2010 L'ORMARINS QUEEN'S PLATE VIDEO AND RESULTS

Click above to watch the 2010 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate
(Footage : SuperSport)

R1MILLION L’ORMARINS QUEEN’S PLATE (GRADE 1) 1600M
KENILWORTH RACECOURSE
9 JANUARY 2010

Pocket Power shattered the history books at Kenilworth on Saturday with an awe inspiring fourth consecutive victory in the 149th L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate. Congratulations to Mike Bass, Candice Robinson and team at Mike Bass Racing; Marsh Shirtliff, Arthur and Rina Webber, Zandvliet Stud and Pat and Henry Devine.

FINAL RESULTS

#	Horse	Kg	MR	Dr	Jockey	Trainer
1	POCKET POWER	58	119	1	B Fayd’Herbe	Mike Bass
2	KAPIL	58	115	3	MJ Byleveld	Stan Elley
3	BIG CITY LIFE	58	111	10	K Teetan	Glen Kotzen
4	FABIANI	58	103	2	R Fourie	Glen Kotzen
5	STRATEGIC NEWS	58	107	8	P Cosgrave	Dylan Cunha
6	IVORY TRAIL	58	111	5	R Danielson	Joey Ramsden
7	THUNDER KEY	58	106	4	S Cormack	Glen Kotzen
8	FOREST PATH	58	107	7	G Schlechter	Stephen Page
9	BLUE TIGER	58	109	9	K Neisius	Mike Bass
10	GAULTIER	58	107	6	G Hatt	Mike Bass

POCKET POWER GUNNING FOR L'ORMARINS NUMBER FOUR

Pocket Power
(Photo : Gold Circle)

L’ORMARINS QUEEN’S PLATE (GRADE 1) 1600m
KENILWORTH 9 JANUARY 2009

The Mother City’s social scene will awaken Saturday to South Africa’s most prestigious annual horseracing event, the 149th renewal of the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate, an event which is set to transform Kenilworth racecourse into a setting where haute couture fashion, vintage cars, fine wine and the country’s greatest thoroughbreds take centre stage.

The tongues are already wagging in anticipation of Pocket Power shattering the history books once again by scoring a fourth consecutive victory in the R1million showdown.

Nicci Garner writes for Tab Online that trainer Mike Bass believes without a doubt that Pocket Power is a Champion and that puts him in a different league to the other nine runners in the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate.

Mike Bass explains, “There’s a difference between really good horses, like Big City Life, and Champions. Pocket Power is in the Champions league.’’ He continues, “I don’t knock Big City Life. I respect him. He’s a very good horse and will mature. But in the July, without taking anything away from him, he beat the filly, Zirconeum (a 55-1 shot), and Forest Path (100-1) - and Pocket Power (who finished fifth) raced at the back of the field and was desperately unlucky.’’

Although Pocket Power has not had the same kind of preparation that saw him win the last three L’Ormarins Queen’s Plates, Mike Bass believes his supporters will not be disappointed with his star’s wellbeing.

Pocket Power has had just one run since getting beaten on the line by fast-finishing Ivory Trail in the Champions Challenge at the end of July. He was deep in the red for the 1500m Pinnacle Plate at Kenilworth last month and awed even his trainer in scoring in facile fashion by 0.75 lengths from Big City Life.

“I’m very happy with the progress he’s made. He’s done very well. Physically he looks great. He was quite fit in that 1500 preparatory run and has had one gallop since. I didn’t run him again because he was ahead of schedule and didn’t need another race. I gave him a good gallop instead and think he’s pretty much at his best. He’s come well and I’m happy that he’ll do his very best. No matter what happens on Saturday, there will be no excuses. Now it’s up to him. I’m quietly confident that Pocket Power is very hard to beat.’’

Pocket Power is unbeaten beyond 1400m at Kenilworth and many believe, while he is a star anywhere else in the country, he reserves his very best efforts for Kenilworth. Mike Bass still disputes that view, saying that, if the KwaZulu-Natal season was switched to the summer, we’d all see a different Pocket Power in Durban. “He doesn’t winter that well. He benefits from the summer climate during the Cape season. You should see his coat now!’’

Bass does not even want to contemplate the fact that Pocket Power is bidding to win the Grade 1 race for the fourth year running. “Only when it’s all done can you think it’s possible to win a race - especially one of this stature - four times in a row. Dare we hope?’’

FINAL FIELD

#	Horse	Kg	MR	Dr	Jockey	Trainer
1	POCKET POWER	58	119	1	B Fayd’Herbe	Mike Bass
2	KAPIL	58	115	3	M Byleveld	Stan Elley
3	BIG CITY LIFE	58	111	10	K Teetan	Glen Kotzen
4	IVORY TRAIL	58	111	5	R Danielson	Joey Ramsden
5	BLUE TIGER	58	109	9	K Neisius	Mike Bass
6	FOREST PATH	58	107	7	G Schlechter	Stephen Page
7	GAULTIER	58	107	6	G Hatt	Mike Bass
8	STRATEGIC NEWS	58	107	8	P Cosgrave	Dylan Cunha
9	THUNDER KEY	58	106	4	S Cormack	Glen Kotzen
10	FABIANI	58	103	2	R Fourie	Glen Kotzen

THE HISTORIC L'ORMARINS QUEEN'S PLATE

The L’Ormarins Queens Plate 149th Run
(Photo : L’Ormarins)

QUEEN A DAY AT THE RACES

In a ding-dong on Saturday, the Triple Horse of the Year, Pocket Power, overpowered Vodacom July hero, Big City Life in the last one hundred to record a 3/4 length success. What would you pay to witness a renewal of that clash on Queen’s Plate Day?

The prestigious and undoubtedly the most stylish event on the Cape Town racing and social calendar, the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate, will be run for the 149th time at Kenilworth Racecourse on January 9, 2010, for a purse of R1 million.
One of South Africa’s premier horse races over 1600m and a weight-for-age contest in line with the world’s most renowned Grade 1 events, the historic L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate was first held in 1861 in honour of Queen Victoria. When she died, the race became the King’s Plate up until the accession of Queen Elizabeth II to the throne in 1953. Today it is a chic and fashionable affair which brings the country’s finest thoroughbred horses onto centre stage and surrounds them with haute couture fashion, vintage cars and fine wines.

The L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate is a day steeped in elegance and punters are requested to dress in keeping with the blue and white dress code, which is carried through to the décor in the VIP village and style lounges. For ladies this means floaty, summery frocks in pearl, alabaster and ivory with large hats to shield their delicate skin from the harsh South African sun. Gentlemen don lightweight summer suits with ties in shades of sapphire, cornflower, turquoise, navy, sky, cobalt and powder blue. Effort will be rewarded with prizes for the best dressed couple who have embodied the sophistication of the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate.

In the style lounges, guests will be accommodated in comfort and luxury in a variety of marquees, with a dazzling array of gourmet food stalls, plentiful totes for placing bets, classy wine and champagne bars, and a specially constructed deck for an uninterrupted view of their winning horse romping home. Later, as the sun dips behind the mountain and the last race is run, some of the country’s best musicians and DJs will take to the stage to entertain the crowds till late.

Like last year, car enthusiasts can look forward to a host of beautiful, classic vintage cars, which will be on display throughout the day.

Entrance to the style lounges and VIP village is R250 excluding food and drink, and tickets are available at Computicket. Access to the public area in front of the main grandstand costs R30. A wide range of delicious food and beverages will be on sale there, including picnic baskets which you can enjoy on the oak-shaded lawns.

Click the above button to go to www.lqp.co.za for more information or call Kenilworth Racecourse on 021 700 1808.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Marisa Logan, Greater Than
Telephone: 021 481 1834
Email: Marisa@greaterthan.co.za

OR

Louise Porter, Greater Than
Telephone: 021 481 1834
Email: Louise@greaterthan.co.za

Pocket Power delivers third L'Ormarins Queen's Plate

Pocket Power with Bernard Fayd’Herbe aboard
(Photo : Gold Circle)

Kenilworth racegoers yesterday witnessed a dramatic day’s racing filled with elation and despair. The fancied daughter of Act One, Dancer’s Daughter, failed in her attempt to repeat her success from last year in the Paddock Stakes whilst the son of Jet Master, Pocket Power, obliterated the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate field to record his third successive victory in the feature race.

Nicola Hayward writes for Thoroughbred Internet that in the Paddock Stakes (Gr1), Gauteng-based filly Emblem Of Liberty took the honours by beating favourite, Dancer’s Daughter, in some style, even though this was her first attempt at the 1800m trip. The four-year-old daughter of National Emblem, out of the Kendor mare, Dafka, was bred at Odessa Stud by Lionel Cohen who also owns her in partnership with Mrs C Cheyne, whose husband Greg Cheyne raced the horse to victory ahead of River Jetez (Jet Master) in second and Dancer’s Daughter (Act One) in third.

In the feature race, the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate (Gr1), Pocket Power rewrote the history books by taking line honours for the third consecutive year.

The six-year-old gelding, trained by Mike Bass and piloted by Bernard Fayd’Herbe, maintained an unbeaten record over the Kenilworth mile running out an impressive winner. Pocket Power (Jet Master) looked a picture going down to the start and by the time the field had turned for home, the powerful bay was mid-field. He found another gear in the straight to comfortably beat Our Giant (Giant’s Causeway) into second, with Kapil (Jallad) flying at the finish to take third.

The next clash for many of the day’s runners will be the J&B Met at Kenilworth on 31 January, where Pocket Power will be gunning for “another” third successive victory.

Pocket Power - Powering into the History Books

Pocket Power (Gold Circle)Pocket Power ran himself into the history books with a stellar performance in the J&B Met at Kenilworth on Saturday. The five year old son of Champion sire Jet Master showed that he is just that, a Champion and legend in the making. Not since the days of the great Politician nearly thirty years ago, has a horse managed the famed “double-double” of the Queens Plate and J&B Met in consecutive years.

Overwhelming favourite, Pocket Power looked in superb form as he went down to post in the pre-race gallop. Likeithot set the early pace with Pick Six holding on in a handy second spot. At this stage Pocket Power was about seven lengths off the leader with Bernard Fayd’Herbe biding his time. As they turned for home Likeithot was still in the lead but only just, with Our Giant looming dangerously.  Asked the question by Fayd’Herbe he responded in true fashion and quickened away to win, to the roar of the ecstatic capacity crowd.

Congratulations must go to Mike Bass who has certainly got the “Midas” touch, as well as the owners Marsh Shirtliff & Mr & Mrs Webber.

Posted by Megan Romeyn