TELLINA AND CHERRY ON THE TOP ENTERED FOR SA CLASSIC DAY

Geoff Woodruff
(Photo : Summerhill Stud)

SA CLASSIC DAY
Turffontein, 30 March 2013

Both Tellina and Cherry On The Top, winners of the Gauteng Guineas and Gauteng Fillies Guineas respectively, have been entered for the big races on SA Classic Day, Saturday 30 March at Turffontein.

The R2-million SA Classic over 1800m is the second leg of the SASCOC SA Triple Crown, while the R1-million SA Fillies Classic forms the second leg of the Wilgerbosdrift SA Triple Tiara. The first legs were the Gauteng Guineas and Gauteng Fillies Guineas, while the final legs - the SA Derby and SA Oaks - will be run on Champions Day, 27 April.

Tellina, who is highly rated by the Geoff Woodruff yard, went into the Gauteng Guineas a well-backed 6-1 chance with a rating of 88. The handicappers took a dim view of his 0.50-length victory over War Horse and upped his rating to 100, making him the second highest-ranked runner on the list of entries for the Classic. Francois Bernardus, only sixth in the Guineas, is at the top of the ratings, 0.5kg better than his Guineas conqueror.

Tellina and Francois Bernardus drew at Nos 11 and 12 respectively and should start from single-figure stalls. War Horse will start on their outside, while Alexandra Palace, one of the big fancies in the Guineas but only ninth, has drawn almost on the paint at No 2.

Should Tellina also win the SA Classic, he stands in line to win the R2-million Triple Crown bonus for any horse who wins all three legs. There is a R1-million bonus for the filly who wins all three of the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara races, the Gauteng Fillies Guineas, the SA Fillies Classic and the SA Oaks, and Cherry On The Top is a filly who could well lift the additional prize.

The Ormond Ferraris-trained daughter of Tiger Ridge has a top-class record of six wins from nine career starts and her dam, Carolina Cherry, won the SA Oaks in 2001. She is the top-rated horse on the list of entries by two lengths and has drawn well at No 3.

Gauteng Fillies Guineas runner-up, Do You Remember, is the second top-rated runner at 100 and Woodruff’s filly will also have her supporters if she is declared to run when final acceptances fall due on 20 March. There is an additional entry stage for the two races, on Monday 18 March.

Extract from Tab News

SA CLASSIC (Grade 1)
Turffontein, Turf, 1800m
Entries

#	Horse	MR	Dr	Trainer
1	FRANCOIS BERNARDUS	101	12	Tyrone Zackey
2	TELLINA	100	11	Geoff Woodruff
3	LOVE STRUCK	99	6	Paul Lafferty
4	KILLUA CASTLE (AUS)	98	25	Geoff Woodruff
5	WAR HORSE	98	13	Corne Spies
6	GITIANO	97	3	Alec Laird
7	NO WORRIES	97	16	Gavin van Zyl
8	FANTASTIC MR FOX	96	26	Paul Matchett
9	GRAY’S CHAMP	95	28	Gavin van Zyl
10	SABADELL	94	24	Geoff Woodruff
11	EMERALD APPROACH	93	9	Mike de Kock
12	SWIFT AND STRONG	93	21	Sean Tarry
13	ALEXANDRA PALACE	92	2	Mike de Kock
14	ROCK OF ARTS (AUS)	92	18	Weiho Marwing
15	AMERICAN STORM	91	27	Spike Lerena
16	SAFE HOUSE	91	10	Mike Azzie
17	BAY OF BENGAL	89	15	Mike Azzie
18	CANNON	88	19	Mike de Kock
19	ROCK COCKTAIL (AUS)	88	1	Mike de Kock
20	TEQUILA SUNRISE	86	20	Mike de Kock
21	THE KING AND I	86	4	Sean Tarry
22	WILD ONE	85	23	Jeff Freedman
23	COOKIE MONSTER	84	22	Roy Magner
24	TOP COMMAND	83	8	Sean Tarry
25	VITRUVIAN MAN	83	14	Weiho Marwing
26	SAVAGE WIND	82	7	Joe Soma
27	WYLIE HALL (AUS)	82	5	Weiho Marwing
28	ROYAL LANCE (AUS)	75	17	Wieho Marwing

Summerhill runners denoted by yellow

WILGERBOSDRIFT SA FILLIES CLASSIC (Grade 1)
Turffontein, Turf, 1800m
Entries

#	Horse	MR	Dr	Trainer
1	CHERRY ON THE TOP	104	3	Ormond Ferraris
2	DO YOU REMEMBER	100	10	Geoff Woodruff
3	KING’S TEMPTRESS	99	8	Kumaran Naidoo
4	FIRE WHEEL	95	14	Sean Tarry
5	JET BELLE	94	1	Robbie Sage
6	DYLAN’S PROMISE (AUS)	91	5	Charles Laird
7	ORATOR’S DAUGHTER	91	11	Alec Laird
8	NEGEV	90	13	Louis Goosen
9	SKY PIRATE	88	2	Weiho Marwing
10	AL KINDI	87	4	Mike de Kock
11	AMBER ORCHID (AUS)	81	6	Sean Tarry
12	CAT’S GAME	80	9	Stanley Ferreira
13	SECRET OBSESSION	80	12	Geoff Woodruff
14	WALKING ON THE MOON	78	7	Weiho Marwing

Summerhill runners denoted by yellow

SO THE TRIPLE CROWN REMAINED ELUSIVE...

Winning Leap - Gold Bowl (Grade 2)
(Photo : JC Photographics / Summerhill Stud)

SUMMERHILL and the READY TO RUN…

So the Triple Crown remained elusive.
And we may not have won any of the Classics.
But we gave it a damn good crack!

…ONE SOURCE : ONE SALE.

Position	Horse	Race	Trainer
1st	WINNING LEAP	R500,000 Gold Bowl (Gr2)	Dominic Zaki
2nd	PIERRE JOURDAN	R1,500,000 SA Derby (Gr1)	Gary Alexander
2nd	SALUTATION	R750,000 SA Oaks (Gr2)	Stuart Pettigrew
2nd	HAVASHA	R500,000 KRA Guineas (Gr2)	Mike de Kock
3rd	HIS AFFIDAVIT	R500,000 The Nursery (Gr2)	Charles Laird

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

or call

Linda Norval
033 263 1081

Kerry Jack
082 782 7297

SOUTH AFRICAN DERBY : 2000th WINNER FOR MIKE DE KOCK

Click above to watch the 2010 SA Derby (Gr1)
(Image and Footage : Tellytrack)

R1,500,000 SA DERBY (Grade 1)
Turffontein, 2450m, Turf
1 May 2010

RESULT

#	LBH	Horse	Kg	MR	Dr	Jockey	Trainer
1	0.00	IRISH FLAME	57.0	106	6	K Shea	Mike de Kock
2	9.50	PIERRE JOURDAN	57.0	112	3	D David	Gary Alexander
3	12.75	SERVICE ACE	57.0	104	1	G Lerena	Mike Azzie
4	15.00	MIRAGE DRIVE	57.0	87	8	G Figueroa	Tyrone Zackey
5	15.50	IWANNADANCE	57.0	105	9	S Chambers	Roy Magner
6	15.75	SMANJEMANJE	57.0	102	10	S Khumalo	Tyrone Zackey
7	24.00	CONQUERED DREAM (AUS)	57.0	96	14	A Marcus	Charles Laird
8	24.50	DRAW BRIDGE	57.0	88	4	G Wrogemann	Robbie Sage
9	26.75	FORT PETERSBURG	57.0	98	13	B Lerena	Dominic Zaki
10	27.50	ILSANPIETRO (BRZ)	57.0	89	12	A Delpech	Mike de Kock
11	33.00	NYAKATHO	57.0	101	11	S Brown	Ernie Anderson
12	35.00	FLYING TRISTRAM (AUS)	57.0	103	5	J Geroudis	Charles Laird
13	43.00	HAPPY VALLEY (ARG)	57.0	91	7	M Yeni	Mike de Kock
14	99.99	DREAM ISLAND	57.0	92	2	M V’Rensburg	Stuart Pettigrew

CLASSIC CONUNDRUM

St Nicholas Abbey, Lookin At Lucky and Pierre Jourdan
(Photo : Zoot/Racing Life/JC Photos)

THE KENTUCKY DERBY, THE 2000 GUINEAS
AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN DERBY

The postponement last weekend of the South African Derby to Saturday, has meant that we’re not the only ones staging a Triple Crown event this weekend. The difference is, Pierre Jourdan’s tilt at our Derby includes a shot at the final leg of the Triple Crown, whilst those horses across the seas are only commencing theirs.

The Kentucky Derby, over ten furlongs under the twin spires of Churchill Downs, has been robbed at the last moment of one of its most legitimate Triple Crown aspirants of the past few decades in Eskendereya, a towering son of Giant’s Causeway, who’s blazed a trail of daylight destruction on his way to Louisville. By “daylight”, we mean the extent of his winning margins, and while no-one can quite fathom what he’s had behind him in the way of opposition, his Beyer figures tell us he’s among the best contenders in the past few decades. Eskendereya’s soft tissue injury elevates Lookin At Lucky (by Strike Smartly), last season’s Champion Juvenile in the US, to the top of the board. As a son of Strike Smartly, you would expect the trip to be no trouble for him, which begs the question, who and what will he have to beat.

It would seem, on paper at least, the most legitimate contender is Sydney’s Candy, who “end-to-ended” his field in an impressive victory in Santa Anita Derby (Gr.1) over nine furlongs. There are few horses though, who can lead start to finish over the extra furlong of the Kentucky Derby, particularly when you bring to the equation the best of the American classic crop. So unless the form is turned upside down, it looks like fate has dealt Lookin At Lucky a very kind hand.

Across the “pond” at UK racing’s headquarters in Newmarket, the first of the season’s classics, the StanJames.com 2000 Guineas, takes place over the straight mile of the Guineas course. Here matters appear to be a little more clear cut, with last season’s stand-out juvenile St Nicholas Abbey (by Montjeu) heading the programme at 4-5 on, despite making his seasonal debut. Without the benefit of a prior run though, there’s always the possibility of a lack of experience or the shortage of a trial, to throw a spanner in the works.

Unlikely as that may be, since Aidan O’Brien knows what he’s up to, (having won the Guineas countless times before,) it does seem that his one serious opponent is Elusive Pimpernel (by Elusive Quality), runner-up to the favourite in last season’s Racing Post Trophy (Gr.1), and who couldn’t have been more impressive when taking the laurels in the Greenham Stakes (Gr.2) a fortnight ago.

Long before these races are scheduled to be run, we’ll know whether Pierre Jourdan’s crack at a Triple Crown for the first time since Horse Chestnut, will have manifested itself in the greater glory which accompanies the immortal, or in the sort of anti-climax that characterizes these things when they go awry. One thing we do know though, is that “PJ” has breathed new life into the game, providing racing operators with a matchless marketing opportunity, not to mention the unprecedented publicity South Africa’s Olympic body, SASCOC, and the makers of Pierre Jourdan champagne, have gleaned from his escapades.

On class, he seems unopposed, so the only questions which remain to be answered are those around his well-being, and whether or not he’ll get the trip. We have to take the former on trust, while there’s been enough written about his prospects of seeing out the distance for readers to formulate their own ideas.

Perhaps the biggest clue comes from the many repeats we’ve seen on television of the way he moves. Every panther would be proud to possess his action, and it may be his economy of movement that has him running to the line, as well as, if not better than, any of his previous efforts.

2010 CHAMPIONS DAY UPDATE

Geoff Woodruff - quietly confident about Private Jet
(Photo : Summerhill Sires Brochure)

CHAMPIONS DAY
Turffontein, 1 May 2010

NICCI GARNER : Pierre Jourdan’s bid for Triple Crown glory on Champions Day has had to be postponed for a week due to the weather and many punters are wondering what impact the delay may have on the runners engaged for the richest day in South African horseracing.

Champions Day was first postponed until Tuesday and then to this coming Saturday after some 70mm of rain in the last 10 days, so the nation’s racing fans are still holding their breath in anticipation of watching the star colt with the Roman nose try to make history by becoming only the second horse to win the SASCOC SA Triple Crown.

Pierre Jourdan, who is currently on offer at 11-10 for the third and final leg, the R1.5million SA Derby, will not be inconvenienced by a soggy track and the new beach training track at Turffontein has proved a boon for his trainer Gary Alexander and other trainers there, allowing them to work their horses through the wettest summer in some three decades.

At this stage the track is not drying as fast as was hoped because of the cold and overcast weather and weather tipsters’ forecasts for the next few days differ significantly. For instance, the SA Weather Service predicts Friday and Saturday will be “partly cloudy with showers and thunder showers’’ and estimates that 8mm of rain will fall on the two days. On the other hand www.accuweather.com predicts Friday will be “sunny and nice’’ with maximum temperatures in the region of 22 degrees Celsius and Saturday will be “partly sunny and pleasant’’ with a high of 21 degrees Celsius. If the latter forecast is correct, the track will get the chance that it needs to dry and racing should definitely be able to go ahead.

Trainers of the big runners also have differing opinions about how much the postponement will affect their runners’ chances.

Those who will be most affected by the delay will be the visiting horses from KwaZulu Natal because of altitude issues. The rule of thumb for coastal horses raiding on the Highveld, where the air is more rarefied, is to bring them up a month before the race so they have a chance to acclimatise or to travel them as close to the race as possible.

Durban-based Herman Brown has two runners carded, 33-1 chance Lion’s Blood in the R2million Champions Challenge over 2000m and Intellectual in the R1million Computaform Sprint. His runners arrived at Turffontein on Friday last week, primed to the minute.

“While neither will mind soft ground, I’m not too optimistic,’’ Brown mourned yesterday. “They are unlikely to run to their best form after a week away from home, but funny things do happen. There are no fixed rules in this game and we’ll take our chances. “The delay will affect Intellectual less over the 1000m distance than it will Lion’s Blood over the 2000m,’’ he confirmed. “But Lion’s Blood does like Turffontein and runs well there.’’

Champion trainer elect Mike de Kock, who needs only three more winners to reach the 2000-winner milestone, will saddle the favourites in the Champions Challenge (Rudra) and the SA Oaks (Here To Win as well as second favourite Alderry).

He is philosophical about the postponement: “We’re all in the same boat,’’ he said. “The horses are all very fit and there’s not much more we can do with them. Providing they get some exercise to stretch their legs, they won’t fall off in a week. Anyway, sometimes having a couple of days off does them the world of good!’’

Charles Laird, who fields Computaform Sprint favourite Warm White Night, as well as Champions Challenge second fancy Smart Banker and several other short-priced runners, is fuming about the double postponement.

“If a race meeting cannot take place on the scheduled day or the day after, it should be put off for a week,’’ he said. “These three-day postponements (Saturday to Tuesday, for instance) wreak havoc because you can’t work the horses in between. These are not motor cars that you can just take out the garage whenever you need to - and you can’t give them hard work 24 hours before a race meeting. They do need to get out and stretch their legs. And the Randjesfontein sand tracks are under water! I understand that we’ve had an unusually wet season, but the Turffontein track staff should be experienced enough to make an early call and not mess us around.’’

Vaal-based Geoff Woodruff is quietly confident about Private Jet, who won last year’s Computaform Sprint. He believes his runner has only Warm White Night to beat.

The Vaal has not had quite as much rain as Turffontein and Randjesfontein and the affable trainer is happy to continue his “maintenance programme’’ with the defending champ, who beat Rebel King and Warn White Night in a thriller a year ago.

“Of course he was prepared to run last Saturday and we’ve lost one fast work-out and a pace work-out, but I don’t think it’ll inconvenience us too much,’’ he said.

Extract from Racing Express