Picture: They Grey King was bought at the Cape Racing Ready To Run and 2yo Unbroken Sale

The Kings Club’s Exciting Syndication Plan Launches With Grey Colt

The concept of buying lump sum shares in an expensive horse have been highlighted recently by the sensational Flightline, who is part-owned by a syndication company called West Point Throroughbreds – and now there is an opportunity for South Africans to do the same through a company in Cape Town called The Kings Club.

The Kings Club was founded by Jonathan Snaith, Gina Goldsmith and Dayne Allenbrook.

They offer a range of services in racing and breeding: CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT THE KINGS CLUB

The first task they had to get their syndication service off the ground was to identify a suitable horse.

They toured the farms and spotted a lovely grey Vercingetorix colt at Maine Chance Farms.

“We fell in love with him,” recalled Gina.

They planned to bid for him at the BSA August Sale.

However, Maine Chance Farms were hit by a virus and decided to withdraw their entire draft from that sale.

The colt was fortunately sent to the recent Cape Racing Ready To Run and 2yo Unbroken Sale.

He did not take part in the breeze ups.

He is out of an Australian-bred Redoute’s Choice mare called Zappy Choice, who won one race and who is a half-sister to a Hussonet filly who finished fourth in the Group 1 Queensland Oaks and who also scored both a Group 3 and a Listed third place finish.

Jonathan, Gina and Dwayne were therefore surprised to land him for R350,000.

Gina Goldsmith signs for the Vercingetorix colt

The horse was sold at the sales as Zephyr Bay but the Kings Club fittingly renamed him The Grey King.

Now came what they thought would be the hard part.

They offered 1% shares at R7,300, which covers two years of training and keep, veterinarian bills, nominations, declarations, transport and gallop fees.

However, they were once again pleasantly surprised because the shares sold like hot cakes and were gone in no time.

In fact one owner offered to buy 100% of the package, but that would have defeated the purpose.

A maximum share is 20% and minimum 1%.

The most encouraging part of the venture so far is that there are a number of first-time owners who are involved, some of whom are new to the sport.

The knock on effect is thus immense.

The prize money the colt earns will be kept in a bank account and the shareholders will be paid out after two years.

The colt is being broken in at trainer Justin Snaith’s Phillippi yard.

Gina said Justin “just loves him” and is excited about his future.

Justin comments: “The grey Vercingetorix colt caught my eye from the moment I saw him. He has a presence and is an imposing tall colt with a beautiful action – he floats. I believe he is a classic type who could be absolutely anything in time – I am really excited to see what he is capable of.”

He also has an amazing temperament for a two-year-old colt.

He was taken to the beach recently and the syndicate owners were surprised by how “well mannered and well behaved” he was.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO ABOUT THE GREY KING

The Kings Club will not limit themselves to expensive horses.

They will be looking for a couple at Cape Racing’s Premier Yearling Sale Book 1 in January.

However, they would also like to buy one for the younger set, for students etc, and try and get them involved in something fun.

The Kings Club has got off to a flying start and adds another dimension to the positive vibe which is sweeping through South African racing at present thanks chiefly to the vision of Greg Bortz and his Cape Racing team.

Hopefully The Grey King will set the Kings Club up for years of fun which will see many being introduced to the exciting and intriguing sport of racing.

Who knows, maybe the owners can get as lucky as the seven who invested in Flightline through West Point Thoroughbreds.

The president of West Point Throughbreds, Terry Finley, had bought himself and clients into a Derby winner before, but he dreamed of having a champion i.e. an Eclipse Award winner. He thus decided on a business tweak and rather than buying a whole horse for, for example US$100,000, he decided to invest in a share of a million dollar horse. With the help of Kentucky Bloodstock agent David Ingoro, who had previously picked the immortal Zenyatta, he identified Flightline. The horse was purchased as a yearling for US$1 million and Finley managed to buy 17,5% of him for West Point Thoroughbreds. That 17,5% was split between seven investors. A 2,5% breeding share in Flightline was sold at auction this week for US$4.6 million, so you can work out how much 17.5% of him is now worth!

Picture: Litigation being led in after his Victory Moon Stakes win. (JC Photos).

Pippa Mickleburgh sees Legal Eagle in Litigation

Mike Moon (The Citizen)

Four-year-old Litigation showed his abundant potential by winning the Victory Moon Stakes over 1800m at Turffontein at the weekend.

When a thoroughbred breeder opts to take ownership of a foal he or she has produced, watch out.

Most of these folk are in the business of selling livestock for as much money as possible and tend not to get sentimental and acquisitive about beasts eating them out of house and home.

Owning a runner in training can quickly erode stud farm profits; back end of the nag, front end of the cheque tends to be the business model.

If an item on the production line catches the expert eye and makes a breeder say, ‘I fancy a bit of that action’, it must mean the little critter has something special.

This is what happened with Avontuur Thoroughbred Farm boss Pippa Mickleburgh in 2020 with a colt called Litigation, when he was sold off the farm at the height of the pandemic and the suspension of live auction sales.

Leading racehorse owner Laurence Wernars and regular partner Harry Willson were the buyers, but Mickleburgh managed to secure herself a share of the youngster.

She had cause to opt in beyond the fact that Litigation was a good looker, for she’d been the brains behind another son of the sire Greys Inn, a horse called Legal Eagle. The three-time Queen’s Plate champion and two-time Equus Horse of the Year inspired a wee bit of confidence.

A story in Sporting Post quotes her: “Litigation was the most gorgeous foal, so much so that I sent a picture of him to Sean Tarry and told him, this is going to be your next Legal Eagle.”

This might not have proven entirely true – thus far. Litigation was only fourth in the 2022 SA Derby, a race won by his illustrious paternal half-brother Legal Eagle.

But four-year-old Litigation still has plenty of time on his hands and he showed his abundant potential by bouncing back to his best youthful form when winning the Victory Moon Stakes over 1800m at Turffontein at the weekend.

The colt – now serendipitously trained by Tarry – is among the remaining 43 entries for the Betway Summer Cup, Joburg’s biggest race, to be run at the end of November.

However, when the log of likely runners was released last week, he wasn’t among the top 25 most favoured for the final line-up by the handicappers.

The manner in which he outgalloped Durban July champion Sparkling Water over the final 200m of the Turffontein straight on Sunday will surely have changed the minds of those august gentlemen who crunch numbers.

Sparkling Water was in need of the exercise and will improve a lot by Summer Cup-time, but it was an eye-opening effort, nonetheless.

When the first Summer Cup entries were announced in late September, Litigation was quoted by bookmakers at 50-1 and better. By the time the final log came out, he’d been backed into 30-1, despite two anonymous comeback runs following a four-month break – hinting at some insider knowledge and hunches.

Those two outings were over distances short of his best, while four wins in his first nine runs – which got him into the Derby – suggested there might be more to come once he’d grown out of adolescence.

Immediately after the Victory Moon triumph, Litigation was slashed to 12-1 in the ante-post market.

Avontuur’s Pippa Mickleburgh will probably be feeling vindicated for keeping a piece of her “gorgeous” foal for herself.

Picture: See It Again gives Rachel Venniker her first feature success in the Listed Model Man Mile at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Sunday (Candiese Lenferna).

See It Again Climbs To 2nd On Gold Rush Log

The Michael Roberts-trained Twice Over colt See It Again has climbed into joint second spot on the WSB R7.5 million Gold Rush log after winning the Listed Model Man Mile at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Sunday.

He is by Twice Over out of a Visionaire half-sister to Do It Again (Twice Over), which makes See It Again a three-parts brother to Do It Again.

See It Again is owned by Nick Jonsson, who does not hold a ticket for the Gold Rush race.

However, he is likely to get one or two approaches by “prospectors” for the imposing colt.

The full Gold Rush log is shown below.

Picture: Ciao Bella could be the one to beat in the Western Cape Fillies Championship at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday (Wayne Marks)

Preview For Saturday’s Grade 2 Western Cape Fillies Championship

Mark van Deventer (Cape Racing)

On Saturday, 13 three-year olds will contest the Western Cape Fillies Championship (G2) over 1400m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth. It could be that Ciao Bella prevails, but this is a tricky race with many of these unexposed youngsters having untapped potential.

The grey was visually impressive when slamming companion Kwinta’s Light at her last start.

Given that her stable mate is up with the best four-year-old sprinting fillies in the country, that form is arguably the best on offer. It helps that Justin Snaith is now really cranking his string up for peak performances; beautifully bred Ciao Bella (by Gimmethegreenlight ex Bela Bela) is handily drawn and will receive cagey tactical assistance from powerful hoop, Richard Fourie.

Candice Bass Robinson has also been in rich form, and she saddles Golden Hostess, Who Do You Love, Gimmies Lassie and Echo Of Life, who is poised on a four- timer but now takes on stronger opposition. There is little between the first two named who are clearly imbued with proper talent, yet both are inconvenienced by wide outside draws. Gimmies Lassie’s true ability is hard to peg accurately but sectionals reveal she can zip home swiftly and in Keagan de Melo she has the country’s hottest current jock ready to pounce when opportune.

Hold my Hand is proven at this class level having gone close in the Thekwini Stakes at Greyville and seems sure to be involved from a good gate. She meets Golden Hostess on the same weight terms, for a neck beating, from when they clashed last month.

Tipsy Tarragon is at least a bit better than Echo of Life on collateral form so might also be a factor though she will need to shine up on a dreary Diana Stakes flop when she caved in after over-racing.

Bevies Delight is another to consider based on neat KZN runs and her advantageous draw.

Time Fo Orchards, now with Vaughan Marshall, resumes after a 15 weeks break. She went close in the G2 Golden Slipper in July and is yet another worth a second peek.

Miss Marguerite suffered a tough trip last time and would have gone closer but will need a career best to trouble the scorer.

Picture: An elated Gavn van Zyl receives a ten grand cheque form the Head Of Racing Operations at Kenilworth Racing, Justin Vermaak (Cape Racing).

It Pays To Raid Cape Town!

Gavin van Zyl was the first recipient of the R10,000 bonus which goes to the winning trainer of any visiting horse this season.

His Vercingetorix colt Quandary earned him the cheque with an easy win in a Maiden Plate over 1200m on Saturday.

The many Cape Racing incentives include a R50,000 bonus to a visiting trainer who wins a “Festival” (Cape Summer Festival Of Racing) event and Van Zyl will be hoping Quandary, and others, can step up to the plate.

Picture: Flightline completes his six race unbeaten career by winning the Breeders Cup Classic by a record margin (Timeform).

Flightline: The Timeform Verdict – Big Red Still Top Of The Tree

By David Johnson

Timeform’s Flat Editor David Johnson explains the methodology that went into Flightline’s rating and where his achievements put him in the pantheon of racing greats.

Comparisons aren’t odious – as well-respected commentator Richard Hoiles suggested as Baaeed careered away from his rivals in the Juddmonte International. They hold an important part of understanding the true and accurate representation of racehorse merit. What is the point of holding a race at all, if we aren’t comparing the merits of each runner relative to the others?

Comparing generations remains a fundamental part of sporting folklore. Would Rocky Marciano have beaten Mike Tyson and was George Best a better number 7 than Cristiano Ronaldo? Those questions may never be answered satisfactorily, but horseracing has an advantage in enabling direct comparisons across generations through a ratings system that is monitored year-on-year (or should be) and kept consistent so that cross-generational comparisons can be made in meaningful and accurate fashion.

The levels allow for comparison between turf and dirt performances, too, so even if ratings cannot answer who would win between a Baaeed and a Flightline (because of so many other variables to take into account beyond merely ability), it is possible to make a comparison of their level of form through their relationship to their peers.

Flightline, a $1m yearling, had looked very promising since the very start of his career, winning his first two starts by an aggregate of 26 lengths, but it was on his third start that he gave the impression he might be capable of something extraordinary when he won the Grade 1 Malibu Stakes on December 26 last year by eleven and a half lengths, earning a Timeform rating of 133p.

This performance saw him top the Timeform Global Rankings for 2021, ahead of St Mark’s Basilica (132), Adayar and Mishriff (both 131). Rather surprisingly, the World Thoroughbred Rankings were rather underwhelmed, having him rated only joint-tenth.

Timeform continue to use race standards (which can be read about in greater detail here) and it was those, alongside a seemingly very high speed figure, which contributed to taking such a high view of the Malibu Stakes. It was much the same when he won the Pacific Classic by nineteen and a quarter lengths early in September and his brilliance began to gain wider recognition.

The Pacific Classic took Flightline into new territory and his victory there earned a rating of 143 – the highest that Timeform have ever awarded to a North American-trained horse since they began covering racing more extensively in that jurisdiction in the early 1990s. Again, it was race standards and a very fast overall time that gave credence to rating the race so highly.

That brings us on to the Breeders’ Cup Classic, where his victory by eight and a quarter lengths is a record winning margin for the race and earned him a Timeform rating of 136. The bare form is rather held down by Olympiad and Taiba, very smart Grade 1 winners in their own right, but almost in a separate race having sat off the strong gallop set by the non-staying Life Is Good.

Running to very high ratings requires circumstances to allow the opportunity just as much as ability and the Pacific Classic was the one occasion where everything dropped right for Flightline to do so. While it’s no surprise that his career comes to an end after the Breeders’ Cup Classic, it does seem a shame that he will leave that wider public consciousness as quickly as he entered it after just six starts, with many people left questioning where he stands in the pecking order of equine greatness.

Timeform are happy to let others decide what constitutes true greatness and how important other attributes like versatility, consistency and longevity are alongside ability, but in terms of ratings, only Frankel (147), Sea-Bird (145), Brigadier Gerard and Tudor Minstrel (both 144) have ever been awarded higher end-of-year Timeform ratings.

As stated earlier, Timeform only began compiling US ratings in the 1990s, so it doesn’t have a published figure for Secretariat. In A Century of Champions, published by Timeform, but written by John Randall and Tony Morris, they rated Secretariat 144, Citation 142, Spectacular Bid and Seattle Slew 141 and Native Dancer and Affirmed 140 as the leading performers in America in the last century. US racing journalist Andy Beyer has been compiling speedfigures in America privately for over fifty years and publicly for over thirty and awarded Secretariat a retrospective rating of 139. His ratings are on a different scale to Timeform’s (and Randall and Morris) and, if translated to the Timeform scale, would put Secretariat on a figure in the low 150s.

As good as Flightline has looked and threatened to be, Big Red’s position at the top of the US tree seems safe for a while yet.

Picture: Keagan de Melo (Chase Liebenberg).

De Melo/Kannemeyer Double

Keagan de melo scored a double for his guv’nor Dean Kannemeyer on the Hollywoodbets Greyville turf.

De Melo is now on 92 wins for the season at 22,60% and he is 31 clear of second-placed Muzi Yeni in the race for the national championship.

Kannemeyer has had 16 wins for the season at 14.95%.

Picture: Ashburton training centre pictured hosting the annual Cars In The Park event (thinklocal.co.za)

Today’s Question

What was the twofold reason for KZN’s Racing and Wagering Development Board buying land at Ashburton for R750,000 in 1974?

See answer at the end of the newsletter.

Turffontein Inside Fields

Picture: Hollywoodbets Scottsville

Today’s Question Answer

The land was bought firstly to establish a training track and secondly to relocate Pietermaritzburg’s racecourse to that tract of land.

However, a satisfactory new lease was negotiated and it was decided to leave the course at Scottsville.

Turf Talk Newsletter – 09 November 2022