IN PRAISE OF IGUGU

Click above to watch Igugu winning the 2012 J&B Met (Grade 1)
(Image : Gold Circle - Footage - SABC3)

“Heroine of the 2012 J&B Met”

David ThiseltonIn the run-up to the 2013 edition of the J&B Met we pay tribute to 2012 heroine, Igugu.

Racing enthusiasts from every corner of the industry cheered as one at around this time last year when the courageous filly Igugu, who is currently just a few weeks away from her overseas debut, passed the line first to complete a rare J&B Met and Vodacom Durban July double.

The greatness of the Mike de Kock-trained heroine’s win may not have been fully appreciated by all, as little went right for her in the build up and she had to overcome obstacles that would have been too much for an ordinary horse. De Kock recalled, “She had a respiratory problem and an ongoing foot problem that left us behind in our preparation. We ended up having to work her twice a day to catch up. She worked on the track in the morning and on the treadmill in the afternoon. There are not many horses that would have been able to take the work we gave her. But she has always been willing to do whatever you ask of her.”

Igugu had been due to run in the Grade 1 Paddock Stakes over 1800m for fillies and mares three weeks prior to the Met. The Galileo filly, who was four-years-old at the time, was virtually unbeatable at weight for age terms and her presence chased the opposition way, leaving a small field of only seven runners at final declarations.

The news early in the week of the race that she would have to be scratched due to an upper respiratory tract infection came as a shock to punters as she was the ruling J&B Met favourite. De Kock recalled, “Fortunately it was not serious and she was able to resume work quickly, which gave us just enough time.” On top of her intense work programme at Randjesfontein, Igugu still faced the arduous journey to Cape Town that she would undergo on the Tuesday before The Met. To compound matters, it was confirmed by the state veterinarians that she would have to stay in vector protected quarantine conditions while in Cape Town, as there had been an outbreak of African Horse Sickness within a 30km radius of Randjesfontein.

This meant being locked up at the Kenilworth Quarantine Station two hours before dusk until two hours after dawn, meaning De Kock and his team would not be able to check up on her at night, except through a viewing window. Igugu emerged from the station on the morning of the race sweating and she sweated up again in the pre-race parade. But De Kock was not concerned. Igugu went down to the post with her familiar shuffling style, which can be misleading, but to those standing on the rail nearest to her there was no mistaking the power packed into that unique action. However, it was a different story in the race, at least until the final 200 metres.

After the off she struggled to get into her usual good early position. Fortunately she had a top class pilot aboard, her regular rider Anthony Delpech, who didn’t waste any energy pursuing plan ‘A’. Instead he eased her back, meaning she would have to come from further off them than she was used to. However, half way down the straight her winning chances looked gone. At a stage she was normally pulling clear, she appeared to be under pressure and still had two lengths to make up on Bravura. However, from somewhere deep in her reserves, she found another gear and surged past Bravura two strides from the line to win by 0,4 lengths.

De Kock said that the five-year-old mare was in great shape in his Dubai yard, despite a few hiccups during her arduous five month journey to get there. “The flight from Mauritius to England took 26 hours to complete because of a few delays,” he said. “Then she had a splint (pain in the splint bone usually after exercise) after a sprint up in England.” He continued, “But she has done very well since arriving in Dubai and we’ve had a free ride with her since then.”

The Summerhill Ready To Run graduate will make her Dubai debut in the Grade 2 Balanchine for fillies and mares over 1800m on turf on February 21, a race De Kock has won for the last two years running with River Jetez and Mahbooba respectively. One certainty is that the South African racing fraternity will be rooting for her every step of the way.

Extracts from Mike de Kock Racing

SUPER SATURDAY : THE ACID TEST

Herman Brown Jnr and Mike de Kock
(Image : SA Trainers)

“SUPER SATURDAY”
Meydan, 10 March 2012

Super Saturday in Dubai is the last crucial test of aspirations for the richest day in racing, the Dubai World Cup meeting, where almost $30 million will be disbursed at the end of this month. For some of the candidates, their conditioners are simply applying the finishing touches, for others it’s the last run they need to get them to peak for the great day, and for others the question of where they’re going to end up on the day (in or out or in which race they’ll compete) still has to be defined. There are two South African trainers in action tomorrow, many times Champion trainer of the UAE, Mike de Kock, and third generation Herman Brown Jnr, who carries the hopes of the Chechneyan President, Ramzan Kadyrov. Brown’s horses are largely untested in the UAE, and they come from a variety of international backgrounds. We don’t know much about them, other than their ratings and their countries of origin, and you have to take their wellbeing on trust. He wouldn’t be running them at Saturday’s level, if he didn’t think they belonged there.

For de Kock, his horses fall into any one of the categories we’ve mentioned above. Bold Silvano, Musir, Mahbooba and Irish Flame, are in the “polishing” touches phase, River Jetez, the former J&B Met heroine, is only lighting up the afterburners, and has work to do. Others like Master of the Hounds, and the recent Group 2 mile victor, Viscount Nelson, have been confusing in their form, and questions remain as to what their best aptitude is. The latter is a spectacularly bred son of Giant’s Causeway (out of a Guineas and Oaks winner by Sadler’s Wells), and you’d expect his best trip to be at least ten furlongs, maybe twelve.

Local fans will be looking for bold showings from most of these horses, in particular the Durban July winner, Bold Silvano, who was a strong fancy last year to take the winner’s prize in the world’s richest race, the World Cup itself, before injury cruelly intervened. He ran a muddling race on his first start back, and the fact he’s only having his second start here, suggests de Kock has been nursing him.

Either way, it’s going to be an intriguing night of contests (two of the races have recently been elevated to Group 1 status), and if you’re wanting to follow it, tune into Tellytrack Saturday afternoon (channel 232). If you don’t have the fields, go to www.emiratesracing.com.

DUBAI WORLD CUP : DE KOCK LOOKS DOUBLE HANDED

Mike de Kock
(Photo : Tab Online)

Your thoughts on the Dubai Racing Carnival…

We’ve had any number of mails from every conceivable quarter of the world after Igugu’s big win in the J&B Met Saturday. One of our regular correspondents from America, ‘Green Beret’ is an avid Dubai-watcher, and he knows the form there as well as anyone we know. These are his thoughts (what are yours?).

Dear Summerhill Stud,
Thanks a heap for uploading the replays of Igugu’s wins in the G1 Durban July and again today in the G1 J&B Met!! This filly really looks special to me. To take down both the Durban July and J&B Met is no feat, because there’s some top class, middle distance turf horses racing in South Africa these days!! With the Dubai Carnival in full swing right now, I’m rooting hard for the Mike De Kock horses, as I always do every year!! Musir looks really at the top of his game right now!! But I’m keeping my fingers crossed that maybe Mike De Kock and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum will decide to ship this filly over as their #1 entry for this year’s G1 Sheema Classic on March 31st?? As badly as I hate saying this, it’s the one race De Kock looks like he’s lacking for a top class horse on cup night. He’s got Bold Silvano and Master of Hounds for the DWC. Musir and River Jetez for the Duty Free. But to my knowledge, he only has Irish Flame and possibly Mahbooba as his Sheema Classic possible’s at the moment? I know Irish Flame was a G1 winner of the Daily News 2000 in South Africa back in 2010. But for whatever reason, he just hasn’t been able to reproduce the same level of form in Dubai that he produced in South Africa? Mahbooba’s a talented filly, also. But I think the Cape Verdie showed us she’d likely be vulnerable against the worlds top 12f turf horses in the Sheema Classic? But if he sends Igugu? Whole new ballgame!! This filly could level the playing field for Mike De Kock chances to win the Sheema in a heartbeat if she shows up?? Any filly capable of winning the Durban July and J&B Met back to back would definitely have a legit shot at winning the Sheema Classic, too. IMO.

Mick’s reply to Green Beret :

Good Morning to you.

Many thanks for your comments on Igugu. You are right, she is quite special. We’ve had comments from around the world, and there are several Australians suggesting that she and Black Caviar are the two best racemares in the world right now. Whether that’s right or not, remains to be seen, but it’s some kind of compliment to what she’s achieved. Unfortunately, our exports have been temporarily suspended through a farcical provision in our protocols with the EU, and that means Dubai will not see Igugu this year. She’s better than everything you’ve mentioned in your note, with the possible exception of Bold Silvano, the extent of whose true talent is as yet uncovered. There is a suggestion here that there might be political issues behind the unwillingliness to remove the export restrictions, so Dubai will be the worse for not having her.

On a line through some of our internationally-campaigned horses, it’s clear Igugu would be an enormous factor if they’d let her loose.

Green Beret’s reply :

Dear SummerhillStud,
Being from America, I wasn’t aware of the political issues with EU being factor for her getting to race in Dubai, and that’s a real shame, IMO. Because with the possible exception of Snow Fairy when she’s at her dead level best, I think you’d be hard pressed to find a middle distance filly or mare anywhere in the world that’s as good as Igugu. But the advantage she has on Snow Fairy is that she’s still very lightly raced, and still has a huge scope to improve from where she already is. Snow Fairy, though really brilliant at times, has pretty much reached her peak potential, IMO. Also very much agree with you about Bold Silvano!! Another that it’s really unclear how good how could really be? He was my pick to win the Dubai World Cup last year until the injury that sidelined him after winning the Al Maktoum Challenge Rd. 2. My comments and opinions about different horses are only my own, so if they end up sparking a lively debate, so be it!! LOL. As for Bankable, I’ve loved that horse since I saw him race early on in his career. I used to call Bankable the “Rodney Dangerfield” of racing, because he never quite got the level of respect he truly deserved. Thanks so much for your reply, and best wishes and regards to all at Summerhill Stud.

INTERNATIONAL VIEWS ON RIVER JETEZ

River Jetez - J&B Met 2010
(Photo : Gold Circle)

RIVER JETEZ

Below are a couple of comments received via the Summerhill YouTube Channel relating to evergreen South African race mare, River Jetez.

Dear Summerhill Stud,
I just wanted to let you guys know, as a HUGE fan of River Jetez, that I thought her effort against Stacelita in the G1 Beverly D. Stakes at Arlington was fantastic!! This mare is all heart, and then some!! Anyone who’s followed Stacelita’s career, knows she was a multiple G1 winner in France. So there’s certainly no shame in a loss to her. She’s traveled the world in 2011, and more than held her own in every country she’s raced in. Not sure what Mike De Kock plans are for her now? But since I live about 90 minutes away from Churchill Downs in Kentucky, I would dearly love it if Mike De Kock brought River Jetez back stateside to race in this year’s B.C.F&M Turf!! I think River Jetez would be a fantastic addition to that race. I’m also keeping my fingers crossed that I’ll get to see her again in Dubai in 2012? Also, congrats on acquiring Master of Hounds from Coolmore, also!! He’s another that’s got a world of as of yet untapped potential. Wouldn’t surprise me if he’s one of De Kock’s Dubai World Cup horses in 2012?? Regards!!

GBeret83
United States

Dearly love this mare!! She’s all heart!! River Jetez has traveled the world in 2011, and held her own everywhere she’s been!! She was awesome at Meydan during this year’s Dubai Carnival. Probably didn’t run quite as well in Hong Kong and Singapore as De Kock would’ve liked? But she certainly wasn’t shamed either. Ran a respectable Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket, and followed that up with what I thought was a splendid effort against Stacelita in the G1 Beverly D. Stakes at Arlington!! Class mare!! The 2011 Dubai Carnival was my first time ever seeing River Jetez, and I fell in love with her from the start. Although, I thought jockey error from Soumillon kept her from winning both the Cape Verdi and Balanchine. And her Duty Free 2nd to Presvis was awesome, too. I know River Jetez is getting some age on her now. But she’s just so competitive. Really would love to see De Kock bring her to Churchill Downs for this year’s B.C. F&M Turf, and hopefully back to Meydan in 2012!! TJMO!!

GBeret83
United States

Mick’s reply:

Many thanks for your comments. They are always very welcome. You are obviously a blue-blooded racing man who knows his stuff extremely well. We have passed on your remarks to Mike de Kock and the two owners of River Jetez, as well as posting these comments on our Blog.

Hopefully you will see her at the BC Fillies and Mares.

Warm regards
Mick Goss

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GALILEO GLUT

Dr Jim Hay and Fitri Hay
(Photo : Summerhill Archives)

…we’ve attracted a bit of “flak”…

We’ve been sounding like a stuck record for some years now, and we’ve attracted a bit of “flak” for our assertions that Galileo might be as good, and maybe better than his own remarkable sire, Sadler’s Wells, but events at the weekend have only served to reinforce this view. For the record, Galileo is already head and shoulders ahead of his nearest pursuer with some 8 Group One winners this season (against the 3 of his closest pursuer, Montjeu), and on Saturday he showed his versatility with a Grade One double at Arlington Park in the United States.

In the older brigade, Cape Blanco gave one of America’s leading grass horses, Gio Ponti (Tale Of The Cat) a 2,5 length beating for Summerhill clients Jim and Fitri Hay, among the usual crew at Coolmore, while Treasure Beach, the Irish Derby hero of this year, took the three-year-old event, the Secretariat Stakes (Gr1) from the Aga Khan’s Ziyarid. Both Galileos were trained by the Irish phenomenon, Aidan O’Brien.

The third feature of the day, the Group 1 Beverley D. Stakes for fillies and mares, carried South African hopes in the form of the seven-year-old mare, River Jetez, who came on strongly from the rear to be beaten just a short head for the consolation 2^nd money, 2,5 lengths adrift of the triple Group One winner, Stacelita, a European-bred daughter of the German-based stallion Monsun, a storied sire in his own right.

For the record, Summerhill’s been quietly accumulating daughters of Galileo for its broodmare contingent, and there are five on the farm as we write. Of course, it’s well known that we let the “Legend”, Igugu go, but as Zulu farmers dependant only on horses for a living, that was a matter of economic good sense!

NORTHERN HEMISPHERE SIRES
(By Group 1 Stakes Winners YTD)

Sire	G1 Stakes Winners
GALILEO (IRE)	8
MONTJEU (IRE)	3
DANEHILL DANCER (IRE)	2
DEEP IMPACT (JPN)	2
DUBAWI (IRE)	2
DYNAFORMER (USA)	2