SPORTING POST • FRIDAY 10th - SUNDAY 12th JANUARY 2020
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Kenya Racing - An Appeal
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The Kenyan horseracing authorities are battling to fill fields and are looking for sound horses which may have found their place locally, and which SA owners or breeders are willing to part with as a donation.
orseracing in Kenya is 115 years old but the sport in the beautiful country in the African Great Lakes region of East Africa has taken strain in recent years, like so many jurisdictions globally. Kenyan buyers have visited South Africa over many years to attend our various sales, with a focus on the National 2yo Sale. They were guests of the TBA’s then Sales Manager, Caroline Simpson, whom they speak very highly of. South Africa has historically been a quality supplier of horses that have gone on to great things in Kenya, and a call has gone out to breeders and owners to consider rendering support again. Pirates Coup ( Lizard Island-Secret Odds) was brought from Cathy Martin at Hadlow Stud by Tom and Gilly Fraser and she started the ball rolling, winning many races. She won the 2008 two year old Breeding Futurity Stakes and later went on to be the first SAF bred horse to win a classic race in Kenya in 2009 when she captured the Fillies Guineas. Today she is a top-class broodmare at Bruce Nightingale’s Kenana Farm.
The current crisis is that the Kenyan racing authorities are battling to fill fields and are looking for sound horses which have found their place locally and which SA owners or breeders are willing to part with as a donation “The survival of Kenyan racing is important to African racing as a whole, and, while we obviously can’t fill an order for a dozen horses, we intend assisting. I recall Freewheeler, who was bred here at Summerhill and sold to the Spencers at our School Sale. He won 14 from 14 in Kenya,” said Mick Goss as he indicated his support in a chat to the Sporting Post last week. Longstanding Kenya racing man Tom Fraser confirms that the Jockey Club Of Kenya will sponsor the airfreight. It costs approximately $10 500 for a pallett of three horses. “I have been in touch with Riaan Oosthuizen of Roost Freight services and I am currently working on a sponsorship programme. Roxy Ellis is also putting a plan down for us with the JCK Directors approval. She is also looking at a road transport option. We will be arranging additional fund-raising to
Racing Diaries with
It’s The Race We Are All Waiting For! The big gun rivalry is renewed in the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate at Kenilworth on Saturday, where the Mike de Kock trained Hawwaam looks fit and ready to take on the Eric Sands trained Rainbow Bridge and Justin Snaith's star, Do It Again. Rainbow Bridge, who is the reigning Sun Met champion, also happens to be Hawwaam’s elder half-brother. Do It Again is not in the same bloodline but he is the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and the Vodacom Durban July defending champion. Both have achieved so much in their careers and will definitely be giving Hawwaam something to think about in the run down to the line. Our in-house tipsters Jimmy The Rich and PeTeBe have both selected Hawwaam for the victory. The team at Winning Form have done extremely well in 2020 so far and can be followed closely. PeTeBe’s Magic Tips tipped five winners at Hollywoodbets Scottsville this past Sunday and four winners at the Vaal on 2 January, with Jimmy The Rich tipping the top bet and value bet at Kenilworth last Saturday. After the L’Ormarins Queen's Plate Racing Festival racing we head to Hollywoodbets Greyville on Sunday where eight races are carded on the polytrack and the KZN Sizzling Summer Challenge takes centre stage. Anton Marcus has a massive lead in the competition and looks to be the jockey to follow in KZN. Hollywoodbets Greyville is sure to be a buzz as it will be the first Sunday meeting of the New Year. The Winning Form publication is available for R25 at Hollywoodbets branches and selected stores nationwide.
assist the effort to increase our horse population,” said Tom. When taxed on the profile of horse that would suit them best, Tom says that they are not fussy. “Most of the SA horses that we have bought have won here. I’d say ideally, but not restrictively, we would be looking at 3-4 year old sound fillies and colts that have not featured, or are just surplus to requirements for owners. We can provide the alternative of a second track career in a nation that loves horses. History has shown that the ordinary formless horse in South Africa can become a super-hero overnight here at Ngong.” Tom has invited owners to email JCK Chairlady Mim Haynes at miriam@lesukut.co.ke, without obligation, to chat about the concept and the logistics. Tom can also be contacted on floriculture@africaonline.co.ke by any passionate horse owners who wish to contribute and help support the ‘Kenya Freight Fund’, together with the JCK, to bring in their horses. “We couldn’t even attempt to undertake this exercise without the assistance of so many kind people, including Gold Circle’s Graeme Hawkins, Klawervlei’s John Koster and Grant Knowles, as well as Mick Goss and Megan Romeyn of Summerhill Stud,” added Tom Fraser in closing.
Stellar Sires Karaka 2020 commences with Book 1 from Sunday 26 January to Tuesday 28 January. Buyers will have access to the progeny of nine of the top 10 stallions on the 2019-20 New Zealand sires’ premiership, and nine of the top 10 on the Australian table. A thoroughly deserving table-topper in New Zealand this season is Darci Brahma (NZ) - a Karaka saletopper at NZ$1,1 million back in 2004. The son of Danehill won five Gr1 races before retiring to The Oaks Stud. More info at www.nzb.co.nz
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Crabbia Collects At Kranji
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Trainer Ricardo Le Grange made sure hard work was duly recognised after he rewarded French jockey Marc Lerner with a first winning ride at Kranji on Saturday.
uring the Christmas break, Lerner was just about the only expat jockey who did not take any holidays. When he went knocking on stable doors he seldom went past previously, work didn’t take long to pile up every morning. At a time annually known for its dearth of jockeys, Le Grange was thankful for Lerner’s helping hand, and duly gave him a rare leg-up on Water Rocket in the SG$75,000 Novice race over 1200m. Another two such combinations are due later in the proceedings, Yulong Green (replacing Vlad Duric) and Majestic Empress. “Firstly, I have to thank Marc. He put his hand up when all the other jockeys were not around during the break,” said Le Grange. “I really appreciated his help at the stable. A big thank you to him.” On Water Rocket, who was at his second successive win following his breakthrough in November, Le Grange was not against the idea of aiming higher for the Argentinianbred son of Orpen. “I have a lot of time for this horse. He is the sort who likes to wait for other horses; those are the signs of him being an immature horse,” said the South African conditioner. “But he has come back from 1400m to 1200m and won, so he’s versatile. I wouldn’t be scared to go to the Singapore Three-YearOld Challenge with him.” With a name like Water Rocket, it was inevitable Le Grange would also pay tribute to the famous black and red maltese cross jersey of former Singapore champion owner Fred Crabbia. Due to the embargo on South African-breds (which made up the bulk of his teams in the past), the South African steel magnate has significantly scaled
down on his Kranji interests, which at his heyday, had as his flagship, Singapore icon Rocket Man. “If South Africa opens its doors, Fred would be a much bigger player here,” said Le Grange. “It’s unfair for owners if their horses take six months to come across the world to get here. I hope the situation changes so we can showcase our horses to the world.” Having been in Singapore for less than two years, Lerner would not really appreciate the full magnitude of Crabbia’s contribution to Singapore racing, but he was certainly pleased he had his silks on his back, as well as Le Grange’s support. “It’s very good of Ricardo to give me a good ride. Thank you for this ride,” said Lerner who was at his first winner for Le Grange. “We had a good race. The horse landed in front and I was happy to sit outside Saifudin’s (Ismail) horse (Red Roar), but his horse weakened, I found myself in front too soon. “I would have preferred some company but he won good in the end.” Water Rocket was screaming for the line inside the concluding stages with the commanding break whittled down fast by the swooping duo of Buuraq (Daniel Moor) and Prime Time (Simon Kok Wei Hoong). The winning post arrived on time. Water Rocket held on by a neck from Buuraq with Prime Time third another nose away. The winning time was 1min 12.33secs for the 1700m on the Polytrack. With that second success from seven outings, Water Rocket has taken his stakes earnings past the SG$100,000 for Crabbia. · Singapore Turf Club
Altior Won’t Run Dual Champion Chase winner Altior will not run in the Gr2 Unibet Silviniaco Conti Chase at Kempton on Saturday. THE TEN-YEAR-OLD was subject to a big market drift on Tuesday morning before the news was announced. Betfair and Paddy Power voided bets on the four-time festival hero, while Coral reported heavy support for his stablemate Top Notch, who won the race 12 months ago. The firm's David Stevens said: "For an hour this morning we were only laying Top Notch for Saturday's Silviniaco Conti Chase, and just after 10am we took the decision to suspend betting on the race. It therefore didn't come as a complete surprise when Altior was ruled out of the race. Antepost betting obviously carries an added element of risk for both punter and bookmaker, and on this occasion it's the Top Notch backers who appear to have been rewarded for their foresight. Incidents like this highlight the need for information to be put into the public domain as quickly as possible, in order for both punters and layers to maintain complete confidence in the sport as a betting medium."