STOP THE WORLD: I WANT TO GET ON

Royal Ascot
(Photo : FS)

ROYAL ASCOT
Tuesday 18th - Saturday 22nd June 2013

The Aussies have dubbed theirs “the race that stops the nation”, and they’re right. The Melbourne Cup has been known to suspend even the federal parliament, and it’s a phenomenon all of its own.

Today heralds the start of a racing festival that stops the world, not for a day, but for a week. Our sport is fortunate in having a long and colourful history, much longer than cricket and rugby, and it is decorated by epic events in every country in which it’s celebrated. Yet nothing eclipses Royal Ascot, which dates to the summer of 1711, when Queen Anne first set land aside in the vicinity of the Windsor Forest, and called for a week of sports. While out riding, she came upon a vast space of open heath, not far from Windsor Castle, the ideal place for “horses to gallop at full stretch”. That June, Charles, Duke of Somerset instructed Sir William Wyndham, Master of the Royal Buckhounds, to have the heath cleared of scrub and gorse bush, in preparation for the first race meeting. Thus it was on the 11^th August 1711, that the first meeting took place, with Her Majesty’s Plate, worth 100 guineas to the winner (open to any horse, mare or gelding over the age of 6) the central event. Each horse carried 12 stone and seven runners lined up.

The centrepiece of a growing festival was the Gold Cup (for three-year-olds and upwards), over 2½ miles. Introduced in 1807, it was won its in first year by a three-year-old, and while this was some achievement even by today’s standards, given that in those days horses were not bred to be precocious, it was all the more remarkable. In 1813, Ascot’s future was secured by the Act of Enclosure, ensuring Ascot Heath, while the property of the Crown, would be set aside for public use as a racecourse. Simultaneously, the future employment prospects of the Master of the Buck Hounds was entrenched, as his office was handed the permanent responsibility of managing and conducting the races. If all else fails, remember, there’s a future in dogs.

Things were moving quickly, and by 1822, King George IV commissioned a two-tier stand to be built on a surrounding lawn. Access was by invitation of the King only, and this was the beginning of the pomp for which Royal Ascot is now famous. The King’s greatest legacy was the Royal procession, introduced in 1825. The King’s coach led four others carrying members of the Royal party up the Straight Mile in front of the crowds. A diarist of the day commented “the whole thing looked very splendid”. In 1862, as an act of affection, Queen Victoria named the Prince Of Wales Stakes (still contested at Group One level over 2000 metres to this day) after her much-loved consort, Prince Albert.

Today kicks off with a helluva programme, with three Group Ones including the Queen Anne Stakes over a mile (featuring among many other quality horses, the Kentucky Derby and Dubai World Cup hero, Animal Kingdom in Barry Irwin’s Team Valor silks), the St James Palace Stakes (also known as the “Summer Guineas”, which generally attracts the English, the Irish and French Guineas winners,) and the King’s Stand Stakes, a 5 furlong dash including some of the best sprinters in the the world, and especially South Africa’s champion, Shea Shea. (Tune into Channel 239 - 14:30 our time onwards).

www.ascot.co.uk

DE KOCK-A-HOOP

Mike de Kock
(Photo : British Champion Series)

KING’S STAND STAKES (Group 1)
Ascot, Turf, 1006m
18 June 2013

The Aussies like to refer to the Melbourne Cup as “the race that stops a nation”. That’s right enough, because it has been known to interrupt Parliament, too. But the Brits have a festival that stops a racing nation for a week: Royal Ascot, and it starts next week.

South Africa has a runner, a big one, and the ANZ caught up with Mike de Kock on the prospects for Shea Shea in Tuesday’s King’s Stand Stakes (Gr.1).

Yesterday morning, while out for a pick of grass in front of the media, his trainer answered questions on his preparation. Shea Shea won the Al Quoz Sprint (Gr1, 1000m) at Meydan in March and has been based at Abington Place in Newmarket since. “The British public make this meeting, their enthusiasm over the five days is amazing,” de Kock began. “He [Shea Shea] is looking well and his work has been fantastic. He came out of his race in Dubai in pleasing fashion and had a few weeks off afterwards. I am really happy with him; he is looking well in his coat, which is important with him being a Southern Hemisphere horse who should be changing his cycle, and the fact that the weather here has been a bit chilly.

“I believe he is the real deal. He can be difficult when going to the start and can get fired up before his races but we will be prepared and are looking forward to the race. His ideal ground is in the firmer spectrum but I am not too worried about it.” With the unpredictable weather present during British summer time, the ground can often be a worry for international contenders and Chris Stickels, Clerk of the course at Ascot, was available yesterday to give everyone an update on the current conditions.

“We have had a dry start to June so we have been putting on a little bit of water and I think the ground should be good when I return to the track this afternoon. The outlook over the next few days is unsettled and although we are expecting thunderstorms on Sunday and Monday, next week should mainly be dry. Ideally the ground on Tuesday will hopefully be good, good-to firm range and it will be if the forecast is correct. We will not need to water again if this is the case.”

THE WORLD SPRINTING CHAMPIONSHIP

Watch Shea Shea winning the Al Quoz Sprint (Group 1)
(Photo : Virendra Saklani - Footage : Dubai Racing Meydan)

“Big deals get big men excited,
but racehorses can turn big men into little boys.”

Anyone who witnessed Brian Joffe’s embrace of Mike de Kock after the Shea Shea massacre in the Al Quoz Sprint (Gr.1) on World Cup night, will know what we mean when we say that racehorses do strange things to us. Big deals get big men excited, but racehorses can turn big men into little boys.

The news from England is that Shea Shea is the ruling favourite for both the King’s Stand Stakes (Gr.1) and the Golden Jubilee Stakes (Gr.1) for international racing’s smartest get together, Royal Ascot. If you want to make a statement on the world stage, Royal Ascot is your chance, and it’s a compliment to the son of National Emblem that he should be at the top of the boards against some of the finest sprinters in the world. There’ll be no excuses this time, as the Aussies and the Yanks both have entries, so if you’ve never taken time off to see The Queen, make a date now. The horse is reportedly in great shape, and should be raring to go.

The news though, on Highlands-bred Soft Falling Rain is not that encouraging, though we’ve not heard it from the “great within”, so treat it as such. It seems he has battled to adapt to the uphill gallops at Newmarket, having grown up on a diet of the flat ever since a saddle was thrown across his back. He was educated by a subtle team at Summerhill, and found his way to Randjiesfontein, where Mike de Kock and his team introduced him to the “gentle art” for the first time. Forays to Durban and Dubai changed nothing from a training perspective, but Newmarket is famous for its hills and climbs, and it seems he may not yet be ready for this assignment. Let’s not jump the gun though: he’s in the hands of the best professionals in the world, and with them, anything is possible.

BLACK CAVIAR, WHAT A WINTER AND SHEA SHEA

Black Caviar
(Photo : Herald Sun)

WORLD THOROUGHBRED RANKINGS
1 November 2012 - 28 April 2013

Two South African-bred sprinters, What A Winter and Shea Shea, are rated second behind Black Caviar over 1000m on the International Federation Of Racing Authorities’ World Thoroughbred Rankings list.

On the new list, published last month, now-retired Australian wonder-mare Black Caviar is rated 10 points, or five lengths, better than the two South Africans after Shea Shea won the Al Quoz Sprint and the Meydan Sprint in Dubai this year and What A Winter won both the Cape Flying Championship at Kenilworth and the Computaform Sprint at Turffontein.

They are ranked the 28th best horses in the world, whilst Variety Club, ranked 37th, is the only other South African horse to feature on the list.

What A Winter is set to retire to Drakenstein Stud at the end of the season where he’ll join Horse Chestnut, Trippi and Philanthropist in the stallion barn.

Click here to view
The World Thoroughbred Rankings
1 November 2012 to 28 April 2013

Extract from Tab News

THE HEAT OF THE MOMENT

Watch Mick Goss speaking at the TBA Sales Ground
(Image and Footage : Andrew Bon)

EMPERORS PALACE NATIONAL YEARLING SALE
TBA Sales Complex, Gosforth Park, South Africa
26 - 28 April 2013

Summerhill Stud CEO
Mick GossI’ve got a funny feeling about this sale. There are plenty of people on the grounds, and judging by the guest list out at Emperors Palace, they’re not all locals. I guess the message about Shea Shea, Soft Falling Rain and The Apache at racing’s biggest night, the Dubai World Cup, had to have found a few resonant ears.

The reality is, like our horsemen, the South African thoroughbred can stand its ground with the best. Anywhere. That much was apparent in Dubai, and it will be apparent again throughout the European summer, when these gladiators cross swords with whatever remains of the best in those realms.

We had all come to savour the thought of an encounter at Royal Ascot between Shea Shea and the world’s highest-rated sprinter, Black Caviar. After all, Shea Shea has just run the fastest 1000 metres in UAE history, and on a line through Ortensia (like the world champion, an Aussie), we might’ve seen a proper encounter. Like Shea Shea, Ortensia had grabbed the previous running of the Al Quoz Sprint (Gr.1) in Dubai, and like him, she broke the record. Unlike Shea Shea, she couldn’t run it in the blistering fractions he set that night. Truth is, times don’t lie, and especially not at 1000 metres.

As for Soft Falling Rain, nobody really knows just how good he is. What we do know, is that he goes to Europe unbeaten, and that he was enormous in the manner of his victory over his elders in Dubai. Only time will tell, and again, the scene will be Royal Ascot.

A fortnight ago, Sydney witnessed a “ripper” of an Easter sale. Two horses made more than R40million, a statement if it was needed, on the rude health of Australian racing. The overall average was close to R3million, which tells you the wallets of breeders down there, are well and truly stuffed, too.

But it also tells you about the value of South African racehorses. The average at last year’s National Yearling Sale, was a tad above R240,000, less than 10% of the Sydney average, and you can’t tell me there’s anything like that separating theirs from ours at the races. Sadly, Black Caviar’s been retired, unbowed in 25 starts. Otherwise, we might’ve known what separated us. If anything.

That may be fighting talk, since no-one’s lowered her flag in 25 starts, but at this distance, we’re safe in conjecture! Whatever the case, South Africans know they’re likely to be able to buy the nations’ best at figures that make sense. In the face of these international performances, this ought to be South Africa’s moment, but we remain bedevilled by another month’s suspension of our export protocols. Whether there’s political inspiration behind it or not, it’s hard to know, but the fact is, South Africa exported half a million horses during the colonial wars in the Empire’s cause, without ever exporting African Horse Sickness. Our quarantine facilities match the best in the world, and the scientists monitoring the process, are the world-leaders in this sphere. We all know what the consequences would be if the disease were to be transferred anywhere else, and there’s no chance we’d tolerate a breach.

Meanwhile, like Toyota, our horses represent the values our countrymen prize most. Excellent quality, great reliability and outstanding value. So let the games begin!

P.S. In case you’re not convinced, we have a few “Aussies” in our line-up as well!

Enquiries :
Tarryn Liebenberg +27 (0) 83 787 1982
or email tarryn@summerhill.co.za
www.summerhill.co.za