Mystic Spring Fairytale Lives On
The first and second races today (Thursday) at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth were respectively won by the Vaughan Marshall-trained William Longsword colt Dumbledore under Corne Orffer and the Justin Snaith-trained first-time Vercingetorix filly Golden Sickle under Richard Fourie, both two-year-old first-timers.
The BBP syndicate-bred Dumbledore, who is owned by Rikesh Sewgoolam, is out of the Goldkeeper mare Secret Of Victoria, who is a daughter of the champion broodmare Mystic Spring.
Varsfontein Stud-bred filly Golden Sickle is out of the Captain Al mare Victorian Secret, who is a grand-daughter of Mystic Spring.
The latter’s legacy continues unabated and is one of the best against-the-odds stories in South African racing.
Mystic Sprint is an Irish-bred by Royal Academy.
She was owned by John and Karen Newsome of Fieldspring Racing and had not been doing too well racing in England.
Michael Roberts recalled Karen asking him whether he believed it would be worthwhile sending her to South Africa. She was out of a full-sister to Mystiko, who had given Roberts his first British classic success in the 1991 2000 Guineas at Newmarket.
Roberts recalled, “I told her I didn’t see why not as Mystiko had been a good fast ground horse and that was what you needed in South Africa.”
Mystic Spring was shipped over and put in training with Dean Kannemeyer Racing but didn’t show much and was soon retired to stud.
A couple of months later John Newsome made an arrangement with the great horseman and thoroughbred breeder Wilfred Koster to use the latter’s Cheveley Stud farm as the base for Fieldspring’s breeding operation.
This included bringing about ten imported mares in over a period of a number of years.
Vaughan Köster, who took over Cheveley Stud when his father passed away in 2008, remembered the arrival of a small and slight Mystic Spring at the farm.
“She looked like a visiting card (i.e very narrow)”, he recalled.
He said, “She was very sour and would chase you out of her stable. Perhaps it had something to do with all the travel and quarantine she had endured, but after being put out to pasture her attitude changed massively. She became a happy mare, although right until the end of her breeding career she was very protective over her offspring and with a foal at foot you would not enter her stable without caution.”
Mystic Spring’s first foal was by Jallad.
Vaughan recounted, “It was a complete disaster. He was narrow and gangly, had an ugly head and was bad-legged with particularly bad hind legs.”
Later on the young colt’s hind hocks used to knock so badly they had to drain some fluid out.
“My father was given two options by the vets, either put him down or ‘throw him to the mountains.’”
The great horseman took the latter option.
“Throw to the mountains” is a saying meaning the foal should not be fed too much, thus preventing too much weight on the legs.
He was allowed the freedom of spacious camp, where he ran out with the riding horses, and he was put on dry feed.
A year later the sales inspectors were “generous” in giving the colt three out of ten as he still had “atrocious legs”.
“But he was very athletic,” recalled Vaughan.
The colt was put in training with the Kannemeyers.
Vaughan recalled, “Peter ‘PK’ Kannemeyer phoned about three months later and told us, ‘You won’t believe it, but this horse can run’. My father laughed and said ‘It can’t be!’”
The grey colt called Rabiya went on to win the Grade 1 Cape Guineas, the Grade 2 Cape Derby and the Grade 1 Daily News 2000 running in Fieldspring Racing’s maroon silks with the grey chevron.
However, his bad legs caught up with him in the most tragic of circumstances as he broke down in the 2005 Vodacom Durban July after starting favourite and had to be euthanised.
Nevertheless, Wilfred’s decision to work through a problem had ensured the foundation of a South African thoroughbred dynasty.
Mystic Spring’s second foal by Goldkeeper, Secret Of Victoria, was small, had the attitude of her mother and went on to become a great broodmare herself.
Vaughan recalled, “One day at the sales when it was time for the string to walk we waited and waited for Secret Of Victoria to appear. Eventually I walked over to her stable and found the groom cowering by the feed trough with her standing over him and refusing to let him move!”
Secret Of Victoria was bought by Garth Miller on behalf of the BBP syndicate due to the speed in her pedigree. Miller’s intuition proved to be lucrative in the long term for the syndicate members, Miller and Basil Nelson, and also for trainer Vaughan Marshall. Secret Of Victoria finished second in the Grade 1 Allan Robertson as a two-year-old and went on to become a Western Cape champion sprinter courtesy of three Graded wins, two Grade 2s and a Grade 3. At stud she has produced two Grade 1 winners, All Is Secret and The Secret Is Out, both bred by the BBP syndicate, both by Captain Al and both trained by Marshall. The Secret Is Out was raced by the BBP Syndicate too.
Today (Thursday), a son of Captain Al, William Longsword, had a second success with Secret Of Victoria. The first foal they produced together, the Marshall-trained Voldemort, is already a two-time winner and Dumbledore made it two out of two for the match.
Voldemort ran today too but failed to make it a William Longsword/Secret Of Victoria, and a Harry Potter theme (!), double.
Cheveley Stud kept Mystic Spring’s third foal, the Joshua Dancer filly Spring Lilac. She won a Grade 3 race and has gone on to produce the outstanding dual Grade 1 winner Snowdance as well as stakes winners Beat The Retreat, Juniper Spring, Victorian Secret and the promising Grade 2-placed speedster Captain Fontane.
Meanwhile, in the 2016/2017 season the top class grey filly Bela-Bela, a three-time Grade 1 winner, at last secured Mystic Spring the title she had so richly deserved, the Equus Broodmare of The Year award.
Bela-Bela is now making an immediate impact at stud as her first foal, three-year-old Snaith-trained Ciao Bella, is already a Grade 2 winner.
Mystic Spring was retired about five years ago, but is still enjoying herself in a paddock at Cheveley.
Vaughan said, “She never produced sales type ‘wow’ horses as such but they ran in all shapes and sizes. With family members now at such top studs as Klawervlei, Drakenstein and Varsfontein they are sure to get the support of top stallions. Whether her daughter’s daughters can also continue her legacy remains to be seen.”
It is fitting Mystic Spring’s family did so well with Captain Al as he was the pride and joy of Vaughan’s cousin John Koster’s national championship-winning breeding operation at Klawervlei Stud.
Susan Rowett of Varsfontein Stud recognised the influence of Mystic Spring a long time ago and began actively pursuing the family.
Varsfontein have stood four of Mystic Spring’s daughters, including her first daughter Secret Of Victoria (Goldkeeper) and last daughter Monroe Spring (Wylie Hall) as well as Touch The Sky and Bela-Bela.
Varsonfontein have therefore stood a number of Mystic Spring’s granddaughters too, including Victorian Secret.
They will be hoping Golden Sickle ignites Victorian Secret’s career because the latter has probably been a disappointing dam to date considering she was a twice Listed-winning full-sister to Snowdance.
Pictures below:
1) Vaughan Koster and Mystic Spring (Supplied).
2) Dumbledore (William Longsword-Secret Of Victoria) winning on debut over 1000m at Kenilworth today (Thursday) (Chase Liebenberg).
3) Golden Sickle (Vercingetorix-Victorian Secret) winning on debut over 1000m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth today (Thursday) (Wayne Marks)
Princess Tea Could Win Hollywoodbets Sizzling Summer Challenge for Preggie Somasundram
The Hollywoodbets Sizzling Summer Challenge horse league will have an exciting climax next week.
All of the respective leaderboards for the series can be seen below this article inluding the horse league table.
Of the ten on the horse leaderboard, eight will be running in at least one of the final three meetings next week and three of those eight are scheduled to run in two of these meetings.
The Louis Goosen-trained Princess Tea, who is the leader on 42 points, is set to run in a ten horse field over 1000m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville next Wednesday. She is in fine form and a win will net her ten points.
Under the rules of the competition a runner gets points according to the size of the field and the finishing position. i,e winning in a ten horse field nets ten points, 2nd in a ten horse field nets nine points etc.
Princess Tea is also scheduled to run on Friday night, December 30, on the poly in a ten horse field over 1100m.
The Duncan Howells-trained Birdwatcher is also on 42 points. Her form has tailed off slightly in her last three runs, but she has dropped to a competitive merit rating and can potentially pick up ten points in a ten horse field over 1400m on the Hollywoodbets Greyville turf on Boxing Day. She is also scheduled to run in a 12 horse field over 1400m on the poly on Friday night, 30 December.
The Kumaran Naidoo-trained maiden Rio Supremo runs in an eight horse field over 1200m in the first race on Boxing Day and is currently three points behind the leaders. She also runs in a nine horse field over 1000m on the poly on Friday night December 30, although as it is a maiden she will not be eligible if she wins on Boxing Day.
The Glen Kotzen-trained Cataleya Summer is also three points behind the leaders and runs in a ten horse field over 1600m on Boxing Day.
The MJ Odendaal-trained Leopard Lady, who is five points off the pace, runs in that same race.
The Alyson Wright-trained Caesura, who runs in an eleven horse field next Wednesday at Scottsville, is six points off the pace.
The Wendy Whitehead-trained Edvige runs next Friday night on the poly in a twelve horse field. She is seven points off the pace at present.
Princess Tea is in hard-knocking form and is obviously a sound type, as she runs often and is always thereabouts, so she looks the favourite to win the R80,000 first prize for deserving owner Preggie Somasundram, a loyal supporter of racing.
Drakenstein Stud Lead The Breeders Championship
Charles Dickens win in the Grade 1 R2 million Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas has propelled Drakenstein Stud into the lead in the national Breeders Championship.
Last season Drakenstein finished third behind Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein and Klawervlei Stud.
However, they broke a record last season by sending out 18 individual stakes winners.
This year they have already sent out eight individual stakes winners.
They should go close to breaking that record.
The like of Charles Dickens, Jet Dark, Safe Passage, Trip Of Fortune, Rain In Holland, if she can bounce back to her best, Silver Darling and Hold My Hand can also help them stay ahead in the championship.
Picture below: The Breeders log as it currently stands:
Gimmethegreenlight Opening A Lead In The Sires Championship
Vercingetorix was expected to win this season’s championship having been denied last season’s title by another dominant result for his father Silvano is the Hollywoodbets Durban July.
However, the 2020/2021 champion Gimmethegreenlight has opened a lead of almost R1 million on Vercingetorix.
Gimmethegreenlight will need the like of Shoemaker, Gimme A Prince, Light Speed, Money Heist, Gimme A Shot and Ciao Bella to keep on performing to maintain the lead.
Purton Is Exceeding Expectations This Season
Champion jockey’s actual wins exceeding his expected wins for first time since 2011-12 season as he prepares to join Douglas Whyte in 1,500 club
by Mark Worwood (South China Morning Post)
As Zac Purton prepares to rack up his 1,500th Hong Kong win in the coming days – he is two victories from the milestone – and celebrate his 40th birthday on January 3, there are mathematically sound grounds for arguing he is riding at the peak of his powers.
Basic calculations show Purton has registered 67 wins from 238 rides at an average of 2.48 victories per Hong Kong meeting in which he has taken part this season – Covid incidents forced the five-time champion jockey to miss two of the city’s 29 cards.
With the Jockey Club authorised to run 88 meetings, even if Purton ends up sitting out another couple of cards between now and the end of this term, he is still tracking north of 200 wins, which is amazing given Joao Moreira’s Hong Kong record stands at the 170 victories he notched in the 2016-17 campaign.
But that is enough of uncomplicated, unrefined, unsophisticated mathematics.
Purton is deserving of a much higher standard of number crunching, a Group One-level of analysis that shows this season is the first season of his Hong Kong championship-winning era in which he is outperforming the betting market.
Based on the starting prices of Purton’s 238 rides this term, his expected wins score is 63, whereas his actual wins score is 67.
The last Hong Kong term in which Purton’s actual wins exceeded his expected wins was the 2011-12 campaign when he saluted the judge aboard 64 horses when the betting market forecast he should have done so 61 times.
In each of the last 10 completed Hong Kong seasons, not even the individual brilliance of Purton could live up to the collective confidence of punters.
In 2012-13, Purton rode 88 winners when punters bet as though he should have ridden 102 winners. In 2013-14, it was 112 versus 119. In 2014-15, it was 95 versus 97. In 2015-16, it was 80 versus 98. In 2016-17, it was 107 versus 116. In 2017-18, it was 136 versus 152. In 2018-19, it was 168 versus 183. In 2019-20, it was 147 versus 176. In 2020-21, it was 125 versus 157. In 2021-22, it was 136 versus 168.
That Purton is outperforming the betting market this term despite the Zac Tax – the slang phrase for the reduced odds associated with his rides – being at, arguably, its highest-ever rate following the departure of Moreira is a remarkable achievement.
Purton, who has a full book for Saturday’s 10-race meeting at Sha Tin, sits on 1,498 Hong Kong wins following his midweek treble at Happy Valley.
At only seven of 27 meetings this season has Purton failed to ride at least two winners, so Christmas Eve is odds on to be the day he joins foundation member Douglas Whyte in the 1,500 club.
Treadmill ready to send fellow Classic Series contenders Packing with Bowman on
It is common knowledge there are conversations in the Purton household about when the man of the house will hang up his riding boots and turn his hand to something else.
He is one of those people who will succeed at whatever he does.
For those of us who derive considerable pleasure from watching him ride winner after winner after winner at Happy Valley and Sha Tin, let’s hope he sticks at the racing caper for a while longer because he is bloody good at it.
The numbers say he is as good as he has ever been.
Justin Snaith scored a treble at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth today and two of them were brought home by Richard Fourie.
Keagan de Melo rode a double for Dean Kannemeyer.
Snaith is now on 64 wins for the season at a strike rate of 13.22%.
He leads the national championship by more than a R1.2 million from Brett Crawford.
Kannemeyer has had 24 wins in the season at a strike rate of 15.38%.
Keagan de Melo leads the national jockeys championship with 119 wins at a strike rate of 20.48% and he is 40 clear of second-placed Fourie, whose 79 wins have been done at a strike rate of 19.13%.
The Mike Bass-trained Pocket Power (Jet Master) is probably the most famous L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate horse in history as he won the prestigious weight for age mile four times in succession.
Today’s Question
In what year was the inaugural Queen’s Plate (King’s Plate) run?
Answer at the bottom of the newsletter.
Click Here To See Fairview Turf Field (Race 1), Friday
Click Here To See Fairview Poly Fields, Friday
NB Please wait a few seconds for fields to appear.
Picture: It has become tradition to wear blue and white to the L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate meeting, which has had a name change to L’Ormarin’s King’s Plate after King Charles III ascended to the throne (L’Ormarins).
