EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN CUP 2011 : ENTRIES

“FIELD OF DREAMS”

The field for the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup is starting to take shape. With less than 2 weeks until the 5 November showdown, the final lineup is no longer a matter of Merit Ratings alone.

The independent panel of Roger Smith (Senior Handicapper, NHRA), Graeme Hawkins (Gold Circle) and Patrick Davis (Phumelela), hold the final discretion as to what horses should make up the 16 horse field, and their job is to try and pick a horse that’s most likely to be competitive over 1400m on the 1st Saturday in November at Turffontein, racing for R2million.

In other words, if you look like an out-and-out 1000m sand specialist or like a future Gold Cup winner, the fact that you may be higher rated than a 1400m specialist, or an up-and-coming Guineas aspirant, won’t guarantee you a place ahead of the latter.

Of course, there is still a week to stake your horse’s claim amongst the final invitees so all is not lost if you don’t find yourself in the top 16 this week.

Protem, this is the likely field if it were carded today.

R2MILLION EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN CUP
Turffontein, Turf, 1400m
5 November 2011

Entries in invite order :

#	Horse	Sex	MR	Trainer
1	EXTRA ZERO	F	94	Sean Tarry
2	RED BARREL	C	80	Mike de Kock
3	VEROCCHIO (AUS)	C	86	Sean Tarry
4	KINEMATIC COUNTESS	F	86	Roy Magner
5	ADMIRAL JOHN PETER	G	81	Dean Kannemeyer
6	FRONTINO GOLD (AUS)	C	86	Mike de Kock
7	BLAZE OF FIRE	C	88	Yvette Bremner
8	ACAPELLA	C	82	Brian Wiid
9	DANSILI EXPRESS (AUS)	C	84	Mike de Kock
10	SAUCY SAVANNAH	F	81	Mike de Kock
11	SHEZTHECLUBQUEEN	F	84	Terry Lowe
12	PENHALIGON	C	84	Alyson Wright
13	AMERICANO	G	71	Paul Matchett
14	SOLAR CHARGED	C	81	Gavin Smith
15	MOET MAGIC	F	77	Sean Tarry
16	TONY’S TIPPLE	G	80	Louis Goosen
	Below The Line
17	COUNTESS BACARDI	F	79	Gavin van Zyl
18	BONNY BLUE	F	78	Ernie Anderson
19	IMPARTIAL JUSTICE	G	75	Pat Lunn
20	BLAZING SUNSET	G	81	Clinton Binda
21	ABUDHABI	G	52	Yvette Bremner
22	DEA DEA	F	78	John Vos
23	IKATI	F	77	Dennis Drier
24	KING’S CASTLE	G	0	Erico Verdonese
25	LIGHT BLUE	F	80	Dean Kannemeyer
26	PRIVATE BANKING	G	71	Kumaran Naidoo
27	PROUD MOMENT	F	68	Paul Lafferty
28	SECRET FORT	F	78	Gavin Smith
29	SHE’S GOT GEARS	F	61	Yvette Bremner
30	THE ALAMO	C	0	Brian Wiid
31	THE CLUB KING	G	0	Terry Lowe
32	TOP TALENT	F	74	Kumaran Naidoo
National Horseracing Authority of Southern Africa Correct as at 24 October 2011 Supplementary entries close Friday 28 October 2011 Final declarations Tuesday 1 November 2011 EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN SALE TBA Sales Complex, Gosforth Park, Germiston, South Africa Sunday 6th November 2011 For more information, please visit : www.summerhill.co.za and www.tba.co.za

WHEN IT COMES TO JUDGING, THIS IS THE FULL BENCH

Trophy display at the Summerhill Gallops
(Photo : Leigh Willson)

“EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN 2010”

“Hindsight is an exact science”, they say, and while in racing it’s never going to be quite “exact”, making your judgement after you’ve seen a horse gallop is a lot closer to the real thing than having to do so with the “walk-up” of a conventional sale. The increasing popularity of the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale is the best evidence of the value of being able to make your pick after you’ve clocked the gallop.

In what was a “world first” at the time, Summerhill solicited the expertise of a panel of judges to provide guidance to would-be buyers at their gallops, which take place on the farm about three weeks before the sale. They didn’t stop there though : they invited some of the country’s leading horsemen to participate. These men, despite their own interest in the sale, have served this purpose selflessly. Mike de Kock, Joey Ramsden, Jehan Malherbe, Michael Roberts, Graeme Hawkins, Michael Azzie, Eamonn Cullen and Dean Kannemeyer and the convenorship of Craig Peters, revered judges by any stretch, have added a unique dimension to the sale, endorsed by the growing attendance at the gallops. They no longer fall into the “nice-to-attend” category. If you’re serious about racing, this is a “must”.

The panel’s scoreboard over the past few years includes the Graded Stakes winners, and Grade One performers, Imbongi, Phunyuka, Umngazi, Galant Gagnant, Art Of War, Winning Leap, Pierre Jourdan, Fisani and Havasha, a roll call in earthly terms to rival the word of God.

Just a few weeks back, the news broke of a proposed increase in the stake for the associated Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup from R1,5 million to R2 million. Simultaneously, the stakeholders announced the introduction of a series of five trials in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, to facilitate guaranteed opportunities of a run for would-be candidates which might have faced elimination in the maidens otherwise.

Getting a run though, doesn’t necessarily get you into the race. Such was the quality of last year’s entry that 29 of them were already winners, so the organisers have inaugurated a second panel, along the lines of the Vodacom Durban July. From October forward, the NHA’s Roger Smith, Phumelela’s Patrick Davis and Gold Circle’s Graeme Hawkins will publish a merit list, reflecting qualifiers above the line, and providing connections of those below it with an idea of what they need to do to get over the line.

There’s R1,5 million at stake this year, and if the history of subscription for this event repeats itself next year, there’ll be R2 million up for grabs in 2011. It’s about the best deal in racing.

Extract from The Sporting Post

For more information please visit :

www.tba.co.za
and
www.summerhill.co.za