fourth prize in their category. We’ve always considered Norman Bauer and Angus Williamson among the best judges in the business; now we have no doubt!

www.summerhill.co.za

]]>IT'S ALL IN A NAMEhttp://blog.summerhill.co.za/blog/2013/6/10/its-all-in-a-name.htmlAdmin2013-06-10T17:56:34Z2013-06-10T17:56:34Zall in a name rss

“A svelte chestnut and a golden filly with the right names.”

As owners, breeders and trainers know all too well, there are a vast array of factors which can put an end to the most promising of careers. One simple, yet highly effective method, seems to be the choice of a name. Whatever aspirations of grandeur one proud colt by Tumblewind may have had, were summarily crushed as soon as he got the moniker, “Hellcatmudwrestler”. Over-expectancy meets the same fate. “The Fastest” failed to reach a place in six outings in Argentina, while “Pure Speed” was beaten by a total of 138 lengths in her three lifetime starts. Thus it was with some daring that two of the present crop of European three-year-olds were christened Talent and Ruler Of The World.

Given the eccentricities of Epsom’s camber, it’s not always the case that talent triumphs in the Oaks. This year however, the triumph was emphatic. Travelling supremely well under Richard Hughes, the golden daughter of New Approach quickened in the style of a top class filly, once a gap finally appeared, and claimed the crown of Classic heroine in a matter of strides.

With Talent safely ensconced on her throne, it was widely anticipated that New Approach would complete a swift Classic double in the following day’s Derby. After all, his son Dawn Approach was unbeaten and scarcely tested in seven outings, having pulverized his opposition in the Dewhurst Stakes (Gr.1) and the 2000 Guineas (Gr.1,) and in the preliminaries exemplified the laid back constitution of a Frank Bruno. But as Dawn Approach showed a fighting spirit not to his rivals but to his pilot, Ruler Of The World settled into a smooth rhythm for Ryan Moore, before quickening into immortality at the furlong pole. For once, we have a svelte chestnut and a golden filly with the right names.

]]>AWAIT THE DAWNhttp://blog.summerhill.co.za/blog/2013/6/10/await-the-dawn.htmlAdmin2013-06-09T22:12:59Z2013-06-09T22:12:59Zawait the dawn rss

AWAIT THE DAWN
Giant’s Causeway - Valentine Band

There are moments in the horse game you never forget. One of those was the running of Ireland’s Kilternan Stakes (Gr.3) two years ago. My curiosity was pricked by the sight of a relatively unknown youngster demolishing a Group field by nine lengths, not so much for the hope that one day he might reside at Summerhill, but because it appeared to herald the dawn of a new international star. I followed the winner when he turned up next as the odds-on chalk in the Huxley Stakes (Gr.3) at the Chester festival, and again, he annihilated his foes. There was obviously something extraordinary about this horse, and unusually for me, I took the afternoon off when he next appeared at Royal Ascot for the Hardwicke Stakes (Gr.2) to watch the race. Odds-on was now the norm, and he destroyed his field for the fourth successive time, easing down to win by three. It was clear Await The Dawn was something else.

It was Frankel’s year no doubt; he was already the best miler in the world (if not the best horse we’d ever seen), but I was beginning to wonder whether the horse I’d been tracking, was not the best middle distance horse in Europe. That’s a big statement, but it’s apparent that many Europeans thought so, too. They hammered him down to odds-on again for his Group One debut in the Juddmonte International at York, and according to Timeform, “Await The Dawn was clearly ready for Group One company now.”

In the event, stricken by travel-sickness, he finished a lacklustre third. Timeform reported: “Await The Dawn finished a disappointing third, clearly not himself. It came as no surprise when his stable reported that he was a very sick horse on his way home, his illness apparently life-threatening. A long break will help Await The Dawn to recapture his best form in 2012, when - if he does so - he will surely win a Group One”. Strong words from Europe’s most respected rating agency.

It is a sad statement about our currency that people like us cannot afford the world’s best racehorses for our stallion prospects, and that we have to secretly hope that horses of Await The Dawn’s ilk would keep their class under a bushel for the remainder of their careers, lest they should remain beyond our reach. So I have to confess, given his history, I was beginning to believe that one day, the son of Giant’s Causeway might darken the doors to our stallion barn.

In that context, it was startling, knowing he’d turned up in Dubai this year, to hear Mike de Kock say he thought the horse could win the World Cup. As it happened, fate intervened once more, this time through a career-ending injury. Summerhill has been associated with some great stallions over the years, but I can’t remember being more enthusiastic about any of them than I am about this fellow. Attached is a fact file on the horse. He is the whole package: a big, masculine individual of the highest racing class (Timeform 126+), bred from the best blood of two of the world’s most celebrated stud farms. All he needs is a normal dose of luck to make a great stallion.

There is another angle, though. Await The Dawn’s arrival marks the first time in the nation’s history, that the previously disadvantaged members of a farm’s staff, have participated meaningfully in the acquisition of a stallion. This has been made possible through the intervention of Ithala Bank, who’ve assisted Summerhill’s longer serving employees in becoming major players in the industry.

THE HORSE

Bred in a foal-sharing joint-venture between two of the world’s greatest stud farms, Coolmore in Ireland and Prince Khalid Abdullah’s Juddmonte Farm. The arrangement provided for each of these farms to alternate in having the pick of the foals, and Await The Dawn was first choice in 2007 for Coolmore. That probably tells us everything we want to know about him as an individual, because Coolmore have some of racing’s best judges at their disposal.

THE INDIVIDUAL

Await The Dawn is a big, strong, typical Giant’s Causeway-type of great depth and good substance, and in common with the Storm Cat male-line, he is a fine mover and a fluid walker (“lengthy, good-bodied”: Timeform). The Storm Cats as a tribe, can possess tricky temperaments, offset knees and breathing issues, yet none of this stopped him from becoming the world’s most expensive stallion at US$500,000 a service. Giant’s Causeway himself displayed a bit of temperament as well as the offset knees, but became the world’s highest-rated racehorse of his year, and has since aspired to three Sires’ Championships in the United States (2009, 2011, 2012), besides being Champion 2 Year Old sire in 2005, and notably, Champion European Freshman Sire in 2004.

Await The Dawn is very mildly offset in his one knee, and splays a touch at the fetlock, though no more than Brave Tin Soldier, who is throwing clean, good-legged horses here, as evidenced by his heading the Freshman Sires’ averages at the NYS. Whilst he is reported to be “a bit of a man”, Await The Dawn showed no signs of temperament at the races; he was of clean wind.

THE PEDIGREE

The Storm Cat male-line has already proven remarkably successful in South Africa, its representatives including Var, Tiger Ridge, Black Minnaloushe, Mogok and Tiger dance from just that many representatives. There’s hardly been a failure to speak of. Besides these horses, Giant’s Causeway himself is already proving to be one of the world’s most sought after sires-of-sires, and from just a handful of representatives, Sharmadal already has ten Group 1 winners, while Footstepsinthesand and First Samurai both have Group 1 winners among a stream of top horses as well. Await The Dawn will be Giant’s Causeway’s first son to enter local stallion ranks.

His female-line speaks for itself. Juddmonte Farm stands alone as the world’s pre-eminent private breeder of the current era, and Await The Dawn descends from the best of them. There are already three quality sires in his immediate ancestry, Warning, Commander In Chief and Deploy (broodmare sire of Dubawi), and it’s worth recording that First Samurai (like Await The Dawn) is out of a Dixieland Band mare.

In brief, Await The Dawn represents the physical type and the perfect pedigree to match the needs of the bulk of the South African broodmare population.

THE RACEHORSE

At Two:

Won his first start by four lengths as the 7/4 favourite.

At Three:

Won his seasonal debut by 1¼ lengths as the 8/15 favourite.

Won his next four races in a row, commencing with the Kilternan Stakes (Gr.3) over the J&B Met trip, destroying his field by a growing nine lengths. Clearly suffered some problems, hence a lay-off for the balance of the season.

At Four:

Galloped away with the Huxley Stakes (Gr.3) at Chester by 4½ lengths at odds of 8/11, (“landed the odds in good style”: Timeform), stamping himself as a serious Royal Ascot candidate.

Won the Hardwicke Stakes (Gr.2) at Royal Ascot by three lengths. “Beginning a strong run approaching the home turn, Await The Dawn forged ahead in the penultimate furlong and was just kept up to his work to win by three lengths. Await The Dawn was clearly more than ready for Group 1 company now, and the Juddmonte International at York looked to provide him with an excellent opportunity to make a successful debut at the top level”. (Timeform)

Third Juddmonte International (Gr.1) at York (Purse: £700,000). “In the event, Await The Dawn finished a disappointing third, clearly not himself. It came as no surprise when his stable reported that Await The Dawn was a very sick horse on his way home, his illness apparently life-threatening”.

“A long break will help Await The Dawn to recapture his best form in 2012, when -if he does so - he will surely win a Group 1”. (Timeform)

Timeform-rated 126+, placing him squarely in the top ½% of racehorses in the world. This horse so excited me with his run in the Kilternan Stakes that I took the afternoon off to watch his next three races. It wasn’t only his form that got my juices going, it was his presence and the way he moved, as well as his demolition of the opposition. Undoubtedly, 2011 was Frankel’s year, particularly at a mile, but in the middle-distance category, Await The Dawn looked capable of holding his own with the best anywhere. Clearly, the world’s best rating agency felt the same. The horse had the “X-factor”.

When I was told he was with Mike de Kock in Dubai, I enquired of the trainer what he thought of him: “He’s my World Cup horse!” was his response, and after winning a Handicap in convincing style in February, he labelled him a strong contender for one of the big prizes on the big night. In the event, he drew the outside in the $5million Sheema Classic (Gr.1) and despite a career-ending injury, still managed to run fifth. It goes without saying, he would not have been coming to Summerhill if he’d won it.

Summerhill has had a long and proud association with some terrific stallions over the years, Champion sires Northern Guest, Home Guard, Liloy, National Emblem, and Fard (the latter two in the juvenile category) among them, while Kahal, Rambo Dancer and Muhtafal have been Championship contenders in their own right. I have to confess though, that whilst new stallions evoke a spirited response in us, it’s some time since we felt this way about a sire prospect.

Race Record

Date: 22 July 2009
Race: Maiden
Track: Naas
Distance: 1600m
Surface: Turf (Soft)
Age: 2 Years
Place (lengths): 1st by 4 lengths
Other runners: 2nd Banyan Tree, 3rd Todd’s Forge

Date: 22 August 2010
Race: Fermoy Race
Track: Cork
Distance: 1800m
Surface: Turf (Good to Firm)
Age: 3 Years
Place (lengths): 1st by 1¼ lengths
Other runners: 2nd Zerashan, 3rd New Magic

Date: 4 September 2010
Race: Kilternan Stakes (Group 3)
Track: Leopardstown
Distance: 1800m
Surface: Turf (Good)
Age: 3 Years
Place (lengths): 1st by 9 lengths
Other runners: 2nd South Easter, 3rd Nanton

Date: 5 May 2011
Race: Huxley Stakes (Group 3)
Track: Chester
Distance: 1900m
Surface: Turf (Good to Firm)
Age: 4 Years
Place (lengths): 1sy by 4½ lengths
Other runners: 2nd Distant Memories, 3rd Forte Dei Marmi

Date: 18 June 2011
Race: Hardwicke Stakes (Group 2)
Track: Ascot
Distance: 2400m
Surface: Turf (Soft)
Age: 4 Years
Place (lengths): 1st by 3 lenghts
Other runners: 2nd Harris Tweed, 3rd Drunken Sailor,
5th Campanologist (Triple Gr.1 winner), 7th King’s Gambit (Gr.1 winner)

Date: 17 August 2011
Race: Juddmonte International Stakes (Group 1)
Track: York
Distance: 2400m
Surface: Turf (Good to Soft)
Age: 4 Years
Place (lengths): 3rd
Other runners: 1st Twice Over (Multiple Gr.1 winner, 2nd Midday (Champion Filly)

Date: 21 February 2013
Race: Al Naboodah Commercial Group Trophy
Track: Meydan
Distance: 1800m
Surface: Turf (Good)
Age: 6 Years
Place (lengths): 1st by 2¾ lengths
Other runners: 2nd So Beautiful, 3rd Salon Soldier

Date: 9 March 2013
Race: Dubai City Of Gold (Group 2)
Track: Meydan
Distance: 2400m
Surface: Turf (Good)
Age: 6 Years
Place (lengths): 2nd
Other runners: 1st Jakkalberry, 3rd Cavalryman

Enquiries :
Linda Norval 27 (0) 33 263 1081
or email linda@summerhill.co.za
www.summerhill.co.za

]]>VARIETY CLUB STRIKES GOLD CHALLENGE DOUBLEhttp://blog.summerhill.co.za/blog/2013/6/9/variety-club-strikes-gold-challenge-double.htmlAdmin2013-06-09T19:53:31Z2013-06-09T19:53:31Zvariety club rising sun gold challenge rss

RISING SUN GOLD CHALLENGE (Garde 1)
Clairwood, Turf, 1600m
8 June 2013

The script was followed to the letter. Brilliant Variety Club won the R750,000 Rising Sun Gold Challenge easily Saturday at Clairwood, with second favourite Beach Beauty second and third favourite Pomodoro third.

Throughout the preliminaries and the 1600m race itself there didn’t seem to be flicker of doubt that things would go according to plan at Clairwood. Variety Club looked in magnificent nick, as did the big-hearted filly Beach Beauty and the rangy Pomodoro.

For those who enjoy seeing favourites toppled, it might all have seemed a bit boring. But a champion racehorse winning a Grade 1 race in scintillating style could never be boring to true racing fans. A huge crowd on course cheered Variety Club to the heavens as master jockey Anton Marcus steered him home to an eighth win in a row, his 14th in 19 starts, his sixth career Grade 1 and his second Gold Challenge.

Many thousands of people turned up at the Garden Course, with a car giveaway and Bollywood stars as added attractions. But the star of the show was undoubtedly Equus Horse Of The Year Variety Club and the main prize was seeing a phenomenal horse in action.

Ice Machine and Pierre Jourdan were sluggish leaving the gates - but not the Joey Ramsden-trained Variety Club, who shot straight into the lead and dictated a leisurely pace for the 10-strong field. Lake Arthur took up the second spot as they headed down the back stretch, followed by Hill Fifty Four, Beach Beauty, Festival Of Fire, Pomodoro on the inside rail, Whiteline Fever, Ice Machine, Master Plan and Pierre Jourdan. Jockey Sean Cormack eased the diminutive Beach Beauty into second position, ready to strike, as they rounded the left-hand bend. Lake Arthur remained prominent, with Pomodoro also edging forward, some 2.50 lengths of the coasting leader.

As they hit the straight, Beach Beauty made an early challenge, the intention clearly being to put Variety Club under pressure to see if he would buckle. No such luck. Marcus shook up the champ and he shot two lengths clear. About 350m out the contest was over. Variety Club (4-10) looked as cool as a cucumber as he strode to victory by two lengths. The Dennis Drier-trained Beach Beauty (9-2) once again showed what a courageous and consistent horse she is, plugging on to take second from Pomodoro (9-1).

Randjesfontein trainer Sean Tarry will have been very pleased with the form shown by both his charges, Pomodoro and Whiteline Fever (15-1). The latter ran on strongly into fourth place from near the back of the field. For these two, this was primarily a preparation run for next month’s Vodacom Durban July at Greyville and their odds for the big one might now slim down.

Tibouchina Stakes (Grade 2)

If the Gold Challenge lacked surprises, there were plenty in the second feature on the card, the Grade 2 R250,000 Rising Sun Tibouchina Stakes. Hot favourite Princess Victoria failed to make the first four placings as 28-1 chance Louvre won a good race from the front. Louvre has won two in a row since moving down from the Highveld to Duncan Howell’s yard in KwaZulu-Natal. The five-year-old Doowaley mare took up the running soon after the 1450m start, stretching into a two-length lead from Espumanti, Earth’s Orbit, Comtesse Dubois and King’s Temptress.

Princess Victoria travelled some five lengths back around the turn, just ahead of Happy Archer, Negev, Amur Affair and Halfway To Heaven, who was about 10 lengths off the pace. In the straight, Louvre maintained her advantage despite challenges from Espumanti, Earth’s Orbit, Happy Archer and Comtesse Dubois. Halfway To Heaven was starting to unwind a dangerous-looking challenge down the outside. Alec Forbes kept Louvre well balanced and stretching out in the final strides and she claimed it by half a length. Espumanti (11-1) just edged out Earth’s Orbit (16-1) for second, while the fast-finishing Halfway To Heaven (11-2) claimed fourth, just ahead of the disappointing Princess Victoria. Louvre has now won eight times from 31 starts.

Cup Trial (Grade 3)

The Grade 3 Cup Trial over 1800m saw veteran jockey Kevin Shea get the Charles Laird-trained Astro News (16-1) home with a smart ride, ahead of Bulsara, Territorial Waters and Punta Arenas.

]]>PALACE MALICE WINS BELMONT STAKES 145http://blog.summerhill.co.za/blog/2013/6/9/palace-malice-wins-belmont-stakes-145.htmlAdmin2013-06-09T07:25:09Z2013-06-09T07:25:09Zpalace malice belmont stakes rss

BELMONT STAKES (Grade 1)
Belmont Park, Dirt, 2400m
8 June 2013

Cot Campbell pioneered the idea of racing partnerships in the late 1960s, but, in November 2011, announced that he was pulling back after 40-plus years in the business. Following the 13-1 upset of Palace Malice (Curlin) in Saturday’s GI Belmont Stakes, he may consider jumping back in. At 85 years of age and 23 years removed from Summer Squall’s victory in the GI Preakness Stakes and runner-up effort in the GI Kentucky Derby, the ebullient South Carolinian was full of emotion in the winner’s circle. “It’s the mother of all great moments, I’ll tell you that,” he told Bob Costas. “I’m proud for Dogwood and for my great partners… and I’m proud for Aiken… they’ll be dancing in the streets, so proud. And for the horse! The horse, the horse, I’m SO proud of him!”

A $25,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase in 2011, Palace Malice was a different sort when he reappeared in Lexington for the 2012 Keeneland April Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. Hip 36 was knocked down to Campbell, who has made it something of a habit to sign for horses early in the sales. “He was always a nice horse and we were thrilled to get him and honestly we were kind of surprised to get him for that [$25,000] price [as a yearling],” stated Niall Brennan, whose brother Colin signed for Palace Malice as a yearling. “He had a chip in his hind ankle, and maybe that turned some people away, but we never took it out. He was only a May foal, but he was well grown.” Brennan explained the rationale for pointing the colt towards the Keeneland sale. “He was young in his mind and I decided in December that he wasn’t a horse that I wanted to push on to an early sale. We wanted to give him a break for a few weeks and point for the Keeneland sale and that helped greatly. He always showed a lot of athletic talent. I thought that since he was by Curlin out of a Royal Anthem mare, the synthetic track should be to his liking, and he trained well over the track.” Brennan also paid tribute to the Dogwood maestro. “I am so thrilled for Mr. Campbell,” Brennan offered. “He is one of the great inspirations in our sport today. How can you not be happy for a guy like that? It’s been a privilege for us to be involved.”

It wasn’t but three months after the sale that Javier Castellano donned Dogwood gold-and-green for his July 5 debut over five furlongs of the Belmont main track. Always held in high regard by the Todd Pletcher stable, Palace Malice was bet down to 2-1 and came running late to be second before graduating as a heavy favorite next time out at Saratoga August 4. He emerged from that effort with bucked shins, so instead of pressing on to the late-season stakes, he was put away for the year and made his 3-year-old bow in a seven-furlong Gulfstream allowance contested over a sloppy strip January 19. However, he had the misfortune of running into a race-fit Majestic Hussar (Majestic Warrior) and settled for the runner-up spot. That effort earned Palace Malice a chance to prove his mettle along the Triple Crown trail, and it was the GII Risen Star Stakes in New Orleans that would mark his stakes and two-turn debuts. With Rosie Napravnik at the controls, the athletic bay threatened in the final furlong before finishing a close third with the likes of subsequent Classic place-getters Oxbow (Awesome Again), Golden Soul (Perfect Soul) and Mylute (Midnight Lute) behind him. The GII Louisiana Derby beckoned as a logical next step, but what unfolded was a nightmare, as he made a solid middle move, but was blocked when the real running started and he could do no better than seventh to favored Revolutionary (War Pass) as the 7-2 second choice. With a Derby berth hanging in the balance, Palace Malice was sent to the GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes on just two weeks’ rest April 13, and he looked on his way to victory, only to be nailed on the wire. According to Campbell, the colt jumped off leads when he saw tire tracks nearing the wire that day. Therefore, the decision was made to equip him with a set of blinkers for the Derby. The results were disastrous, however, as Palace Malice essentially ran off on the lead with Mike Smith, set a suicidal pace and drifted back through the field to finish 12th.

With those three races in the span of 36 days and with no compelling reason to go on to the Preakness, Palace Malice was programmed for the Belmont and turned in three exceptional works leading up to the race. Freedom Child (Malibu Moon), the GII Peter Pan Stakes winner, won the break, and, as trainer Ken McPeek advertised, Frac Daddy (Scat Daddy) was ridden for speed from the inside stall to fuel a fast early pace which saw the opening quarter go in :23.11. Oxbow was close in tow, and Palace Malice was able to get down several paths from his high draw, but might have clipped heels with the Preakness winner and was four wide into the first turn. GI Kentucky Derby winner Orb (Malibu Moon) and that race’s runner-up Golden Soul whipped them in as they braced themselves for the long Belmont backstretch. Frac Daddy had run his race by the halfway mark, and the Preakness winner pressed past to lead narrowly from Freedom Child after a half in a testing :46.66, as Mike Smith, who won the 2010 Belmont aboard Drosselmeyer (Distorted Humor) monitored things from third. Revolutionary, the Derby third, was the first to make any real noise from behind, advancing into about fifth as they approached the far turn, at which point Smith said go with Palace Malice, and the duo challenged for the lead leaving the half-mile pole. Further behind, a mud-covered Joel Rosario had steered Orb out of the kickback and into the clear, and that team made ominous progress as he looped horses on the turn. Back at the head of affairs, Palace Malice and Oxbow matched strides entering the 11th of the 12 furlongs with Orb looking dangerous from third, but the Pletcher trainee put away a game Oxbow, and, though leg-weary through the final 110 yards, proved clearly best.

“I kept saying I know there’s a big race there; I felt like Palace Malice had a big one in him,” said Pletcher, who sent out Rags to Riches (A.P. Indy) to his first Classic win over Palace Malice’s sire in 2007. “I kept waiting for it to materialize in the afternoon. He got close a couple of times but didn’t quite get it done. It was an emotional win for me because of the Dogwood connection,” said Pletcher, who also finished fifth with Revolutionary, sixth with the filly Unlimited Budget, seventh with Overanalyze and 12th with Midnight Taboo. “They supported me from the very beginning and to win a big race for them is really gratifying.” Other top Dogwood horses trained by Pletcher include Trippi, dual Classic-placed Impeachment, Grade I winner Cotton Blossom and multiple graded winner Smok’n Frolic.

]]>