OF WARRIORS, GLORY AND THE BETTING

R1,5 MILLION EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN CUP

4pm Saturday will witness an epochal battle for three-year-old supremacy as the graduates of last year’s Ready To Run clash in pursuit of racing’s greatest trophy, the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup.

Please click the thumbnail above to meet the Summerhill Warriors.

So what is the punter’s opinion of the big race? Below is the opening betting. For the latest betting please visit www.bookies.co.za.

2	PIERRE JOURDAN	22/10
1	HAVASHA	7/2
6	BLUE VOYAGER	7/2
3	SMANJEMANJE	11/2
5	BHUSENDE	12/1
7	MAHUBO	12/1
15	MANNEQUIN	12/1
14	ONEHUNDREDACREWOOD	14/1
13	FISANI	20/1
8	NYAKATHO	25/1
12	ASHJAAN	33/1
11	MLULEKI	40/1
4	KHETHANI	50/1
9	SMART AL	66/1
10	VUMANI	66/1
16	SMANYO	66/1
17	CLUB VICTOR	S.P.
18	MACK M	S.P.

 

R1,5 MILLION EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN CUP
7 NOVEMBER 2009

For more information please visit :
www.tba.co.za and www.summerhill.co.za

ANOTHER WEEK IN PARADISE

Click above to watch Double Dash on Cape debut
(Footage : Tellytrack)

COMPLIMENTS TO THE STRENGTH OF LAST YEAR’S READY TO RUN DRAFT

The 2008 version of the Ready to Run sale came off an unprecedented high a week ago, with exceptional performances from the four chief protagonists for this year’s Emperors Palace Ready to Run Cup, which at R1,5 million has maintained its status as the fourth richest race in the nation. There must’ve been those who’d been lulled into a sense of believing they were a cut above anything else in the field, and that they could reasonably expect to take home a major share of the spoils. Meaning it just wasn’t possible to see a repeat.

Just as we were beginning to believe that the compliments to the strength of last year’s draft had all been paid, and that the next big statement on the quality of Summerhill breds would be the ‘Cup’ itself, the events of this week turned everything on its head.  First, Charles Laird stepped out a R1 million graduate in Muhtafal’s son, Blue Voyager, who strode away on his race course debut by three lengths, relatively unextended. 

As soon as the “Voyager” put his hand up, Charles took another to the track on Thursday in the form of Bhusende, and while he cautioned punters before the race that the horse was probably three weeks off ready, as the son of Australian champion sire, Flying Spur, set foot on the track, you could see the class. He came home under a hand ride from Anton Marcus, putting away some well-fancied sorts in the process, and he also joins the fray next Saturday.

Before the meeting was out, Ernie Anderson stepped out Ivan Snyman’s Labeeb colt, Nyakatho, who flattened some fair form by eight lengths, in the process telling us that whatever Blue Voyager and Bhusende had done during the week, he could do just as well. No doubt, when the judges meet on Tuesday to settle the final field, they’ll have him among them.

But that wasn’t the end. Richard Fitzgerald has been nothing if not an exceptional customer of Summerhill, and he was unfortunate following the 2008 sale to lose the Labeeb half brother to the Gold Cup hero, Desert Links, in a float collision a day later.  Determined to turn that around, Richard put up his hand at R410 000 again last year, this time for another Labeeb from the family of Pick Six and Bridal Paths, and on Saturday, Garth Puller sent out Double Dash at Kenilworth against some excellent form, for the first time over a mile. Young Chris Puller never moved on him riding him hands-and-heels, as he strode away in impressive style. Lamentably, this one’s not destined for the “Cup”, but like the other three, he looks like a “Black type” horse in the making.

We know that customers already have consummate faith in the product we send to the Ready to Run, so we’re not trying to prove that point. What is encouraging from the events of this week, is the strength and depth of the horses that’ve stepped out since the sale, many of them indicating their worth as potential big race performers. For the record, thus far we’ve had 26 individual winners from the Summerhill draft alone, and there are at least 18 among the placed horses thus far, who look like they could become “motor cars” in the future.

We know you’re expecting this, but there are more where those came from. We look forward to your visit to Block A during the course of this week, where it will be our pleasure!  

 

R1,5 MILLION EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN CUP
7 NOVEMBER 2009

EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN SALE
8 NOVEMBER 2009

For more information please visit :
www.tba.co.za and www.summerhill.co.za

THIS RIVER’S NOT FLOWING : IT’S A TORRENT

Click above to watch Team Nyakatho
(Footage : Tellytrack)

R1,5 MILLION EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN CUP
7 NOVEMBER 2009 

If you were a marketing man charged with promoting the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup next weekend, you’d be pinching yourself right now. Already dubbed by more than one expert the strongest field of Three Year Olds this season, the events of the past three days have turned most fans’ predictions on their heads, leaving the betting market in “murky” waters.

Going into Tuesday morning, the entries were beginning to develop a nice, settled look about them, and if it weren’t for the fact that there was a supplementary stage today, that would’ve been that. Havasha at the top of the boards; with a run, the R2,2 million sale topper of last year, Trafalgar Legacy would’ve been close behind; and on the strength of the way he finished on Saturday, Pierre Jourdan might’ve been bracketed alongside. Only a short head would’ve separated them from Smanjemanje, but let’s not discount the 3,25 length battering the filly, Fisani, gave to her field from the outside draw the previous Tuesday.

These were the protagonists, or so it seemed, but the turmoil set in as early as Tuesday. Charles Laird sent out a R1 million graduate of the sale in the form of Blue Voyager, who kicked off at the prohibitive odds of 8/10, and came home as an odds-on favourite shot. He was immediately declared a player for the big one on Saturday 7^th.

It’s not Charles Laird’s style these days to settle for a single entry though, and while he’d been under plenty of pressure to prepare him for the event, he stepped out Bhusende for his debut effort amid the showers of yesterday afternoon. Not yet biologically three (he’s a late November foal), the son of the Champion Australian Sire, Flying Spur, got down, literally, to business in impressive style to make his a winning “opener”, catapulting himself right into the reckoning.

There will be those that ask how a colt of this class should still be wearing the Summerhill colours. There’s a story to it. Bhusende means the same as Mahala (or “Free” in Zulu), and it seems buyers took this literally, as this fellow came under the hammer at last year’s Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale. He cost close to R700 000 to land in South Africa, yet the last bid of R250 000 was tended by an England-based pal of the Mooi River farm, and they quickly assembled a small partnership to hold the horse. Another likely to make the cut for Saturday is Mluleki, and Paul Matchett will send him out wearing the Summerhill colours as well. He was passed out at R60 000 on account of a lack of interest.

The history of the Ready To Run has plenty of these stories. The outstanding stayer and quadruple Group One performer, Amphitheatre, was one who left the ring unsold with the modest reserve of R30 000 on his head. He went on to earn something approaching R1,25 million, in a career which saw him miss a cheque only once in 35 starts. The international performer Imbongi, now the earner of more than R3 million in stakes, was another neglected child when he passed through the ring unsold, the last bid in the vicinity of R50 000. Two Guineas and a Drill Hall Stakes later, he was sold for a considerable sum to a Middle Eastern Sheikh, who’s well on his way to getting his money back, and will surely do so, with a bit of luck at next year’s Dubai Carnival.

That’s not the end of the tale. Going into the last on the Vaal card yesterday, it looked all over for Charles Laird’s two imports who’d shown encouraging form in their debut efforts. It was not to be though, as Ivan Snyman and Ernie Anderson’s Nyakatho, cruised home by an increasing 8 lengths over the last 300m of the race, and he pretty much sealed his place in the line-up for Saturday with this effort. Nyakatho comes from the other end of the scale, costing a relatively modest R100 000, which his connections will return if he just makes the first four in “The Cup”.

 

R1,5 MILLION EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN CUP
7 NOVEMBER 2009

For more information please visit :
www.tba.co.za and www.summerhill.co.za

FREE FLYING BHUSENDE CRACKS HIS MAIDEN

Click above to watch Bhusende on debut
(Footage : Tellytrack)

R1,5 MILLION EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN CUP NOMINEE

Bhusende, translated from isiZulu, means “free”, and at the Vaal on Thursday there were no shackles holding back this Flying Spur colt.

Under a cultivating ride from jockey Anton Marcus, the 2008 Ready To Run Graduate, out of the family of Sir Tristram, glided up the 1400m turf straight to crack his maiden in ominous fashion for the Summerhill Stud Syndicate.

With the fourth richest race in Africa imminent, the in-form stable of Champion trainer Charles Laird certainly have its cards stacked… remember the classy debut of Blue Voyager just two days ago.

 

R1,5 MILLION EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN CUP
7 NOVEMBER 2009

For more information please visit :
www.tba.co.za and www.summerhill.co.za

THE READY TO RUN PLOT THICKENS

Ashjaan
(Photo : JC Photographics)

EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN CUP NOMINEES

Charl Pretorius www.racingweb.co.zaIf the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup on 7 November was a board game called Cluedo, Professor Plum and all his guests would be suspects, and the scene of the crime would be Turffontein.

With every passing day, the plot thickens. Just this week Charles Laird sent out R1 million gelding Blue Voyager to a facile debut win and if collaterals are drawn this one would be rated somewhere in the mid 80’s and would make the final field.

This means that the connections of the early favourites Havasha and Smanjemanje have another runner to fear in the bay son of Muhtafal, who looks better than average if his 1200m success is anything to go by.

Already Pierre Jourdan, in beating Smanjemanje on objection last week and looking arguably the scopier of the two, has signaled a stern warning : He will be no pushover when the 16-horse field goes to post in less than a fortnight!

At this point it looks as if almost every Ready To Run entry to have won a race will qualify for the event, though at the bottom of the merit scale the connections of I’Lollipop and Mabhalane will be chewing their nails.

Whatever happens, the 2009 renewal of this glorious event has people talking, because the winner will go into the remainder of the Highveld Summer and the emerging Cape season with the mantle of South Africa’s leading three-year-old around his/her shoulders :

Entries for the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup, with race records, as at 27 October and sales prices are :

HORSE	MR	TRAINER	RECORD	COST
HAVASHA	94	Mike de Kock	3r,2w,1p	R260,000
FISANI	88	Mike de Kock	4r,2w,2p	R400,000
SMANJEMANJE	94	Tyrone Zackey	5r,1w,4p	R210,000
PIERRE JOURDAN	92	Gary Alexander	2r,2w,0p	R60,000
SNOW SPECIAL	78	Gary Alexander	3r,1w,0p	R280,000
KHETHANI	91	Roy Magner	6r,1w,2p	R130,000
ASHJAAN	90	Paul Matchett	7r,1w,1p	R190,000
MANNEQUIN	82	Paul Matchett	2r,1w,1p	R80,000
MLULEKI	79	Paul Matchett	5r,1w,3p	R70,000
ONEHUNDREDACREWOOD	88	Gavin van Zyl	6r,2w,2p	R85,000
BLUE VOYAGER	n/a	Charles Laird	1r,1w,0p	R1,000,000
MAHUBO	85	Herman Brown	5r,1w,4p	R900,000
SMART AL	83	Doug Campbell	5r,1w,4p	R100,000
SMANYO	81	Ivan Moore	3r,1w,0p	R85,000
VUMANI	81	Ivan Moore	6r,1w,2p	R60,000
SICOCO	78	Ormond Ferraris	3r,1w,0p	R300,000
I’LOLLIPOP	77	Kumaran Naidoo	10r,1w,4p	R140,000
DOLOMITE	n/a	Kumaran Naidoo	1r,0w,0p	R110,000
SUMMER DOT COM	n/a	Kumaran Naidoo	1r,0w,0p	R60,000
MABHALANE	77	Tony Nassif	5r,1w,1p	R120,000
SIZZLING GUY	77	Dominic Zaki	3r,0w,1p	R30,000
GORGEOUS GEORGE	75	Gavin Smith	5r,0w,2p	R100,000
RAJINZKY	70	John Vos	5r,0w,0p	R70,000
COASTAL CLUB	69	Terry Lowe	3r,0w,1p	R100,000
CLUB VICTOR	n/a	Terry Lowe	1r,0w,1p	R240,000
GALAXY QUEST	64	Leon Erasmus	4r,0w,0p	R50,000
BHUSENDE	n/a	Charles Laird	Unraced	R250,000
CHA CHA QUEEN	n/a	Geoff Woodruff	2r,0w,1p	R210,000
MAKEMEFAMOUS	n/a	Greg & Karen Anthony	1r,0w,1p	R220,000
MAKULU-KULU	n/a	Michael Miller	3r,0w,3p	R100,000
TEMPANO	n/a	Roy Magner	2r,0w,1p	R90,000

 

R1,5 MILLION EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN CUP
7 NOVEMBER 2009

EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN SALE
8 NOVEMBER 2009

For more information please visit :
www.tba.co.za and www.summerhill.co.za