Rascova powers home to an impressive victory (Picture: Wayne Marks)

Glen Kotzen Claims Two Big Scalps At One Meeting

Turf Talk

Glen Kotzen was surprised to see Rascova in the lead in the Gr 2 Western Cape Fillies Championship over 1400m on Saturday at Hollywoodbets Durbanville, but thanks to the work done on her by Chad Little at home he would have been confident when seeing her relaxing in front, which allowed Craig Zackey to dictate.

She duly kicked on and it was clear from a long way out she was going to win.

She crossed the line 3,10 lengths clear, making a mockery of her 40/1 odds.

It was a first Gr 2 win for owner Sandy Arundel’s Itsa IT & Business Solutions (Pty) Ltd.

It was an emotional win and well deserved considering the money Sandy pours into the game.

Kotzen had said to Turf Talk in the build up, “She is very talented and what I do like about her this season is that last season she pulled and that cost her races – this season she has settled down. Chad Little has done a lot of work on her and she’s not so aggressive, so that should make a huge difference.”

He had said about her WSB Cape Fillies Guineas credentials,  “She is out of a very, very fast female line, but she is by Lancaster Bomber and he got a mile easily and won his Group 1 over a mile, and she doesn’t look like a sprinter, she looks like a classic horse, so we’re hoping she gets the trip. She will definitely get the 1400m.”

He had told Zackey she was lighning quick out of the stalls so suggested he have her up there.

She pinged the gates perfectly and Zackey reckoned this had given her a three length advantage.

Her speeed enabled her to easily find the rail in front from a tough draw of eight, despite two of the potential pacemakers, her stablemate Royals and the fancied Justin Snaith-trained Double Grand Slam, having jumped from draws one and two respectively.

As a two-year-old Rascova had won on debut and had won a Listed race over 1100m third time out. Thereafter she ran a fifth, sixth, second and fourth in Gr 3, Gr 1, Gr 2 and Gr 1 races over 1200m, 1200m, 1400m and 1600m resepctively.

On Saturday, she was up against the champion Vercingetorix filly Mrs Geriatrix, who had beaten her by 6,60 lengths into sixth and 3,70 lengths into second in the Gr 1 Allan Robertson Championship over 1200m and the Gr 2 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Slipper over 1400m respectively.

Rascova was not surprisingly ignored by the punting public, especially as she had that draw of eight in the ten horse field.

Mrs Geriatrix had to give the whole field 2kg and drifted dramatically from 7/10 out to 14/10 as a flood of money came for the impressive, unexposed and well drawn Justin Snaith-trained Vercingetorix filly Double Grand Slam, who shortened from 25/2 in to 28/10.

The Candice Bass-Robinson-trained Winter Cloud, who was the Allan Robertson runner up and was a recent impressive winner over 1250m carrying 60kg against older horses, started 9/2.

The Candice Dawson-trained Highveld filly Just Be Lekker, runner up in the Cape Racing Sales Ready To Run Stakes, was the only other single figure runner at 8/1.

Mrs Geriatrix suffered an awful trip after being unable to find cover from draw five. She was in fact caught three wide throughout and was pulling early as Richard Fourie attempted, unsuccessfullly, to find an opportunity to slot her in. A line can likely be drawn through her eventual 5,60 length fifth.

Rascova quickened off the false rail and galloping resolutely looked the winner a long way out.

Double Grand Slam, who was covered up throughout in about seventh place, ran on well for second and is a a good WSB Cape Fillies Guineas prospect.

Royals was in the box seat and stayed on for a four length third while Gqeberha heroine, the Alan Greeff-trained Luna Halo, was a 4,10 length fourth after staying on well from a covered up handy position.

Winter Cloud, like the favourite, was a disappointment but did not enjoy the slow pace after being dropped out from a wide draw. She overraced and was eventually not persevered with, finishing a 13,60 length ninth.

Deceased Lancaster Bomber, who stood at Drakenstein Stud, was the champion freshman sire last season and is going to be a big loss.

Rascova was bred by Cheveley Stud and was purchased for R260 000 at the Cape Yearling Sale. She is out of the five-time winning Western Winter mare, Netsuke, and is a half-sister to multiple winners Emperors Decree (Legislate), Naoshima (Master Of My Fate) and Brave Viking (William Longsword).Now a winner of 3 races with 2 places from 8 starts, Rascova took her stakes earnings to R785 938.

Earlier, the Kotzen-trained four-year-old Dynasty gelding King Regent managed to beat the Equus Horse Of The Year Princess Calla over 1250m in the Turf Talk Syndicate Cape A Stakes over 1250m despite being 9kg under sufferance on official merit ratings.

In the build up Kotzen had blamed the rule in South Africa of not being allowed to jump out of the hood, as is allowed in some other countries, for King Regent’s in and out form because if the timing of the removal of the hood is not precise he tends to “bunny hop” out of the stalls.

On Saturday he got a good break from draw two which enabled him to get a tow from the perennial front-runner After The Rain, who always takes a strong hold.

He stayed on well and found a late surge to fend off the late challenge of Princess Calla, who had come from draw eight to sit on his quarter.

Kotzen has always had fine bounce back-ability.

It must have been a blow to him when he lost the crack colt Cousin Casey at the end of last season.

However, fortunes took an upswing in unexpected fashion recently.

A new stud farm called Paardeberg Stud moved in to a property “just up the road” from his Woodhill Racing Estate in the Paardeberg.

He was no longer in isolation, so this was an added boost to the one which had already been provided by the continual upswing in Cape Racing’s prospects thanks to the amazing business skills of Greg Bortz.

Furthermore, Paardeberg Stud have a fine stallion prospect in Expert Eye, a Breeders Cup Turf Mile winner by Acclamation, and this will be handy for the Kotzen family’s breeding interests.

Kotzen has alreedy been sent a few horses to train by Paardeberg Stud.

Exciting renovations will give Hollywoodbets Kenilworth a whole new look. The course’s first meeting of the Summer  on 26 November, featuring the Gr 2 Cape Punters Cup, is being eagerly anticipated (Picture: Cape Racing)

Hollywoodbets Press Release

Fourteen months after the gates were sprung on South African horseracing’s largest corporate financial transaction, the Western Cape Gambling and Racing Board approved the acquisition of Kenilworth Racing (Pty) Ltd by Hollywood Sportsbook Holdings (Pty) Limited on 31 October 2023.

Hollywoodbets proudly announced this week that Cape Racing is now a wholly owned subsidiary of South Africa’s leading sportsbook operator, and that innovation and changes in personnel, philosophy, policy and bricks and mortar, have advanced at a rapid pace following the approval of the underlying transaction by the Competition Commission in April of this year.

Hollywoodbets has injected substantial investment into the infrastructure and facilities at the flagship Hollywoodbets Kenilworth racecourse, the Hollywoodbets Durbanville country course, and in the engine room of the sport in the region, the Milnerton Training Centre on the West Coast.

Hollywoodbets’ CEO, Suren Rampersadh said that they were delighted that this very strategic acquisition for the South African horseracing and breeding industry has been given the green light.

“It is well documented that Cape Racing has been in the doldrums for years. Thousands of jobs have been at risk. Stakeholders have been neglected and had become disillusioned. The renaissance of horseracing, not only in the Western Cape, but also in KwaZulu-Natal has begun. Hollywoodbets is taking this opportunity seriously and we are investing accordingly,” he added.

Mr Rampersadh continued that under the dynamic leadership of Hollywoodbets’ partner, Greg Bortz, the transformation towards a brighter future is unfolding at warp speed, and there are encouraging signs that the confidence of all participants in this great sport has been revived.

“Horseracing remains an important component of our business. Hopefully, the acquisition of Gold Circle will be successfully completed in 2024,” he concluded.

The concept of a ‘coastal racing’ operator is on the cards after the Members of Gold Circle Racing Club approved the sale of Gold Circle to Hollywoodbets on 19 September 2023. That transaction will now be subject to approval of the Competition Commission and the KwaZulu-Natal Gaming & Betting Board.

While Hollywoodbets Durbanville has fulfilled a vital role as a support venue in the build-up to the Cape’s high-class summer racing season, the return to Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Sunday 26 November has caused waves of excitement and unprecedented anticipation throughout the local racing community.

Once the improvements have been completed, plans are well advanced to hopefully elevate Hollywoodbets Kenilworth to rank amongst the top racecourses internationally. Exciting times indeed!

Connections lead Montien in after his Gr 3 Cape Mile victory (Picture: Wayne Marks)

Turf Talk

Piet Botha had his first Graded success as a trainer on Saturday when the Louis The King gelding Montien won the Gr 3 Cape Mile.

It was a triumph for Terry and Annabel Andrews of Sorrento stud and for their jockey son Anthony.

Terry bred Montien and he and Annabel part-own him and he was ridden to victory by Anthony.

The other owners are  Greg & Des Delponte & Mr M P Williams.

It was also a first Graded win for Triple Crown hero Louis The King (Black Minnaloushe), who stood at Sorrento Stud.

Andrews drove Montien from the off and had the rail in a handy spot by the time they had reached the turn.

Royal Aussie set a fair gallop, but in the straight Montien used his big stride to reel him in.

Andrews dropped his rein when changing whip hands at the 150 m mark but did not panic and maintained his balance and rhythm.

Cosmic Highway also appeared on the scene late, but Montien maintained his stride to beat the Gold Rush hero Royal Aussie by 0,40 lengths and there was a further 0,40 lengths back to Cosmic Highway. Money Heist in fourth, beaten 3,80 lengths, was a shorthead ahead of At My Command.

Montien did receive 3kg from the other four earners under the conditions of the race.

The fancied Trip Of Fortune suffered epistaxis and was eased out of the race.

The former Gr 1 Cape Guineas winner Double Superlative made little impression in the straight from midfield and finished a 6,15 length seventh, but will have come on from the race, which was his second run after a break of 16 months.

Botha’s previous best win was a Listed victory with the Jackson gelding Baratheon.

Baltic Secret just holds on from a flying October Morn  (Picture: Wayne Marks)

Turf Talk

The Justin Snaith-trained three-year-old filly Baltic Secret won the Listed Laisserfaire Stakes over 1000m on Saturday and this added more black type to a prolific black type family.

Baltic Secret was handy from draw six and despite odds of 33/1 reeled in the pacemaker Candy Town and did enough to reach the line 0,30 lengths clear of the flying even money favourite October Morn, who was left a touch too far back after being dropped out from draw five.

Baltic Secret received 2.5kg from October Morn, but off her 93 merit rating was officially 3,5kg under sufferance with her, so her long odds were justified.

Baltic Secret became the first stakes-winning daughter of Best Kept Secret, who is a twice-winning full sister to Gr 1 winners All Is Secret and The Secret Is Out and to Listed winner CanUKeepItSecret.

Best Kept Secret is a daughter of Secret Of Victoria who is in turn a daughter of the celebrated matriarch Mystic Spring, who was Equus Broodmare of the Year for the 2016/2017 season.

The Snaiths have had fine success with this family through three-times Gr 1-winning champion Bela-Bela, as well as with her Gr 2-winning daughter Ciao Bella, and with twice Gr 1-winner Snowdance.

Baltic Secret is a Maine Chance Farms homebred.

Picture: Tobie Spies (left) and John Kramer inspecting yearlings 

Charl Pretorius has a new column called “Off The Record” published every Saturday by 4Racing and Charl wrote an entertaining piece on the column’s debut

Come Rain Or Shine

Distinguished South African horseman John Kramer, the pedigree and conformation expert, breeder, owner and yearling selector is well into his 80s. He is still active in the horse business and sound of mind, though minus the pipe he so frequently lit up that was part of his persona in his younger years. Perhaps better so. There are certain pleasures a man has to do without, late in life.

Kramer’s former travelling companion Tobie Spies, fellow expert and co-selector for the TBA in the 1990s and much of the early 2000s, is also in his eighth decade. He is active too in assisting his son, Corné, at their Randjesfontein training operation. Tobie’s lifelong affection for the thoroughbred is the closest he has ever got to an obsession, but that he is still on the move from 4.30 am every morning speaks to the inspiration that love continues to provide.

In the thoroughbred industry, John and Tobie insist, one never stops learning and you’re never too old to learn. Both started their long careers on stud farms and their views on conformation were never far apart – John relied on his eye and the overall impression of a yearling; Tobie used a points system he’d put successfully to the test for decades.

Year on year, both were captivated by the environment they explored and John once said: “We were struck by the natural beauty that surrounds the horse industry. I am grateful to have lived so close to nature’s gifts.’’

With their deep respect for nature and animals, the intrepid pair should have known, then, not to challenge the natural rhythms of the Great Mother. They were into their 60s when, one fine day in thoroughbred country, they decided to ignore advice and life experience and almost paid what would have been a tragic price.

Kramer recalled: “We visited Maine Chance Farms near Robertson, Western Cape, on our inspection rounds one day. It was on 7 November 2007, a Wednesday afternoon. We’d been invited to spend the night at Dr Marianne Thomson’s Ambiance Stud on the other side of the Breede River, but we were delayed and, as sunset approached, we considered our journey to Ambiance.

“In those days the conventional route from Maine Chance to Ambiance went around the river but I knew a short cut across a bridge not far from our location, so I suggested to Tobie that we save an hour by taking the short option.”

Other visitors to Maine Chance that afternoon told of a radio report that carried warnings about dangerous conditions around the Breede River. The river was coming down due to heavy rain and they’d opened the sluices on the Brandwag dam. Travelling on the conventional road was advised.

The TBA’s Toyota Camry stopped at a low-water bridge on the river, near Skerpenheuwel, John Kramer at the wheel. There was light rain in the area, accompanied by a billowing wind. The water level seemed unusually high; it was flowing over the bridge so that only the top ends of the supporting pillars were visible. But a few trucks had passed over it without much fuss, and the Camry was ready to follow suit.

Tobie said: “We were sheltered from the strong wind by a bed of reeds on the river’s edge. But when John engaged first gear and we approached the bridge, we could feel sweeping gusts and it was blowing down-river. We hesitated, then pushed on!”

John told: “When we reached the middle of the bridge, the car’s engine stopped reacting to the fuel pedal. The level of the bridge had dropped. Suddenly there was a lot more water and the car started floating. I tried to get the vehicle going and moving forward but my efforts were in vain and by then Tobie was shouting that there was quite a lot of water around us.”

“As the car drifted towards the edge of the bridge, the front wheels got stuck on a pillar and we managed to get out. It all happened before we had a chance to consider what to do. I got out, opened the boot and pulled out a few files containing our essential inspection notes taken from many farms. Tobie was hanging bravely on to his door, trying to drag the car back against the flow, but he had to let go after a while. The force of the water drove the car over the bridge and into the river!”

“We stood there for a while, watching in shock as the car floated down the river and into a bank some distance away from the bridge. The car’s hazard lights were on, they gradually faded while it was sinking, then disappeared. And there we were, up to our knees in water and perhaps 30km away from Ambiance Farm.”

In a region known for poor mobile reception, the ordeal ended well. A single reception bar appeared on John’s phone. He called Dr Marianne Thomson at Ambiance Stud and she drove along to save the drenched inspectors from sharing a rather uncomfortable night stranded on the ridge at Skerpenheuwel with hungry hyenas and baboons for company.

Marianne Thomson chuckled at the memory: “I took the two stranded souls home, fed them warm soup and put them to bed. The next day, they hired a young man with a tow truck to pull the car out of the river. We recovered their luggage, which had to be unpacked and dried back at the farm. The official inspectors’ documents were dried in my oven, they survived. The right yearlings got to the sale that year!”

Turf Talk

Hear The Drums, a Port Elizabeth-based (Gqeberha) Summerhill Stud-bred Gold Press gelding, won 34 races during his career.

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT HEAR THE DRUMS