READY TO RUN SALE A "DREAMMAKER"

Click above to watch the Cup Presentation Ceremony
(Footage : Tellytrack)

PIERRE JOURDAN
2009 EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN CUP CHAMPION

Charl Pretorius www.racingweb.co.zaPierre Jourdan, within three runs, has returned his purchase price more than 12 times for the Gary Alexander stable and owner Emilio Baisero. The colt by Parade Leader quickened away from his rivals in Saturday’s Peermont Emperors Palace Ready To Run Cup over 1400m and won impressively from the Mike de Kock stablemates Fisani and Havasha. The connections banked R750,000 between them.

Pierre Jourdan, described as “nothing really special to look at and with a bit of a Roman head”, fetched only R60,000 at the 2008 Ready To Run Sale and Dean Alexander said on Sunday: “This just shows again how unpredictable this game is. We liked Pierre Jourdan and bought him, he was one of several buys at the sale and we didn’t have an owner so Emilio stepped in for a share. He is just over the moon!”

The Ready To Run Sale, which gets underway at 2pm today at the TBA Sales Complex, continues to be a “dreammaker” and Pierre Jourdan, unbeaten and on the upgrade, is likely to earn lots more cool cash. “We’ll give the Dingaans a miss and go perhaps for the Cape Guineas. Next year’s Gauteng Guineas will also be a target,” Alexander said.

The only sad thing, Alexander notes, was that apprentice Derreck David missed the ride due to injury. KwaZulu-Natal’s Sean Cormack deputized with his usual polished riding performance. The young apprentice was on course, however, to lend his support to the connections.

Pierre Jourdan is by Parade Leader from Vin Fizz, a mare who is interestingly owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum from Dubai:

“We bought Vin Fizz in foal to Parade Leader,” said Summerhill Stud’s Mick Goss, who can again be very proud of the energetic buzz around this year’s race which was evident to everyone at Turffontein.

Goss added: “So in essence Sheikh Mohammed sold the winner for R60,000 and bought the second-placed filly Fisani for R400 000. And he also owns the mare Amusing who produced last year’s winner Smangaliso. That’s two in a row for our partner from the UAE!”

Summerhill’s boss congratulated the Alexander stable and said: “They have been big supporters of our establishment over many years and this was a well-deserved win!”

 

EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN SALE
8 NOVEMBER 2009

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

THE SA DERBY : SA's richest event for three-year-olds

“THE JEWEL IN THE THREE YEAR OLD CROWN”

The South African Derby has a rich tradition of producing great horses, and they’re not just great for winning this race, but they have to have the stamina, the talent and the guts, (and plenty of it) to prevail here. Turffontein is renowned as one of the toughest tracks in the world, and especially for its murderous 800m strait, which has broken more hearts than you’d care to remember.

Don’t forget too, that when they’ve repulsed all foes of the conventional Derby distance, (2400m) at Turffontein they’ve still got to find another fifty, for some odd reason, and Saturday won’t necessarily be the first time the lead changes two or three times again in that space.

For the three-year-olds walloping themselves down the lung-busting stretch for R1.5 million on Saturday, anything can happen, since none of them have been tested at the distance, and it’s all up in the air. You’d have to say though, that on class, the obvious horses are Cherise Cherry and Sporting Boy, especially with the withdrawal (sold to Hong Kong) of Mount Hood. We’d not be dismissive though, of the claims of Labeeb’s son, Magical, winner of his last three in a row including the Derby Trial, or Fenerbahce for that matter, who at his best has shown himself entitled to be ranked with the better three-year-olds in the nation. He’s been below par in his last two though, and something’s been amiss, though it comes as a considerable reassurance to see Andrew Fortune claiming the ride. For the record, he was a R425,000 graduate of the Summerhill 2007 2007 Ready To Run draft.

The other Summerhill engage, Mr Softee, comes off a gallant second to Magical in the Derby Trial at his first attempt beyond 1600m, and it may just be that he’s been waiting for this moment to show his best. Curiously, top jockey Sean Cormack takes the ride.