JACKSON AND POMODORO IN QUEEN'S PLATE QUEST

Jackson wins the Investec Cape Derby (Grade 1) from Variety Club
(Photo : Gold Circle)

L’ORMARINS QUEEN’S PLATE (Grade 1)
Kenilworth, Turf, 1600m
12 January 2013

David Thiselton
Gold CircleSpeaking about jockey Karis Teetan’s tactics aboard Jackson in Saturday’s prestigous Grade 1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate over 1600m at Kenilworth, trainer Brett Crawford said it would likely depend on his initial perceptions of the pace.

The four-year-old Dynasty colt was dropped out from a wide draw in his last start in the Grade 2 Green Point Stakes over the 1600m of the tighter Kenilworth Old Course and had too much to do in the straight, so was never going to catch Variety Club, although he ran on strongly for a 2,5 length second. However, Crawford did not discount a repeat of those tactics and said, “Saturday’s race is on the new course (which has a considerably longer straight) and obviously on the Old course it was harder to make up the ground.”

Crawford also pointed out that Variety Club had drawn wide this time, as opposed to pole position in the Green Point, which brought about the possibility of a change in tactics with Teetan’s initial reading of the pace likely being the key factor in how the horse’s race would pan out. He confirmed Jackson to be in great shape having come through his final gallop very well.

Jackson is drawn at 13 in the 15 horse field, with his chief rival Variety Club drawn on the very outside.

Sean Tarry’s Vodacom Durban July winner, the ever-improving Pomodoro, has drawn nicely in 7 and looks to be a major threat to Variety Club, who holds the unofficial crown of South Africa’s top miler.

Pomodoro, a four-year-old Jet Master colt, is unbeaten since a shoulder niggle was discovered before his famous Vodacom Durban July victory. The niggle might have explained why he shifted badly late when dead-heating in the SA Derby and almost certainly explained why he cantered down to the start so poorly before staying on for fifth in the Daily News 2000. However, since then Pomodoro is unbeaten, winning the July by a whisker from an impossible draw and then being most impressive in his two comeback races this season. He flew at the finish to beat some good sprinters over 1200m on November 13 and then toyed with some useful sorts over a mile in his last start.

Those wins have left people questioning whether he might just be something special and Saturday’s race will likely answer the question. However, Tarry erred on the side of caution, “He is better as a four-year-old and did nothing wrong as a three-year-old. The distance of the Queen’s Plate won’t be a problem as he won that 1200m race and won the Tony Ruffel over 1450m of the Turffontein inside track as a three-year-old. But I think Variety Club might just be a better miler.” Ace jockey Piere Strydom rides Pomodoro.

The Joey Ramsden-trained Variety Club, however, has to overcome a draw of 15 in the 15 horse field but does has champion jockey Anton Marcus aboard. Tarry said, “I can’t see much pace in the race, so Variety Club will probably overcome the draw with ease, unless Jackson keeps him out. Jackson is a top horse in his own right.” Jackson is drawn two berths inside of Variety Club in 13. Tarry continued, “We have no complaints about our draw.” He mused, “The pace might be forced by the jockeys wanting to keep Variety Club and Jackson out. However, in Variety Club’s favour is his phenomenal gate speed, which should allow him to get to the front virtually for free. Also, due to the use of false rails in South Africa, jockeys out here are not as tactically aware as their overseas counterparts. They don’t have to worry about getting a run in the straight and can afford to sit on the rail in behind horses. This is a contributing factor to the generally slower pace of races out here, especially at Kenilworth where jockeys are reluctant to lead due to the prevailing South Easterly headwind.”

lqp.co.za

Extract from Gold Circle

ROCK AROUND THE CLOCK

National Emblem (SAF)
(Photo : Sporting Post)

“National Emblem’s performances were inexplicably
blunted when he went anti-clockwise”

Mick Goss
Summerhill Stud CEOThere are all sorts of theories as to why some horses only act on a right or a left-hand course, and why others seem to manage both directions. By that we mean clockwise and anti-clockwise and there are many examples illustrating both. Perhaps the starkest is that of National Emblem, who was virtually unassailable up to a mile on a right hand bend, but whose performances were inexplicably blunted when he went anti-clockwise. Vets, zoologists and any number of horsemen have had a stab at the answers, yet few of them have ever been able to provide a scientific response which puts the matter finally to rest.

For what it’s worth, National Emblem’s career record read like this:

NATIONAL EMBLEM (SAF)

1991 Chestnut colt by National Assembly - Title Page, by Welsh Harmony (in South Africa)

Race Record

09/Apr/1994 1st Gosforth Juvenile Stakes (c&g), Gr.2, 1400m.
On the Tiles was 2nd and Travel North 3rd. Right handed

26/Nov/1994 3rd Turffontein Dingaans Handicap, Gr.2, 1600m.
Travel North was 1st and Naiyerah 2nd. Right handed

22/Feb/1995 1st Newmarket TC MEC Guineas, Gr.3, 1600m.
Teal was 2nd and Royal Showman 3rd. Right handed

18/Mar/1995 1st Turffontein Classic, Gr.1, 1800m.
Teal was 2nd and Final Coast 3rd. Right handed

06/May/1995 2nd South African Guineas, Gr.1, 1600m.
Teal was 1st and Bushmanland 3rd. Right handed

10/Jun/1995 1st Gosforth Jubilee Handicap, L, 1700m.
Special Preview was 2nd and Anarch 3rd. Right handed

01/Jul/1995 3rd Greyville July Handicap, Gr.1, 2200m.
Teal was 1st and Barrellen 2nd. Right handed

30/Sep/1995 1st Turffontein John Skeaping Trophy Stakes, Gr.2, 1800m.
Dupa Dice was 2nd and Hawkeye 3rd. Right handed

04/Nov/1995 2nd Gosforth Germiston November Handicap, Gr.1, 1600m.
Golden Globe was 1st and Garb of Guise 3rd. Right handed

27/Apr/1996 1st Turffontein Premier’s Cup, Gr.1, 2000m.
Dupa Dice was 2nd and Tickets and Tax 3rd. Right handed

09/Aug/1996 1st Greyville Champion Stakes, Gr.1, 2000m.
Teal was 2nd and Western Rocket 3rd. Right handed

01/Mar/1997 1st Turffontein Keith Hepburn Champion Stakes, Gr.2, 1400m.
Divine Force was 2nd and See a Penny 3rd. Right handed

08/Apr/1997 3rd Turffontein First National Bank Stakes, Gr.1, 1600m.
Record Edge was 1st and Just Andre 2nd. Right handed

04/Jun/1997 1st Greyville Chairman’s Stakes, Gr.2, 1200m.
Taban was 2nd and Shoe Shac 3rd. Right handed

National Emblem was as good a horse at 6-8 furlongs as we’ve known, and was as a result several times the starting favourite for the country’s two top weight-for-age 1600s, the Queen’s Plate and the Gold Challenge, around the left hand bends of Kenilworth and Clairwood. As you can see from his record, he came up empty on all of those occasions.

Just recently we came across an article in Braintainment, penned by an athlete called Franz Oosthuizen. This is what he had to say: “No one knows for certain why they run counter-clockwise. It probably started because of being right handed. Another plausible reason is that in humans the left leg is generally shorter than the right one. This makes turning left easier and more natural. If you were to be blindfolded and asked to walk, you would walk in anticlockwise circles. Scientifically, as the heart is in the left side, for humans and animals running anticlockwise makes the centrifugal force in the body act from left to right. Superior venecava takes blood to the heart aided by heart suction. This vein carries blood from left to right. Centrifugal force due to anticlockwise running helps this suction. If we run clockwise, the centrifugal force impedes suction.”

Speaking personally, it never occurred to me that my left leg might be shorter than my right. Practically, my legs are already short enough, and I can hardly afford one to be shorter than the other, but I have to confess to a feeling that I prefer to run left-handed rather than right-handed. That might be force of habit, of course, but it doesn’t help us to understand why National Emblem was better at Greyville than he was at Clairwood. Do you have any ideas?

AFRICAN HORSE SICKNESS : ROUND ONE TO SOUTH AFRICA

Kenilworth Quarantine Station
(Photo : Racing South Africa)

A BREATHTHROUGH FOR
AFRICAN HORSE SICKNESS

The world is a tough enough place without recessions, and it’s even tougher when money is in short supply. Family businesses, big corporations and sovereign states all feel threatened, and when it comes to sharing markets or fair trade, many seem to abandon the values they were brought up with.

For decades now, South Africa has battled to convince the international community about the right to take its place in the community of international horse exporters. While a political stand-off during the apartheid years was understandable, there’s no longer any scientific justification for the position South Africa finds itself in. For those who don’t know, in 1995 the writer attended the International Breeders’ Conference in Paris, and managed to persuade the EU and American veterinary authorities in attendance that with the right mechanisms in place, there was no reason to fear the receipt of South African horses. The deal was consummated in the presence of a group of vets and scientists representing the biggest exporting nations, in a Paris hotel room at three in the morning. By then we’d consumed two bottles of Black Bush whiskey, and in Brussels today, the deal is still formally known as the “Black Bush Accord”. So anxious were we as a nation to recommence our exports, our technocrats readily agreed to the inclusion of a provision that would automatically suspend exports from South Africa for a period of two years in the event of an outbreak of African Horse Sickness in what was described in the founding memorandium as the surveillance zone in the Western Cape. After all, there was little reason to fear any outbreak, as there’d been no anecdotal evidence of one in living memory.

The first few years were uneventful, and it looked as if the long history in that vicinity would prevail AHS-free for decades, if not centuries to come. We hadn’t reckoned on climate change though, and within a decade, an outbreak had occurred. There was an agonizing two year wait before we could resume again. In the meantime, South African horses had begun to show their mettle on international racecourses, and they succeeded to a degree that far surpassed our wildest expectations.

At one point, in Dubai, South African-trained runners took three (50%) of the six events carded at the world’s richest race meeting. A year on, 33% fell to our horses, and that was repeated another year later. Tragically, the whole process was interrupted by yet another outbreak in the Mamre district of the Western Cape some 18 months ago, and once again suspension kicked in. All efforts since then to have the ban lifted in advance of the expiry of the two years have been thwarted at every turn, even by our most ardent trading partners. In a manner of speaking, South Africa has become a victim of its own success, and there are strong suspicions in certain quarters that some of our competitors, themselves adept at the application of non-tariff protection measures, are having a say in matters.

Remember, during the Colonial wars, South Africa exported more than half a million horses to foreign shores, and these animals played a vital role in the affairs of the British Empire. Since Britain held dominion over more than 40% of the earth’s surface at the time, what it said went, and our horses were able to travel the world at will. The fact is, they went by ship, and the journeys were relatively arduous, taking at least a month to six weeks to reach places such as India, China, the Middle East and Europe. The boats served as quarantine stations, and any animals infected with any disease, either overcame it while in transit or they perished before they reached their destinations.

This may sound a little callous, but since there was no antidote for these diseases in those days, back home the same fate awaited them even when they weren’t exported.

The point here is, no horse ever left these shores and infected another country with any disease, let alone African Horse Sickness, and so the trepidation with which recipient countries appear to approach the problem these days, appears overplayed.

From a scientific perspective, it’s worth noting that South Africa has built a quarantine facility at Kenilworth racecourse which compares with the best and the most secure in the world. Those charged with the responsibility of overseeing the export protocols include some of the most competent scientists and veterinarians in the world, and they happen to be the foremost authorities on African Horse Sickness. Besides, a new test able to diagnose the presence of Horse Sickness in an animal within 24 hours (the PCR test) has recently been developed (validation pending), and besides the usual quarantine precautions involved in ensuring that horses leaving our shores are free of any disease, this test will provide an instant on-the-spot indication of a horses’ status just hours before departure.

Armed with these scientific measures, and backed up by a history of responsible management over many decades, the OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health) decided late last week to adopt a new code for the export of South African horses. This announcement is the game-breaker we’ve all been waiting for. The new code embraces the use of the PCR test as well, which means it won’t be capable of implementation until such time as the test has been finally validated by an independent international authority. But once the process is complete, it will be open to South Africa to renegotiate its terms of trade with its principal partners, and with visits to South Africa in general and to Summerhill in particular, of government delegations from China and Russia taking place in the month of June, it’s a matter of “sunshine, baby”. Few of these things are without impediments though, and while we hope it’s plain sailing from here, the one thing we know is that if there are any obstacles, it’s not in the nature of our countrymen to give up.

IGUGU SET FOR THE J&B MET

Igugu
(Photo : JC Photos / Summerhill Stud)

J&B MET (Grade 1)
Kenilworth, Turf, 2000m
28 January 2012

Horseracing fans can stand by for a grand afternoon of racing at Kenilworth this Saturday as champion filly Igugu, currently the darling of South African racing, will be out to post her seventh-straight success in Cape Town’s premier race, the R2,5 million J&B Met over 2000m… and there are four other feature events on the 10-race card.

It’s going to be a fabulous occasion with huge TAB pools, glorious fashion, dazzling two and four-legged fillies and loads of chances to win big.

Igugu, a graduate from the Summerhill Stud draft of the 2009 Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale, is one of the shortest-priced J&B Met favourites for years and on paper she has her rivals stone cold. Fortune smiled on her in the draw for starting gate positions and she will jump from No 7 stall, plus on all known form she’s got at least two lengths in hand of all her opponents.

The only concern is her fitness. A bout of flu interrupted her preparation for a few days and her official gallop last week didn’t quite go according to plan with the result that she didn’t have as testing a workout as was hoped.

That said, trainer Mike de Kock has few, if any, equals in the world at preparing a horse for a big day and Igugu should be fit enough to notch her 10th success in only 12 career starts.

Her only previous visit to Kenilworth ended in a rare defeat when she got going too late to tag Ebony Flyer in the 1600m Cape Fillies Guineas 14 months ago. But that was a race that just didn’t go her way, rather than her having any difficulty handling a left-handed track, and with average luck in running her natural brilliance should see her safely home come Saturday.

Mike de Kock will also saddle smart stayer Ilsanpietro, who has proved to be a talented performer at middle distances as well in recent months.

Ilsanpietro was second in the 1800m Victory Moon Stakes and the 2000m Sansui Summer Cup during Phumelela’s Spring-Summer Season and those efforts indicate he’s more than capable of playing a role in the finish of the J&B Met, although the fast Kenilworth 2000m is hardly his ideal battleground.

Igugu’s contemporary, The Apache, is one of the best four-year-olds around and is another set to be involved in the finish.

The Apache was a trifle disappointing when fourth to Dancewiththedevil in the Sansui Summer Cup, but should reverse the form with runner-up Ilsanpietro now, while he should again hold Smanjemanje.

Tales Of Bravery, Beach Beauty and smart three-year-old Gimmethegreenlight, whose stamina is questionable, look the pick of the locals but the De Kock duo and The Apache look set to take home the lion’s share of the money.

Extract from Tab Online

TALES OF BRAVERY WELL PREPPED FOR L'ORMARINS QUEEN'S PLATE

Tales Of Bravery - Jet Master Stakes
(Photo : Gold Circle)

L’ORMARINS QUEEN’S PLATE (Grade 1)
Kenilworth, Turf, 1600m
7 January 2012

David Thiselton
Gold CircleTrainer Vaughan Marshall runs his five-year-old Kahal gelding Tales Of Bravery in the weight for age Grade 1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate over 1600m at Kenilworth on Saturday and will be hoping to go one better than last year when finishing a 2,25 length second to Mike de Kock-trained Mother Russia.

Marshall said, “He is very well and has done everything we wanted him to do.”

Tales Of Bravery has had a fine season to date having won a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1500m at Kenilworth on his reappearance, then finishing a 0,5 length second to Bravura in the weight for age Grade 2 Green Point Stakes over 1600m on the Kenilworth Old Course and then winning the Jet Master Stakes over Saturday’s course and distance on December 17.

He has had one extra prep run than last year, but Marshall doesn’t believe this will make any difference to his chances. He reckons the better draw of seven compared to eight last year will help. Marshall makes Bravura and Variety Club, both from the Joey Ramsden yard, the horses to beat.

Extract from Gold Circle