CHECCETTI CLINCHES GERALD ROSENBERG STAKES

Watch Checcetti winning the Bisquit Cognac Gerald Rosenberg Stakes (Grade 2)
(Photo : JC Photographics - Footage : Tellytrack)

BISQUIT COGNAC GERALD ROSENBERG STAKES (Grade 2)
Turffontein, Turf, 2000m
27 April 2013

Champion trainer Mike de Kock had to wait until near sunset on Saturday afternoon to put his name on the board of important triumphs on Champions Day at Turffontein, but a pair of Grade 2 winners came in quick succession to round off what culminated in another successful big race day for the stable.

Summerhill Stud-bred Checcetti returned to her best form to win the Bisquit Cognac Gerald Rosenberg Stakes over 2000m and Avontuur Stud’s Canterbury Tale plugged away relentlessly to hold off champion stayer Seal in the Gold Bowl over 3200m.

Mike is no stranger to the race named after the late Mr Rosenberg, one of Highveld racing’s former chief administrators who was still in good health back in 1989, when race meetings were often held on Wednesday afternoons at the great Newmarket, and Evening Mist bagged the trainer his first Graded feature.

Mike’s won the Gerald Rosenberg a few times since, but monotony in racing does not exist for those who truly love the sport and Checcetti provided a good measure of satisfaction along with her 1.25 length victory.

Mike commented: “I wanted to retire Checcetti last season but her owners were keen for her to compete another year so this is a nice reward for their confidence. We rested her, sent her back to Summerhill. She improved in her last run and in the last two weeks really came to hand showing good work and getting dapples in her coat. Well done to Marco van Rensburg, who rode a perfect race.”

Throughout the race Van Rensburg, who is regaining the promise he showed as an apprentice several years ago, closely tracked Piere Strydom’s mount Cherry On The Cake. Strydom, the master tactician, employed his seasoned tactics of alternatively stepping on the pedal and then slowing down and, as he is known to do, left a bit in the tank for a late rattle. But when Strydom gave the tiring Cherry on the Cake her first breather racing through the 400m marker, Van Rensburg put his own foot down, raced on by and took the contest by the scruff of the neck.

Van Rensburg said: “Mr De Kock had a feeling that Piere would go out to set the pace and told me to follow him and hope for the best. I wanted to sit a while longer, but I knew she was fit. I pulled her out and she responded strongly.”

Checcetti, a Summerhill graduate of the 2009 Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale is owned by the partnership of Tony Moodley, who reportedly hugged the couch in his fine hillside abode while his son had to do course duty, Mike de Kock, Mick Goss’ Summerhill Syndicate and Vanessa Harrison. Checcetti has recorded 5 wins and 15 places from 27 starts for stakes earnings of R706,525.

Extracts from Mike de Kock Racing

Enquiries :
www.summerhill.co.za

SUMMERHILL'S "USP"

Cheryl and I on Yasawa Island, Fiji
(Photo : Supplied)

“Travel these days takes more than money.
It takes the most precious commodity of the lot: time.”

Cheryl and I have been travelling a lot of late. The Wild Coast (there is only one), Cape Town, Jo’burg, Thanda Game Reserve, Phinda of the same, Melbourne and Yasawa Island in Fiji. Quite a mixture. It’s premature to talk about Fiji, because we’ve only just arrived, but it’s fair to say that it measures up to everything Captains Cook and Bligh had to say about it in the good old days (in Bligh’s case, before the Bounty crew made him walk the plank!).

Being racehorse breeders and hoteliers, you can’t avoid the comparisons between the way we do things and how others go about their businesses. Survival in the modern world depends upon how you distinguish your product from others, and I suspect that whatever Summerhill and Hartford are, it’s because they were built without money. When you have the funds, you simply pay and you get. When you don’t, you have to be creative, you have to be intuitive about what gets a pulse racing. It’s about authenticity, atmosphere and adventure, sounds, scents and scenery, tastes and taboos. Good hotels and good horses always reflect a sense of “place”, their environment, their histories, their traditions and importantly, their people. In the world of travel, a high level of discernment is creeping into every arena. Today, the customer’s interest in artisanal beer and food, for example, is echoed in an interest in artisanal hospitality. Hartford House is dedicated to sating people’s interest in the world’s distinctive places: you quickly lose any sense of being in a unique environment when staying in a typical high-end hotel in London, Paris or Shanghai, Cape Town, Sydney or Dubai.

Increasingly, travellers seek destinations that accommodate lifestyle and weather, bespoken to their surroundings and community. Hotels should reflect their past, and the architecture of their neighbourhood; discerning guests understand the difference between décor and design, and seldom mistake decoration for good design.

Travel these days takes more than money. It takes the most precious commodity of the lot: time. Most people can buy a car, a handbag or a smart pair of shoes, but travel calls for energy, curiosity, a degree of adventure, even bravery. Not long from now, the greatest indulgence will not be a Ferrari; it will be a fortnight in Zululand, or even a living being; let’s not forget, the greatest creature the good Lord ever created, is the racehorse. And you can come by yours with a week at Hartford. An Argentinean polo player on a recent visit to us, tells it like this: “I was waiting for that combination of bliss and despair which makes African journeys so memorable - a melodramatic pose, a “Hendricks” and tonic coursing through my veins, a three day scruff of beard, a whiff of revolution in the air!”.

Our places thrive because of their originality, they survive on account of their old fashioned values. The more technologically focused the world becomes, the less people want to check-in via iPad and have their pillow preferences stored in a computer. Instead, our guests like to arrive and be greeted by their surnames; they soon get to know themselves again by their first names. And if you’ll give us the time to unpack for you, you’ll find your clothes pressed and hanging in the closet. Simple, old-style service is the most pleasant luxury.

Hartford and Summerhill have become beacons of their trades. In a world in which it’s no longer so “cool” to be a waiter or a groom, we remember, every day, what an honour it is to serve.

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

SPOTTED IN MELBOURNE

(Photos : Bruno Cannatelli/Aushorse)

INGLIS MELBOURNE PREMIER YEARLING SALE
Oaklands Junction
3-6 March 2013

www.inglis.com.au

2013 CAPE PREMIER YEARLING SALE HIGHLIGHTS

Click above to watch Summerhill CEO Mick Goss discussing the Summerhill draft at the 2013 Cape Premier Yearling Sale
(Image and Footage : Cape Premier Yearling Sale)

CAPE PREMIER YEARLING SALE BOOK 1
Cape Town International Convention Centre
24 - 25 January 2013

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

READY TO RUN ROCKS

Top buyer Adriaan van Vuuren with top lot Die Kat (AUS) (Tale Of The Cat)
(Image : Leigh Willson / Heather Morkel)

SOUTH AFRICAN SALES NEWS
By Lisa Barrett

Extract from ANZ Bloodstock News

South Africa is continuing to buck the trend when it comes to racehorse sales, and the results of the recently concluded Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sales speak for themselves. The overall aggregate was up from R30,835million in 2011 to R38,840million in 2012, the average price per horse also rose significantly from R177,213 in 2011 to R229,822 in 2012. A vendor buy back system was implemented earlier this year which accounted for 11 lots with just ten lots left unsold by sale end.

Over the years, the Ready To Run concept has taken off and is now one of the most visible and popular sales in South Africa. This is mostly thanks to the innovation of Mick Goss, CEO of Summerhill Stud, who realised that it is better to see a horse doing what it does naturally; run. This would give buyers the added edge, being able to see the horses in action, and so the concept for the well-known Summerhill gallops was born.

One of the most exciting aspects of the Ready To Run Sale has been its associated race, the R2.5Million Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup (1400m), which is now the richest race for two-year-olds in the world, and ranks on a par with the J&B Met (Gr1, 2000m) as the second richest in Africa. The race has produced multiple millionaires over the years, and is an added incentive for buyers wanting to join the ranks of fame and glory.

Six lots went for R1million and above with the sales topper Die Kat (Lot 157), a colt by leading US sire Tale Of The Cat (Storm Cat), went for R2million to Adriaan van Vuuren, who also bought the sale’s top filly, Mystical Star (Lot 47), a daughter of the late Jet Master (Rakeen) for R1.5million.

The TBA’s Jan Naude was delighted with the results of the sale saying, “This was a phenomenal sale. The aggregate was up 26%, and the average 30%. Well done to all involved for this sale.”

Summerhill’s Mick Goss, professed himself thrilled with the results, “This is a wonderful tribute to the resilience of South Africans, determined to overcome the gloomy current economy. Racing is an escape from all the bad news around the world”.

In the end, it boils down to one thing, this Ready To Run sale is the best place to pick up a future winner at a bargain price; remember Hear The Drums (Gold Press) who was sold at the 2004 Ready To Run Sale for a mere R42,000? He went onto become South Africa’s winning-most horse in history (somewhere in the region of 34 wins), retiring with earnings in excess of R2million. The opportunities are endless, and the possibilities mouth watering. (R1 = $0.11)

Extract from ANZ Bloodstock News