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

HISTORY SAYS A "LURKER" MIGHT WIN THE CUP!

Click above to watch Mabhalane
(Footage : Tellytrack)

R1,5 MILLION EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN CUP

The Sporting Post reported last week that if one is to follow the short history of the R1,5 million Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup, then the winner of this rich and prestigious prize will be a relative outsider, hailing from a relatively small racing stable in KwaZulu-Natal.

Fifteen graduates from last year’s Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale have already posted Maiden victories, including the early “talk’’ horses; Trafalgar Legacy (Basil Marcus), Havasha (Mike de Kock) and Sicoco (Ormond Ferraris).

But the Ready To Run Cup will always be the type of race tailor made for an upset due to its scheduling right in the middle of the three-year-old thoroughbred’s growth and improvement period. Mark Dixon (Umngazi, 7-1) and Michael Miller (Smangaliso, 14-1) were the first two success stories.

Could this year’s “lurker’’ be I’Lollipop from Kum Naidoo’s Summerveld yard, or will the pendulum swing towards Gauteng, where Tyrone Zackey’s Smanjemanje has already made a big impression and Tony Nassif hopes to stake a claim with last Sunday’s fluent winner, Mabhalane?

Nassif, chuffed with his R150 000 purchase, tells : “Mabhalane is the most expensive horse I ever bought and I thank Mike Mort and my brother Shalita for that. He’s a stocky horse, still coming into his own, but he’s intelligent. He won very well last weekend. Anthony Delpech reported he had a lot of horse under him despite having to race to beat a bad draw. The Ready To Run is great, I don’t mind running a place if we can’t win!’’

Vaal-based Leon Erasmus has already had a lot of fun with his R25 000 purchase, Second World, a winner and placed several times. “He’s one helluva horse and he gives of his best,’’ said Erasmus recently. 

Ready To Run Gallops Panel

It’s a tough business recruiting panelists for a job like the Ready to Run Gallops, principally because those wishing to buy obviously would prefer to keep their selections under a bushel.

However, the evening at Hartford and the prestige which the public have come to attach to serving on the panel has guaranteed this year’s version of a formidable gathering.  Those that have already put their hands up include Michael Azzie, Mike de Kock, Graeme Hawkins, Jehan Malherbe, Craig Peters, Joey Ramsden and Sean Tarry.

The panelists will be entertained once again at Hartford House on 15 October, the eve of the Gallops, and a feature of this year’s panel will be a scoreboard tallying the hit rate of the respective panelists, to see if there’s an emerging Champion in the making. For what it’s worth, there have been a number of attendees over the years, who claim to have an even better strike rate, so the pressure is coming from all sides.

Dates to remember :

Summerhill Breeze-Ups : 16 October
Turffontein Breeze-Ups : 18 October
Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup : 7 November
Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale : 8 November