TIMEFORM : IT'S TOUGHER THESE DAYS

Frankel
(Image : Lizampairee/Timeform)

“Frankel is the fourth best horse
since the inception of Timeform”

There was a bit of speculation in the international media, on the publication of the unbeaten miler, Frankel’s Timeform rating, following his commanding triumph in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes (Gr1) at Ascot. While there are inevitably adjustments to their ratings (usually slightly down) at the year-end, officially, Frankel is rated the fourth best horse since the fabled Phil Bull, first opened his rating agency for business in Halifax 41 years ago. We posted an article in the immediate aftermath of the race, and we quoted the likes of Frankie Dettori, Henry Cecil and Michael Roberts on their estimation that Frankel might be the best horse they’ve known. At 143lbs, Frankel stands a full 8lbs clear of his nearest contemporary, the Australian filly, Black Caviar, who is presently unbeaten on 15 from 15. Only Henry Cecil is qualified to speak about Brigadier Gerard (by that we mean he’s “senior” enough), and even he may have been a little on the light side to talk about Tudor Minstrel. All of them knew Mill Reef, as well as that great miler El Gran Senor, (the brother to our own Northern Guest, a legend of his own kind).

For what it’s worth, these are the ratings :

ALL-TIME GREATS
Sea Bird II	145
Brigadier Gerard	144
Tudor Minstrel	144
Frankel	143
Mill Reef	141
Dancing Brave	140
Dubai Millenium	140
Harbinger	140
Sea The Stars	140
Shergar	140
Vaguely Noble	140
Generous	139
El Gran Senor	138

CONTEMPORARY RUNNERS
Black Caviar	135
Canford Cliffs	133
Cirrus Des Aigles	133
Dream Ahead	133
Excelebration	133
Danedream	132
Rewilding	132
So You Think	131
Strong Suit	131
Deacon Blues	130
Rocket Man	130
Sepoy	130

What is evident from our own casual observations, is that Phil Bull was a generous man, and was prone to be a little more liberal in his assessment of horses in the early days. This would’ve impacted positively on the ratings of Tudor Minstrel, Brigadier Gerard and Mill Reef, whilst what is an apparently more stringent approach these days, will have had a slightly negative weighting on the treatment of Frankel. The other thing is, as with all other sporting codes, modern day competition and heightened training techniques across a broader spectrum of conditioners, makes it more difficult for a horse to stand out these days, and so what was an apparently outstanding performer twenty or thirty years ago, might not have been quite the same stand-out in today’s milieu.

These debates are, of course, part of the delight of the game, and for as long as we draw breath, there’ll be betting among the horsemen of old and those of the new era, as to who was king of the roost. In America, they still argue, many years after the passing of both of them, about the relative merits of Secretariat and Man o’ War, and in South Africa, the betting is still open on Sea Cottage, Hawaii, Colorado King, Mowgli and Horse Chestnut. Our point about standing out is best illustrated in the fact that, of the South African contingent, there are more from the past than there are from the present.

IGUGU : JACK RAMSAY'S DURBAN JULY TIP

Igugu - Vodacom Durban July Favourite
(Photo : JC Photos / Summerhill Stud)

VODACOM DURBAN JULY
2 July 2011

Jack Ramsay, a doyen of racing journalism in South Africa through much of the 20^th century, will be watching his 69^th Durban July on Saturday and fancies the favourite, Summerhill Ready to Run Graduate, Igugu, very strongly.

Ramsay, a.k.a. JR to his fellow racing scribes, will turn 90 about a week after the Vodacom sponsored event and racing has been in his blood for his whole life.

He said, “Next to Dynasty, (the 2003 winner) Igugu has the best characteristic to win the July. I think she is something special. She has a magnificent stride and just wants to win. She has that ‘come and get me’ presence about her. I felt as confident before Dynasty’s win. People tried to find fault with him even though, like Igugu, he had done everything. What did they want him and what do they want her to do - sit up and sing?!”

Ramsay views The Apache and Run For It as Igugu’s main dangers. He said, “Seldom does a bad horse win the Dingaans and The Apache won it very easily. Then, considering he had come back from a long break, his win in the Daily News 2000 was excellent. Run for It’s J&B Met run (third place) was very good. He has done nothing wrong and I think he is only now coming to his peak.”

Regarding the pace, Ramsay said, “I don’t think the pace will affect Igugu. She has the speed to be up there and has the stamina to stay all day. She also has a very good jockey, Anthony Delpech.”

Ramsay said that two July’s stood out as his most memorable, “Sea Cottage’s dead-heat with Jollify in 1967 and when Mowgli (bred, raised and raced from what is now Summerhill) beat Radlington in 1952 were the best.” He was working for the Rand Daily Mail in 1952 and The Mercury in 1967 and tipped both of these great horses to win.

Extract from The Mercury

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

MEGAN ROMEYN'S TOP 12 RACEHORSES OF THE PAST 50 YEARS

Megan Romeyn and Sea Cottage
(Photo : Summerhill Stud)

MEGAN ROMEYN : OUR RADIO DJ

Unlike their very visible television counterparts, radio DJ’s are the anonymous voices of the electronic media. Our anonymous voice is our shop window, the lady who answers the telephone. In Summerhill’s case, most of you know the mellifluous tones of Megan Romeyn, always cheerful, always polite, and never short of enthusiasm. Megan’s not only enthusiastic about life, she loves the horses and is passionate about the Summerhill story. She took the liberty this morning of naming her top twelve racehorses of the past fifty years. She didn’t pick them solely for their race records, but for their personalities and their hearts.

1. Sea Cottage. 20 wins from 24 races. Dead-heated with Jollify in 1966 Durban July.

2. Hawaii. Winner of fifteen races in South Africa and six in America including the Man O’War Handicap at Belmont. Son Henbit won 1980 Epsom Derby.

3. Colorado King. Winner of the Durban July and Cape Derby – both Group One races. He won a total of 10 races in South Africa before being exported to America. Won the Hollywood Gold Cup (Gr.1) in 1964 and equalled world record for nine furlongs.

4. Horse Chestnut. One of the greatest horses to come out of South Africa. His racing record speaks for itself.

5. Mowgli. Winner of six races of current Group One status in twelve weeks. A feat never to be repeated again in equine history.

6. Northern Guest. Greatest broodmare sire in South African history with a record eight titles to his name. Even though he was unraced, his progeny have distinguished themselves on the racetrack

7. Wolf Power. Winner of multiple Group One races including back-to-back Queen’s Plates (83/84). Horse of the Year. Sired 334 Graded Stakes winners from 500 starters in 16 crops.

8. In Full Flight.  Winner of four Group One races. Legendary duels with Sentinel whom he beat to win Queens Plate in 1971? 

9. Politician. Bred locally by Scott Bros. Winner of 11 Grade One and two Grade Two races most under top weight. Horse of the Year 1976-1980. 

10. Yataghan. Winner of Durban July (1973). Famous for his never say die attitude. Legendary duel with Elevation to win Champion Stakes. 

11. Elevation. Champion horseracer and equine sire. Remembered for hat-trick of wins in Holiday Inns Handicap (Gr.1) Winner of SA Derby and 2^nd in Met.

12. Sentinel. Bred here at Hartford House. Winner of 29 races. A superb sprinter, he became famous for his dead heat with rival In Full Flight in the Cape Guineas in 1972. Known for his deadly burst of speed.

SEA COTTAGE STAKES : Tribute to a Grand Old Man

Sea Cottage
(Summerhill Stud Library)

When the handicappers of South Africa met in 2000, to pick the best horse of the previous century, they settled on the names of Sea Cottage, Mowgli, Colorado King, Hawaii and Horse Chestnut. While Hartford-born Mowgli was the only one to garner two votes (and might, for obvious reasons, be our sentimental favourite) there’s no denying, that for us at any rate, the best we’ve known was Sea Cottage.

That he’s been demeaned in having a race of only Listed status bestowed upon him, doesn’t detract from the merit of Fenerbahce’s sterling victory in Sunday’s renewal of the race that takes its name from the legend. A creditable second for this R425,000 graduate of the Emperors Palace Ready to Run Sale in November’s Ready to Run Cup, Fenerbahce showed admirable improvement in getting up to beat the Dingaans Gr2 second, Captain’s Table, while the fourth horse home in that event, Broadsword, finished third. The result franked the best form of Gauteng’s top three-year-olds of this season, and with Fenerbahce looking like a horse with improvement to come, and still racing a little green, Andrew Fortune may well be right in his post race interview, in proclaiming this a Derby horse.

Fenerbahce is among five smart purchases for our Turkish friends Fedai Kahraman and Berdan Yerlikaya, and he is the second decent Summerhill winner this week for the Gary Alexander stables, following Bhekinkhosi’s win in the top-liner at Turffontein mid-week.

HARTFORD HOUSE Suites - Mowgli Suite

A journey through the suites at Hartford House recently included among the Top Boutique hotels in South Africa.

This week’s choice of suite is the Mowgli Suite (Suite 8).

This suite was part of the original stables built by Italian prisoners of war in 1941, some two years after the Ellis family had acquired Hartford. It is named for one of the greatest and most courageous horses ever to look through a bridle, Mowgli, who was voted in the year 2000 as the best racehorse in South African history, ahead of the legendary likes of Sea Cottage, Colorado King, Hawaii and Horse Chestnut.

Mowgli achieved his fame as a racehorse by winning six Group One races in the space of twelve weeks, a feat never again achieved by a racehorse anywhere in the world. However, his badge of courage came courtesy of the fact that he suffered from a chronic breathing problem. As he lowered his head and neck for the final run for home, his epiglottis would shut down on him, limiting him to just a breath or two as he struggled titanically up the straightways of South Africa’s most famous courses, several times causing him to collapse as he passed the post. There’s no doubt he knew where the wining post was, and he knew when he’d reached it, with the rest of the field at bay.

Sadly, this great warrior was unable to extend his genetic influence on account of a fatal paddock accident, which cost him his life shortly after he returned to stud.