LADY LINDA

Linda Norval receives the Anita Akal Award from KZN Breeders Chairman, Koos de Klerk
(Photo : KZN Breeders)

KZN BREEDERS AWARDS
17 November 2012

There were many triumphs at the KZN Breeders Awards on Saturday evening, but from a purely selfish perspective, the one that delighted us most was the richly deserved recognition of Linda Norval as the Anita Akal awardee. Linda joined us shortly after the gates opened, and apart from a sabbatical stint (when she left us for another man!), she’s been a mainstay of our operation start to finish. In that time, she’s become a household name, not only at home, but for many abroad, who consider her the standard by which administrators are measured.

Here is an extract from Summerhill’s 2007/2008 Sires Brochure:

“A legend of our own time manages the Summerhill Farm office. This one was here the day the gates opened, when the office was just a part of the passage in the old farmhouse. Yes, the same farmhouse built by the Deputy Prime Minister, old Colonel Richards, the one that housed the Royal Family.

This is the daughter-in-law of the legend that bred every great horse that ever deserved a mention among the legends that made Hartford the greatest thoroughbred nursery of its era. She is the same legend that (last season) single-handedly sold something like 20% of all the stallion seasons traded in South Africa. She’s the voice behind the telephone the world has come to know as Linda Norval. Celebrity, champion, institution. Like the rest of the team, she’s come to appreciate the enormity of a third (now eighth) Breeder’s Championship. She doesn’t just appreciate it though: she’s one of those that made it, and like the rest of us, she’ll never forget it.

But she’s also one of those that’s never forgotten where we all come from. There are no short cuts to the top. Blood, sweat and sacrifice are the DNA of Champions, and the day after the celebrations end, she’ll be back at work. Ahead of time, as usual.”

In all, a Summerhill delegation of twenty-one celebrated six individual awards, while Kahal’s Stallion of the Year was achieved entirely on the back of a job done here. Hat’s off to St John Gray, whose outstanding performer Dancewiththedevil, walked away with the Horse of the Year for the second time.

Saturday evening was the last dance in another great year in the Summerhill story. It’s an acknowledgement of the value of a plan coming together, a revolutionary approach to farming, a unique strategy in the raising of our horses, a recognition of the value of investing in our people, and an understanding that without the support of one of the world’s most envied group of customers, none of it would be possible.

www.summerhill.co.za

NOW FOR THE GOOD NEWS

TBA Sales Complex, Gosforth Park, Germiston, South Africa
(Photo : Leigh Willson)

EMPERORS PALACE READY TO RUN SALE
TBA Sales Complex, Gosforth Park, Germiston
6 November 2011

We’re not sure whether we’ve got this quote exactly as the sage of Omaha once said it, but Warren Buffett is famous for timing his investments to the tee. “Be fearful when the greedy are greedy, and be greedy when the greedy are fearful”. It seems that international thoroughbred investors had his advice in mind at the principal American and English sales last month, when a new tide of buyers from across the world ensured increases in average and median of 30 and 40% plus. That was before the recent EU deal on Greece, before US retail sales posted their increases, and before a spate of healthy reporting from Fortune 500 companies in the States.

In South African terms, it was before our president earned his brownie points with the announcement of an arms deal probe, the firing of 2 ministers, and the suspension of his Police Chief, and the conclusion of the evidence in the Malema disciplinary enquiry. The mood in the country has already moved into positive mode, and earlier this week Stats SA announced a net increase of almost 200,000 jobs in the formal sector. It’s remarkable how quickly things are developing, and here in the Golden City, we hear encouraging stories from retailers, casino and factory floor operators, that the “worm has turned”.

At the sales grounds, traffic is pumping, lending some credibility to a 17% uptick in visits to our website, and it seems Ready To Run fever is reaching a point where it will soon be notifiable. Credit applications at Bloodstock South Africa are well ahead of last year, and it seems the adage “the Ready To Run is all about fun” has taken deep root among racing fans. We’ve always known it, but it’s worth remembering the optimistic natures of racing people, who seem to bounce back before the rest of the economy. Toss in a bit of the farsightedness, the enterprise and the guts for which our countrymen are renowned, and the faith we’ve always held in South Africans, and you have all the ingredients for a good sale.

But this is a deep draft of quality thoroughbreds deserving of respect, and whilst you might accuse us of bias, no less a judge than Michael Azzie made a turn at Block A yesterday, and after inspecting the Summerhill draft, frustratedly announced he had 42 on his (long) shortlist, a phenomenon he’d never experienced at a sale before. He is among those that remember the early days at the Ready To Run, when he took home the top-priced colt of his year, Imperial Despatch (R65,000!), and turned him into the unbeaten champion juvenile of South Africa. He also recalls the fickle rapidity with which we tend to dismiss the progeny of certain sires, forgetting that fashion comes and fashion goes. Some years ago, when Desert Team was “dead and buried”, we consigned 4 of his youngsters, and all 4 of them told us on the gallops at home that they deserved some respect. Alan Greeff took home a Gold Cup Gr1 winner, Cereus, David Goss a Gr2 heroine, Dot Dot Dash, St John Gray a St Leger ace, Stud Master, and the late Roy Howe, Captive Audience, a 5-time winning filly who beat the colts under top weight in the B division.

The moral of the story : “watch the gallops”. These horses don’t know who their father is, and if the evidence is that they can run, it doesn’t matter who the hell their parents are. Good horses come from both patrician and plebeian backgrounds, with almost equal regularity, and there is no sale that exemplifies the successes of the rich and the not-so-rich quite as emphatically as this one. It’s also worth remembering that everything in our draft has had the benefits of a Summerhill upbringing, and if that can’t enhance your prospects, whatever your origins, nothing will. Simply put, it’s the best upbringing of a racehorse known to man.

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

DANCEWITHTHEDEVIL BEATS THE BOYS IN GOLD CHALLENGE

Click above to watch Dancewiththedevil winning the Rising Sun Gold Challenge (Gr1)
(Image : Gold Circle - Footage : Tellytrack)

RISING SUN GOLD CHALLENGE (Grade 1)
Clairwood, Turf, 1600m
13 June 2011

Michael Clower
Racing PostDancewiththedevil, trained by St John Gray and piloted by jockey Gavin Lerena won her third Grade 1 over 1600m inside 12 weeks, when coming from last to first in the final two furlongs to beat Bravura by a head.

The four-year-old was taken out of the Vodacom Durban July at last week’s forfeit stage but her owner-breeder-trainer St John Gray had no regrets.

He said: “I know some people are a bit disappointed but it was quite clear from her last run over the tough 2000 metres at Turffontein that she doesn’t have the same finish over the longer stretch so we will keep her to a mile. Hopefully next year she will see out the 2000 metres.”

Gavin Lerena, explaining his exaggerated waiting tactics - he was 14 lengths off the pace turning for home - said: “Mr Gray told me that you can’t bustle heralong. You’ve just got to let her do what she wants, and I was three lengths behind the second-last horse. But she is a phenomenal filly - every time I asked her for an effort she gave it to me.”

Gray added: “The only thing worrying me was that it looked a moderate pace - but clearly it wasn’t.”

Bravura was the only one of the leading Vodacom Durban July candidates to boost his cause.

Past Master, who started 5-2 favourite here, was in trouble turning for home and finished ninth, over nine lengths behind the winner. Big City Life fared even worse, finishing last.

RISING SUN GOLD CHALLENGE (Gr1)
Final Result

#	LBH	Horse	Kg	MR	Dr	Jockey	Trainer
1	0.00	DANCEWITHTHEDEVIL	57.5	113	7	G Lerena	St John Gray
2	0.15	BRAVURA	60.0	110	1	A Marcus	Joey Ramsden
3	3.15	BULSARA	60.0	105	3	R Danielson	Gavin van Zyl
4	3.20	CASTLETHORPE (AUS)	58.5	105	6	K Neisius	Mike Bass
5	3.25	BUY AND SELL	60.0	110	9	S Khumalo	Sean Tarry
6	3.30	BLUE TIGER	60.0	107	4	A Domeyer	Mike Bass
7	3.40	LION IN WINTER	60.0	108	10	G Hatt	Joey Ramdsen
8	6.15	RUSHING WIND	60.0	107	2	M Odendaal	Mike Bass
9	9.40	PAST MASTER	60.0	115	8	G Schlechter	Darryl Hodgson
10	10.40	CAPTAIN’S WILD	60.0	108	12	A Delpech	Mike de Kock
11	15.65	KAVANAGH	58.5	106	11	K Shea	Mike de Kock
12	15.90	BIG CITY LIFE	60.0	114	5	A Fortune	Glen Kotzen

Extract from Racing Post