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

JACK MILNER : PIERRE JOURDAN'S DAY OF RECKONING

Pierre Jourdan
(Photo : JC Photographics / Summerhill Stud)

THE SA DERBY (GRADE 1)
THE SASCOC SA TRIPLE CROWN CHALLENGE

JACK MILNER : In 2004 the whole of America watched the Belmont Stakes with baited breath as Smarty Jones attempted to become the first horse to win the Triple Crown since Affirmed in 1978.

As the field came for home, jockey Stewart Elliot let him go and the son of Elusive Quality hit the front. The roar from the crowd was deafening as their hero burst into the lead, on the brink of history. But the screams turned into an audible groan as 36-1 shot Birdstone came alongside and then drew off to win.

South African’s will be cheering for their own hero on the aptly named Champions Day on Saturday as Pierre Jourdan attempts to win the Grade 1 SA Derby over 2450m at Turffontein and become only the second horse in South African history to claim the SASCOC SA Triple Crown. It is impossible to fault his performances up to now.

Gary Alexander has done an exemplary job with the son of Parade Leader and the manner in which he won the Gauteng Guineas and the SA Classic leads one to believe it will take a top-class performance to lower his colours. “He doesn’t belong to us anymore,’’ said Alexander after his SA Classic victory. “He’s now the people’s horse.’’

Hopefully Pierre Jourdan will have the people’s support in the SA Derby and that many of them will be at Turffontein to cheer him on.

However, a Triple Crown, as Smarty Jones and so many others before him have demonstrated, is not easy to win. To prepare a horse for one race is hard enough. To have him at a peak for three successive races over different distances in a space of two months needs a Herculean effort and a lot of luck. One needs things to go smoothly in every respect.

Fortunately Pierre Jourdan seems an easy horse to train and just seems one of those freak animals who does whatever is necessary to win.

The one reservation is the distance. Will Pierre Jourdan see out the 2450m? A lot of fuss has been made about the pace in the race, but trainer Mike de Kock says that is irrelevant. “He either stays or he doesn’t. A slow pace won’t make him stay. Pierre Jourdan is the class act but this could be a tough race for him to win. There were one or two running at him last time and it’s not going to be a walk in the park.’’

De Kock pointed out his runner, Irish Flame, as well as Roy Magner’s Iwannadance as the horses he believes are Pierre Jourdan’s principle dangers.

Although Pierre Jourdan beat him easily in the SA Classic, Irish Flame stands out as the main threat. The Dynasty colt was not with Mike de Kock for long when he contested the SA Classic and he is sure to improve, especially over this distance. “He’s come on as he’s settled in Joburg,’’ said De Kock yesterday. “The longer he’s up here the better he’s got and for the first time this week, I’m fairly happy with him. I was very happy with his mile run the other day (where he finished a four-length sixth to Regal Ransom). He’s by Dynasty out of a Fort Wood so we have no problem with the distance.’’

Iwannadance was 4.50 lengths off Pierre Jourdan in the Guineas and a fast-finishing, 2.50-length fourth in the SA Classic. He has been getting closer the further they go and over the longer distance, could be a threat.

Then there’s Charles Laird’s Conquered Dream, who seems to be improving with every outing. He was unplaced in his debut but since then has scored three facile victories, including the Listed Derby Trial in which he beat De Kock’s Ilsanpietro by 2.50 lengths.

“Ilsanpietro shows me quite a bit at home but he’s desperate to be gelded,’’ said Mike de Kock. “He is better than his merit rating.’’ If that is the case then Conquered Dream must come into the reckoning.”

Both Mike Azzie’s Service Ace and Ernie Anderson’s Nyakatho were unsuited by the slow pace of the Classic but both trainers believe their runners will do well. Mike Azzie, in fact, rebuffed De Kock’s earlier comment that he felt Service Ace would not stay. “I rate him very highly. One of my fellow trainers suggested in the press this week that he won’t stay. I have news for you, my friend, he will stay every yard of it. He is by Fort Wood. All I can say is ‘Beware the (Azz-)Man’.’’

Ernie Anderson says he is hoping for some rain, which is impossible according to weather forecasts. “He (Nyakatho) is drawn wide and hopefully won’t be too far out of his ground into the home run. I believe the pace was all wrong in his last start - we are hoping for a stronger early pace this time. He is likely to enjoy the extra and I am confident he will mature and come into his own as a four and five-year-old,’’ he said.

And then there is De Kock’s third runner, Happy Valley, who did not disgrace himself when fourth in open company last time, carrying top weight over 2400m at the Vaal. “He ran a good race. He was not well ridden but I’m not sure he has the class to win a Grade 1,’’ said De Kock.

Whatever their thoughts, surely nobody will be too upset if the day belongs to Pierre Jourdan. After all, everybody loves a winner.

Extract from Racing Express

LATEST BETTING
“As at 24 April 2010, 7am”

#	Horse	Current	Opening
1	PIERRE JOURDAN	11/10	1/1
2	IRISH FLAME	4/1	9/2
9	CONQUERED DREAM	6/1	11/2
14	MIRAGE DRIVE	8/1	20/1
5	FLYING TRISTRAM	12/1	6/1
12	ILSANPIETRO	14/1	14/1
3	IWANNADANCE	20/1	12/1
4	SERVICE ACE	20/1	14/1
11	HAPPY VALLEY	33/1	20/1
13	DRAW BRIDGE	80/1	50/1
10	DREAM ISLAND	80/1	66/1
7	NYAKATHO	80/1	50/1
8	FORT PETERSBERG	100/1	66/1
6	SMANJEMANJE	100/1	66/1

Figures courtesy of Betting World