Picture: Marsh Shirtliff helps lead in Max The Other, who runs in his familiar colours and who is one of three WSB R7.5 million Gold Rush candidates he owns. (Wayne Marks).

Marsh Out To Pocket Some Gold

Leading owner Marsh Shirtliff acquired Prospectors Ticket Number One for the R7,5-million WSB Gold Rush over 1600m at on Met Day, 28 January 2023. With a bit of luck, he’ll be going to Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on the big day with an interest in more than one runner in this rich event. As it turns out, he may also have three or even four runners in the WSB Met itself.

“For the Gold Rush, I have shares in Hammies Hero, Le Mans and Max The Otter. They are all in good early positions on the log. Depending on negotiations with other ticket holders, I can have more than one runner in this novel race. The deal-making behind the scenes is one of the reasons this race was conceptualised and it is exciting, we are getting closer to the business end now,” said Marsh.

Hammies Hero, rated 96 and owned in partnership with Bryn Ressell, occupies joint 11th spot on the log with two wins from four sprints to his name. Marsh recalls: “He was a stunning yearling raised at Klawervlei and undoubtedly the best Twice Over on the 2021 Cape Premier Yearling Sale. Bryn and I were confident we would get R500,000 or more for him. But we had to keep him to ourselves at R250,000 and just as well. He is a beautiful specimen, a game horse who still has to furnish but we are hopeful, he looks the part.

“Bryn and I take turns with racing our runners in our respective silks but this one, being a ‘Hammie’, will carry his colours as Bryn’s Hamilton Rugby Club colours are known for their association with all the runners who have the ‘Hammie’s’ naming prefix.”

Mike Bass selected Le Mans, a R350,000 buy, and Marsh said: “He is a colt by Wylie Hall. I own him in a big partnership. That was quite a lot to pay for a Wylie Hall, but Mike liked him and he has been our trusted source for picking super horses for decades. We think that, with a bit of maturing along with his sire’s influence, Le Mans will see out 1600m. He is currently 19th on the log and having already won two races, has a future.”

Another runner expected to improve as he grows older is Max The Otter (Vercingetorix), already promising with a win and three places from four starts, including a narrow 1600m handicap defeat. Max The Otter, a R425,000 purchase, was selected by Marsh on pedigree. He was also raised at Klawervlei. “He is beautifully bred and will strengthen up with age, he is going to be an exciting horse,” Marsh assessed.

Max The Otter is owned in partnership with sports journalist Gary Lemke, Brian Riley and Marc Shirtliff and Marsh told: “He was named after Marc’s son Max, my seven-year-old grandson who happened to be in the ‘Otter’ class at his school when we named the colt. We are looking forward to his career. He is rated 88 and just outside the Top 20, there is still time and he can get to a higher rating before Gold Rush Day. Whatever happens, he is a horse to follow.”

*Please note: The Gold Rush Log is merely a guide. Ticketholders can even allocate a maiden should they wish to do so.

Picture: The emotions which surface upon winning a Grade 1 are summed up in this picture of Luyolo Mxothwa on Make It Snappy on Saturday (Wayne Marks).

Luyolo A Shoe-In To Land More Grade 1s

Mike Moon (The Citizen)

Jockey Luyolo Mxothwa couldn’t resist a dig at his senior colleagues in the riding ranks, chirping, “I can’t believe winning a Grade 1 is this easy – when you have the right horse!”

“Louis” had just dismounted from three-year-old filly Make It Snappy after guiding her to victory in the R1-million WSB Cape Fillies Guineas at Kenilworth on Saturday.

It was his first Grade 1 success and, upon accepting the trophy, trainer Brett Crawford praised him for “a text-book ride”.

It was just reward for Mxothwa’s dedication and hard work in his chosen profession.

It was a third Cape Fillies Guineas win for trainer Brett Crawford – after Bad Girl Runs (2005) and Front And Centre (2018).

Mxothwa, 29, started on his racing path fairly late, only joining the SA Jockey Academy in 2010 at 18, after matriculating from Stanger High in KwaZulu-Natal. His father was a groom at leading owner Fred Crabbia’s farm, so young Louis knew all about the wild world of horse racing.

His natural ability quickly became apparent and he had his first race ride in May 2012, at Scottsville. His first winner came just four rides later, at Fairview.

A thorough grounding with a stint in Eastern Cape, in the demanding Gavin Smith stable, honed the young talent. Success as a jockey is never easy but perseverance, riding primarily in Cape Town for Piet Botha, Greg Ennion and Vaughan Marshall, saw a steady flow of winners.

In 2021, the powerhouse Crawford yard found themselves without a retained jockey when Callan Murray left for Australia. It wasn’t a surprise when they got Louis on board. Any number of pundits had been predicting big things for him.

Crawford has many quality horses lining up for the Cape summer season and you’ll struggle to find someone to give you odds on Louis adding to his Grade 1 tally in short order.

Some of the 6-1 shot’s backers might not have been enamoured, after the 1600m start of Saturday’s classic, to see Mxothwa pushing Make It Snappy up to lead from the No 11 starting gate.

Getting a young horse to gallop into the breeze in a Kenilworth mile is a risky tactic.

But the regally bred daughter of Dynasty had shown her front-running capabilities when winning the Summer Bowl over the same course and distance two weeks previously. Trainer and rider knew what they were doing.

Ciao Bela, trained by Justin Snaith and ridden by Richard Fourie, started as the 9-4 favourite and was always likely to make a lunge for the hare and did so with a couple of furlongs to go.

Make It Snappy wasn’t for the taking, though. She responded to Mxothwa’s encouragement and held on to win comfortably by 1.50 lengths, with rider waving his crop triumphantly in the air.

“She pricked her ears in the final stages and I saw Ciao Bela and Richard out of the corner of my eye,” said the jubilant winner.

Picture: Charles Dickens treated a good field like “selling platers” in his last outing (Wayne Marks).

Charles Dickens Accolades – Justified Or Not?

The Grade 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas to be run at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday December 17 will be the acid test for the most talked about horse for years, the Candice Bass-Robinson-trained Charles Dickens.

South African sports fans tend to be bandwagon in their opinions and the public have certainly heaped pressure on to the Candice Bass-Robinson yard.

Not that they will really feel it.

After all, the weight of expectation was on the great Mike Bass-trained Pocket Power year after year and he always came through it with flying colours.

The Bass yard are known for their fine horsemanship and racing nous and have never been ones to jump the gun when assessing a horse.

In fact there pre-race comments are never ever cock-a-hoop.

However, that has not stopped the public from heaping some premature accolades on to their unbeaten three-year-old.

Charles Dickens is now being referred to in just about every discussion as the next Sea Cottage or Horse Chestnut.

The problem is that he went from being the possible best three-year-old in the country, and as one who could possibly follow in the footsteps of Pocket Power, to the next Horse Chestnut on the grounds of a preparation run in an Allowance Plate over 1400m.

The effortless way in which he passed the field in that race and won easing up by 3,25 lengths from previous Cape Guineas winner Russian Rock was deserving of high plaudits.

He gave Russian Rock 1,5kg meaning he faced him on 7.5kg worse than weight for age and, as they would say in Britain, treated him like a selling plater.

One respected pundit exclaimed that it was “Sea Cottage stuff”, which it could well have been.

He did not call him Sea Cottage or Horse Chestnut, but his comment, knowing South African sports fans, might have prompted the accolades that followed.

The more conservative would ask how the run, for example, compared to Jet Dark’s phenomenal L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate run last season, in which he left the 127 rated Kommetdieding standing still in the last 200m to win by 2,25 lengths?

Interestingly, Jet dark was among the vanquished when Russian Rock won the Cape Guineas.

He was unlucky in that race. However, three-year-olds can also develop into superstars later than November and December.

Looking at an overseas example, Michael Roberts’ first British Classic victory was in the 1991 2000 Guineas on Mystiko, who would never enter any debate about great racehorses.

However, in fourth place behind him that day, beaten no fewer than 8,75 lengths, was Generous, who would never at the time have been mentioned in any discussion about future greats.

Generous went on to win the Derby by five lengths, the Irish Derby by three lengths and the King George and Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes by seven lengths, before being caught wide from a wide draw in his last career start as odds-on favourite in the Arc and finishing unplaced.

Generous was awarded a Timeform rating of 139, the joint 16th highest in history and just eight point behind Frankel.

Generous and Jet Dark are just two examples of how dramatically the three-year-old picture can change in the second half of the season.

Another example is provided by Variety Club, who was not being talked about in the same terms as Charles Dickens even after he had slammed a Cape Guineas field that included the like of Gimmethegreenlight by 3,45 lengths in 2011.

He went on to prove himself a truly great miler, one of the greatest in SA history.

Cousin Casey was initially the most talked about three-year-old this season, having put in some high class performances in his last four races as a two-year-old, while at the same time looking like a progressive sort who would train on.

He has only run once this season, in the Grade 2 Punters Cup, and he won impressively again.

There is a very good line in that race to compare him to Charles Dickens.

Cousin Casey beat At My Command by a length in the Punters Cup and Port Louis by 2,80 lengths.

Charles Dickens beat At My Command by three lengths in the Grade 3 Cape Classic over 1400m and Port Louis by 4,05 lengths.

However, Charles Dickens faced them at level weights whereas Cousin Casey gave both of them 2kg.

So that makes Charles Dickens and Cousin Casey inseparable on formlines.

It could also be argued that Cousin Casey should be given some compensation, because the Punters Cup was his first run of the season.

Make no mistake, the aura surrounding Charles Dickens should never be called “hype”, because he has already proved himself something special.

However, the plaudits referring to him as the next Horse Chestnut should perhaps have been reserved until he had at least taken part in a Grade 1 race.

His date with destiny is on December 17 in what will be the most exciting renewal of the Cape Guineas since the great Dynasty was being talked about in similar terms back in December 2002.

It is in the record books that Dynasty was beaten by half-a-length in the Cape Guineas at odds of 1/5 by the Mike de Kock-trained 5/1 shot Domino Man.

However, that does not mean Dynasty’s star is still not a glittering one in the history books as he went in to win all four of his remaining races as a three-year-old, all of them Grade 1s, culminating in his celebrated performance in the July.

Charles Dickens, likewise, looks destined for greatness, win or lose on December 17.

Whether he is the next Horse Chestnut remains to be seen.

And could there be any Generous’s in the Cape Guineas field?

One that springs to mind is the De Kock-trained Shoemaker, who has been eyecatchingly impressive in his luckless defeats in both the Grade 3 Allied Steelrode Graham Beck Stakes and the Grade 2 Jonsson Workwear Dingaans.

Picture: Ensuing makes it three wins from his last four starts over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth today under Corne Orffer (Wayne Marks).

Ensuing Climbing The Log But Unlikely To Go For Gold

WSB Gold Rush Ticket Holder Rikesh Sewgoolam has two good Gold Rush horses, Time Fo Orchids and Ensuing, but their trainer Vaughan Marshall indicated the latter is likely to stick to his winning distance of 1200m.

Ensuing, a Laurence Wernars-bred William Longsword gelding, won well over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth today carrying 61kg off an 84 merit rating in a MR 74 Handicap under Corne Orffer.

He sat off the pace at a good cruising speed and used his long stride to stay on well.

He has now won three of his last four starts.

The wins have come over trips of 1200m to 1250m.

In May he ran a 1,20 length second to the smart Royal Victory in a Maiden Juvenile Plate over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Greyville, despite the blinkers being on.

However, Marshall said after today’s win that the yard appear to have found his right trip, as opposed to the 1400m and 1600m he had been tried over earlier.

Time Fo Orchids is in any case merit rated way higher than Ensuing and on 107 is at the top of the Gold Rush log.

The question is whether she will stay the Gold Rush 1600m trip, with her form indicating that 1400m is her best trip.

She did fade after moving up well in Saturday’s Grade 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas, but the Gold Rush will not be as strong and she should be able to be sat on for longer in that race.

The second and third horses behind Ensuing, the Candice Bass-Robinson-trained Charlie Malone (Querari) and the Gavin van Zyl-trained Quandary (Vercingetorix), are also eligible for the Gold Rush but have a mountain to climb to be considered as runners by any ticket holders.

Picture: Munchkin (JC Photos).

Houdalakis Hopes Munchkin Can Build On Maiden Win

The trainer’s three-year-old is on an upward curve and can win the sixth race at the Vaal on Thursday

David Mollett (Business Day)

Trainer Lucky Houdalakis can only pray he finds another superstar like JJ The Jet Plane, but his three-year-old, Munchkin, is on an upward curve and can win the sixth race at the Vaal on Thursday.

JJ The Jet Plane won 15 races in four countries with his most notable success coming in the grade 1 Hong Kong Sprint in 2010.

He cost just R70,000 as a yearling while owner David Shawe had to go to R500,000 to purchase Munchkin from the Wilgerbosdrift/Mauritzfontein operation.

It might still be money well spent as Munchkin was mighty impressive as he raced to his maiden win at Turffontein last month.

The Rafeef colt was a 3-10 chance that day but his odds for Thursday’s race are a lot more attractive at 17-10. This is due to the fact that his opposition includes Sean Tarry’s three-year-old, Golden Prospect.

A R50,000 buy from Klawervlei Stud, Golden Prospect won his first start in April in fine style and then found the company too hot in two juvenile feature events.

The son of Pomodoro has been gelded and — back in calmer waters — should go well with Rachel Venniker claiming her 1.5kg allowance.

Golden Prospect’s stablemate, Twice The Storm, also comes into the equation with Calvin Habib seeming to prefer the two-time winner to Venniker’s mount.

The progeny of Trippi have been making hay this year and his daughter, Sound Of Warning, will be chasing a fourth career win when she takes on just five rivals in the second race.

With a merit-rating of 112, Sound Of Warning looks well treated in this 1,450m contest though her unplaced run in last month’s Merchants Handicap is a concern.

Sprinkles was bought by owner Laurence Wernars at the Paul Peter dispersal sale and last season’s Fillies Guineas runner-up makes her debut for Johan Janse van Vuuren’s stable.

Hennie Greyling, booked for three rides for Van Vuuren, will be delighted to be partnering such a well-performing filly and the market will be the best guide to her chance.

Homely Girl and Shivers also do duty for the stable in this Progress Plate with apprentice Siyanda Sosibo claiming his 4kg allowance on the first-named.

Sosibo’s claim will also help his fifth race mount, Flag Bearer, whom he piloted to a two-lengths win at Turffontein 10 days ago. Though the four-year-old should make a bold bid for another win, preference is for Roy Magner’s runner, Apache Fighter, who ran well on her handicap debut when second behind San Quintin.

Player, co-owned by golf legend Gary Player, will bid to complete a hat-trick when he lines up against seven opponents in the final leg of the jackpot.

A superb ride by Keagan De Melo got Player home on his most recent outing but this season’s leading jockey isn’t riding at the meeting and Habib is entrusted with the mount for the first time.

Luthului is better off at the weights with Player this time and may prove the main threat with S’manga Khumalo’s mount, Wondering Star.

SELECTIONS

1st race: (3) Prime Example (2) Top Sail (7) Sassy (6) Ballycotton

2nd race: (6) Sound Of Warning (1) Sprinkles (3) Homely Girl (4) Hollywoodbound

3rd race: (7) Bee In My Bonnet (1) Island Beauty (5) Sky Velocity (4) Efficient Trader

4th race: (1) Robert Burns (5) Bowl First (7) Pembroke (8) Silvano’s Song

5th race: (7) Apache Fighter (1) Flag Bearer (3) Cape Bouquet (2) Liverpool Legend

6th race: (5) Munchkin (3) Golden Prospect (1) Twice The Storm (4) Ridgerunner

7th race: (6) Stunning Kitten (4) Cerulean Dancer (1) Dark Travel (9) Coffeeberry

8th race: (2) Player (8) Luthuli (1) Wondering Star (5) Lidl Miss Sunshine

9th race: (10) Billy Spellbound (9) Southern Blaze (4) Twin Turbo (5) Eye Of The Prophet

Picture: This picture captures the giant stride of Rock Pool very well (Wayne Marks).

Big-Striding Rockpool Impresses, Royal Aussie Runs Good Gold Rush Prep

The Justin Snaith-trained Rock Pool’s eyecatching stride is similar to that of the popular KZN grey After The Rain.

He was going over 1600m again and coming from second last in the eight horse field he used his giant stride to carry him to a comfortable 2,25 length victory.

He is likely to attract a fan club, being so interesting to watch and being progressive, and time will tell how far he can go in both class and distance.

He ran off an 82 today.

Richard Fourie said afterwards he had always loved Jallad mares and said the “dish” Rockpool had would come from his Jallad dam.

He said the the unusual action was unnoticeable from on top and in fact he felt as if he was gliding past the rest of the field in the straight.

He added, “He’s on the right track for great things, so I’m looking forward to this one.”

Fourie concluded by saying he believed he was “a Derby horse.”

Rockpool is owned by Nick Jonsson and Nancy Hossack.

It was a particularly deserved win for Jonsson, considering he donated R20,000 to the Cape Horse Trust on Satuday.

Snaith said Rockpool was likely to be aimed at the Grade 3 Politician Stakes over 1800m on January 21. That race is the biggest pointer to the Grade 1 Cape Derby.

Earlier, the Snaith-trained Royal Aussie put in a good run in his build up to the R7.5 million WSB Gold Rush.

He is likely to be the Gold Rush horse for ticket holder Suzette Viljoen.

The Peter Muscutt-trained Captain Of All gelding Captain Bombshell, who was fourth to Thunderstruck in last season’s Grade 1 Gold Medallion, won the race.

He was too speedy for the field and won by 1,25 lengths under Muzi Yeni off a 95 merit rating.

Yeni has been riding the Kenilworth 1200m course particularly well and always appears to have a plan in place.

Royal Aussie began well and then stayed on strongly in the closing stages over the too sharp trip.

He was running off a 98 merit rating, so gave Captain Bombshell 1,5kg and was beaten into second by 1,25 lengths.

He displayed an impressive stride and Suzette Viljoen must be excited about his chances in the Gold Rush.

The Royal Mo colt should be ideally suited to the Gold Rush 1600m trip.

Picture: Jockey Grant van Niekerk and trainer Greg Ennion both clinched their respective doubles today when the Master Of My Fate filly Love Is A Rose won the last race over 1800m (Chase Liebenberg).

Van Niekerk, Van Der Merwe And Ennion Doubles

Grant van Nieker and JP Van der Merwe both rode doubles at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth today.

Greg Ennion saddled a double.

Van Niekerk goes to eight wins for the season at a 7.77% strike rate.

Van der Merwe is on 42 wins at 9.63%.

Ennion is now on seven wins for the season at a strike rate of 10.61%.

Picture: The horse in question with Richard Pitman aboard.

Today’s Question

Which dual Grade 1 King George Chase winner once had a sequence of 19 wins in 21 starts, with his only two failures in that period being the elusive Cheltenham Gold Cup. He is thus regarded as one of the best to never win the Gold Cup.

Vaal Classic Fields, Thursday

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Picture: Pendil was known for his accurate jumping.

ANSWER TO TODAY’S QUESTION:

Pendil was described in Julian Wilson’s book 100 great racehorses as a narrow second to Flyingbolt as the best horse never to have won the Gold Cup.

He was bought in training at the Ascot Sales by Fred Winter and at first looked like an ordinary horse destined to jump around tracks like Fontwell Park.

However, he improved and then really came into his own when switching from hurdles to steeplechases.

He went through his novice season unbeaten and won the Grade 1 Arkle Chalolenge Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival.

He arrived at the Cheltenham Gold Cup the next season unbeaten in eleven chases.

However, he lost his action in the run in and despite a late surge was beaten a short-head by The Dikkler, albeit in course record time.

He was unbeaten until Cheltenham the next season again.

This time his regular jockey Richard Pitman was determined not to hit the front too soon.

Unfortunately, a horse fell in front of him at the downhill fence three from home and with two horses outside of Pendil there was no way round and he was brought down.

That proved to be his last chance to win the world’s most prestigious jumps race and was probably the most disappointing day of Richard Pitman’s life.

Turf Talk Newsletter – 7 December 2022