TOP SPRINTERS LINE UP FOR POST MERCHANTS

Noble Heir - Computaform Sprint (Grade 1)
(Photo : JC Photographics / Summerhill Stud)

POST MERCHANTS (Grade 2)
Greyville, 1200m, 18 June 2010 

Winter has arrived with a vengeance in sub-tropical KwaZulu-Natal, but tonight’s racing action at Greyville promises to be sizzling hot. A full field of tip top sprinters go head to head in the Grade 2 Post Merchants, where Dennis Bosch’s grey Noble Heir (Kahal) will attempt to add her name to those of Sunera (1986) and Marie Galante (1992) as only the third filly in the past 25 years to capture this 1200m sprint.

The race had its first running back in 1936 and was won in that year by one of the all time greats of the South African turf, the Syd Garrett-trained Moonlit, who won the Met in both 1936 and 1938, carrying 145Ib (65,77kg) in the latter. Two other great horses that won the Merchants were 1952 July winner Mowgli and 1968 Met winner William Penn.

The 1979 July runner up, Sun Tonic, 1987 SA Guineas winner, Sloop, and the 1970 Cape Guineas winner, Shah Abbas, are three other versatile types to have won the Merchants. In fact even last year’s winner, Sharks Bay, could be considered a sprint-miler having finished third in last season’s Grade 2 KRA Guineas.

A noted frontrunner, who has recorded all eight of her wins over the minimum trip, Noble Heir came from off the pace to beat the boys in the Grade 1 Computaform Sprint, which suggests that the extra 200m should be well within her scope. She has won twice at the track and on current form, has strong claims to add a third Graded win to her record.

Kitalpha gelding Moroccan caught many by surprise when third to JJ The Jet Plane in the Grade 1 Golden Horse Casino Sprint last time out and a repeat of that effort could bring him right into the picture. Despite a wide draw, Moroccan is not without a chance.

Former Champion Sprinter Mythical Flight (Jet Master) has yet to visit the winner’s box since his return from an overseas campaign. He showed his customary pace in the Golden Horse Casino Sprint before running out of steam in the closing stages to finish about seven lengths off the winner.

Amazingly, this will be Mythical Flight’s first run at the Durban track, but he is well drawn and always merits respect.

FINAL FIELD

#	Horse	Kg	MR	Dr	Jockey	Trainer
2	GAULTIER	60.0	109	4	B Fayd’Herbe	Mike Bass
3	THUNDER KEY	60.0	109	5	I Sturgeon	Glen Kotzen
4	CASEY COOL	59.5	108	9	K Shea	Darryl Hodgson
5	EXTINCT	59.5	108	13	M Yeni	Colin Scott
6	INTELLECTUAL	59.5	108	8	R Danielson	Herman Brown
7	IVORY TRAIL	59.5	108	12	P Botha	Joey Ramsden
8	MYTHICAL FLIGHT	59.0	107	2	G Lerena	Sean Tarry
9	NOBLE HEIR	59.0	107	3	A Delpech	Dennis Bosch
10	RED FLYER	58.0	105	18	S Randolph	Alistair Gordon
11	CYBER CASE	57.0	103	10	A Marcus	Charles Llaird
12	CLEARLY SILVER	56.5	104	15	A Forbes	Dennis Drier
13	BUSH PIRATE	56.5	102	14	K Teetan	Joey Ramsden
14	MOROCCAN (ZIM)	56.0	101	16	F Coetzee	Weiho Marwing
15	GALANTHUS	54.5	100	7	*D Mansour	Tyrone Zackey
16	MR TOP (ARG)	53.5	96	1	K Zechner	Sean Tarry
17	TWO TONE	53.0	97	11	-	Wendy Whitehead
	Late Scratchings
1	FORT VOGUE	60.0	109	17	* Domeyer	Mike Bass
	Reserve Runners
18	COOL SPENDER	52.5	94	6	Reserve 2	Sean Tarry

NOBLE HEIR BLITZES COMPUTAFORM SPRINT

Click above to watch Noble Heir winning the Computaform Sprint (Gr1)
(Image and Footage : Tellytrack)

R1,000,000 COMPUTAFORM SPRINT (Grade 1)
Turffontein, 1000m, Turf
1 May 2010

Michael Clower Racing PostNoble Heir sprang a 10-1 surprise when blitzing the opposition in the Grade 1 Computaform Sprint at Turffontein on Saturday.

The two market leaders, Warm White Night and Private Jet, both flopped and were the last two home.

Anthony Delpech’s mount lost ground at the start but she was on terms two furlongs out and soon drew away to beat 18-1 shot Intellectual rather more easily than the one and three-quarter length verdict would suggest. The 2007 winner Mythical Flight was half a length away third.

Delpech reported: “Things didn’t work out to plan when we jumped but maybe that worked in my favour because they went very fast - possibly we have found a new way to ride her. She may be on the small side but all you need is a big heart and the will to win.”

Durban-based trainer Dennis Bosch added: “Noble Heir is just a bomb. It is difficult to fly horses up and down from Durban to Jo’burg so she has stayed up here with Stuart Pettigrew and much of the credit must go to him.”

Warm White Night started at 11-20 but rider Anton Marcus looked decidedly uneasy even before halfway. He accepted the situation in the final furlong as the favourite dropped right out to finish last.

Last year’s winner Private Jet (9-2) was fastest away and appearedto have every chance two furlongs out but he soon faded and was only one place in front of the favourite at the line.

Extract from Racing Post

NOBLE HEIR (Kahal x Irish Honour)
4 Year Old Grey Filly
Owners : Sean Franken, A Hadden and D Holder
Trainer : Dennis Bosch
Jockey : Anthony Delpech
Breeder : Connington Stud
Win Time : 57.44
Career Record : 8 Wins, 10 Places, 24 Starts
Career Earnings : R1,262,140

RACE RESULT :

#	LBH	Horse	Kg	MR	Dr	Jockey	Trainer
1	0.00	NOBLE HEIR	57.5	105	8	A Delpech	Dennis Bosch
2	1.75	INTELLECTUAL	60.0	110	6	R Danielson	Herman Brown
3	2.25	MYTHICAL FLIGHT	60.0	113	11	J Geroudis	Sean Tarry
4	2.50	SOUTH COUNTRY	60.0	106	9	B Fayd’Herbe	Gary Alexander
5	2.55	STRIKE PARADISE	60.0	105	7	B Lerena	Dominic Zaki
6	3.00	ESTEREL	55.5	101	2	F Naude	Dianne Stenger
7	3.25	LAUREAL MAN (BRZ)	58.0	92	3	D David	Brett Webber
8	3.50	OPENING NIGHT	60.0	95	5	M V’Rensberg	Clinton Binda
9	4.25	LIGHTNING LECTURE	60.0	102	10	S Khumalo	David Nieuwenhuizen
10	6.00	PRIVATE JET (ARG)	60.0	115	4	P Strydom	Geoff Woodruff
11	7.50	WARM WHITE NIGHT	60.0	114	1	A Marcus	Charles Laird

For more information please visit :
www.summerhill.co.za

IT’S NEVER BEEN BETTER : RACING FANS SPOILT FOR CHOICE

The Computaform Sprint (Grade 1)
(Photo : Computaform /Phumelela)

THE SA DERBY, SA OAKS AND THE COMPUTAFORM SPRINT

There’s been an awful lot in the news and on television about Pierre Jourdan and his crack at the SASCOC Triple Crown next Saturday (24^th April), but there’s a helluva supporting cast around the SA Derby, including the SA Oaks (Salutation has a go at restoring the fortunes of a family which last tasted Group One glory with Last Watch in the SA Classic equivalent of yesteryear).

But for race goers, the other very serious diversion on Champions Day, revolves around the Computaform Sprint (Gr1), which has thrown up its own retinue of legends over the years. This year’s renewal must rival, if not outpoint any of its predecessors, with three individual champions taking on one another in what might arguably turn out to be the fastest 1000 metres the world has ever witnessed, given its history of 55 seconds scorchers.

The protagonists include the mercurial Mythical Flight, champion juvenile and multiple Grade One sprinter Warm White Night, and last year’s Computaform ace Private Jet.

Yes, a Triple Crown bid at a mile and a half, and a world-class dash at a 1000 metres, with nothing but a hair’s breadth separating the candidates on their best exposed form.

One thing’s for sure, the result will be tight; there will be no Ussain Bolt surging away from a gathering of street joggers this time, and it will be a wonderful prelude to a assault on the Triple Crown by arguably the best Three Year Old we’ve seen since Horse Chestnut.

What a day for racing.

R1 Million COMPUTAFORM SPRINT (Grade 1)
Turffontein 1000m
24 April 2010

FINAL FIELD

No	Horse	Kg	MR	Dr	Jockey	Trainer
1	PRIVATE JET (ARG)	60	115	4	P Strydom	Geoff Woodruff
2	WARM WHITE NIGHT	60	114	1	A Marcus	Charles Laird
3	MYTHICAL FLIGHT	60	113	11	J Geroudis	Sean Tarry
4	INTELLECTUAL	60	110	6	R Danielson	Herman Brown
5	SOUTH COUNTRY	60	106	9	A Fortune	Gary Alexander
6	STRIKE PARADISE	60	105	7	B Lerena	Dominic Zaki
7	LIGHTENING LECTURE	60	102	10	S Khumalo	David Nieuwenhuizen
8	OPENING NIGHT	60	95	5	M V’Rensberg	Clinton Binda
9	LAUREAL MAN(BRZ)	58	92	3	D David	Brett Webber
10	NOBLE HEIR	57.5	105	8	A Delpech	Dennis Bosch
11	GOLDEN SECRET	57.5	88	12	*JP v’d Merwe	Mike Azzie
12	ESTEREL	55.5	101	2	F Naude	Dianne Stenger

OF WAR ARTIST, REBEL KING AND UNCLE TOMMY

Rebel King
(Photo : Kerry Jack)

LIVING IN CLOVER

Those that watched Thursday evening’s big sprint in Dubai, will have noticed that Rupert Plersch’s War Artist came home smoking. This is not only great news for a long-time client of Summerhill, but it also franks the talents of a graduate of our paddocks. Rebel King was born into an “impossible” era of great sprinters in South Africa. As a son of National Emblem, he already had great shoes to fill from a Summerhill perspective, as he was the successor in the same yard (champion trainer Charles Laird’s) as the great Nhlavini, the only horse in history to line-up six consecutive years as an Equus Awards finalist.

As if that wasn’t enough, Rebel King also happened to arrive on the sprinting scene at a time when National Colour was blazing her trail, and the emergence of the spectacular Mythical Flight was taking shape. As if repelling these two horses was not already enough of a challenge, he came to the Natal Mercury Sprint (Gr.1) two seasons ago for yet another encounter with the odds-on Mythical Flight, at level weights over Clairwoods’ 1200m track.

At last, he came to conquer the horse that had beaten him in the Computaform Sprint (Gr.1) in Johannesburg, and having just got the job done, and with victory looking like it was in the bag, War Artist flashed up to beat him by a neck.

Of course, we know that War Artist has gone on to Group race glory in Europe during the past season, as well as running a narrow third in the Prix de ‘l Abbaye (Gr.1) Longchamp’s showcase for the best sprinters in Europe. Again, at Dubai’s Meydan Thursday evening, War Artist showed his mettle by lowering the colours of a strong field of sprinters, reminding us of his battles with Rebel King.

Very recently, our Bloodstock Manager, Kerry Jack, visited Rebel King at his new stallion home at the prestigious Klawervlei Stud (translated, literally, “clover vlei”). There’s hope in the Klawervlei quarter that he will be the successor to his own illustrious father, National Emblem.

Patronised by the owners of more than a hundred broodmares in his first season at stud, he’s an obvious hit, and a tribute to the horses graduating from our paddocks. His half-brother, Uncle Tommy, was 2009’s highest priced yearling at all sales in South Africa last year at R2,5 million, knocked down to the bid of Mike Bass acting on behalf of the doyen, Graham Beck.

ROYAL ASCOT

Royal Ascot must surely be one of the most well-known racing events on the international calendar. The Melbourne Cup may stop a nation for a day, but this Royal meeting stops the world for a week.

It was Queen Anne who transformed the naked heathland at Windsor Castle into the arena for England’s most famous sporting tradition in 1711. Since then more money, more pride, more pedigree and more champagne has been splurged on the outcome of the events of these four days than on any other sporting action anywhere.

To line up at Ascot takes more than a measure of talent, and earning a cheque is a serious achievement. Those that lay claim to Group One success are the elite of the breed. Summerhill stallion MALHUB (Kingmambo/Arjuzah) is one such horse; he overcame major adversity, took on the best, and beat the best sprinters in the Golden Jubilee Stakes (Gr1), including World Champion Juvenile, JOHANNESBURG.

This year, South African-bred J J THE JET PLANE carries the flag for South Africa in Saturday’s Golden Jubilee Stakes (Gr 1), while MYTHICAL FLIGHT takes up the challenge in today’s Kings Stand Stakes (Gr1).