Thrilled part-owner Peter Victor gives Muzi Yeni a deserved hug after he and Royal Victory had clinched an iconic big race Gr 1 double at Turffontein Standside on Saturday (Candiese Lenferna Photography) 

Muzi Yeni executed a skillful move just over 200m from home in Saturday’s Gr 1 Premier’s Champions Challenge which got his fancied mount Royal Victory to change legs and that was the key to victory.

The top jockey told trainer Nathan Kotzen he felt he was too far out of his ground turning for home in the R2 million weight for age event.

He had believed last year’s winner Puerto Manzano to be a good horse to follow, but the latter was not himself for the second run in succession and was falling back on Royal Victory just before entering the straight.

Yeni was a bit harsh on himself by saying he felt the horse had pulled him out of trouble.

Nathan knows that Royal Victory enjoys coming from off the pace, so had not been overly concerned.

However, at about the 300m mark Royal Victory, who had made up ground rapidly to be within a length of the dangerous looking Winchester Mansion, looked to be in a spot of bother.

Nathan said, “He began lugging in and wanted to run in behind the other horse. Muzi could not change whip hands to his left hand because the horse was already lugging in. So you will see he stopped riding for one or two strides and pulled the rein out to the left. That got him to change legs. Once he did that he quickened again.”

Royal Victory went on to beat Hollywoodbets Durban July hero Winchester Mansion by half-a-length with Aragosta third (Candiese Lenferna Photography.  

Nathan continued, “He is a horse who doesn’t want too much stick. He has been known to hang before and then they said I should put the blinkers on. So I put the blinkers on and he was still hanging and I said ‘you know what this horse doesn’t need blinkers, he just doesn’t need to be hit too much.’. I thought Muz rode him very well.”

Since the blinkers have been removed Royal Victory has won the Michaelmas over 1900m at Hollywoobets Greyville, the Gr 1 Betway Summer Cup and the Gr 1 Premier’s Champions Challenge.

His only other run in that time period was a preparation run in the Non-Black Type Fever Tree Stakes over 1500m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville, where he finished a 1,90 length third giving lumps of weight to the field.

That run prompted Nathan to make the decision to not race him again before the Premier’s.

He said, “A lot of people were saying I only gave him one run, and his last run was seven weeks before the race, so I should have given him another run. I had expected him to need that last run, but he kicked on so well and could have just about won it. So I said ‘he is peaking too quickly, he is just about there’. He also came on so well from that run. I didn’t want him to peak for a second run. So I decided to not give him another run and would instead just work him from home. I was sure I could get him fit enough like that, which I did.”

A gallop on the Hollywoodbets Greyville turf about ten days out put the finishing touches to the Pathfork gelding.

He was transported up to Jo’Burg in Nathan’s client Ted Hughes’ state of the art float, just like he had been done for the Betway Summer Cup. It is this sort of attention to detail that wins big races.

Nathan once again spoke of his gratitude to Ted and said he was a like a second father to him.

Royal Victory was ironically strongly fancied in Saturday’s weight for age event and started bookmakers favourite at 4/1 as opposed to starting at 33/1 when joint bottom weight under the handicap conditions of the Betway Summer Cup.

The advantage of the World Pool was shown in that Royal Victory paid a handsome R13 on the Tote.

Puerto Manzano did the same double last year.

However, Royal Victory became the first raider to ever achieve this double.

In fact he is the only out of province horse to ever win the Champions Challenge, having become just the second out of province horse this millennium to win the Summer Cup, after the Dylan Cunha-trained Strategic News in 2007.

Royal Victory’s class has always been apparent as he had hard-knocking form with the best on the Highveld as a three-year-old.

The Highveld Gr 1 weight for age events are pooh-poohed by some pundits as being below par, but Royal Victory has in fact achieved what could not be done by the celebrated July/Met double hero Kommetdieding.

He is a horse to be taken seriously and as a gelding still has more racing in him, having been expertly looked after by the fine horseman, Nathan Kotzen.

Royal Victory arrived home at Summerveld at two o’ clock in the afternoon on Sunday and has come out of the race well.

He will now be prepared for the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Durban July.

The handicappers look to have used 3,75 length third-placed Aragosta as the line horse for the Premier’s and have raised Royal Victory six points to 125.

That means, as things stand with See It Again merit rated 132, Royal Victory will carry 56,5kg in the July.

He will be out to become only the second Premier’s winner after the Sean Tarry-trained Silvano gelding Heavy Metal (2013) to win the July.

He will be out to become the first Summer Cup winner to win the July since El Picha (1999 Summer Cup, 2000 July) completed the double at the beginning of the millenium.

He will be attempting to become the first horse to do the Summer Cup, Premier’s and July treble.

A July win will be a dream come true for the man who has always outspokenly believed in his horse, passionate part-owner Peter Victor, as well as for his wife Belinda and also for the less conspicuous part-owners Brandon Wiese and Natasha Sturdy.

Belinda showed her appreciation for Muzi Yeni in a touching moment on TV in the winner’s enclosure on Saturday as she leant down to hug the diminutive jockey and whisper some words of gratitude in his ear.

Peter praised Nathan for having prepared the horse “to the tee” and was full of praise for Muzi too.

However, he reserved the chief accolades for the horse.

Royal Victory made a mockery of his price in the Summer Cup and has has now put those who said that win was a fluke in their place too.

Hollywoodbets reacted by shortening him to 7/1 for the Hollywoodbets Durban July.

Royal Victory was bred by Dr Marianne Thompson of Ambiance Stud.

Meanwhile, Royal Victory has taken Nathan into eleventh place on the national trainers log, whic is decided on stakes earnings.

Royal Victory is also comfortably the highest earning horse this season on an amount of R4,140,250.

His groom Zwinithini Yenge earned a cheque of R1,500 plus 1% of Saturday’s winning stake of Rl,250,000 to add to the roundabout R50,000 he took home after the Summer Cup.

South Africa’s darling of the turf scores her second successive Gr 1 victory (Candiese Lenferna Photography)

Gimme A Nother might have only won the Gr 1 TAB Empress Club Stakes over 1600m by 1,50 lengths at Turffontein on Saturday, but once again it was the manner of victory that stamped her as potentially an all time great.

However, Mike de Kock did say before the race he would like to see her beat a better class of field before he starts making comparisons with the greatest he has trained.

Jockey JP van der Merwe said her temperament was becoming a bit of a problem and even with the lead pony on Saturday she had been a touch aggressive.

This caused her to hit her head in the starting stalls.

They took her out the stalls and she was shown to have a small nick beneath the eye, but the veterinarian was happy it was nothing serious.

JP was not happy with the draw of seven out of seven and was not sure he wanted to be too far back in the sticky going.

He thus decided to ride her positively from the off and this enabled her to slot in to second place behind the pacemaker, her stablemate Humdinger.

Gimme A Nother has been seen lately to come from off the pace and sweep to victory with ease, after initially going through a bit of a flat spot in the straight.

So racing pundits held their respective breaths when she hit the flat spot at the 400m mark this time, because she had had those early exertions. Was she going to be able to produce her usual exhilarating burst of speed?

She quickly put their minds at rest.

The rocket burners were switched on as usual , this time just before the 200m mark.  She then drew away to beat her gallant stablemate Humdinger easing up by 1,50 lengths.

Last year’s Equus Champion two-year-old Mrs Geriatrix was coming off a disappointing Cape Town campaign and was beaten five lengths into third. She had the status of being the new darling of the turf last year, but has been usurped by Gimme A Nother.

Gilded Butterfly was a 6,25 length fourth ahead of Perfect Witness.

The Gr 1 Thekwini winner Bavarian Beauty was disappointing and was beaten 12,25 lengths into sixth.

Gimme A Nother is now seven from seven.

A Champions Season campaign will enable her to be tested against the best from other provinces, although last season’s Equus Horse Of The Year Princess Calla is now overseas and so is the best performed Cape three-year-old filly, Beach Bomb.

Mike de Kock campaigning her in Dubai next season is likely to happen now that direct travel to the EU has been granted.

Purple Pitcher (black sleeves) fends off Pure Predator to his left and Mondial to his right in another courageous display that earned him a second successive Gr 1 (Candiese Lenferna Photograph) 

Pitch the Robyn Klaasen-trained Purple Pitcher into a street fight and he will likely be the last man standing.

The actual fights he has won so far have been a number of eyeball to eyeball contests in the final stages of horse races on the Highveld.

The Stincky Pooe-owned son of New Predator won his second Gr 1 in succession at Turffontein Standside on Saturday when fending off another son of New Predator, the Fanie Bronkhorst-trained gelding Pure Predator, as well as the Mike and Adam Azzie-trained Flower Ally gelding Modial, in an enthralling battle for supremacy.

Mondial had been seen to be outpaced in some of his earlier races over shorter and Adam Azzie in tbe build up to the Derby confirmed that he was looking for the 2450m trip.

Mondial was taken to the front by Muzi Yeni.

Purple Pitcher sat one out and one back.

Kabelo Matsunyane did not waste any time sending Purple Pitcher for home, knowing that he is a resolute galloper who always finds extra when challenged.

He went ahead of Mondial and Pure Predator was meanwhile delivering strong challenge on the outside rail from near the back.

Pure Predator moved up to Purple Pitcher’s quarters, but the latter responded by finding extra and keeping him at bay.

The then seemingly beaten Mondial began fighting back.

He went within a neck of the lead on the inside of the two others, but once again Purple Pitcher refused to relinquish his lead.

However, Mondial was fighting on.

Muzi Yeni might have retrospectively rued the decision to change stickhands to his left hand because this caused Mondial to lug inward badly. Yeni could be forgiven for resorting to that last ditch measure, because Purple Pitcher had already gained a reputation for being one who is very difficult to get past. However, the hanging inward must have cost Mondial some ground and in the end he was beaten just 0,40 lengths by the winner Purple Pitcher and a long-head by the runner up Pure Predator.

Purple Pitcher looked beaten in the Gr 2 Jonsson Workwear Dingaans and found an amazing late burst to get up.

In the Gr 1 TAB SA Classic over 1800m he was headed after leading and then fought back before keeping odds-on favourite Sandringham Summit at bay in the final stages.

He had now repeated the dose in the SA Derby.

His only defeat in seven starts since joining Klaasen was in the Gr 2 TAB Gauteng Guineas, a run he would have needed having been laid off since the Dingaansand a mile is ideally too sharp for him too.

Hollywoodbets now have him at 17/1 for the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Durban July.

Richard Fourie steers Rafeef colt Thunderstruck to a second career Gr 1 victory (Candiese Lenferna Photography)

The Sean Tarry-trained Thunderstruck put himself in pole position to be named Equus Champion Sprinter after beng given another fine ride by champion jockey elect Richard Fourie in the Gr 1 wfa Jonsson Workwear Computaform Sprint over 1160m at Turffontein Standside on Saturday.

He was drawn on the right side in barrier nine out of ten and shortened into 18/10 favourite after his conqueror in the Gr 1 Cape Flying Championship, Dyce, drifted out to 6/1 after a disappointing run last time out.

Thunderstruck looked to be in trouble at the 350m mark because a gap between the speedy pair Iphiko and Mover And Shaker was closing and he still had a length or two to make up on the leader Golden Sickle, who was showing no signs of stopping.

He then began lugging inward when Fourie smacked him with the left hand.

He changed whiphands and a couple of smacks saw him finding the extra to pass Golden Sickle and win by 0,30 lengths.

Fourie had put the stick away for the last 75m as the horse had been still tending to lug inward.

Golden Sickle had also lugged in.

Rulership finished a two length third and was followed home by Kiss Me Captain and Iphiko.

Dyce, a five-year-old entire, didn’t show his usual pace, but was in touch, However, he did not go through with it and only beat home the slow-starting Ready To Charge.

Thunderstruck added this Gr 1 as a four-year-old to his Gr 1 Gold Medallion win as a two-year-old.

This season he has had six starts for a Gr 1 win, a Gr 2 win, two Non-Black Type wins, a Gr 1 second and a Gr 2 second over 1450m to the top class Main Defender.

There are still two open Gr 1 sprints in the season to go, the Golden Horse Sprint, a handicap over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville, and the Gr 1 wfa Mercury Sprint.

Frances Ethel draws clear to win the Gr 2 Wilgerbosdrift Bridget Oppenheimer SA Oaks (Candiese Lenferna Photography) 

Overseas bound Brett Crawford-trained Rafeef filly Frances Ethel showed her class and stamina capacity by surging to a 1,75 length victory in the Gr  2 Wilgerbosdrift Bridget Oppenheimer SA Oaks over 2450m to give Kabelo Matsunyane the first leg of a Graded race double on the day.

Frances Ethel was bought during the week by Team Valor International’s Barry Iriwn together with Anant Singh and Australian owner Perry Sambor.

The original owners, Dylan Chinsammy and Grant Knowles, kept shares but the broker of the purchase Robin Bruss said only Team Valor, Sambor and Singh would stay in tbe ownership after she departed for overseas at the end of the Champions Season.

Bruss said she will run in the Gr 1 Woolavington 2000 and if she runs well there she  might go for the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Durban July or the Gr 2 Track And Ball Oaks.

He said the the plans are to send her to Europe on route to the USA and later on she may well end up in Australia.

Frances Ethel has a fantastic pedigree.

Her sire Rafeef is by champion sire Redoute’s Choice, who is by the record-breaking Danehill, and Refeef is out of National Assembly racehorse and broodmare sensation National Colour, whose grandson Celestial Legend is currently the highest rated three-year-old in Australia.

Frances Ethel’s third dam You’re My Lady (Roberto) is a half-sister to Razyana (His Majesty), who is the dam of Danehill.

Frances Ethel’s dam Daphne Garland is by For Wood and is a sister, among others, to Bay Tree, dam of Gr 1 SA Derby winner Bouquet-Garni.

Bruss believes the SA Oaks should be a Gr 1.

He pointed out, “First run in 1913, the SA Oaks is a chanpionship race for classic fillies at the classic trip of 2450m. As a championship its deserves to be a G1 race not a G2. Inevitably it’s history of winners has created fountainheads of the breed, so it’s value to the Stud Book is inestimable and making it a G2 each year, is a travesty in my book. It’s said that the reason is the fields don’t have great depth, because running so far at altitude is so hard and testing. For me that means an even more compelling reason, because the winners have to overcome so much – and you don’t win the SA Oaks unless you have solid stamina, and have built up a body of work for soundness and durability to even get to the race, then you have to have great cardiovascular ability to run that far in thin oxygen and a great engine to carry you to victory – these are all traits of great value to the breed, and should be recognised and rewarded and not downplayed.  The Oppenheimers have won the SA Oaks I think 16 times, and look at the history of their studs in producing Classic champions and July winners in taking those traits forward.

Frances Ethel goes down in the record books as the latest winner and I feel confident that she will acquit herself at the highest level some day in the future.”

Frances Ethel converted 6/1 odds, beating the 16/1 shot My Soul Mate by 1,75 lengths with the 6/10 favourite My Sanctuary beaten 3,25 lengths into third.

Fire Attack makes a mockery of his 33/1 odds and romps home in the Gr 2 TAB SA Nursery over 1160m (Candiese Lenferna Photography)

Randjesfontein trainer Alec Laird had a fine day at Turffontein Standside on Saturday, landing a stakes race double.

In the Gr 2 TAB SA Nursery over 1160m his Fire Away colt Fire Attack was up against the unbeaten Pistol Pete, who was deemed unbeatable and started at odds of 1/4.

Fire Attack had won his maiden over 1000m third time out and next time out had been beaten 3,25 lengths by Pistol Pete over 1000m despite receiving 2kg.

However, not for the first time a juvenile who had impressed with blistering wins over 1000m came unstuck in the Gr 2 SA Nursery over a further trip of 1160m.

The most reccent example before Pistol Pete’s defeat had been 35 minues earlier when his unbeaten stablemate over 1000m, Almond Sea, could only manage third in the Gr 2 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Nursery, also over 1160m .

Fire Attack did not get a great break under Diego De Gouveia and was second last early.

However, that enabled  him to track over to the fabourable outside strip.

Pistol Pete had shown his usual good speed and kicked away at the 400m.

He looked to be on his way to making it four out of four.

However, Fire Attack began running on strongly on his inside and caught him 100m out, before drawing away to win by an impressive 2,25 lengths.

Mount Pinatubo (Erupt) caught Pistol Pete late to finish second.

Proceed (Gimmethegreenlight) and DantonfromSandton (Willow Magic) were next best.

Fire Attack, who is out of the well related Mambo In Seattle maiden Bonnie Beers, relished the step up in trip and looks to have an exciting future.

He went for R450,000 at last year’s BSA National Yearling Sale.

Bred by Applewood Trading (PTY) Ltd T/A Ndoro Stud, he is owned by Messrs G A Basel, G C Cornwall, L Clark & Canine Solutions CC (Nom: Mr D C O’Driscoll).

Alec admitted in the post race interview that part-owner Gary Basel had identified the horse at the Sale.

Later, the Laird-trained Global View gelding Rule Book came from last in the Listed 4Racing Caradoc Gold Cup over 2850m to win by a neck under Kaidan Brewer.

The races were held in testing conditions and the first five home carried joint bottom weight of 50kg.

Rule Book ran off a merit rating of 90 and was only 1kg under sufferance with the topweight and joint best-weighted Nebraas.

Rule Book is owned by Grant Cornwall, who is also a part-owner of Fire Attack.

Little Ballerina (near side) runs on strongly to land the Gr 2 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Nursery (Candiese Lenferna Photography)

Gavin Lerena scored an early treble at the Champions Day meeting at Turffontein Standside on Saturday.

He opened the meeting with victory on the hard-knocking Johan Janse van Vuuren-trained Vercingetorix filly So Seductive in a a maiden over 1160m.

He then caused an upset when getting the Candice Dawson-trained  Vercingetorix filly Little Ballerina home in the Gr 2 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Nursery at odds of 7/1, beating the 125/1 shot Just Reckless by 0,75 lengths with the 1/5 shot Almond Sea beaten 1,256 lengths into third.

The filly franked the Cape juvenile form as she had won the Cape Racing Sales Cape Slipper and had finished third in the Gr 3 Cape Of Good Hope Nursery.

Later, Lerena rode a patient race on the stalwart David Nieuwenhuizen-trained Gimmethegreenlight colt Sandringham Summit. The colt showed his usual turn of foot to win the Gr 2 TAB Hawaii Stakes over 1400m by 1,25 lengths from the classy Lucky Lad (Gimmethegreenlight) with the hard-knocking White Pearl beaten three lengths into third.

Sandringham Summit increased his career tally to five wins, including one Gr 1 and three Gr 2s.

The jockeys had trouble pulling up their mounts after a false start.

There was drama in the last race at Wolverhampton tonight (Monday) as a full field of 11 was reduced to just two runners after a false start.

When a false start is called no horse who completes the course is allowed to take part in the restart.

One horse bolted all the way round, but a number of others could likely have been restrained and taken back to the start, including one horse who literally walked over the line.

It is not clear whether the jockeys did not know the rules or opted to not run their mounts in the second start.

Only the two horses who stopped their mounts and turned around and went the long way back to the start were allowed to take part in the restart.

It was left to the initail 6/1 shot, the Phil Dennis-ridden Scott Dixon-trained A Pint Of Bear to have a shoot out with the initial 33/1 shot Rose Fandango, who is trained by John O’Shea and was ridden by Rossa Ryan.

Ironically it was the outsider Rose Fandango who prevailed after getting a tow from A Pint Of Bear and mastering him in the straight.

Richard Fourie clinches his treble, and a double for trainer Tony Rivalland, aboard the smart King Of The Gauls (Candiese Lenferna Photography)

Richard Fourie rodes a treble at Hollywoodbets Scottsville today, two of them for Tony Rivalland.

Fourie goes to 245 wins for the season and has achieved it at a strike rate of 22.15%.

Rivalland has had 19 wins at 13.19%.

The subject of the question is pictured in the race at Ascot in which he finished second (Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images)

 

Which English footballer rode a horse to second place in a race at Ascot?

The Ballon d’Or winner and Liverpool, Newcastle and Real Madrid striker Michael Owen once said the excitement of racing was the one thing that could match the thrill of scoring a goal. The former England international, often pictured at the races with his daughter Gemma, has been a familiar fixture at the tracks since retiring from the beautiful game.

In 2017, he even got in the saddle himself, finishing an impressive second place in a charity race at Ascot.