LAFF A MINUTE AND OTHERS

Television personalities Paul Lafferty and Andrew Bon at Royal Ascot
(Photo : Lafferty At Ascot)

EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN GALLOPS
Summerhill Stud, Mooi River
Friday 19th October 2012

You all know the names of the personalities of the men that serve on the Ready To Run Judges’ panel. Without them, South African racing would be a dowdy old place. One of them has gone AWOL though, staying in Cape Town for a fiftieth birthday, which is probably as much a reflection of his own age catching up with him, as anything else. Step up Alec Laird, the man that liberated South African racing when he became the first trainer in history to grab a Group One east of Cape Town. Whatever else it reads, his tombstone will be etched with the words “Trainer of London News”. It ignores of course, one of the deepest pedigrees in the game, and a lifetime of achievement. He’ll be on board on Friday.

In a slight change to the format, Nico Kritsiotis joins Craig Peters in the commentary box, and stands alongside another new face in Paul Lafferty, in the convening of the Judges panel for Channel 239. Laff needs little introduction as one of the sport’s great haymakers, while Nico has etched his name among the greats behind the “mic”. Remarkably, we’ll have four of the world’s best race-callers on hand on Friday, Graeme Hawkins, Jehan Malherbe, “Eagle-Eye” Craig Peters and Nico Kritsiotis. They don’t come much better (or bigger) than that.

Reminds us of the story of the “mother and father” of all battles, which took place just 45 minutes from where the gallops will be staged on Friday. On that day, in early 1900, drawn together by dint of the peculiar circumstances of what had been happening in this territory for almost a century before, was one of the most extraordinary assemblies of men in history. Louis Botha, the outstanding general of the Anglo-Boer War and the first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, was there. Alongside him, the man he accompanied to Versailles on the conclusion of the First World War, the man the world chose to write the charters for the League of Nations and subsequently for the United Nations, and the man Churchill nominated to be his successor as Prime Minister in the British War cabinet, Jan Smuts, he was there. The Englishman himself, arguably the most famous of all Englishman, Winston Churchill, he was there. Denys Reitz, Boer General and ironically, a Field Marshall thereafter in the British army and one-time Deputy Prime Minister of South Africa, was on Spioenkop that fateful day. And quite remarkably, the man who liberated India in 1947, the Mahatma Gandhi, was a stretcher-bearer on that mountain that day.

What chance our race-callers might be remembered in the same breath in years to come, for their attendance at the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Gallops in 2012!

Read more about the
2012 Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale

For more information please visit
www.tba.co.za

KIP ELSER : READY TO RUN INTERNATIONAL GUEST PANELIST

Kip Elser
(Photo : Gareth du Plessis)

KIP ELSER
Kirkwood Stables, USA

Dear Mick and Cheryl,

I cannot thank you enough for your hospitality at Summerhill and Hartford House.

I am lucky enough that the horse business has taken me all over the world. This visit with you has been truly a highlight! The setting, operation and staff are unmatched. I feel honored that you included me.

I hope your sale goes as well as I believe it should and hope that this visit is the first of many.

Regards,
Kip

Kirkwood Stables, USA
www.kirkwoodstables.com

JUDGEMENT DAY

“The judges have spoken…”

Last Friday’s gallops were a revelation. The deepest catalogue the Ready To Run has known. In the wake of Igugu’s Horse of the Year exploits, and the largest entry of foreign-breds in history, the imports would have their fans.

But when something is the universal view of some of the finest judges in the land, we reach for the notebook.

Mike de Kock was the first to say it, and his fellow panellists were quick to follow. The Mullins Bays and the Strongholds were something to behold. “Hot” stallions are the prime currency of the horse trade. They triumph over Wall Street crashes, and they lift rough mares. So how do you spot them?

YOU LISTEN TO THE PANELISTS. More than three hundred years of collective experience.

The Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale
Sunday 6th November

*Six cheque payment scheme for qualifying buyers.

Enquiries :
Tarryn Liebenberg +27 (0) 83 787 1982
or email tarryn@summerhill.co.za
www.summerhill.co.za

READY TO RUN GALLOPS 2011 : THE JUDGES HAVE SPOKEN

The judges have spoken…
(Photo : Gareth du Plessis)

EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN SALE
TBA Sales Complex, Gosforth Park, South Africa
6 November 2011

Nico KritsiotisThey have an impossible task really, especially when the draft for this year’s Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale is as deep as it is. It was the universal view at Friday’s gallops at Summerhill, that this was by some stretch the best catalogue the Ready To Run had assembled, so having to pick a handful of horses from those on display is at best, unenviable, at worst, downright outrageous. Nonetheless, the judging panel they’ve convened, is not only drawn from the country’s most astute and experienced horseman, but the bulk of them have had five years “practice” now, and the results tell us, they’re getting smarter at it with every passing year.

Given the size of the foreign-bred entry this year, at 25 the biggest of its kind at any sale in South African history, and our penchant as a nation for the Colonial belief that all things foreign are better (witness the Hollywoodboulevard / Igugu exacta in last year’s Ready To Run Cup), it was inevitable that a number of the judges’ choices would include the imports. It’s a tribute then, to the local breds that the “hardy annuals”, Kahal and Muhtafal, as well as Silvano, Tiger Ridge and Victory Moon, stood their ground in the vanguard of selections.

But it was the performances of the two first crop sires, Mullins Bay and the ill-fated European champion, Stronghold, that took the numerical honours. There were five Strongholds among the elect, while Mullins Bay was the outright victor ludorum, with no fewer than eight first choices. Before the judges delivered their verdicts, the man who’s regularly referred to these days as the world’s best trainer, Mike de Kock, labelled the Mullins Bays and the Strongholds as standouts. When he speaks, we’d do well to listen.

Horsemen the world over are forever looking for a new edge in life, and these two young stallions, former racehorses of the highest calibre, look like the goods. “Hot” stallions are the prime currency of the horse trade. They triumph over Wall Street crashes and lift rough mares, and their very names tempt buyers into abandoning price limits arrived at so carefully in the calm of the hotel room the night before. So how do you pick them before the rest of the world? There are some who gave up long ago, who believe that Lord Byron had hot stallions in mind when he penned “Luck’s All”.

Difficult, you might say, particularly when you have to guess whether or not the youngster being paraded before you at a conventional sale, will turn his good “walk” into a good “run”, when that time comes. The beauty of the Ready To Run, is that you can actually see them in their quicker paces, (as against what you think you can see), you can judge their actions, their turn of foot, and in many respects, their demeanours and their “tick of the heart”. That’s what I’d call a leg-up!

Here’s how the panel voted :

MIKE DE KOCK	Fillies
	17 NANDI (AUS) Danehill Dancer (IRE) - Celtic Queen (IRE)
	97 DYLAN’S PROMISE (AUS) Dylan Thomas (IRE) - Madonna (AUS)
	45 EXCEPTIONAL (ARG) El Prado (IRE) - Exact (USA)
	Colts
	35 UNNAMED (AUS) Royal Academy (USA) - Dubai’s Fairy (GB)
	136 ROCKY AFFAIR Mullins Bay (GB) - Rock Anthem
	180 DUKE OF MEDINA (AUS) Rock Of Gibraltar (IRE) - Amah Dramas (AUS)
	111 GOTHIC Silvano (GER) - Mysterious Land

MICHAEL ROBERTS	Fillies
	71 HOPE FOREVER (ARG) El Prado (IRE) - Hopeitsadiamond (USA)
	89 ILHA DA ROCK (AUS) Rock Of Gibraltar (IRE) - Les Ry Leigh (USA)
	51 DUKUDUKU Muhtafal (USA) - Fragrant Forest
	Colts
	35 UNNAMED (AUS) Royal Academy (USA) - Dubai’s Fairy (GB)
	143 KITE SURFER Tiger Ridge (USA) - Seeking The Wind
	135 WHITE TIGER Tiger Ridge (USA) - Refined Gold

SEAN TARRY	Fillies
	19 GOLDEN DYNASTY Mullins Bay (GB) - Class Will Sell
	107 TINCHY STRYDER Mullins Bay (GB) - Model K
	162 CRITICAL MIND (ARG) Johannesburg (USA) - Tough City (ARG)
	Colts
	135 WHITE TIGER Tiger Ridge (USA) - Refined Gold
	143 KITE SURFER Tiger Ridge (USA) - Seeking The Wind
	176 THE ITALIAN JOB (AUS) Street Sense (USA) - Albanella (GER)

GRAEME HAWKINS	Fillies
Allowed a bit of latitude to cater for the ‘value’ choices	43 ORLANDO MAGIC Mullins Bay (GB) - Entice The Gold
	51 DUKUDUKU Muhtafal (USA) - Fragrant Forest
	109 MY ARGENTINE LADY (ARG) El Prado (IRE) - My American Lady (USA)
	65 NEGEV Stronghold (GB) - Haifaa (IRE)
	45 EXCEPTIONAL (ARG) El Prado (IRE) - Exact (USA)
	Colts
	184 NOBLE STAR Kahal (GB) - Arabian Magic
	34 COOKIE MONSTER Kahal (GB) - Dream Starling
	135 WHITE TIGER Tiger Ridge (USA) - Refined Gold
	116 GALLIPOLI Daylami (IRE) - Northern Duel
	118 UNNAMED Windrush (USA) - Ode To Joy
	62 BINGELELA Cataloochee - Greet The Greek (SNL)
	176 THE ITALIAN JOB (AUS) Street Sense (USA) - Albanella (GER)

KIP ELSER	Fillies
Allowed a couple of ‘discretionary’ choices on account of his ‘special guest’ status	109 MY ARGENTINE LADY (ARG) El Prado (IRE) - My American Lady (USA)
	144 ROARING WATER Mullins Bay (GB) - Shirley Singer
	104 FORTITUDE Stronghold (GB) - Mininski (SNL)
	Colts
	180 DUKE OF MEDINA (AUS) Rock Of Gibraltar (IRE) - Amah Dramas (AUS)
	139 RED ROVER Victory Moon - Rosella
	79 BRIGHT AND BLUE Mullins Bay (GB) - Jibe
	116 GALLIPOLI Daylami (IRE) - Northern Duel
	176 THE ITALIAN JOB (AUS) Street Sense (USA) - Albanella (GER)

JEHAN MALHERBE	Fillies
	17 NANDI (AUS) Danehill Dancer (IRE) - Celtic Queen (IRE)
	109 MY ARGENTINE LADY (ARG) El Prado (IRE) - My American Lady (USA)
	125 QUE BONITA Stronghold (GB) - Perfect Lady
	Colts
	35 UNNAMED (AUS) Royal Academy (USA) - Dubai’s Fairy (GB)
	143 KITE SURFER Tiger Ridge (USA) - Seeking The Wind
	169 THE MUTINEER Mullins Bay (GB) - Wanted

DEAN KANNEMEYER	Fillies
	109 MY ARGENTINE LADY (ARG) El Prado (IRE) - My American Lady (USA)
	37 STONE TOWN Stronghold (GB) - East Africa (ARG)
	65 NEGEV Stronghold (GB) - Haifaa (IRE)
	Colts
	184 NOBLE STAR Kahal (GB) - Arabian Magic
	111 GOTHIC Silvano (GER) - Mysterious Land
	35 UNNAMED (AUS) Royal Academy (USA) - Dubai’s Fairy (GB)

JOEY RAMSDEN	Fillies
	107 TINCHY STRYDER Mullins Bay (GB) - Model K
	55 KHANYA Kahal (GB) - Glitz
	17 NANDI (AUS) Danehill Dancer (IRE) - Celtic Queen (IRE)
	Colts
	111 GOTHIC Silvano (GER) - Mysterious Land
	35 UNNAMED (AUS) Royal Academy (USA) - Dubai’s Fairy (GB)
	170 WENDY’S MAN Black Minnaloushe (USA) - Wendys (ARG)

Extract from www.sportingpost.co.za

For more information please visit :

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

HE AIN'T HEAVY, HE'S MY BROTHER.

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