WHAT A WINTER RECLAIMS CAPE FLYING CHAMPIONSHIP CROWN

Click above to watch What A Winter winning the Cape Flying Championship (Grade 1)
(Image : Gold Circle - Footage Tellytrack)

BETTING WORLD CAPE FLYING CHAMPIONSHIP (Grade 1)
Kenilworth, Turf, 1000m
26 January 2013

Mike Moon
Tab NewsWhat A Winter melted away any thoughts that he might not be South Africa’s best sprinter with a commanding performance in the Grade 1 R600,000 Betting World Cape Flying Championship over 1000m at Kenilworth on Saturday.

The minimum dash was thought in some quarters to be a tad too short for the five-year-old entire these days but, with favourable weight-for age conditions, a brisk headwind and a smart pace, he showed that he is the supreme speedster.

The only horse in Saturday’s contest that looked remotely in the class of What A Winter was three-year-old filly Via Africa from Duncan Howells’ Durban yard. The daughter of Var took the lead shortly after the start and for a while looked like she might burgle it, but eventually succumbed by the best part of a length.

Third-placed Cap Alright, always a game performer, never looked threatening and was several lengths back at the line. The impressive-looking Chave De Oura finished fourth and might need a lot more ground at this stage of his career.

What A Winter jumped on terms and matched strides with some of his eager young rivals in the first half of the race. However, once jockey Bernard Fayd’Herbe got to work on him inside the final 400m there was no doubting the eventual outcome.

Before the race, What A Winter’s trainer Mike Bass said that his colt was in the peak of condition, having come out of the 1600m L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate - false start, challenging trip and all - in very good nick.

And he justified his conditioner’s bullishness with a consummate performance.

With many of the country’s other top sprinters of recent years retired or exported - such as Val De Ra and Shea Shea - What A Winter would seem to have a clutch of upcoming weight-for-age sprinting titles at his mercy and is likely to be aimed at big prizes in the KwaZulu-Natal winter season.

The young filly Via Africa is clearly a talent of note and will win some big races.

What A Winter, a five-year-old son of Western Winter out of the Ahonoora mare Waseela, was bred by Daytona Stud. He is owned by Mike Bass, Bryn Ressell, Marsh Shirtliff and GN Shirtliff.

BETTING WORLD CAPE FLYING CHAMPIONSHIP (Grade 1)
Final Result

#	LBH	Horse	Kg	MR	Dr	Jockey	Trainer
1	0.00	WHAT A WINTER	60.0	120	9	B Fayd’Herbe	Mike Bass
2	0.75	VIA AFRICA	54.0	100	4	A Forbes	Duncan Howells
3	5.00	CAP ALRIGHT	60.0	110	6	K Teetan	Justin Snaith
4	6.00	CHAVE DE OURA	56.5	103	7	S Cormack	Dennis Drier
5	7.25	TORRA BAY (AUS)	57.5	96	1	M Byleveld	Dennis Drier
6	7.30	CAPE ROYAL	56.5	106	5	K Neisius	Dean Kannemeyer
7	8.55	MAGICO	60.0	107	3	G Schlechter	Eric Sands
8	9.80	TETELESTAI	60.0	106	8	* K der Melo	Garth Puller
9	10.30	JINZO	60.0	106	2	C Puller	Garth Puller

Extract from Tab News

NHLAVINI : THE PASSING OF A LEGEND

Nhlavini
(Photo : Summerhill Stud Archives)

NHLAVINI (SAF)
(National Emblem (SAF) - Valley Mist (SAF)

The frenetics surrounding the Cape Premier Yearling Sale and the J&B Met, and the speed at which the social goings-on were taking place, made us oblivious to the fact that the World Economic Forum was in full swing in Davos. Sadly, and significantly for us, we even missed the death in relative infancy, of our ageless champion, Nhlavini. If you’re chalking up the great names of those that grew up here, he’d be up there with the best : we speak of St Pauls, Mowgli, Sentinel, Magic Mirror, Panjandrum, Dancing Duel, Imperial Despatch, Spook and Diesel, Pick Six, Igugu, Pierre Jourdan, Rebel King and Imbongi.

For that matter, the Markus and Ingrid Jooste’s colour bearer would’ve ranked with best anywhere. Apart from Pocket Power, he must be the only horse to have lined up six times for an Equus Award, where he walked away with the championship on three occasions as the nation’s leading sprinter, the last time at eight years of age. The Brits will tell you that the Zulus are feared for their exploits in battle, and Nhlavini (Zulu for “playboy”), would stand right alongside the warrior kings, Shaka and Cetewayo, as a racehorse.

A championship class campaigner by any standards, he got more than he would’ve anywhere else in the hands of Charles Sydney Laird. We use his name to emphasise his ancestory, as a clue to the expertise that made Nhlavini what he was. There was a sentimental attachment to the progeny of National Emblem in general in the Laird family, but nowhere was it stronger than it was with Nhlavini. Religiously, at the end of his winter campaigns in KwaZulu Natal, his trainer sent him home to his birthplace, where he occupied the sacred paddock which in the 60s, housed the multiple champion sire, Masham, in the shadow of the great eucalypts of Hartford House.

Rested, the brave soldier always returned to the fray, always faithful, always true. This was especially so in his latter years, when it seemed his heart was willing but his limbs could take no more. His master was always masterful, and it was a measure of his great respect for the great horse that in his latter years, there were only two races on the official calendar. The Diadem Stakes and the Cape Flying Championship, at six, seven and eight. His three consecutive Diadems and two Flying Championships (some still say three) tell us the respect was mutual. His harvest was three million and more.

His father’s tally at Summerhill alone included some fifteen Stakes winners, among a litany of Black type scorers, the best of them (Nhlavini, Rebel King, Carnadore, all champions, Decorated Hero, Princely Heir and Lotti), trained by Charles Laird, while top-liners, Fez (Gr1), Royal Emblem (Gr1) and Thekkady, were also inmates of our paddocks carrying the National Emblem hip- sticker on their backsides.

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

LOW FLYING CAPE FLYING CHAMPIONSHIP

Click above to watch JJ The Jet Plane’s last run in South Africa; The Mercury Sprint (Gr1) in July 2010
(Photo : Gold Circle - Footage : Tellytrack)

CAPE FLYING CHAMPIONSHIP (Grade 1)
Kenilworth, Turf, 1000m
21 January 2012

For as long as we can remember, the time-honoured Cape Flying Championship (Gr1) has been one of the better subscribed sprints in the land. That there are only six competitors for Saturday’s renewal would’ve been remarkable if it weren’t for the fact the line-up includes three current champions, the emerging rocket, What A Winter, the amazing filly Val Da Ra, and it marks the return of the globe-trotting international Group One hero, J J The Jet Plane. He hasn’t been seen on a South African course since July 2010, and that was at the end of an unbroken sequence of seven consecutive victories.

JJ of course, has a strong genetic connection with Summerhill and Hartford. His mother was a Stakes-winning daughter of the world record equalling broodmare sire, Northern Guest, our most famous resident, and she was bred here by Gordon Sigcau, brother to the reigning King of Pondoland, Mpondimbini Sigcau. The family traces to an old Hartford taproot, so this man’s prowess, up there with the best sprinters the country has known, is not surprising.

Equally unsurprising is the size of the field. Champions have always got something to prove when pitted together, but when at best, all the others are doing in the line-up is running for fourth place money, you may as well reserve your talents for other fish. Whatever the outcome though, the presence of these three champions guarantees purists one helluva contest.

For the record, Summerhill’s recent history in the event surpasses all-comers. In the course of the first decade of this millennium, graduates of these paddocks took the laurels three times (Nhlavini in 2005 and 2006, and Rebel King in 2009) while each of them were runners up in other years.

FINAL FIELD

#	Horse	Kg	MR	Dr	Jockey	Trainer
1	J J THE JET PLANE	60.0	122	3	B Fayde’Herbe	Lucky Houdalakis
2	WHAT A WINTER	60.0	117	6	K Neisius	Mike Bass
3	COPPER PARADE	60.0	108	4	G Hatt	Joey Ramsden
4	CAPTAIN’S SECRET	60.0	107	5	M Byleveld	Mike Bass
5	RABATTACHE	60.0	107	2	R Fourie	Glen Puller
6	VAL DE RA	57.5	111	1	A Forbes	Dennis Drier

HEAR THE DRUMS : PERSONALITY OF GOLD

Hear The Drums - Win Number 34
(Photo : Wally Strydom)

“HE’S LIKE A THREE-YEAR-OLD…
HE COMES OFF THE TRACK FULL OF BEANS”

Hear The Drums, who holds the South African record for number of wins in a career, will not be heading to the Western Cape to run in next month’s Cape Flying Championship for a fourth time, according to his trainer Des McLachlan.

Hear The Drums racked up the 34th win of his illustrious career in the Glendore Sprint at Arlington on Friday last week, proving that his trainer’s decision to keep him in training as an eight-year-old was the right one.

“I was over the moon with the victory. It was nice that he could prove the people who said he was leg weary wrong,” said McLachlan. “When he’s tired, I’ll retire him. But right now he’s like a three-year-old. He comes off the track full of beans.”

Hear The Drums, given a break from August to October, was badly in need of his comeback run. He blitzed early before compounding badly to finish last in the Cradock Place Stakes over 1200m. McLachlan then took a decision to take the blinkers off his stable star in a Fairview Pinnacle Stakes, saying : “It’s pointless him always doing it the hard way.”

Unfortunately, jockey Alec Forbes was dislodged in a scrimmage shortly after the start, so the reasoning was not put to the test immediately. The additional equipment was left off again last Friday and jockey Marco van Rensburg was able to hold Hear The Drums up, just off early leaders Bermuda Prince and Bandol. When he asked for an effort, Hear The Drums kicked strongly to lead 200m out and win well.

“He doesn’t tug that hard without the blinkers and the way he responded from just off them was pleasing,” said McLachlan. “I don’t think we’ll ever get him to settle completely. Fortunately on Friday there was a blistering pace up front.”

Hear The Drums has run in the Grade 1 Cape Flying Championship at Kenilworth three times and has not been beaten by far. However, McLachlan says he plans to keep the Gold Press gelding at home next year.

“He doesn’t travel well and has problems with his shoes. He doesn’t have the best of feet and comes in so quick from behind that he takes the shoes off. Also, the moment the grass gets long or the sand track gets heavy, off they come, so I always send another horse out to test the track before him and if it’s heavy, I do less with him.

“As he gets older, I don’t want the setbacks,” added McLachlan. “So we’ll take the rest of his career as it comes. There are a couple of Pinnacle Stakes he can run in.”

McLachlan continued : “It’s a pleasure being around Hear The Drums. He’s got such personality and he’s so laid back, which has helped his career enormously because if he was a tearaway or difficult, I wouldn’t have been able to keep him going for so long.

“He’s also a humble horse. The day he threw Alec he got back to the stables in a really bad mood - he knew something had gone wrong.”

The gelding’s many fans in South Africa will be looking forward to seeing more of this imposing gelding - and Hear The Drums is certainly willing to oblige.

Extract from The Citizen Racing Express

2010 CAPE FLYING CHAMPIONSHIP VIDEO AND RESULTS

Click above to watch the 2010 Cape Flying Championship
(Footage : Tellytrack)

R600,000 CAPE FLYING CHAMPIONSHIP (GRADE 1) 1000M
KENILWORTH RACECOURSE
23 JANUARY 2010

FINAL RESULTS

#	LBH	Horse	Kg	MR	Dr	Jockey	Trainer
1	0.00	WARM WHITE NIGHT	58.0	109	2	A Marcus	Charles Laird
2	0.25	BLUE TIGER	58.0	108	14	B Fayd’Herbe	Mike Bass
3	1.50	THUNDER KEY	58.0	106	3	*K Teetan	Glen Kotzen
4	1.60	HEAR THE DRUMS	58.0	112	1	G Schlechter	Des McLachlan
5	1.85	CASEY COOL	58.0	101	13	F Anthony	Darryl Hodgson
6	2.35	GAULTIER	58.0	107	10	C Puller	Mike Bass
7	2.60	BUSH PIRATE	58.0	99	4	B Morgenrood	Joey Ramsden
8	2.70	MAINBRACE	58.0	99	6	K Jupp	Basil Marcus
9	2.75	VILLANDRY	54.5	105	9	M Byleveld	Vaughan Marshall
10	3.25	CAPTAIN’S SECRET	54.5	104	5	K Neisius	Mike Bass
11	3.75	RUSHING WIND	58.0	100	7	*A Domeyer	Mike Bass
12	5.25	ALVARO (AUS)	58.0	97	11	R Fourie	Justin Snaith
13	6.75	CYBER CASE	58.0	101	12	M Mienie	Charles Laird
14	8.25	RELINYANE	58.0	100	8	M Winnaar	Justin Snaith