The name “Birch Brothers” is always said with a touch of reverence in South African racing circles and the ambitions of these famous thoroughbred breeders have not diminished. (Picture: TBA).

Colin Birch Dreams Of Returning To The Top

Colin Birch is a fifth generation member of the famous Birch Brothers breeding family and still dreams of returning to the top.

Birch Brothers at one stage dominated thoroughbred breeding in South Africa to such an extent that they won some 40 championships in succession.

Colin and his father Syd are the last members of the family to be breeding thoroughbreds and operate on the family’s original farm, Vogel Vlei, situated on the foothills of the Stormberg Mountain Range near Dordrecht in the North Eastern Cape.

The farm was formally founded in 1910 and is the oldest existing thoroughbred stud farm in the country.

Colin’s great-great grandfather E.V. Birch came to South Africa from England at the beginning of the last century and initially sold Bibles for a living.

However, he was from a “horsey” background and he ventured out and discovered there was an opportunity to breed thoroughbreds in an ideal environment in the Stormsberg.

He hence founded the Vogel Vlei farm.

Later, in the 1930s, he journeyed back to his native England and bought two stallions and twenty mares, which he exported to South Africa.

Upon landing back in SA, he sold one of the stallions and ten of the mares to cover the costs of the journey and export.

Fortunately, he kept a 1929-born British-bred mare called Drohsky, who is today still one of the most fabled mares in South African history and was the foundation upon which the country’s most successful ever stud farm was built.

The Birch Brothers probably even more important foundation stallion was the 1921-born British-bred Sunstone, who was a son of JB Joel’s homebred Epsom Derby winner Sunstar.

He was imported by Sir Abe Bailey.

However, poor health affected Bailey shortly after Sunstone’s arrival and the stallion was purchased by E.V. Birch at Bailey’s dispersal sale in 1928.

Sunstone’s relocation to Vogel Vlei, would in the years that followed, prove to be the catalyst of the decades long stranglehold the Birch Bros would have on the breeders championship.

Sunstone headed the National Sires List on five occasions, 1936 & 1937 and 1940/1/2. He was the runner up in 1933, 1938 & 1939, as well as topping the Broodmare Sire List on more than one occasion.

He is on record as having had 12 of his sons stand at stud and was the broodmare sire of a further 19 stallions at stud.

Drohsky also had the Joel influence as she was by the Solly Joel owned-and-bred Polyphantes.

Drohsky must go down as the most successful broodmare ever to have done stud duty in South Africa. She was a prolific producer as were her daughters.

The great Sea Cottage traces to her on his maternal line.

Drohsky produced 13 foals in the 15 years between 1933 and 1947 all of them winners, who won a total of 86 races, with Lenin and Murmansk reaching double figures. She produced 6 colts and 7 fillies and 6 of these were Stakes winners.

Lenin was generally regarded as the greatest thoroughbred South Africa had produced until the arrival of Sea Cottage.

The Birch Brothers were famed for producing sales stock that looked “wild-and-wooly”, but who were known to be tough and durable.

Colin said the Birch Brothers philosophy remains the same, with just one change.

He explained the aim had always been to not wrap their youngsters in cotton wool and to give them plenty of space.

“We pride ourselves in producing tough horses with good bone. You must not grow them out too quickly. If you make them too fat too soon you break them down. So we have big paddocks and wide open camps. In these big areas the horses develop good bone structure and bone density.”

He continued, “We bring them up like that apart from them coming in to be prepared just before the sales and to get their coats shiny.”

That is the one change from the old days because wild-and-wooly horses do not sell these days.

Summerveld trainers knew all about those wild-and-wooly horses. They used to have to lasso horses sent from the sales off the train bogeys at Delville Wood station. The Birch Brothers horses were always known as the toughest and to successfully lasso them was a bit of “sport”.

Another, advantage of breeding in the Karoo is the high nutritive value and mineral content of the natural grass and other grazing matter, which aids in the development of the horses.

Colin and Syd also produce pastured grass as an addition.

Furthermore, Vogel Vlei, which is on the escarpment, experiences temperatures that reach minus 20 degrees centigrade in winter.

This has the effect of sterilising the environment and makes it a great area in which to raise and keep healthy livestock.

Ormond Ferraris said in his recently published autobiography, “Thoroughly”, “I was always a Karoo man for horses, where breeders like the Birch Brothers were renowned for raising the young horses tough in a rough environment. Their horses, and most other Karoo-breds, stood up to training. But the Karoo has long fallen out of fashion, most of their wonderful bloodlines have run their course, and fewer and fewer come to the sales these days.“

Colin said from there being about thirty to forty thoroughbred breeders in the Karoo in its heyday, there are now only about six or seven left.

Rising transport costs are one of the reasons.

However, some of the Birch Brothers’ best bloodlines are still surviving.

Russian Sage mare Velvet Orchid’s third dam is Sea Mist, who is the dam of the Birch Brothers-bred Grade 1 winner Evening Mist. Sea Mist is the product of two July winners who both had Drohsky on their female lines. Sea Cottage, whose third dam is Drohsky, was mated with Wind Bell, who was the daughter of July winner Diza, who had Drohsky as her grandam.

Another current Birch Brothers mare, Innocent Gift (Greys Inn), is a half-sister to Velvet Orchid.

Colin, asked on how the Birch Brothers dominance ended, replied it was likely to do with the stallions they were standing not being as good as previously.

Following Sunstone, Birch Brothers imported High Veldt (Hyperion) in 1958, and he not only became a champion stallion but he produced a champion stallion in Elevation, who was only the second ever SA-bred after Dignitary to be champion stallion.

In 1974 they imported Plum Bold (Bold Ruler), who became the first USA-bred to ever be champion stallion in SA

The good stallions they stood, good mating plans and healthy breeding environment enabled Birch Brothers to produce many horses who would make it into SA’s who’s who of great racehorses, including Lenin, Sea Cottage, Wolf Power, Colorado King, Bold Tropic, Evening Mist, Royal Chalice etc.

Colorado King was a pioneer of SA-bred horses going to both campaign and stand at stud in the USA and Bold Tropic and Wolf Power followed in his footsteps.

Birch Brothers have bred a record eight Durban July winners, including the dead-heating pair Sea Cottage and Jollify.

If races like the July, Met, Summer Cup, Queen’s Plate etc can be considered grand slam events, Birch Brothers have produced a record 34 Grand Slam victories.

The success of Birch Brothers led to expansion. At one stage there were three breeding farms next to each other, including the original Vogel Vlei, all owned by sons and grandsons of E.V. Birch and they all operated under the banner of Birch Brothers.

It is now back to just Vogel Vlei.

Birch Brothers currently stand Red Ray and have 30 mares in total.

Red Ray produced a Grade 1 winner in his first crop, Red Saxon, and has done well, but being away from the Western Cape breeding hub has made it difficult for him to win a lot of support.

Red Ray covers some Birch Brothers mares, while others have top stallions from around the country picked for them on the basis of nicks etc.

Included among their current broodmare band are Pirate Queen (Captain Al), who produced Grade 1 winner Vernichey; Seven Veils (Rich Man’s Gold) who produced Grade 2 winner Sniper Shot; and also a new mare they are excited about, Grade 3 winner Inverroche (Ideal World), who will have a Danon Platina colt at next month’s BSA National Yearling Sale and she has a Gimmethegreenlight foal at foot.

Colin and Syd’s main livelihood these days comes from sheep and cattle, while thoroughbred breeding is now “their expensive hobby.”

However, Colin still has big ambitions and said, “Dreaming of success is what horseracing is all about. I have a saying, ‘Dream big and live in hope’.”

Queue Wing wins for the seventh time at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Sunday (Candiese Lenferna)

Queue Wing – Failed Vet Test And Has Now Won Seven

The Garth Puller-trained five-year-old Querari gelding Queue Wing is now a seven-time winner, not bad for a horse who failed a veterinarian test at the Sales.

The failed veterinarian test was the end result of a most unfortunate sequence of events for Queue Wing’s breeders, Birch Brothers.

Shortly before the Sale Colin Birch noticed one morning Queue Wing had a swollen fetlock.

He surmised he must have knocked it while being walked out for a prospective buyer or otherwise knocked it in his stall during the night.

It was decided an X-ray should be done on the injury in order to put any prospective buyers’ minds at rest.

However, as it happened the veterinarian X-rayed the other fetlock and found an old injury on the bone.

The failed veterinarian test would have been a completely off-putting factor for prospective buyers.

Therefore, Colin decided to lease him to Garth Puller, who has raced him together with Miss C.A.E. Steele.

Colin had already been offered R250,000 for Queue Wing and said when a Sale is budgeted for and that amount is taken out it comes as “quite a blow”.

He said it was not the first time a horse who had failed a veterinarian test had become successful on the racetrack.

Luke Ferraris wins the third race at Happy Valley today on seven-year-old Melbourne Hall (Harbour Watch). (Hkjc.com)

Academy Graduates Dominate Happy Valley Meeting

Graduates of the renowned South African Jockeys Academy (SAJA) have won 22 Hong Kong Hockeys Championships between them (Bartie Leisher (1), Basil Marcus (7), Robbie Fradd (1), Douglas Whyte (13)) and two of the three Graduates riding there at present, Karis Teetan and Luke Ferraris, won five of the nine races at Happy Valley Wednesday night meeting today.

Teetan won the first two races at the meeting and Ferraris won the third.

Later Teetan scored another quick double when winning the seventh and eighth races.

Teetan rode two winners for John Size, one for Michael Chang and one for Peter Ho.

Ferraris’ win was for David Hall.

Teetan only rode in three meetings in September last year before being sidelined with a thyroid issue until making his comeback on December 7.

After a slow start to his comeback he was soon back to his best and has climbed the jockeys log rapidly.

Today he moved ahead of Lyle Hewitson into fifth place on the log with 31 wins.

Hewitson did not ride today or on the weekend and remains on 29 wins.

Ferraris is in joint tenth place on 16 wins.

Paul Townend celebrates victory on Energumene. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Energumene romps home in Champion Chase at Cheltenham Festival

Willie Mullins Charge Retains His Crown

Victory for Brighton owner Tony Bloom before Palace clash

Greg Wood at Cheltenham (The Guardian)

“My heart rate didn’t go above 80,” Tony Bloom, the owner of both Brighton & Hove Albion and Energumene, said after his horse’s second win in the Queen Mother Champion Chase and, while the poker-playing Bloom is used to betting under pressure, the same was probably true for most of the victor’s backers. From the moment he took over after jumping the third-last, there was only one possible winner and Energumene will have a leading chance to complete a hat-trick if he returns to the Festival next year.

By then, Bloom’s football team could be playing in Europe, as his transformative chairmanship over the last 14 years has put Brighton on course for their best-ever finish in the top flight. They also face Grimsby on Sunday in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, while Bloom hot-footed it away from Cheltenham after Wednesday’s race for a 7.30pm home kick-off against the team’s fiercest rivals, Crystal Palace.

On two legs and four, everything seems to be going Bloom’s way, and there was even a sprinkling of rain in the hours before the race to add to the confidence behind Energumene. It was nothing like the deluge that preceded his success 12 months ago, but still enough to see him shorten from 13-8 second-favourite to 6-5 market leader at the off.

The fact that Bloom himself had “a few quid” on Energumene may have also been a factor and his lacklustre performance when favourite for the Clarence House Chase here in January was soon forgotten.

“He didn’t run to his best in the Clarence House but he has really shown his class today,” Bloom said. “We were confident going in [and] he looked the winner the whole way through. I didn’t have any pressure, it was all on Energumene and he takes all the pressure unbelievably well.

“It would be nice [to win the FA Cup too] but we will focus on Crystal Palace tonight and I will be there later on, and after that we will concentrate on the Grimsby Town game.”

Paul Townend, the winner’s jockey, could scarcely believe how smoothly his horse carried him through the race. “That was easy, to be honest,” he said. “I got in a lovely rhythm on him. After the first two fences he was taking them on, it was just a matter of keeping him in a rhythm after that. It was a dream ride and I was able to take it all in coming up the straight, which doesn’t usually happen in championship races.”

Townend was also aboard El Fabiolo, the impressive winner in Tuesday’s Arkle Trophy, and Energumene’s stable companion at the Willie Mullins yard is a narrow favourite in the early betting for next year’s Champion Chase. That may reflect the fact that Energumene will be a 10-year-old in March 2024 but his fans will take comfort from the fact that Badsworth Boy, the only horse ever to win the Champion Chase three times, was also 10 for his final success.

Energumene was the highlight of another five-winner day for Irish stables, which opened with the easy victory of Mullins’s Impaire Et Passe in the Ballymore Novice Hurdle. Delta Work repeated his 2022 success in the Cross Country Chase, while Maskada and A Dream To Share landed the Grand Annual and the Champion Bumper, respectively.

The tide of Irish winners was interrupted in the second race, however, as The Real Whacker took the Grade One Brown Advisory Novice Chase under a brilliant frontrunning ride by Sam Twiston-Davies.

The Real Whacker held the late charge of Gerri Colombe, the 5-4 favourite, by a short head to give Patrick Neville, his trainer, his first winner at the Festival.

“He’s won three times here now,” Neville said. “I don’t think I’ll run him anywhere else. This is my first season with a licence in Britain [and] it’s working out great. We’ll mind him for next year and come back for the Gold Cup, hopefully.

“We were thinking about it this year, but we’ve probably made the right decision for the horse – he’d only run six times before today, so we’ve given him that bit of experience and we’ll come back next year.”

Townend’s double on the day puts him on three for the week, one in front of the rising star Michael O’Sullivan, who rode a double on day one. Mullins, meanwhile, is on four wins at the meeting, with six more required to equal last year’s record total of 10.

Tulip Tree (JC Photos).

Turffontein Inside Course Favours Tulip Tree

Jack Milner (4Racing)

We all know the expression “horses for courses” when it comes to studying form and if that is one of your benchmarks for finding winners, then Tulip Tree has to be at the top of your list for Thursday’s meeting on the Inside track at Turffontein.

It is very simple.

The Stuart Pettigrew-trained filly has run four times at the track for three wins. Her lone unplaced run at the track came on debut over 1200m where she went off at 33-1 and ran accordingly.

Since then, she has raced three more times at the course, over 1450m, 1600m and 1800m, and has won all three. One could even take her preference for this course a step further – as this is the only track at which she has won.

So, when she lines up in Race 6, a MR 88 Handicap for fillies and mares over 1800m, this three-year-old daughter of What A Winter has to be a strong contender for top honours.

Not only is she at her favourite course, but also has the advantage of jumping from pole position.

Diego de Gouveia rode her to victory last time and he is back in the irons once again.

In fairness, this is not the only course where Tulip Tree can perform as in her form line, she has also been runner-up on three other occasions, all at different courses.

The obvious danger has to be Cape Lights from the Robbie Sage yard. This three-year-old daughter of Ideal World took a while to win her maiden, although she is highly thought of by her connections.

She finally cracked the ice at her seventh attempt two runs back, running out a facile winner by 5.50 lengths. That form line has been franked as two winners have come of it.

In addition, Cape Lights followed up that win with a highly promising second place – beaten 1.75 lengths by Tulip Tree.

She comes into this race 2.5kg better off so on paper is weighted to reverse that result. However, Tulip Tree was going the better of the pair in the closing stage over 1600m and now they are going 200m further and she will have to jump from No 10 draw.

But in her favour, Muzi Yeni will be back in the irons tomorrow and he will be taking the ride.

Jack Milner’s selections

Race 1: 4 Efficient Trader, 3 Writteninthesand, 2 Unyielding, 7 Southern Style

Race 2: 2 Pure Predator, 1 Fire ‘N Flames, 6 No Place Like Home, 3 Anamericaninvenice

Race 3: 2 Ice Star, 1 Global Thunder, 8 Platina Princess, 6 Egyptian Mau

Race 4: 1 Raptor Island, 3 Phantomoftheforest, 9 Sky Velocity, 7 Knights Table

Race 5: 8 Burmese Tiara, 7 Welcome Breeze, 6 Napoleon, 4 Bloomington

Race 6: 2 Tulip Tree, 1 Crimson Princess, 8 Cape Lights, 4 Southern Song

Race 7: 2 Call The Wind, 3 Island Beauty, 1 Summer Fling, 9 Lidl Miss Sunshine

Race 8: 9 Luthuli, 3 Oyster King, 2 Nuclear Force, 1 Monsieur Chevelle

Race 9: 8 Power Ranger, 3 Pendragon, 9 Dark Tide, 1 Mcebisi

BEST BET

Race 4 No 1 Raptor Island

VALUE BET

Race 8 No 9 Luthuli

BEST SWINGER

Race 2 1×2

BIPOT

R162

Leg 1: 1, 2

Leg 2: 1, 2, 8

Leg 3: 1

Leg 4: 6, 7, 8

Leg 5: 1, 2, 8

Leg 6: 1, 2, 3

PLACE ACCUMULATOR

R216

Leg 1: 1, 2, 8

Leg 2: 1

Leg 3: 7, 8

Leg 4: 1, 2

Leg 5: 1, 2, 3

Leg 6: 2, 3, 9

Leg 7: 3, 8

PICK 6

R768

Leg 1: 1

Leg 2: 4, 6, 7, 8

Leg 3: 1, 2, 8

Leg 4: 1, 2, 3, 9

Leg 5: 1, 2, 3, 9

Leg 6: 1, 3, 8, 9

JACKPOT 1

R192

Leg 1: 4, 6, 7, 8

Leg 2: 1, 2, 8

Leg 3: 1, 2, 3, 9

Leg 4: 1, 2, 3, 9

JACKPOT 2

R192

Leg 1: 1, 2, 8

Leg 2: 1, 2, 3, 9

Leg 3: 1, 2, 3, 9

Leg 4: 1, 3, 8, 9

Daryn Burroughs’ new silks will be carried by the Brett Crawford-trained Vercingetorix filly Lady Loxton (picture: via facebook).

Sandy Arundel’s Fine Gesture Solves Daryn Burroughs’ Problem

Weighted To Win, featuring Clyde Basel, Darryl Maree and Daryn Burroughs, is one of the best tipping outlets in South African racing and the latter tipster has now gone ahead and got his own racing colours.

Daryn posted a picture of his new colours on Facebook with a message saying, “Now to find a horse to go with it.”

Prolific owner Sandy Arundel had soon responded with, “Last night I saw Daryn Burroughs post and figured we can fix this!! Daryn is now a proud part owner in ‘Lady Loxton’ a beautiful Vercingetorix filly trained by Brett Crawford who will be hitting the CPT racing scene in Daryn’s racing silks in the coming weeks! Looking forward to our racing partnership and seeing Daryn’s silks in the winners box soon!”

What the post does not state is that Lady Loxton is not only by boom sire Vercingetorix but is out of Jet Master mare Victoriana, a Grade 3 runner up who is a half-sister to Equus Champion Older Female Hammie’s Hooker (Trippi), and she cost R240,000 at the BSA National Yearling Sale.

What a fine gesture by Sandy Arundel!

William Longsword three-year-old gelding Lord William wins on his KZN debut and in his first run for the Glen Kotzen yard over 1400m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville today under Ashton Arries (Candiese Lenferna).

Arries Treble, Godden Double, Kotzen Double

Ashton Arries rode a treble at Hollywoodbets Scottsville today (Wednesday) two of them for Glen Kotzen.

Tristan Godden also rode a double.

Arries goes to 19 wins for the season at a strike rate of 7.69%.

Godden is on 31 wins at 10.33%.

Kotzen is on 37 wins at 9.41%.

Douglas Whyte received this memento upon winning his 13th Hong Kong Jockeys Championship (Hkjc)

Today’s Question

Are the 13 Hong Kong Championship wins of Douglas Whyte a record?

Answer at the bottom of the newsletter.

Turffontein Inside Fields, Thursday, CLICK HERE

Kenny Kwok

ANSWER TO TODAY’S QUESTION:

Douglas Whyte’s achievement of 13 titles in succession is a record, and probably a world flat record, but there is one other jockey who has won 13 Hong Kong titles overall.

Kenny Kwok won 13 Hong Jockeys Championships between 1948 and 1967, although he did share the title twice.

Kwok was later in charge of maintenance at Happy Valley racecourse.

Turf Talk Newsletter – 15 March 2023