YOU CAN DO IT!
A GREAT MAN
14
Sire Stampede Championship chase
18
Equus – Latest The heat is on!
36 Mike Bass A legend of the game
42 Gold Cup King Jacques grabs his big 6!
106
Bet On Brett Who remembers the champion?
On the cover
The 67 minutes on Mandela Day on Saturday 18 July symbolize the 67 years that Nelson Mandela dedicated to the fight for human rights, social justice, and the abolition of apartheid. The Sporting Post is proud to carry the message on our Sprint cover this week.
Issue: 28/2026
MAKE A
DIFFERENCE THIS WEEK
“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”
- Nelson Mandela.
Proudly honoured on the Sprint cover this issue, the late Nelson Mandela, our former president and world-renowned human rights champion, was born on 18 July.
Fondly known as Madiba or Tata, his life was an inspiration to the world and he received more than 250 public honours, including the Nobel Peace Prize.
In recognition of his immense contributions, 18 July was declared Nelson Mandela International Day by a unanimous decision of the UN General Assembly in 2009. It is more than a celebration of his life and legacy; it is a global movement to honour his life’s work and to change the world for the better.
On his 90th birthday, Madiba said: “It is time for new hands to lift the burdens. It is in your hands to make of our world a better one for all.”
This call-to-action started a worldwide movement for social change, led by the Nelson Mandela Foundation which said: “Nelson Mandela has been making an imprint on the world for 67 years, beginning in 1942 when he first started to campaign for the human rights of every South African. By dedicating 67 minutes of their time – one for every year of Mandela’s service – people can give back to the world around them and make a contribution to global humanitarianism.”
No matter how small your action, Mandela Day is about changing the world for the better, and celebrating the idea that each individual has the power to transform the world, the ability to make an impact.
Our local racemeeting is at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Saturday where a bumper nine-race card hosting 89 runners, starts at 12h25.
SEASON CLIMAX
DECIDERS, DECIDERS, DECIDERS…!
Declarations are due by 11h00 on Thursday morning for the season climax World Pool Gold Cup day at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Sunday 26 July.
Jet Force and Mauritian ‘raider’ Grant van Niekerk – set for the Gr1 Mercury Sprint on Sunday 26 July
Credit: Julia Marnewick
While a number of championship titles, including owner, trainer, jockey and stallion, already look to have been finalised, the final feature day of the 2025/26 will be a potential decider for the champion breeder trophy, with Mauritzfontein & Wilgerbosdrift
and Varsfontein Stud going head to head.
There are also a number of Equus titles in the melting pot, at this stage, including various sires divisions titles – you can read more on page 16 of this issue, as well as see the Equus logs on page 19.
There are three Gr1 features on the final day, with plenty of interest in what looks to be a hotly contested World Pool Gr3 Gold Cup, despite only 14 entries received initially.
Three former winners have been entered, including last year’s winner King Pelles, the 2024 winner Master Redoute and 2023 winner Future Pearl.
Two former Gold Cup second-placers in the mix too, in last year’s runner-up Holding Thumbs and the 2024 runner-up Shoot The Rapids.
The clash between reigning Equus champion stayer King Pelles, who ran a cracking third behind Note To Self in the Hollywoodbets Durban July, and progressive Snaith stayer Ahead Of The Facts, who was an easy winner of the consolation July on Saturday, should also provide the fireworks.
The HKJC World Pool Gr1 Champions Cup could host a number of big names, some of whom sidestepped the Hollywoodbets Durban July.
These include 2025 Hollywoodbets Durban July winner The Real Prince, and the Snaith champions Eight On Eighteen and See It Again.
Grant van Niekerk again flies in from Mauritius to partner recent Post Gr3 Merchants winner Jet Force in the Gr1 Mercury Sprint. Van Niekerk produced a gem of a ride at his one and only engagement of the Hollywoodbets Durban July afternoon and will be hoping to make it a 100% strike on the Des McLachlan stable star.
Hollywoodbets are offering ante-post betting.
Your Winning Form for the season climax raceday will be available on Friday.
GOING DOWN TO WIRE STALLION TITLES FIGHT
As the 2025/26 racing season is fast drawing to a close, there is one intriguing question - which stallions will emerge as the divisional winners?
waves! | Credit: Jeremy Nelson
Whereas it will be a first Juvenile title for either Rafeef or Erik The Red, Querari has led the division on two prior occasions, the first time in 2019 when he brought to an end Captain Al’s domination in a most dramatic fashion, the winning margin being less than R30 000!
The Maine Chance stalwart is no stranger to fighting out the Juvenile division, for the very next season, he missed out on back-to-back titles when Gimmethegreenlight pipped him
on the post by wait for it, a measley R10 000! He turned the tables in 2021, leading home the Varsfontein champion by a far more comfortable margin of almost R800 000.
This season, Querari is sire of three individual juvenile stakes winners: the abovementioned Gr2 Golden Horseshoe ace Vibe Check, Time Is Precious, a facile winner of the Gr3 Protea Stakes and the filly Querari Dancer, who eked out a neck victory over Rafeef’s daughter Menagerie in the Gr3 Strelitzia Stakes.
Querari – one of the best | Credit: Jeremy Nelson
The race to the First Season sires title too, is proving to be a compelling contest, with little separating the first three on the log. Leading the race is Malmoos, who already has a stakes winner to his credit in the filly Marchland. Undefeated in three starts, she won both the Listed East Cape Fillies Nursery and Listed Lady’s Slipper Stakes.
Breathing down the neck of Malmoos is his barnmate, the Snitzel horse Real Gone Kid. Boasting a superior strike rate of 35% winners to runners, his eight juvenile winners include the runner-up in both the Listed East Cape Nursery and Listed Dahlia Plate, the dual winner Master Mtoto.
Incidentally, both Malmoos and Real Gone Kid retired to Ridgemont in 2022, with the former’s service fee pitched at R25 000, as befits a dual Gr1 and Triple Crown winner. In
contrast, Ridgemont had to think out of the box to attract mares to non-stakes performed Real Gone Kid, hence breeders were offered a lifetime breeding right, provided they sent a mare every year for the first four years. So far, it’s a pat on the back to both Ridgemont and those breeders who jumped at it.
Rounding out the trio of contenders is Trippi’s Gr1-winning son Chimichuri Run. Based at Blue Sky Thoroughbreds in the KZN Midlands, he too, has made a promising start to his stud career as the sire of five juvenile winners.
The next couple of weeks will determine which stallion ends on top in both divisions, and who knows, we could be in for some nail-biting finishes, with the decider being the World Pool Gold Cup meeting on Sunday 26 July.
Rafeef – in the championship mix! | Credit: Supplied
THE LATEST LOGS ARE IN 2026 EQUUS AWARDS
With the conclusion of 2026 Hollywoodbets Durban July day on 04 July, the Equus Committee has released the log standings as at 06 July.
Despite bypassing the 2026 Hollywoodbets
Durban July, 2025/26 dual Grade 1-winning See It Again (Justin Snaith) maintains his position at the top of the Horse Of The Year log with 138 points, while Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge winner Questioning (Vaughan Marshall) now occupies joint second spot alongside Hollywoodbets Durban July runner-up Wish List (Justin Snaith) with 124 points each.
In the Two-Year-Old categories, the Sean Tarry-trained Get Up still tops the boards for Champion Two-Year-Old Filly honours with 28 points, while victory in the Gr2 Amusnet Golden Slipper earned Palace Of Arvernia (Dean Kannemeyer) 16 points to join Good Day Sunshine (Mike/Mathew de Kock) in the second spot on the log.
Haute Couture (Mike/Mathew de Kock) and Rich Man’s World (Vaughan Marshall) stay on their ratings of 32 and 24 respectively and maintain their first and second slots on
the Champion Two-Year-Old Male log, while fellow Marshall charge Vibe Check earned 16 points for his Gr2 Omoda Golden Horseshoe performance to occupy joint third spot with Better Never Ends (Siboniso Ngcobo).
Wish List (Justin Snaith) enjoys a 26-point lead in the Champion Three-Year-Old Filly category, topping the board on 124 points after her runner up effort in the 2026 Hollywoodbets Durban July. Victory in the Gr1 Ridgemont Garden Province Stakes sees Tienie Prinsloo charge Quickstepgal in second place on 98 points and Hazy Dazy (Corne Spies) rounds off the Three-Year-Old Filly table with 64 points.
There has been plenty of movement in the Champion Three-Year-Old Colt/ Gelding category. While Tin Pan Alley (Sean Tarry) maintains his position at the top of the log with 84 points, victory in the Hollywoodbets Durban July earned Note To Self (Justin Snaith)
64 points and second spot on the log with Star Major (James Crawford) and Trust (Candice/ Tammy Dawson) filling 3rd and 4th spots with 60 and 44 points respectively.
In the Champion Older Female category, Double Grand Slam (Justin Snaith) has increased her lead to 92 points, 39 points ahead of nearest rival Asiye Phambili (Duncan Howells) who remains on 53; and 40 points ahead of Callmegetrix (Sean Tarry) on 52. Minogue takes up 4th spot with 40 points.
The standings for Champion Older Male remain static with See It Again (Justin Snaith) maintaining a 14-point lead over nearest rival Questioning (Vaughan Marshall), with The Real Prince (Dean Kannemeyer) and Legal Counsel (Justin Snaith) filling 3rd and 4th positions with 66 and 56 points respectively. Buffalo Storm Cody (Tony Peter) has edged out stablemate Taxi To The Moon for 5th spot with 52 points.
Asiye Phambili (Duncan Howells) has stormed to the top of the log for Champion Sprinter, courtesy of her win in the SA Fillies Sprint. With 53 points, she holds a narrow lead over Buffalo Storm Cody (Tony Peter) on 52 points and fellow Peter charge, Taxi To The Moon in third with 48 points. The Eastern Cape’s Kingdundee (Dean Smith) moves into 4th place with 40 points.
See It Again (Justin Snaith) retains his position at the top of the Champion Middle Distance category log with 96 points. Wish List (Justin Snaith) moves into second spot with 68 points and Hollywoodbets Durban July winner Note To Self (Justin Snaith) occupies 3rd spot with 40 points.
Ahead
Of
The Facts
(Justin Snaith) has increased his lead in the Champion Stayer category to 26, giving him a 12-point lead on Holding Thumbs (Glen Kotzen), currently on 14 points and 13 points ahead of the Candice/Tammy Dawsontrained Enflame on 13 points.
Nominees will be announced after the conclusion of the season after the running of World Pool Gold Cup Day on 26 July.
In the Champion Miler standings, Vaughan Marshall charge Questioning holds a strong lead with 104 points, 32 ahead of nearest rival, Double Grand Slam (Justin Snaith) on 72. Tin Pan Alley (Sean Tarry) is next best on 68 points, followed by The Real Prince (Dean Kannemeyer) and Quickstepgal (Tienie Prinsloo) with 54 and 48 points respectively.
While the panel will have the deciding vote on the winners in each category, both the list of nominees and the final results are drawn from the Equus Logs.
The 2026 Equus judging panel comprises Graeme Hawkins (Chairman), Robert Bloomberg, Karel Miedema, Aveen Sewpersad and Darryl Maree.
Further updates and information will be published on the official Equus Awards website (www.equusawards.co.za) and social media channels.
• Media release by 4Racing on Monday, 13 July 2026.
“My family weren’t too pleased. From proudly having a son on the brink of a professional football career at the PSG Youth Academy, to a switch of aspirations and a career as a jockey – and an amateur one at that! But I just felt that I had been exposed to racing from such an early age and that I had so much information in my head that I could make a go of it,” recalls Fred, who has become a familiar face to SA racing fans as the Manager/Coach – and husband - of French jockey Mickaëlle Michel, who has become a popular addition to our riding ranks since the start of her busman’s holiday in December last year.
While the 53 year old – he sports a natty mohawk and looks ten years youngerwas born in France, his family hails from the popular European summer escape of Sardinia, Italy’s second-largest island famous for its crystal-clear turquoise waters and sugar-white beaches.
In a chat with the Sporting Post on Monday, Fred and Mickaëlle spoke openly about their partnership. He is clearly proud of the professional progress of his globetrotting protégé, whom he ranks as one of the three leading female jockeys in the world.
“As a former jockey, I fully understand the demands of life as a top-flight jockey. The sacrifices are immense, but the rewards are there and it is very satisfying to coach Mickaëlle and to see her compete as an equal on the track.”
We asked about the challenges of being married, while in a sporting business partnership.
Mickaëlle smiles and tells of Fred’s ongoing coaching ‘on and off course’. She refers to him affectionately as her shadow, as he is there at morning work and at every racemeeting.
“I don’t think I’d be able to travel as I do – it’s a lonely pursuit chasing rides and experiencing the emotions of race-riding. For example, I rode a few places at Turffontein a few weeks ago. Fred was there. He admonished me and said I needed to get it all together. I knew I had done my best. Before my last ride, Fred said that this one is mine. The horse won! He is my biggest fan, but is a straightshooter who cannot lie. I’d call him my most ardent critic. But it’s a team effort that works well!” she smiles.
Fred, who has been impressed by our local lady jockey Rachel Venniker, said that given the correct poise, techniques and fitness, that females could compete on a level playing field with their male counterparts.
“In France we have the female allowance as you do here in South Africa. As Mickaëlle will tell you, it’s important to change cultural mindsets to create opportunity – and the allowance does just that. It’s an incentive to the connections to give a lady jockey a chance. It’s up to the female to take the opportunity and prove herself. I reckon, if they scrapped the allowance in France, we’d have very few fairer sex jockeys left.”
Fred’s own progress was remarkable-he started out as an amateur on the flat and became a French champion from 1993 to 1996.
Such was the young man’s talent, that he made history when becoming the first rider to graduate from the ‘gentleman amateur’ to the professional ranks. He rode horses of the ilk of Lahudood, Nuclear Debate and Satwa Queen, and worked for the likes of John Gosden, Luca Cumani and Bobby Frankel.
Mickaëlle Michel with Coach Fred looking on! | Credit: Julia Marnewick
A very driven and competitive personality, Fred, whose demeanour borders on stern, tells that he started out as a ‘small, skinny and quiet teenager’. His best mate is Christophe Lemaire, who is five years younger.
“The difference between myself and Christophe was that I didn’t enjoy school, while he was an A student. So he had a wide range of career choices, but also opted to become a jockey. He has achieved great success, particularly in Japan. We speak often – a wonderful guy,” adds Fred, who suggests that he himself was always ambitious and his edge was fuelled by a diet that required discipline.
But besides a three year sabbatical where he took time out to grow up and mature, he rode with success internationally, and eventually called it a day 7 years ago, to focus on coaching the woman he believes will be a world champion one day.
Fred had to leave our chat to wish his Dad Antonio a happy 73rd birthday.
He is clearly as proud of his Dad’s achievements as he is of Mickaëlle, and tells that Antonio Spanu gave Frankie Dettori his very first ‘international’ Gr1 victory when the 36/1 shot Polytain survived an objection to win the French Derby back in 1992.
Polytain ran his first race at Maisons-Laffitte, a suburban Paris track, and won the Prix de Crespieres. Don’t be impressed. It was only a $40,000 maiden claimer with a fancy name. But he won, and was duly claimed by Fred’s Dad, out of the yard of fabled French trainer Francois Boutin for an Italian client.
It’s been done a few times before! Seabiscuit was claimed from Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons.
Stymie was tagged for $1 500. Someone could have had John Henry for $25 000. It’s rare!
“Antonio Spanu trains horses for me over there,” champion US conditioner Bobby Frankel said proudly when he heard of the French Derby winner.
“Can you believe that? Antonio claims a horse for $40k, supplements him to the race for another $40k, then wins a half a million dollars, plus 50% on top of that as a Frenchbred. I love it!”
Fred and Mickaëlle love South Africa and they intend coming back after a two week – Fred suggests two days - holiday in Chantilly in August and then Japan in September.
“South Africa has been good to us. The people are wonderful and the racing is topclass. I enjoyed the Hollywoodbets Durban July. There was a buzz and atmosphere about it – almost bigger than the Arc. That racecourse has an intimacy and charm about it,” he adds.
Fred’s story would fill another five pages of this publication, but that’s for another day.
Asked what he would be doing for Mickaëlle’s 31st birthday today, Fred indicates that he may cook something for dinner.
“He’s something of a masterchef,” Mickaëlle laughs. “He makes the best pasta Alla Puttanesca. It is a dish that originated in Naples. It is made with tomatoes, olives, capers, anchovies, garlic, peperoncino, and extra virgin olive oil. It’s really good!”
THAT IS MIKE THE MAGIC
Bass Racing’s 50th anniversary was celebrated this year, and the 2025/26 season is the completion of fifty Cape winters.
Gary Lemke recently met with patriarch and master trainer Mike Bass who started out in 1976.
As he prepares to settle into the brown leather chair in the corner of the room, Mike Bass pauses. He takes both hands off his walker and lets them hover over the handles. Four, maybe five seconds, which is the extent that he can go hands free. A hint of a smile crosses his face before a shrug, and then he eases himself into the seat.
“It is what it is,” he says.
“It” is a reminder of the life-changing events 11 years ago.
Now 81, he’s still fiercely independent, and remains an irreplaceable influence at Bass Racing, where his daughter Candice is head trainer.
Mike is one of the greatest horsemen ever to take out a trainer’s licence. Candice is proof that the lessons continue.
“A real horseman looks at a horse and thinks, ‘I know exactly what this horse needs today’,” Mike explains.
Mike Bass and his
“There are two types. There are people who learn about horses, work with them and understand their habits. But a true horseman has to have an eye for a horse,” he says.
“He has to see immediately if something is bothering it. He has to judge its condition just by looking at it. If he wants the horse to win, he has to know how much work to give it. It isn’t a case of saying, ‘It’s Tuesday, so this horse must do this amount of work.’ When the horse is ready, you can see it. You look at him and think, ‘He looks great. He’s ready to win.’”
This year marks the 50th season of Bass Racing.
Before opening the doors, Mike met and married wife Carol, and Candice was born.
A few years later Mark arrived and it has blossomed into a family business which is racing royalty. Fittingly, 50 years is an anniversary represented by gold. For much of his career, he set that gold standard.
The walls of the Bass Racing stable’s Koeberg Road Milnerton office are covered in reminders of those five decades.
Mike was always destined to hand over the reins to Candice, but the changeover officially happened on 1 August 2016.
She’s already writing her own story, and her Grade 1 winning tally stands at 13. Mike’s career, in that official form, was signed off with 50 Grade 1’s, forcing a change that might have happened naturally a year or so later.
The morning of 7 August 2015 was like any other Friday. Bass enjoyed a round of golf in his regular ‘school’ at Milnerton which included other racing personalities like retired jockeys Karl Neisius and the late Kenny Michel.
He played at a level which would always make him competitive. Although he had got as low as a 9-handicap, he’d settled around 16.
Close friend and regular partner Gary Player called him ‘the best 16 handicapper in the world’.
What happened next changed everything.
“That night I didn’t feel well, so we left the Cape Breeders Awards early,” he recalls.
“The next day the doctor gave me antibiotics for flu. I got worse. On the Monday I went to the hospital, assessed and discharged. On the Wednesday I went back, struggling to breathe…”
He slipped into a coma. His chance of survival was rated at two-to-three percent.
Doctors feared the worst. Everyone did. Then a family friend and vascular surgeon, Dr Krzysztof Michalowski, arrived.
“He offered a second opinion,” said son Mark, “and insisted on immediately amputating Mike’s right leg below the knee. That decision saved Dad’s life. He would have been dead within four hours from blood poisoning.”
Bass emerged from his coma after 10 days and didn’t remember anything. “When I woke up and saw I’d lost my leg it was quite a shock,” he recalled with deliberate understatement.
Even if his body has changed, his judgement hasn’t.
Please read more by clicking www.sportingpost.co.za here.
Maintaining her unbeaten record in her home province, Peter Moor’s champion sophomore Anotherdanceforme wrapped up her prep for World Pool Gold Cup Day on 26 July at Hollywoodbets Greyville with a superb victory from a wide draw to win the R175 000 Listed East Cape Paddock Stakes on the Faieview polytrack on Friday.
An entry in the World Pool Gr2 Gold Bracelet on the season climax programme in a fortnight, Anotherdanceforme made it 11 wins from 12 starts, when she drew away from her opposition at 9-10 to beat the 33-1 Epikleros by 1,25 lengths in a time of 94,26 secs for the mile. The winner’s stablemate Enchanting Choice (25-1) was a neck back in third.
Ridgemont-retained Richard Fourie has ridden the fabulous filly at all of her starts and when she started giving him a hard time and pulling, Fourie let her go around them to lead into the home straight.
While it was not quite the same level of bravado as he had shown when winning the Hollywoodbets Durban July on Note To Self last weekend, the former champion has the
PETER MOOR’S STAR MAKES IT 11 FROM 12!
self-confidence and the horse underneath him to make it work. He gave her a breather, before she drew off for another good win.
Fourie said he felt that the run would take the edge off her before her trip to the East Coast.
Bred by Varsfontein, Anotherdanceforme was a R650 000 buy from the 2024 National Yearling Sale.
She is by Master Of My Fate (Jet Master) out of the What A Winter mare Destiny Dancer and has now won 11 races from 12 starts for stakes of R1 320 251.
Alan Greeff saddled 4 winners on the afternoon, with Jacques Strydom enjoying a double, which included a knockout in the PE Gold Cup with Spoil Yourself.
Richard Fourie’s three-timer included his 100th victory in the Eastern Cape this term, courtesy of Kleinzee.
The Winning Form-sponsored Charles Ndlovu deserves a mention for his double.
WITH A SIXTH GOLD! JACQUES SPOILS HIMSELF
The Strydom family have a proud heritage in Eastern Cape racing history books and it was ‘Gold Cup king’ Jacques who saddled his sixth winner of the Port Elizabeth Gold Cup on Friday when the Futura filly Spoil Yourself romped home at 66-1 under the tousle-haired local lightweight rider, Yuzae Ramzan, who declared a kilo over.
“I get my horses super fit and I am not scared to lose,” a proud Jacques explained to the Sporting Post after the Hemel ‘n Aarde Stud bred 4yo, who was racing off an MR of 72, flew up the outside to get the better of the 7yo Cape hard-knocker Gentleman Jim (9-4) by 1,50 lengths in a time of 200,97 secs for the distance reduced trip of 3150m on the polytrack. The defending champion Home
Reef (15-2) suffered abrasions on his left and right hind and was back in third.
It was a tough race for a number of runners including the tote favourite Bad Medicine who was found to be not striding out, the pacesetter Bournemouth who faded out and pulled up blowing, and the winner’s stablemate Darling Girl, who was fatigued.
“I get the support of my owners and then hope that our horses stay the trip. If one looks at the race conditions, there are no penalties for placed runners – so we take our chances! And clearly her weight of 51kg made the difference – she was wearing spikes while the top guns were wearing gum boots,” enthused Piere Strydom’s younger brother and Dad of past SA Champion apprentice, Kyle Strydom.
Jacques saddled the first of his six Gold Cup winners back in his first season as a trainer in 2002 when the Jungle Warrior gelding Me Tarzan won the 3600m contest. The Gold Cup remained South Africa’s longest race until 2020, when it was reduced to 3200m. Interestingly, the Ideal World filly Onesie, was the last winner over the extended trip and was saddled by Jacques Strydom, who now has the distinction of being the only trainer to saddle the only two fairer sex winners of the PE Gold Cup!
Spoil Yourself started her career with Brett Crawford at Futura Park in the Cape. She won her second start over 1250m, beating subsequent TAB Gr2 Woolavington 2000 winner Little Suzie in the process. She didn’t show much thereafter, and in a deal brokered by Bloodstock Agent Nic Botes, she made her way to the Strydom yard, where she now races for an enthusiastic group of owners, including Ravi Munien, Cliff Do Carmo, Craig Trickett, who travelled all the way from KZN for his first feature winner, Jacques and Mom Tilly Strydom, and the Money Talks Syndicate supporters Jack Kalogeropoulos and local scribe, Henk Steenkamp.
Jacques is one of those rare conditioners who achieves feature success with the blood, sweat and tears of second-hand horses and doesn’t have the support of powerful owners or the big breeders.
Besides his Gold Cup and Glenlair successes, it is worth recalling Jacques’ rare long-term double at Fairview in 2024 when he again raised the local flag in defiance of the traditional visitor onslaught on the R350 000 Betway Listed Algoa Cup by saddling the second local winner – Firealley - of the ‘Gqeberha July’ in the space of 15 years – that after he achieved the same feat with Surfin’ USA.
The second leg of a Jacques Strydom Racing double on the afternoon, the Hemel ‘N Aarde Stud-bred Spoil Yourself is a daughter of Futura (Dynasty) out of the What A Winter mare, Winter Retreat.
She has now won 4 races with 5 places from 26 starts and stakes of R321 630.
The next Fairview racemeeting is on 17 July 2026.
Owners Henk Steenkamp and Craig Trickett enjoy the trophy | Pauline Herman
IN FOR
THE LONG HAUL!
When Spoil Yourself won last Friday’s Port Elizabeth Gold Cup, she further enhanced the fine record that her sire Futura has enjoyed in some of South Africa’s top staying feature races.
Futura’s son Future Pearl, Equus Champion Stayer of 2022-2023, reeled off a hat-trick of top staying races during his championship season.
Future Pearl won the 2023 World Sports Betting Gr3 Gold Bowl by three and a quarter lengths, the DStv Gr3 Gold Vase by over two and three quarter lengths and the 2023 World Pool Gr3 Gold Cup by nearly two and a half lengths.
However, Future Pearl is not the only runner sired by Futura – sire of Hollywoodbets Durban July winner Note To Self - to have enjoyed success in some of South Africa’s staying feature races.
Another son, Future Swing, won the 2024 Glorious Goodwood Gr3 Chairman’s Cup before going on to finish third in last year’s World Pool Gr3 Gold Cup. Futura is also the sire of Thefutureisbright, who beat subsequent champion stayer Master Redoute to win the 2023 Listed Durbanville Cup.
This season, Futura’s progressive son Ahead Of The Facts stamped himself as one of the country’s top stayers when he won both the New Turf Carriers Gr3 Western Cape Stayers as well as the G3 Durban Gold Vase.
Futura has two runners entered in the upcoming World Pool Gr3 Gold Cup, led by the aforementioned Ahead Of The Facts, and the latter could well give his sire yet more big race success. Should Ahead Of The Facts put up a big run in the Gold Cup it would further enhance his claims to be named Equus Champion Stayer for the season.
Futura shares his sire Dynasty with fellow Horse Of The Year Irish Flame, and Irish Flame is represented by a leading Gold Cup contender this year in the form of Enflame.
Dynasty enjoyed huge success in the Gold Cup, with the champion son of Fort Wood responsible for the Gold Cup winners
Ancestral Fore, Dynasty’s Blossom and It’s My Turn.
Champion Sire Vercingetorix is the only other stallion with more than one runner entered in this year’s Gold Cup.
Set to be crowned champion sire again this season, the unstoppable Vercingetorix has all of Continentalexpress, Native Ruler, Magic Verse and Holding Thumbs (runner-up in last year’s race) entered for the 2026 Gold Cup. Holding Thumbs ranks as one of the best stayers currently in South Africa, with the son of Vercingetorix having won both the Listed WSB Club Prive Cape Summer Stayers Handicap and Gr3 Cape Of Good Hope Chairman’s Cup (beating Magic Verse into second) this season.
Vercingetorix, whose sire Silvano sired the Gold Cup winners Aslan and Wavin’ Flag, has already enjoyed success in South Africa’s premier staying event. His champion and durable son Nebraas won the Gold Cup in 2021, going on to contest the Gold Cup in 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. Possibly a record!
Champion King Pelles, winner of the Gold Cup last year, and a leading contender for this year’s race, is another runner whose pedigree contains strong infusions of staying blood. By champion Duke Of Marmalade, whose progeny include a St Leger winner, an Ascot Gold Cup winner as well as Melbourne Cup runner-up Marmelo, King Pelles, a halfbrother to two SA Derby winners, is out of a stakes placed daughter of Galileo (also damsire of Gold Cup hope Vihaan’s Bomb).
The latter’s offspring have won Ascot’s Gold Cup three times, with Galileo also broodmare sire of this year’s Gold Cup winner Scandinavia.
Final fields for the 2026 World Pool Gr3 Gold Cup will be published on Thursday afternoon.
BREWSKI’S BACKWITH A BANG
Following his recent return to South Africa after a successful six-month stint in Malaysia, SAJA graduate Kaidan Brewer quickly found the winner’s enclosure at his first meeting back at his Turffontein ‘home base’ on Saturday, after three midweek rides in the KZN Capital City.
Riding Mano Pandaram’s Snow Moon, who started at 14-1 in the Play Soccer 6,10 and 13 MR 74 Handicap run over a mile, Kaidan rode a patient tactical race on the Last Winter gelding.
Switched to the wide outside as SA champion jockey elect Craig Zackey looked to have sealed the deal on Chris Jonker’s Itsnowornever (6-1), Snow Moon ground away under a beautifully balanced ride and got up in the final stride, registering a time of 99,38 secs.
The 3-1 favourite Redlightgreenlight was 0,80 lengths back in third.
Snow Moon was Kaidan’s first winner on African soil since he booted Valentina Balducci home for Robbie Sage in the TAB Gr3 Starling Stakes at Turffontein on 1 November 2025.
The young rider’s Dad Andrew acts as his Agent.
“Kaidan will be based in KZN but will definitely travel to Joburg if the rides we get are worth the travel.
For now, we will focus on those 2 centres. His minimum riding weight is 52.5kg but can get 52kg if needs be. Kaidan rides work Monday, Tuesday Thursday Friday and Saturday at Summerveld. We feel we need to put the work in to get to know the horses which should hold in good stead when requesting rides. In our first week we have predominantly been doing some work for Whitehead, Hill, Puller, Naidoo and Pandaram as they seem to rotate nicely with our 1st, 2nd and 3rd strings pull-out times as we can get to them all of them. If Kaidan rides in Joburg over the weekend we leave on a Friday after morning work and go and ride work in Joburg on a Saturday morning, based on any rides he may have there,” a proud Andrew told the Sporting Post.
To say that ‘Brewski’ has returned more of the finished product is an understatement. The international experience has lifted both his skills and confidence, and he remains a jockey worth following next term.
The pinnacle of his time in Malaysia came in late March 2026 at the Perak Turf Club, where he secured his maiden Gr1 victory from his first elite race ride in the prestigious Perak Derby on Guru Fight having delivered a tactical, perfectly timed ride.
He actually made an immediate impact during his very first weekend in the country by winning the Tabcorp Trophy at Sungai Besi aboard Thunderous.
Kaidan Brewer times it perfectly as Snow Moon gets there on the line to beat Craig Zackey (white cap) and Itsnowornever | Credit: JC Photos
The Swan Song (Sfiso Bungane) charges home at his second start on Sunday | Credit: Julia Marnewick
EXCITING SIRE PROSPECT
FOR KZN
The KZN Breeders Club have proudly announced the acquisition of the very first son of world leading sire Wootton Bassett to stand in South Africa.
The handsome Australian-bred State Visit, a Gr1 performer as a 2yo, is out of Celebrity Queen, a Gr1 winning daughter of Champion Sire Redoute’s Choice, with the granddam a daughter of More Than Ready.
Wootton Bassett (GB) was unbeaten in 5 starts as a 2yo, his victories including the Gr1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere
He only received moderate support at stud in France initially with a first foal crop of just 23. Amongst them was triple Gr1 winner Almanzor and a host of other Group performers.
At this point Coolmore saw value in him and bought him to relocate to Ireland, where they pushed his service fee to 100 000 Euros and he was duly inundated with mares. The resulting foals ripped up the rule book once they reached the track.
This first Irish-bred crop of Wootton Bassett 2yo’s produced 10 juvenile Group winners, surpassing the record of 7 held jointly by super powers Danehill and Galileo.
He went on to be named Europe’s best ever sire of 2yo’s and shuttling to Australia, he
became a leading sire of juveniles with only his first crop running. It is of little surprise that he was highest priced stallion in Australia in 2025 with a stud fee of A$385 000 (R4,5m) before his untimely death.
New KZN stallion State Visit (Aus) is the first foal of the mare Celebrity Queen (Aus) who is by Redoutes Choice out of a stakes winning More Than Ready daughter.
After a stellar racing career Celebrity Queen was sold as a filly for stud for A$2 500 000. She had 14 career starts and won 7 of these - 3 on the trot - and included the Gr1 MRC Oakleigh and the Gr3 Colonel Reeves Stakes, as well as runner-up cheques in the Gr1 WATC Winterbottom Stakes and the Gr3 AJ Scahill Stakes.
As a young mare at stud there is every chance that this pedigree is going to continue to grow as she has progeny of top-class sires in the pipeline, a colt by Justify, a filly by Wotton Bassett and in foal now to Home Affairs. The depth of the pedigree does not end there though as Celebrity Miss is a stakes winner out of a dual Gr1-winning daughter of Marscay.
The potency in the sire lines of this pedigree are top notch:
• Wootton Bassett – champion 2yo sire in Europe.
• Redoute’s Choice was champion 2yo sire in Australia in 2004 and claimed the champion sires title in 2005-06; 2009-10 and 2013-14. He was four-times champion Broodmare Sire and was the first to crack the A$30 million earnings record in June 2023.
• More Than Ready – sire of SA champion sire Gimmethegreenlight. More Than Ready is the only sire to have an Eclipse Champion four years in a row, and has sired the most Breeders Cup winners in history.
• Marscay – Champion sire in Australia twice, and four times Champion Broodmare sire.
It comes as no surprise that State Visit was a true Gr1 performing two year old in Australia – the land where juvenile races are king.
“It is purely thanks to a short head that we had any chance of securing State Visit for in the ATC sire Produce Stakes Gr1 he was beaten a short head by Vinrock – net result we got State Visit – Vinrock’s gone to Yulong at a stud fee of R 250 000,” adds KZN Breeders Chairman, Warwick Render.
“At his first start he was very impressive running good sectionals but he was still very new. Second start he had to go all the way back and make his run on the outside, which is not easy to do, and last start he was very good. Jason (Collett) said he actually didn’t see the horse (winner Vinrock) on his inside and that’s why he came back again in the end. He’s got the best attitude, a beautiful action. He is a lovely colt so we will try to
get that Group One win,” commented trainer Gerard-Dubord.
The summary of that is he won his first start impressively (1250m). At his second start, a Gr3 1200m he came from last to run third, and his next start, a 1400m Gr1 he again came from the back of the field and wide to run second.
Only a fortnight later, he ran in the Gr1 Champagne Stakes over a mile in the soft going, which he didn’t enjoy, but ran fourth.
In short, in the space of just under two months at the start of his 2yo career he won, placed third in a Gr3, placed second in a Gr1 and fourth in a Gr1, against what proved to be the best 2yo’s in Australia in that generation.
State Visit developed an issue after that pressure and they could never quite get to the bottom of it, meaning his career was cut short.
In summary, he only had 9 career starts of which just his first start was not at stakes level.
“With Eden Roc, the first KZN Breeders Club stallion purchase, having had his first crop so well received at the sales this year we believed the time was right for the next step. The mandate was to buy a stallion that would introduce new blood and broader appeal to the breeding ranks of KZN. We believe that State Visit will do this and offer something special, not only to our members but to the greater South African breeding fraternity. State Visit is currently in quarantine and will be in KZN in time for the upcoming breeding season,” concluded Render.
NO WALK IN THE PARK ARRANGING A STATE VISIT!
The man who did the groundwork and put in the hard yards behind the exciting acquisition of State Visit is well-known former KZN trainer and breeder, Craig Ramsay, who is now resident in New Zealand.
Craig Ramsay is a founding member, past Director and Chairman, and a Lifetime member of the KZN Breeders Club.
Speaking to the Sporting Post on Tuesday, Craig explained that current KZN Breeders Chair Warwick Render had approached him in April 2026 to enquire whether he could assist in sourcing a stallion prospect for KZN, preferably with 2yo speed.
“Having been privileged to have enjoyed spending the past two years attending sales in Australasia, I have been fortunate and privileged to renew old friendships and meet many new breeders, owners, trainers, syndicators, and agents. This has allowed me to cast my inquiries network in many directions, and several prospects were identified,” said the veteran horseman.
With the assistance and advice from Andrew Birch (NZ Thoroughbred Marketing) and Andrew Stewart (Arion Pedigrees), a short list was established by Craig and conveyed to the KZN Breeders.
“My inquiries led to three serious options in training, one of which was a Gr1 winner, the other Gr1 placed, but with a stronger pedigree – that was State Visit. After some discussion, it was agreed that the son of Wootton Bassett would be our focus.”
He had just finished fourth in a Listed race on 18 April at Eagle Farm over 1400m and was entered for the Gr1 Queensland Guineas.
“There was no chance of negotiating a sale until after the race. If he were to win a Gr1, he would, in all likelihood, be retired to Coolmore to replace his deceased sire. My inquiries revealed he was battling with a breathing issue, so I made the offer, and it was agreed that I would be the first on the list if he went to the market. His disappointing run confirmed his issues weren’t resolved, and more serious negotiations were initiated, including some
additional concessions for the seller to retain an interest, to secure the deal,” explained Craig.
Despite having to revisit the initial offer, they eventually settled on approximately 35% of the KZN Breeders Club budget, making him, in Craig Ramsay’s opinion, the best value stallion prospect ever to be imported to KZN, and probably South Africa.
“Having purchased him with the generous assistance of funds provided by the KZN Breeders Premium Scheme, the next challenge was getting him to KZN. Transport from Queensland to Sydney was arranged, and he immediately entered isolation in anticipation of export, whenever that might become available. The export/import protocols between South Africa and Australia had lapsed, as had those between SA and New Zealand. But having worked on the NZ protocol during the past 18 months, this had been reinstated,” explained Craig.
As he was managing a shipment of 15 yearlings purchased in New Zealand, Craig says it made sense initially to fly State Visit to the land of the long white cloud, to join their quarantine isolation, and the ensuing flight to South Africa.
“But things aren’t ever that simple. Cargo flights are generally restricted to five pallets (15 horses), so there was no guarantee he would be loaded if there wasn’t sufficient space. So we were faced with pondering - should he wait in Australia in the hope that the protocol would be eventually reinstated, or risk being left in New Zealand? Both options could work or fail, and he would miss the South African breeding season,” frowned Craig as he goes on to say that the cards eventually fell sweetly into place.
“Fortunately, through a host of sometimes frustrating weeks, and the tireless efforts of those involved, the final obstacles and veterinary challenges were overcome, and South Africa and Australia were declared open for business again.”
SNAITH GALLOPER IN GOOD TIME
Sunday racing was on the Hollywoodbets Greyville polytrack where two Class 3 events topped the bill. The Bet With Tote Class 3 over 1400m was the first of these to be run and here victory went to the well supported favourite Powerandtheglory (5/2 into 33/20) under a strong ride by Tristan Godden.
Just five lengths covered all for most of the journey and although this son of Gimmethegreenlight sat fifth, he was only two and a half lengths off the pace. He was boxed in early in the straight though, and it was only shortly after passing the 300m marker that a clear passage began to emerge.
Once seeing daylight though he quickened nicely, and did well under the circumstances to get the better of Maphaka (raced 6th, led 150m) 50m from home. This race was run in a time over 2 seconds faster than the quicker of the other two races over the distance.
Another to win by a short distance over 1400m on this card was the lightly raced 3yo BANGLADESH when registering his second career victory from just four starts in the Lucky Fish Magic Mile Class 4 .
On leaving the stalls it was the confirmed front runner Blue Steel who elected to make the running whilst Nathan Kotzen’s charge was content to amble along at the back some six lengths away.
Tactically ridden by our champion jockey elect Craig Zackey though, the son of Buffalo Bill Cody was already taking closer order rounding the latter part of the bend but did have to race wide into the straight. He ran on strongly over the final 400m and under a very determined ride he struck the front just 30m from home.
Other than those recorded in the 1000m races, the 400m to finish time of Bangladesh was the quickest for that segment of the afternoon. Craig Zackey was fined R3600 for striking Bangladesh more than the permitted ten times (13).
They also ran three races over 1200m and the fastest of these was the opening Bet With Colossus www.tote.co.za Maiden Juvenile Plate in which the Gauteng raider MOLTEN ROCK (11/10 into 8/10) got favourite backers off to a good start.
The first of six tote favourites on the card to oblige, the daughter of Erupt was soon positioned in the box seat just two lengths off the pace.
She was ridden to lead shortly after passing the 400m marker and with some in hand, she went on to score much more easily than the official winning margin of three quarters of a length would suggest. Molten Rock (speedy cut left hind) provided jockey Keagan De Melo with his 150th winner of the season.
Track Condition:
Going: Standard
Last 24 hours 16mm –
Rain:
Last 7 days 18mm
Wind: 10-20km/h South Westerly tail wind
Course
Variant: 0,99s fast
The www.gallop.co.za Class 3 over 1000m jointly topped the bill and in what proved to
be marginally the quicker of the two races over the distance, the best bet on the card for many POSITION OF POWER did the business.
Backed through all rates into 17/20 from 3/1, Alyson Wright’s charge was always handy. He responded gamely when asked for his effort 250m out and in a thrilling three-way finish, he got up late to win going away.
The 400m to finish time of Position Of Power was the fastest for that segment of the afternoon. Position Of Powers’s rider Keagan De Melo (3 winners on the card) took his tally of wins for the season to 152 here.
Fastest Times:
1000m (2) Position Of Power 57,59
1200m (3) Molten Rock 69,92
1400m (3) Powerandtheglory 81,21
400-finish Position Of Power 21,55
CATCHING
UP WITH BRETT SMITH
Brett Smith on on the star mare, National Colour | Credit: Supplied
Former jockey Brett Smith, a prolific Grade 1 winner in his heyday, has kept a low profile since hanging up his saddle in 2010.
Life after racing brought more than its share of challenges, including a neck injury that ended his days on the golf course, a few personal setbacks and the disruption of the Covid-19 years, all of which gradually drew him away from public view.
Smith emerged from the shadows after reading last week’s Off The Record profile on the forgotten champion, Home Guard.
“It stirred up a lot of memories,” he said. “I felt it was time to get back in touch.”
Smith, who enjoyed spells as stable jockey to several of South Africa’s leading trainers, including Geoff Woodruff and Sean Tarry, partnered a host of top-class performers during his career, among them Eventuail, Badger’s
Drift, Pacific Blue, Mythical Flight and National Colour. He said the story of Home Guard transported him back to his apprentice days.
“I started as an apprentice in 1979, just after the Home Guard era, but I remember him well. He was revered by the racing public at a time when people truly adored their racehorses, and I wish we could do more to foster that same love for the horse among today’s youth. Once horses get into your blood, they become a way of life forever.”
Smith said he was encouraged by the willingness of racing’s operators in recent years to think outside the box with their marketing and promotional campaigns in an effort to attract a broader audience.
“There have been some remarkable achievements, with Michelle Payne winning the Melbourne Cup and Jamie Melham (née Kah) rising to the top in Australia. In Britain, Hollie
Brett Smith (inside right), with former colleagues wearing his G1Racegear clothing | Credit: Supplied
Doyle has reached a level that shows what can be achieved through exceptional dedication to fitness and professionalism.
“Our own Rachel Venniker is a consummate professional with enormous potential, while Mickaëlle Michel has impressed me greatly in her short time in South Africa. She has style, poise, excellent pace judgement and a calm temperament in a race, allowing her to get the best out of her mounts. I believe she has all the attributes to achieve even greater success.”
Smith was particularly impressed by Hollywoodbets Durban July winner Note To Self.
“Here was a three-year-old by Futura, stoutly bred, who first emerged as a July contender when he won a handicap in January. As promising as he looked, there were experts who felt he lacked the speed to win at Grade 1 level.
“Note To Self appeared one-paced in the Daily News and some were quick to write him off, but this was a masterful training performance by Justin Snaith and his team. They knew exactly what they had and timed his preparation to perfection. Just look how he turned it on when it mattered most. He came from near the back and mowed them all down with a tremendous turn of foot.”
Smith said that before the advent of live television, race replays, track reports and stable previews, racing fans had to rely almost entirely on the naked eye to identify and follow emerging stars. Many did just that. The champions of yesteryear attracted legions of devoted followers who flocked to the racecourse to watch them in action. Today, with more racing information available than ever before, Smith believes enthusiasts should make full use of the resources at their disposal.
“Note To Self is a perfect example of a horse who developed beautifully from his debut a year ago. There were critics who said he’d be too slow and would never be suited to Hollywoodbets Greyville. But punters who studied his race replays, watched his gallops and listened to the pre-race interviews would have recognised his progress. They were the ones who cashed in.”
One piece of advice Smith offers serious punters is to pay close attention to the pre-race canterdowns, especially in juvenile races where young horses are stepping onto a racetrack for the first time.
• Click on the image below to read the full story online…
VERCINGETORIX
TOPS CBC
STALLION SERVICES AUCTION
Vercingetorix – a top attraction! | Credit: Jeremy Nelson
A service to Maine Chance Farms’ champion sire Vercingetorix proved the top attraction at the 2026 Cape Breeders Club Stallion Services Auction. The Vercingetorix service made an impressive R420 000 at the online auction.
Champion Sire in South Africa last season,
Vercingetorix is on track to be crowned Champion Sire again in 2025-2026.
His more than 20 black-type winners this season include such Gr1 winners as Double Grand Slam, Grand Empire and Quickstepgal.
Second top priced service was a 2026 cover to Rafeef, with that service making R150 000.
The auction was conducted on the BSA July Online Auction and finished on 08 July.
The Cape Breeders Club extends their thanks all the farms and stallion managers who donated services so generously as well as all the breeders who participated in the auction.
WHERE SHALL WE GO?
The new 2026 stallion book makes it clearer than ever
When you get to a fork in the road, take it.
Consult a good map, paper preferably, or one on your mobile.
Then go.
You’ll never know where it may lead you.
So it is with deciding where to send your mares.
The Sires 2026 hard copy leads the way, mapping trusted roads, helping to avoid obvious pitfalls and potholes. Consult the Sires info on your mobile or laptop, and a whole new interactive world opens up. Tap, tap. Click click.
Many of our successful breeders already know the way, and consult our website’s Sires many avenues. It’s so helpful, they say, to come to a reasoned decision.
And then this - the Sires 2026 hard copy is peppered with stories on a variety of subjects related to breeding. More fun to ponder, while sitting by the fire with glass of good of Cab.
You can order your hard copy of Sires 2026 here . Just published.
Or page through the website issue here
Or just stay at that fork, and wonder what might have been…
Order Now!
DIRECTORY OF SIRES 2026 - SOUTH AFRICA
WHAT IT ALL MEANS
Normandy Stud’s Oscar Foulkes’ personal blog Oscar’s Pleasure (also on Substack) is where he writes about the things that bring him pleasure, often food or wine related.
This week he finally got round to writing about his first love – you guessed it, horses!
Oscar writes that the work he does is based on passion, which is both a blessing and a (kind of) curse. The premise of Oscar’s Pleasure is in the name, both the things or experiences that bring me pleasure, and in writing about them. With this in mind, considering how big a part Thoroughbreds play in my life, I’ve written very little about them.
My experience of Thoroughbreds has many layers, so I’m going to dip into them using a few headers to thread my way through the implicit complexity. Before I get to that, the starting point is what it does for my soul to be with the horses on our stud.
I cannot think of a better workday than stepping out of my front door as the sun is rising, to walk through all the paddocks to check on the horses. The youngsters –weanlings and yearlings – are a particular treat, because they are inquisitive creatures who crowd around me, demanding attention. I love the physical closeness with them, each a different personality. When I move onto the next paddock, some of them will follow me until I reach the fence.
The author and his first love | Credit: Supplied
It’s not possible to spend time with them and not also imagine what glorious victories might await them. We breeders live in hope!
The Breed
The three most important foundation stallions were Arabians imported to Britain between 1689 and 1729, with the first Stud Book being published in 1791. Thoroughbreds are unique amongst domesticated animals in that they are bred for athletic performance. Italy’s greatest breeder, Federico Tesio, is often quoted: “The Thoroughbred exists because its selection has depended, not on experts, technicians, or zoologists, but on a piece of wood: the winning post of the Epsom Derby. If you base your criteria on anything else, you will get something else, not the Thoroughbred.”
Despite the historical importance of races like the Epsom Derby, which is run over 2400m, modern Thoroughbreds are genetically specialised to perform at their best over a variety of distances (i.e. sprinters, middledistance, stayers).
The athleticism and intelligence of Thoroughbreds means that they are also equipped to progress to rewarding careers in other equine sports, or purely recreational riding, when they retire from racing.
Genetics & Genealogy
One of the jobs of a breeder is to match stallions and mares (i.e. the bloodstock) with the aim of breeding superior athletes. Even if all other factors are perfect (to the best of our knowledge), given the unknowns that occur at the moment of conception, we cannot confidently predict the outcome of a mating. The best we can do is expect that excellence will follow the statistical distribution of the sire’s produce record, or of the female family. Despite our best efforts, we’re guessing, although hopefully better than anyone else.
Thoroughbred genealogy (often referred to as pedigrees or breeding) has fascinated me since I was a little boy and will likely engage my brain until it stops functioning. It’s one of the complexities that draws people to the sport/industry.
Normandy Stud bred the Gr1 winner Rio Querari | Credit: Chase Liebenberg
Racing
You don’t have to be an experienced horse person to be grabbed by the visceral excitement of pounding hooves as gleaming, muscular equine athletes race past you. Of course, jockeys – possibly the world’s most underrated sportsmen and women – are also part of the athletic package.
If you own the winner, even a miniscule share, or you’re associated with it in some other way (e.g. breeder), there is nothing that matches the excitement. The experience is also elusive (refer to my earlier comment about unpredictability), which is one of the reasons why people who can buy any experience are so seduced by the pursuit of owning or
breeding champions.
My interest is also an intellectual one; what happens on the racecourse informs my decisions relating to bloodstock.
Every racing jurisdiction has flagship races that determine each season’s champions and watching them is of interest to racing people all around the world, much like major sporting tournaments.
Syndication
Syndicates are a great way to get the excitement (and disappointments) of racehorse ownership by dividing the costs into manageable shares. I put together my first syndicate when I was a university student.
Since 2018, I’ve been running them almost continuously on a small scale, which has kept me in contact with the ‘end consumer’ part of the industry, much like my time in wine retail.
Handicapping
I’m using the word handicapping in a British, or golf sense, rather than the American, where its application is the study of form with the intention of placing bets. Newton’s Second Law applies, in that the drag effect of weight is measurable. It’s applied in the weights carried by horses in handicap races, as well as in the weight allowances given to fillies (female horses) when they race against males (colts and geldings). In weight for age (WFA) races, younger horses carry less weight than older horses to make up for the difference in maturity. This allowance varies over different distances and reduces during the racing year. The world’s most important races are either run at WFA for all ages, or at level weights for three-year-olds.
How handicapping plays out is that a lesser horse will carry a lower weight in a handicap race, with the aim of equalising the chances. Champions can carry big weights to victory in important handicap races, with Forego being one of the great examples (he’s worth a Google detour).
Over 1600m, one length at the finish converts to 2 lbs in handicapping terms, extrapolated pro rata over shorter or longer distances. Phil Bull, who founded Timeform, is probably the most respected handicapper of all time. He did a university degree in Mathematics, which says something about the type of complexity awaiting those who embrace this aspect of the sport.
Betting
Betting, rather than the sale of broadcast rights, is largely what pays the bills in this
sport. Unlike casino gambling, the role of handicapping and other specialist knowledge means that horse racing is not a game of chance. In all jurisdictions, the policing of racing, through camera angles following runners in a race, as well as dope testing and other measures, ensures that the possibility of activities that could manipulate outcomes are minimised.
I seldom bet, which makes me a boring companion on days at the races, but I have more than enough other angles to keep the afternoon interesting.
Farming
On the farm, apart from the bloodstock, I am also managing pastures, which means that soil health, and the plants growing in it, is an area of particular responsibility and curiosity (read more here).
This custodianship feels as if it is as longstanding a commitment as the broodmare band to which my parents laid the foundations over 50 years ago. I find this particularly rewarding.
History
My mother’s family started farming in Ashton in the early 1870s, breeding horses continuously since then. While I’m conscious that I’m doing this with generational knowledge, I’m doing it for myself. It’s not to carry the flame on behalf of a family in which other branches exited the Thoroughbred industry decades ago.
The number of studs that have been at it for multiple generations is small and shrinking. An even smaller number of studs operate purely on the cash flow from breeding. I’m aware that I represent a dying breed, not just as the final Thoroughbred representative of my family.
The Business
This is an industry in which it’s very easy to be distracted by the product. Like wine, shortcomings in financial performance somehow get compensated by unmeasurable rewards. It’s a very, very hard way to make a living. The main reasons for this are the inherent unpredictability, as well as the myriad versions of injury or mortality associated with livestock. Once I’ve got my way past these risks, my financial fate is subject to buyers’ capricious preferences that are similarly outside my control.
It says a lot for the extent of the passion that it has the power to carry me and my fellow breeders through all this. It’s also thanks to
this passion that I find it difficult to approach this business purely from the perspective of assessing risk-free return on investment. The passion is both a blessing and a curse.
If things aren’t going well, I remind myself that I’m surrounded by horses, which is an experience that the industry’s clients (i.e. racehorse owners) are spending fortunes chasing.
Then I try to think what else could fill my days with as much richness and I’m grateful that I have this opportunity.
Subscribe to Oscar’s Pleasure – please click here.
IN DEAUVILLE GRADE 1 RUPERT SILKS FLY HIGH
South African racing fans got right behind Gaynor Rupert’s Thesecretadversary (3c St Mark’s Basilica - Too Soon To Panic, by Gleneagles) who became a new Gr1 winner for St Mark’s Basilica with victory in the Prix Jean Prat at Deauville on Sunday.
The Fozzy Stack-trained colt was a Listed winner at Tipperary last year and has already claimed two Gr3 successes this term in the Leopardstown 2,000 Guineas Trial and Jersey Stakes.
Ridden by Christophe Soumillon, the Cayton Park Stud and Coolmore homebred made all against the near rail before increasing the tempo from two furlongs out. The colt kept on well inside the final furlong to score by half a length from 1,000 Guineas heroine True Love (by No Nay Never).
Stack said: “That was great and we thought he would run well but we were taking on two Guineas winners which is tough, especially one away from home and another who doesn’t live too far from us.
“It’s a great day and I would like to thank the Rupert and Magnier families for sending us this horse and his last two days have been unbelievable.
“Seamie [Heffernan] spoke to Christophe earlier and told him about the horse and Christophe asked if I would mind if he made the running as there was no pace. I said don’t fight with him and just don’t get beat and he carried that out to perfection!
“This horse has a great constitution and he’s very tough. Both Christophe and Seamie have said they see six furlongs as no problem and he’s getting quicker. For a horse we thought would get a mile and maybe a little bit with it, he’s getting quicker.”
He added: “We trained his grandmother [Scream Blue Murder] and she was a sprinter and a lot of the family have been sprinters so maybe he’s returning to type.
“We’ll see how he comes out of this and get home and we’ll make a plan.”
Thesecretadversary is the second individual Gr1 winner from St Mark’s Basilica’s first crop, the other being unbeaten dual French Classic heroine Diamond Necklace.
www.coolmore.com
BOMBARDIER BOY GIVES HOLLYWOOD RACING MAURITIUS FIRST
Narrow Creek Stud produced Hollywood Racing’s breakthrough success on US soil when former Equus Champion Sprinter Isivunguvungu won the Da Hoss Stakes at Colonial Downs on his international debut for Graham Motion in September 2024.
On Saturday John Everett’s Wolseley-based operation provided the reigning SA champion owners with another international first when Bombardier Boy won the seventh race at the Champ de Mars, to mark a maiden victory in Mauritius for Hollywood Racing.
Racing in the inverted purple and yellow of their traditional instantly recognizable yellow and purple starred silks, which have also been seen to great success in the USA and UK, Bombardier Boy won the Premier Group Trust & Fiduciary Services Trophy over 990m, to give international Gr1-winning French jockey Ryan Curatolo and trainer Vincent Allet a double on the day.
Ryan Curatolo gets Bombardier Boy home ahead of Holds The Key (Bawan Sooful) to open Hollywood Racing’s account in Mauritius | Credit: MTCJC
Bombardier Boy had three promising placed starts here when trained by Mike and Mat de Kock,and was having his second outing on the Indian Ocean island when winning smartly.
He is a speedy son of Ascot Stud-based Gr1 SA Classic (1800m) winner Heavenly Blue (Snitzel) out of the Var mare, Miracle Flight and was purchased for R200 000 off the 2024 BSA Cape Yearling Sale.
Hollywood Racing’s Mfethu, who had beaten Bombardier Boy at his third start, narrowly went down to Secret Passage in the last race of the day at Champ de Mars.
Former Summerveld trainer Carl Hewitson enjoyed a good day for the Paul Foo Kune Stable and jockey Manoel Nunes as they registered a genuine hat-trick on the meeting, crowned by a victory for Tamarisk Tree in the Premier Financial Services 19th Anniversary Gr3 Winter Stakes, the feature on the eight-race card.
The tenth Mauritius racemeeting is scheduled for Saturday 18 July. The card is headed by the Sophomore Challenge, to be contested over 1500m.
UNNAMED HORIZON x
Sparkled by
TALENTED GALLOPER BRAVE COMEBACK FOR
A delighted Billy Loughnane celebrates as Comanche Brave charges home | Credit: Newmarket Racecourse
Comanche Brave came from under the radar to plunder the Al Basti Equiworld Dubai July Cup in decisive fashion, giving Billy Loughnane a third Group 1 success of the year and winning trainer Donnacha O’Brien his second top-level triumph in a week.
The Racing Post reports that the 11-1 chance was relatively unconsidered, having finished behind a number of his better-fancied rivals when seventh at Royal Ascot, but turned the form on its head with a smooth win.
The four-year-old showcased his talent in the Middle East and Hong Kong this year before landing the Gr2 Greenlands Stakes at the Curragh in May, but he was registering a breakthrough first Group 1 success here.
The July festival is familiar Group 1 territory for O’Brien, who won the Falmouth Stakes at this fixture in 2024 with Porta Fortuna, but it was a first at the venue for the jockey, who finished fourth on Believing in the sprint a year ago.
Comanche Brave had met some interference when finishing two and three-quarter lengths adrift of Almeraq and Satono Reve in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, but got a lovely tow into the race from the Japanese raider this time around.
With the field gravitating to the fair rail, Loughnane was well placed from a high draw in stall ten to strike for home entering the dip and could be called the winner some way out.
In the end, the four-year-old had a cosy length in hand over Venetian Sun, whose participation had been in doubt because of the fast ground, with Satono Reve a further neck away in third.
The winning trainer, who landed the Grade 1 Belmont Oaks with Kensington Lane this month, has now had 11 wins at the highest level. Remarkably, five of his seven winners in Britain have been in Group 1’s.
A laid-back O’Brien said: “That was a pretty easy watch to be honest. He bolted up at the Curragh and then ran okay at Ascot. He didn’t run bad enough that we were disappointed and today he looked as he did at the Curragh, he was very impressive.
“There is not much margin-wise with these sprinters, so we were happy to come here as he has already won a Group 2. We’ve seen that the Jubilee at Ascot can be a good trial for this, so we were hopeful.”
On how the race panned out, he said: “There wasn’t a lot of pace in the race on paper, which is a strange thing to say in a sprint, but he got a lovely spot in behind the Japanese horse and picked up well. He didn’t do a lot when he hit the front.”
He added: “If he’d run a good race somewhere over here before he wouldn’t have been the price he was. A big well done to the owners. They bought him when he was out running in Saudi and they believed a lot in him. He’s entered in all the big sprints now and we’ll see where we’re headed.”
Loughnane’s two Group 1 wins before the July Cup were on Bow Echo, one of which was secured on the neighbouring Rowley Mile in the 2,000 Guineas.
He said: “I wanted to ride two or three Group 1 winners this season. This is my third and it couldn’t have gone any smoother. I got a lovely spot behind Satono Reve early doors and at the furlong pole he just went away from them. Thanks to connections for giving me the opportunity.”
Karl Burke, trainer of the runner-up Venetian Sun, said: “We got shuffled back a bit early doors, which may have made a difference, but I’ll have to watch the replay.
“She’s a great filly and she’s shown us she’s right out of the top drawer out there today, as we knew she would. She’s in all the top sprints. We could have a look at the Prix Maurice de Gheest in France.”
HONG KONG MAKE HISTORY Champions
For the first time in history two star gallopers were crowned co-Hong Kong Champions at a special presentation held at the Grand Ballroom of the Rosewood Hotel in Hong Kong on Friday, 10 July.
Ka Ying Rising and Romantic Warrior are now both two-time Hong Kong Champions, as Ka Ying Rising was crowned 2024/25 Horse of the Year and Romantic Warrior was named Horse of the Year in the 2023/24 season.
Owned by Ka Ying Syndicate and trained by David Hayes, Ka Ying Rising also returned back-to-back Champion Sprinter titles after scoring five Group One race wins this season.
His triumph in the Gr1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) not only left him unbeaten with eight wins from eight starts during the term but also took his unbeaten streak to 20 consecutive races. Prior to that he broke Silent Witness’s record of 17 consecutive Hong Kong wins set nearly 21 years ago.
The world’s premier sprinter closed the season with an incredible three track-record performances in as many races – clocking 1m 19.36s in the Gr1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m), 1m 07.12s in the G2 The Sprint Cup (1200m) and 1m 07.10s in the Gr1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m), while claiming Hong Kong Speed Series for the second year in a row.
In addition, the sprint superstar became the first overseas-trained horse to win the world’s richest race on turf, the Gr1 The Everest (1200m) in Sydney, Australia. He currently carries an international rating of 131 and is the world’s toprated sprinter.
The Danny Shum-trained Romantic Warrior also enjoyed plenty of success, winning both the Gr1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) and FWD QEII Cup (2000m) for an unprecedented fourth time.
A graduate of the Hong Kong International Sale, Romantic Warrior made a remarkable comeback from fetlock surgery this term, and once again dominated the middle distance and stayer divisions, becoming only the third horse in Hong
Kong history behind River Verdon in 1993/94 and Voyage Bubble in 2024/25 to secure the Triple Crown – which requires the same horse to land the Gr1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m),
Gr1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) and Gr1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) in the same season. Same as Ka Ying Rising, Romantic Warrior also won five Gr1 races this term, boosting his prizemoney to a world record-extending HK$288,745,697.
Based on his outstanding achievements, he was named Champion Middle-Distance Horse five years in a row, and also Champion Stayer. In addition, he is crowned this year’s Champion Miler based on his brilliant winning performance in the Gr1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m).
No awards this year but looking good! Gwen McGregor and Brett Crawford arrived with Karis and Xaviere Teetan | Credit: HKJC
Trained by Mark Newnham, Invincible Ibis was named this season’s Champion Four-YearOld. The son of Hellbent snared the HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) with a convincing victory. In his subsequent start he also ran a creditable fourth in the Gr1 Champions Mile (1600m), his first time of asking in the Group one event. In addition, he was also named the season’s Most Improved Horse after scoring 57 points to a career-high rating of 112 with five wins from nine starts in the season. The Francis Lui-trained Hot Delight capped a remarkable
first season as Champion Griffin of Hong Kong. Achieving a career highlight with victory in Class 2, the son of Too Darn Hot shot up 37 rating points and now sits on a career-high figure of 89. He rounded off his first season with four wins and one fourth from just five starts.
Zac Purton is now a nine-time Hong Kong Champion Jockey. The Australian rider enjoyed another brilliant season of dominance, including reaching 2,000 career wins in Hong Kong.
Lester Huang, Deputy Chairman, HKJC, presents the Champion Jockey trophy to Zac Purton, who is now a nine-time winner of the award | Credit: HKJC
Caspar Fownes sealed a fifth Hong Kong trainers’ championship and Jerry Chau claimed the Tony Cruz Award for leading homegrown jockey as ageless veteran Beauty Joy stamped his class at a pulsating Sha Tin Finale Race Day on Sunday.
Danny Shum – adding
HKJC
Dancing and live music kept the celebrations alive all evening | Credit: HKJC
The Champion Awards Judging Panel announced the winners for the 2025/26 season during the presentation ceremony as follows:
Award Winner Owner Trainer
Horse of the Year
Champion Jockey
Champion FourYear-Old
Champion Sprinter
Champion Miler
Champion
Middle-Distance Horse
Champion Stayer
Ka Ying Rising & Romantic Warrior
Ka Ying Syndicate
Peter Lau Pak Fai
David Hayes
Danny Shum
Zac Purton
Invincible Ibis Ibis Syndicate Mark Newnham
Ka Ying Rising
Ka Ying Syndicate David Hayes
Romantic Warrior
Peter Lau Pak Fai
Danny Shum
Romantic Warrior
Peter Lau Pak Fai
Danny Shum
Romantic Warrior
Champion Griffin Hot Delight
Peter Lau Pak Fai
Peter Law Kin Sang
Most Improved Horse
Invincible Ibis
Ibis Syndicate
Danny Shum
Francis Lui
Mark Newnham
ON HONG KONG THE CURTAIN FALLS RACING
SEASON TODAY
Brett Crawford celebrated a double at a pulsating Sha Tin Finale Race Day on Sunday and has enjoyed a breakthrough first season on the highly competitive landscape of Hong Kong racing, with 28 winners, including a Gr3 success, and stakes of $40,487,65 –equivalent to over R84 million.
Brett Crawford – top opening season | Credit: HKJC
Crawford notched a double with Beauty Missile’s (135lb) fast-finishing effort under Alexis Badel in the Class 5 Miraculous Handicap (1800m) after overcoming gate 14 and PI Legend’s (129lb) success for Karis Teetan in the Class 3 Joy And Fun Handicap (1200m).
Teetan sealed a brace when Cody Mo’s Complete Unknown (116lb), a Flying Artie three-year-old, earned a PP Bonus of HK$1.5 million, before James Orman piloted Chris So-trained Perfectday (130lb) to victory in the final race of the season at Sha Tin, the Class 3 All You Wish Handicap (1400m).
Caspar Fownes sealed a fifth Hong Kong trainers’ championship and Jerry Chau claimed the Tony Cruz Award for leading homegrown jockey as ageless veteran Beauty Joy stamped his class at a pulsating Sha Tin Finale Race Day on Sunday.
With only nine races left to be run at the 2025/26 Season Finale at Happy Valley on Wednesday 15 July, Fownes holds an unassailable lead with 69 wins over Danny Shum (64) and Mark Newnham (60), and cannot be caught based on entries for the 88th and final meeting of the season.
Fownes, 58, previously won the Hong Kong trainers’ championship in 2006/07, 2008/09, 2013/14 and 2020/21 and has a career tally of 1,235 Hong Kong wins.
“It’s massive, very relieved, happy – lots of love to my family for pushing me with this one,” Fownes said. “It’s special. It means a lot to me.It’s been hammer and tong the whole way and I’m looking forward to next season already – that’s how we roll.”
With 48 wins, Chau holds a 10-victory buffer over Vincent Ho (38) and was jubilant formally sealing victory in the race for the Tony Cruz Award.
“It’s amazing and it’s a dream come true. I’ve been waiting for this for six years,” Chau said. “I really appreciate everyone who has been supporting me. I want to give all of the credit to them, and my fiancé, she has helped me a lot and fixed any of my problems, so I can focus on the track.”
Chau has ridden 221 winners in Hong Kong since returning to the city from a stint in Australia.
Ka Ying Rising was announced as Most Popular Horse, while Zac Purton received a fourth Most Popular Jockey crown.
Tony Cruz’s Beauty Joy (130lb) earned a tilt at his seventh Hong Kong season after the nine-year-old blitzed his rivals to land the HK$4.075 million Class 1 Hong Kong Racehorse Owners Association Trophy Handicap (1600m) under Hugh Bowman.
Having his 13th ride on the mercurial gelding, Bowman was trapped behind a wall of horses at the 250m before Beauty Joy angled to the outside of the field and blasted to victory with a final 200m sectional of 11.07s to defeat Max Que (115lb) and Silvery Breeze (115lb).
Cruz confirmed Beauty Joy, who was unbeaten in four Australian starts as Talladega, would race on in 2026/27.
“He’ll race again next season but maybe not for the whole season,” Cruz said. “It might be half a season or a quarter of a season, but the owners (Eleanor and Patrick Kwok) are happy for him to keep going.”
Beauty Joy storms to victory in the Class 1 Hong Kong Racehorse Owners Association Trophy Handicap (1600m).
Bowman said: “I knew I had plenty of horse and the pace had been on. I knew he was going to let down for me. Obviously, I had to ease over heels but once I balanced up on the outside, I had enough time and I was very confident of winning.
“I’ve ridden him a lot. He was the first good horse that I rode when I moved to Hong Kong and I’ve ridden him many times and he’s been a really solid horse, not only for me but the entire organisation.
“I’m really, really chuffed to win on him because it’s the first time I’ve won on him.
I’ve run second in a Group 1, I’ve had other placings in Group 1s but he just lacks that killer punch at that level at the set weights.
“He’s just a really, really good horse and I’m delighted to win on him.”
Riding at the peak of his powers, Zac Purton took his tally for the season to 143 wins as Ricky Yiu celebrated his 69th birthday with
Caspar Fowns (far right) and Joao Moreira celebrate | Credit: HKJC
the last-stride success of Double Bingo (128lb) in the Mr Award Handicap (1400m) before David Hall’s Rising Phoenix (135lb) swept along the fence to clinch the Class 4 Medic Kingdom Handicap (1400m).
Packing Fighter (134lb) was the most impressive of Purton’s haul, surging to victory in the Class 4 Solar Hei Hei Handicap (1600m).
“Danny had him in really good shape today, he was very fresh in the Parade Ring and he just raced like he was never going to lose,” Purton said. “He was in a lovely rhythm right from the start, he relaxed better than he did last start and he was able to get it on his own terms a bit more.
“It was impressive, it was a good effort.”
Manfred Man posted his 43rd winner of the campaign when Ho scored on Grand Patch (127lb) in the Class 4 Pingwu Spark Handicap (1400m). Man believes the Hellbent threeyear-old has good potential.
“He’s a nice horse and he will keep improving. Last time he came third and today the extra distance was good for him and he improved from that run. Next season, 1400m to 1600m will be ideal for him. Vincent rode the perfect race,” Man said.
Pierre Ng’s Harry Angel three-year-old Green Angel (123lb) struck for Andrea Atzeni in the Class 4 Big Profit Handicap (1200m) before Ng made it a race-to-race double with Prestige Always (122lb) in the Class 4 Victory Marvel Handicap (1200m).
Jerry Chau wins the Tony Cruz Award for leading homegrown jockey | Credit: HKJC
DRC STRENGTHENS INTERNATIONAL ROAD TO DWC
Dubai Racing Club has announced a new international partnership with York Racecourse that will further strengthen the pathway for Europe’s leading middledistance horses to compete at Meydan Racecourse during the Dubai Racing Carnival.
Under the agreement, the winner of the Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes , one of Britain’s most prestigious races for threeyear-olds held during York’s renowned Ebor Festival, will receive an automatic entry into the Group 2 Dubai City of Gold on Emirates Super Saturday at Meydan Racecourse on 27 February 2027 , together with international shipping freight provided by Dubai Racing Club.
First run in 1950, the Great Voltigeur Stakes has long been recognised as a key stepping stone for elite middle-distance performers and boasts an honour roll featuring many of the sport’s most celebrated horses.
The Dubai City of Gold has similarly established itself as one of the world’s premier trials for the US$6 million Group 1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic , one of the flagship races on Dubai World Cup night. Last season’s Dubai City of Gold was won by Godolphin’s exceptional Rebel’s Romance , the nine-time Group 1 winner whose international success has made him one of the most accomplished racehorses of his generation.
The connection between the two races is already well established, with Postponed (2016) and Old Persian (2019) both completing the Great Voltigeur–Dubai City of Gold double before going on to compete successfully on the international stage.
His Excellency Ali Al Ali, CEO and Board Member of Dubai Racing Club, said:
“The Dubai Racing Carnival continues to strengthen its position as a truly international racing programme, and partnerships such as this create meaningful opportunities for the world’s best horses to compete on the global stage.”
“York Racecourse is one of Britain’s most iconic sporting venues, and the Great Voltigeur has consistently produced horses of the highest calibre. By creating a direct pathway from York to Meydan, we are providing connections with another opportunity to compete internationally while enhancing the quality and competitiveness of the Dubai City of Gold.”
“We are delighted to partner with William Derby and his team, and we look forward to welcoming this year’s Great Voltigeur winner to Meydan as they continue their journey towards the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic and Dubai World Cup night.”
William Derby, Chief Executive and Clerk of the Course at York Racecourse, said:
“We are delighted to establish this partnership with Dubai Racing Club. The Great Voltigeur Stakes has long been recognised as one of Europe’s leading trials for middle-distance horses, and this exciting initiative provides winning connections with a valuable opportunity to extend their campaign onto the international stage at Meydan.”
The partnership forms part of Dubai Racing Club’s continued strategy to strengthen international racing connections and attract the world’s leading horses to compete throughout the Dubai Racing Carnival and on Dubai World Cup night.
CONGHUA
THE KEY TO DEVELOPING YOUNG TALENT
Dual Hong Kong Champion Trainer
David Hayes has praised the environment and facilities at Conghua Racecourse, describing them as invaluable to developing his stable’s runners, particularly young horses.
David Hayes is a two-time Hong Kong Champion Trainer | Credit: HKJC
Hayes has been among the most successful trainers with horses prepared at Conghua before racing in Hong Kong. Ahead of the 2025/26 Season Finale, 20 of his 54 winners this season trained at Conghua between runs.
“I think I have been one of the leading Conghua stables over the last three years, and I believe next season will be even better,” Hayes said. “Most of my young horses have benefited from training in Conghua. They will continue to improve next season and hopefully become my vintage crop.”
Hayes believes the varied training environment and world-class facilities at Conghua play an important role in a young horse’s education and development.
“I think young horses learn a lot more by being trained in different surroundings,” he said. “They tend to look around and experience new things, and the most important factor is that they can become accustomed to the grass track. They have more opportunities to train on turf than when they are based at Sha Tin.”
“As a result, they can learn more in Conghua, which helps them mature both mentally and physically,” he added.
The most notable example of a horse to benefit from a regular Conghua programme is the world’s best sprinter Ka Ying Rising, who spent much of his early career there and is currently galloping at Conghua in preparation for his return next season.
Named Hong Kong Horse of the Year at Friday’s (10 July) Hong Kong Jockey Club Champion Awards for the second consecutive
season, Ka Ying Rising is scheduled to return to Sha Tin in August.
“Ka Ying Rising is having a great time in Conghua at the moment,” Hayes said. “He will return to Hong Kong four or five days before the Sha Tin barrier trial in late August as part of his preparation for the season-opener and then The Everest (Gr1, 1200m).
“Conghua has always been an important part of Ka Ying Rising’s preparation and race build-up. Everyone can see that the best sprinter in the world undergoes training there. We are all looking forward to another exciting season from him,” Hayes added.
Another successful graduate of Hayes’ Conghua programme is Ka Ying Resilience. The four-year-old son of Blue Point was sidelined for a period through injury but returned to top form with an impressive victory last month.
“Ka Ying Resilience completed all of his recovery work in Conghua,” Hayes said. “He had a break there, completed two barrier trials and then returned to Hong Kong only two days before raceday – and he won.”
Hayes also highlighted Conghua’s value as a rehabilitation centre for horses returning from injury.
“Conghua is very good for injured horses for three reasons. Firstly, the tracks are excellent. Secondly, the environment is not as busy as Sha Tin. Thirdly, horses based in Conghua benefit from outstanding rehabilitation facilities such as the water walker,” Hayes said.
Looking ahead, Hayes believes Conghua will also become a popular and successful racing venue when regular race meetings commence.
“Conghua Racecourse will be a very good racing venue, and I think it will become very popular,” he said. “I am very much looking forward to regular racing there and will support it as strongly as possible.”
Hayes is optimistic about the 2026/27 Hong Kong racing season, believing the experience gained by his younger horses this year will pay dividends in the months ahead.
“Young horses need time, but they should be much better next season,” Hayes said.
One of those emerging prospects is Stormy Knight. The three-year-old Headwater gelding spent time training in Conghua last month and Hayes believes he has the potential to develop into a highly competitive horse next season.
“Stormy Knight is still young, and he will learn more from Wednesday’s race,” Hayes said. “He will be a better horse as a four-year-old next term.”
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The Team