Turf Talk Newsletter – 17 December, 2024

Marshall Makes History In The Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas

Vaughan Marshall accepts the trophy from Hollywoodbets’ Devin Heffer after landing his sixth Cape Guineas with One Stripe. Marshall has won a Cape Guineas in five different decades and has won the big race with three generations of the same sire line. (Picture: Wayne Marks)

The Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas, won in thrilling fashion at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday by the exciting colt One Stripe, saw more history being created by stalwart trainer Vaughan Marshall.

It also saw the boom sire One World going another one up on his champion sire Captain Al, while Drakenstein Stud were to the fore again and it was also a memorable race for Durban owners Rikesh Sewgoolam and Nick Jonsson and for jockey Gavin Lerena.

Marshall has now won a Cape Guineas in five different decades and has won it with three generations of the same sire line.

His first Cape Guineas win was with Sea Warrior (Complete Warrior) in February 1986, more than 38 years ago.

He has subsequently won it with Face North (Northfields) in February 1990, Captain Al (Al Mufti) in January 2000, William Longsword (Captain Al) in December 2016, Tap O’Noth (Captain Al) in December 2017 and made it six with One Stripe (One World) on Saturday.

One Stripe’s sire One World is by Captain Al, meaning Marshall has won the Cape Guineas with Captain Al, with two sons of Captain Al, and now with a paternal grandson of Captain Al’s i.e three generations of the same sire line.

He had actually nearly achieved the latter feat before as Linebacker, who was by Captain’s Al’s son Captain Of All, was unlucky to lose the Cape Guineas in 2020 when caught wide and then hanging in from the whip late when all he had to do was go straight.

One World stands at Drakenstein Stud.

Drakenstein bred the first three past the post on Saturday, One Stripe, Eight On Eighteen (Lancaster Bomber) and Great Plains (Danon Platina), and this might well have been a history-making feat.

One Stripe gave prominent owner Rikesh Sewgoolam his first Gr 1 winner and the second and third horses were both owned by former Cape Guineas-winning owner Nick Jonsson, ensuring the first three cheques went to Durban owners.

It was a first Cape Guineas win for Gavin Lerena, who rode an ultra cool race.

Captain Al was an extraordinary record-breaking sire and was national champion sire in the 2014/2015 season.

However, One World broke Captain Al’s freshman sire record and at the same time equalled his record for number of two-year-old winners in a season, as is well documented, and he is outdoing him again this season too.

Captain Al did not have a Gr 1 winner or even a Gr 2 winner in either of his first two crops, despite reaching a high of five Gr 1 winners in one crop (12th crop).

However, One Stripe has now already had a Gr 1 winner in his first crop and it is no ordinary Gr 1, as the Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas is known as the country’s biggest sire-producing event.

It has to be pointed out that One World has had a lot more foals in his first crop than Captain Al had, 92 compared to 57, but that should not detract from his success considering he is the leading sire of three-year-olds this season having had only 66 runners compared to the 74 of Vercingetorix and 86 of Gimmethegreenlight.

In fact One World is now in sixth place on the national log with just one crop plus a handful of early two-year-olds representing him.

Graeme Hawkins of Gold Circle wrote the below report about Saturday’s Gr 1 R2 million Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas:

Graeme Hawkins (Gold Circle)

Veteran trainer Vaughan Marshall reeled in a record-equalling sixth career Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas victory at a festive Kenilworth racetrack on Saturday when One Stripe stormed home under the stand side rail to beat Eight On Eighteen by more than a length. One Stripe delivered heavily invested owner Rikesh Sewgoolam his maiden Grade 1 success and for jockey Gavin Lerena his first Guineas trophy, but for Champion breeders, Drakenstein Stud, it was “business-as-usual” as the first three past the post were all bred and raised at their magnificent Franschhoek-based operation.

While comfortable in the end, One Stripes’ fans had to endure a few anxious moments. Stable companion All Out For Six set a brisk gallop followed by O’Tenikwa, Heather’s Boy and Great Plains with One Stripe in a good position heading into the turn. Midway round the bend One Stripe appeared to lose a few positions, but supercool Lerena never panicked and allowed the son of One World to find his feet once heads were turned for home.

At the 400m pole the front-runners began to feel the pinch. One Stripe was poised to strike and Eight On Eighteen was beginning to make serious inroads from near the back of the field. With Richard Fourie in full cry on Snaith’s Eight On Eighteen towards the inside, and One Stripe gathering momentum while shifting ground to the outside, it was initially not easy to gauge who held the upper hand, but approaching the final 150m it was clear that One Stripe was not going to be denied, and he drew clear to score emphatically.

One Stripe was initially purchased by Grant Knowles for a “mere” R100 000 at BSA’s August 2yo Sale last year and was sent to Julia Pilbeam’s Soetendal Estate to be prepared for Cape Racing Sales’ 2023 November Ready-to-Run Sale. Knowles loves to speculate in the Sales’ market and has done so with great success over many years. But not even he could have expected a R100 000 purchase in August to realise R1,4-million just a few months later. One Stripe put up a spectacular gallop – later described by Marshall as the most impressive he had ever seen at similar sales – and the active buyers’ bench responded accordingly, with Marshall having the final say. And the rest, as they say, is history!

I asked Knowles what it was about One Stripe that grabbed his attention at the August Sale. “He was very correct, walked really well, appeared very athletic with a commanding presence.” Nothing’s changed as all those attributes were on full display in the parade ring on Saturday. One Stripe has now won five of his seven starts and has banked nearly R2,4-million in prize money but, given the history of the Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas being a stallion-producing race, Rikesh Sewgoolam has so much more to look forward to.

If all goes according to plan between now and then, the Nick Jonsson-owned Eight On Eighteen will be a tough nut to crack in the Splashout Cape Derby (Gr1) over 2000m in February. The 3yo son of Lancaster Bomber is clearly very progressive and the Derby trip should not be an issue for Eight On Eighteen. His next engagement could be the 1800m Politician Stakes (Gr3) in January, the traditional Derby trial here in the Western Cape.
Great Plains stayed on well from a handy position to finish a creditable third, with rank outsider O’Tenikwa a remote fourth. Mike de Kock’s Heather’s Boy, unbeaten from three starts coming into Saturday’s Guineas, was found wanting over the final 400m but did enough to grab a minor share of the R2-million purse.

The R350 000 Ridgemont Peninsula Handicap (Gr3) over 1800m produced a shock result as the enigmatic and completely unpredictable The Futurist (66/1) led just about from pillar to post under Anthony Andrews. The chasing pack were closing in fast over the final 100m, but the winning post came just in time for The Futurist who held on gamely to beat Otto Luyken and the winner’s well backed stable companion, Infrared, in a blanket finish.

The R225 000 Splashout Victress Stakes (Gr3) over 1800m turned into something of a farce. On a day when most races were run inside of standard time, the Victress was “run” at a pedestrian pace, some three seconds (15 lengths) outside of the average and nearly five seconds (25 lengths) slower than the Peninsula Handicap. Rainbow Lorikeet took full advantage and scored for Aldo Domeyer and Candice Bass-Robinson by the best part of a length over Knockout and Time For Love. The favourite Saartjie cast a shoe during the race and was never a factor, finishing last of the five runners.

Domeyer and Bass-Robinson were also successful with From A Distance in the third race, a Maiden Plate (F&M) over 1200m, and Kaiboy in the sixth race, a Class 3 Handicap over 1200m. Kaiboy was most impressive and the 3yo son of One World looks to be a smart sprinter in the making. From A Distance won readily at the expense Englefield Green and in his post-race interview, Domeyer suggested the daughter of Querari could be even better over slightly further.

Parental Guidance, a half-brother to last season’s Grade 1-winning Proceed, scored an impressive debut victory under Richard Fourie for the Paul Reeves stable in the R250 000 Commonwealth Plate for juveniles over 1000m, which got proceedings at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth under way. The 2yo son of Querari was largely ignored in the market but he stormed home in quick time and is one for the notebook.

The second race, the R200 000 Coronation Plate for 2yo fillies, was won by the Snaith-trained Wild Wild Green who came from a little way off the pace to get the better of Whatastar by a length. Wild Wild Green is a half-sister to Sheela who was trained to Graded-stakes success by the Azzie team on the Highveld.

Jane Thomas Memorial At HWB Kenilworth's Wednesday Meeting

Jane Thomas will have a race named after her at the Hollywoodbets Kenilworth meeting on Wednesday, but more importantly there will be a celebration of her life in the parade ring after the last race.

Jane passed away on 29 November and is much missed by many in the thoroughbred horseracing industry having made a massive contribution as a trainer, a pre-trainer and a yearling inspector.

The popular England-born KZN Midlands-based horsewoman also became a sort after bloodstock agent and taught others her array of horsemanship skills, so no doubt many will be attending her memorial tomorrow.

Miedema Is Still Unimpressed By The 3YOS

One Stripe gets home on the outside rail. (Picture: Wayne Marks)

The silly season in horseracing parlance would be the period when the three-year-olds are beginning to clash in feature races and it often leads to exuberant hailing of the winners as future superstars, but the cold facts can bring a more sobering view.

Karel Miedema is a renowned horseracing analyst and the cold facts of his ratings on his raceform.co.za website paints a dim view of the current crop of three-year-olds, although it should be pointed out that jockey Gavin Lerena poured accolades on One Stripe after Saturday’s Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas win and felt he was a horse who would keep on improving too.

Miedema only awarded the Cape Guineas winner One Stripe an Ability Rating (AR) of 103 with runner up Eight On Eighteen being given 101 and third-placed Great Plains 97.

This can be compared to the 107 AR he gave One Stripe’s sire One World when he finished third in the Cape Guineas to Soqrat in 2018 and he gave Soqrat a 110 that year.

In 2019 he gave the Cape Guineas winner Kilindini a 101 and the low AR proved to be an accurate assessment as the latter failed to win a race in three seasons in Hong Kong.

In 2020 he gave the Cape Guineas winner Russian Rock a lowly 99 and once again the accuracy of this AR was seen in that Russian Rock went on to win only one more race, a Graduation Plate.

In 2021 he gave the Cape Guineas winner Double Superlative a decent 113 AR and once again it was an astute assessment as this horse returned from injury two seasons later to win Cape Town’s biggest race, the WSB Met.

In 2022 he gave the celebrated Cape Guineas winner Charles Dickens a conservative 110 and this horse went on to score a high of 117 when winning the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge the same season and the following season he won the prestigious Gr 1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate.

Last year Miedema gave the Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas winner Snow Pilot a lowly 97 and once again this proved accurate as this horse failed to win another race as a three-year-old. However, Snow Pilot has transformed into an exciting four-year-old and has earned the highest AR this season, Miedema giving him an impressive 121 for his six length win in a Progress Plate over 1400m last time out.

Given the accuracy of the aforementioned Cape Guineas ratings, what hope is there that One Stripe can go on to big things?

One point in his favour is he gave 1kg to Snow Pilot in a Progress Plate over 1400m in October and lost to him by only a length.

Furthermore, One Stripe’s sire One World continually improved and went on to win the Met and achieved an AR of 119 when doing so.

Nevertheless, One Stripe’s 103, which is one lower than the best AR he received as a two-year-old, ranks as only the 41st highest AR achieved this season in Miedema’s raceform ratings.

Only one three-year-old has achieved a higher AR this season, Pistol Pete, who was given a 112 for his weight-carrying run when second in a MR96 Handicap over 1100m in which he gave the useful winner Greaterix 9kg and was beaten only two lengths.

MDK dominates the Mike de Kock Ipi Tombe Challenge

White Pearl bursts through late to just get up. (JC Photos)

There have been two renewals of the Gr 2 Ipi Tombe Challenge over 1600m at Turffontein Standside since it was renamed the Mike de Kock Ipi Tombe Challenge and both have fittingly been won by Mike de Kock-trained Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein-bred fillies, the unbeaten darling of the turf Gimme A Nother winning it last year and White Pearl winning the second renewal on Monday on Reconciliation Day.

De Kock actually secured the exacta in Monday’s race as the Betway Summer Cup flop Silver Sanctuary bounced back with a strong-finishing second.

Piere Strydom gave White Pearl a masterful ride and the grey filly became the Mauritzfontein-based stallion Danon Platina’s second stakes winner.

It was a second Graded victory for Warne Rippon and Arun Chadha’s ASSM Syndicate in the space of just over a week as they scored with Fatal Flaw in the previous weekend’s Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas down at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth.

The 28-10 second favourite VJ’s Angel set the pace , while the 9/10 favourite Fiery Pegasus was having a torrid trip, being caught wide and having to be reined back for cover.

Strydom sat behind the vanguard in the small seven horse field and had White Pearl nice and relaxed, while Silver Sanctuary was behind her.

VJ’s Angel galloped strongly in the straight while still in the hands and opened uip a two length lead on Let’s Go Now and None Other.

White Pearl tracked Let’s Go Now.

Meanwhile, Silver Sanctuary began running on strongly down the inside and overtook White Pearl.

However, the wily Strydom always leaves something in reserve and as they entered the final 150m it was clear that of the four still in contention White Pearl was travelling the best and just had to find a gap.

Strydom looked right first, but then VJ’s Angel drifted that way and so he switched White Pearl left and she burst through the gap between VJ’s Angel and Let’s Go Now.

The small grey caught her big stablemate Silver Sanctuary just before the line to win by 0,30 lengths. The 2kg Gr 1 penalty Silver Sanctuary had to carry was costly.

Let’s Go Now finished third and VJ’s Angel was beaten just 0,95 lengths into fourth despite carrying a 2kg Gr 1 penalty.

“I probably had a whisky or two in at the time, but I told Piere Strydom once that he is the Tiger Woods of the jockey ranks,” conceded De Kock as he praised his ride and he also praised Raymond Danielson for his ride on Silver Sanctuary.

De Kock said that he had left the racecourse two weeks earlier in disbelief that Silvano filly Silver Sanctuary had run last in the Betway Summer Cup.

“Two weeks after that she runs a great race in a Grade 2. Just makes one wonder.”

Bred by Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein, White Pearl has now won 4 races and with 10 places from 18 starts has earned R1 072 375.

Japanese-bred Danon Platina, a champion 2yo colt of Japan in 2014, is the only son of the legendary racehorse and sire Deep Impact to stand in SA.

Big things were expected of his first crop last season as they had showed promise as two-year-olds and were expected to get better with age.

Therefore, their collective performance was most disappointing.

However, Danon Platina has been prominent lately and over the weekend was also sire of the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas third-placed Great Plains, who was his first stakes winner and has won a Listed race and a Gr 3 to date.

White Pearl is out of the Tiger Ridge mare Oyster Pond. and was a R450 000 purchase from the 2022 August Two Year Old Sale.

Hollywoodbets Kenilworth Treble For Querari

The Candice Bass-Robinson-trained Querari filly Rainbow Lorikeet landed a third stakes victory and a first Graded win. (Picture: Wayne Marks)

Cape Breeders

Maine Chance Farms’ top-class sire Querari made a big impression at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday. The son of Oasis Dream had a treble of winners on Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas day, with this trio including G3 SplashOut Victress Stakes winner Rainbow Lorikeet.

Winner of both the 2024 Listed Schweppes Cape Fillies Classic and 2024 Listed East Cape Paddock Stakes, the Candice Bass-Robinson trained Rainbow Lorikeet picked up her first graded win when landing Saturday’s SplashOut Victress Stakes.

Under the inform Aldo Domeyer, the four-year-old daughter of Querari stayed on gamely in Saturday’s R225 000 contest to win by three parts of a length.

Bred by Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein, Rainbow Lorikeet has won five of 17 starts for earnings of R632,650.
Rainbow Lorikeet is out of the Silvano mare Nightingale and is thus bred on the same Querari/Silvano cross as the likes of Bavarian Beauty, Cosmic Light, Cosmic Speed, Homely Girl and Wonderwall.

Her sire has made a flying start with his early two-year-olds this season and Querari came up with another two-year-old winner on Saturday.

Promising colt Parental Guidance became Querari’s third two-year-old winner, this season, from just five runners when he won the first race at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth.

The Paul Reeves-trained colt made an impressive winning debut when running out a two-and-a-half length winner of the Pragmatic Commonwealth Plate.

A half-brother to champion Proceed, the Laurence Wernars bred colt joins the likes of fellow debut winners Black Cheetah and Siesta Sunset as two-year-old winners for Querari in 2024-2025.

Querari is currently South Africa’s Leading Sire of 2YOs for the current season.

Parental Guidance is out of the Captain Al mare Xplosive Kiss and is bred on the same cross as graded stakes winners Head Honcho, Kampala Campari and Questioning.

Querari is also the sire of well-bred filly From A Distance, who got off the mark on Saturday when victorious in the Ozow Maiden Plate (F&M) over 1200 metres.

Under Aldo Domeyer, the Drakenstein Stud bred and owned three-year-old stormed home to shed her maiden by two lengths.

Trained by Candice Bass-Robinson, From A Distance had finished second or third in three of her five starts before Saturday’s win.

The Futurist Bolsters His Sire Futura

The Futurist (purple colours) produced another front-running shock at huge odds on Saturday. (Picture: Wayne Marks)

Cape Breeders

Drakenstein Stud’s resident stallions enjoyed an excellent day at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday. Not only did the farm’s One World provide Saturday’s G1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas winner One Stripe, but fellow Drakenstein resident, Futura, is the sire of Saturday’s G3 Ridgemont Peninsula Handicap (1800m) winner The Futurist.

The Brett and James Crawford trained six-year-old defied his starting price of 66-1 with a convincing, front-running win in Saturday’s R350 000 feature.

Under a confident ride by Anthony Andrews, the confirmed front-runner was always at the head of affairs and kept galloping strongly to win by nearly half a length.

The 2024 Ridgemont Peninsula Handicap provided Futura with a memorable result, with his sons The Futurist and Future Swing, runner-up in the 2023 Peninsula Handicap, finishing first and second respectively.

Bred by part-owner Pete Carolin, The Futurist has won six of 26 starts for earnings of R769,861.

Before his Ridgemont Peninsula success, the Futura gelding had won the 2024 G3 Pocket Power Stakes by nine and a quarter lengths.

South African Horse Of The Year in 2014-2015, Futura has two lots on offer at the 2025 Summer Sale.

Groovejet Can Jet In Again

Groovejet has been tipped to win the third race (Picture: Wayne Marks)

Hollywoodbets Kenilworth Wednesday Formguides And Slections

Race 1

4 FLYING FINLEY moved up really well on debut to run a cracking second behind Rafa Bay, he was still green on that occasion and should improve lengths now that he gets the services of champion jockey Richard Fourie, if the race works out for him, he will be very hard to beat here. 8 SUMMER SNOW has some decent form to his name, he ran a lovely race with the blinkers on last time, this looks to be the perfect race for him to be extremely competitive. 3 VIVO PER LEI has improved with every start, she ran a good race against winners last time, watch her closely, she will be right there at the finish. 1 MANEKI NEKO was very slow out the gates last time, he will need to improve quite a bit on his recent form.

(Brandon Bailey: 4 – 8 – 3 – 1)

Race 2

1 GOLDEN GREY stayed on really well in his last start over 2000m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, from a good draw, he will be very competitive again. 5 ASINANTANGA improved nicely with the blinkers on last time, he is undoubtedly getting better and stronger with more racing, he will have a good each way chance in this Open Maiden. 11 EXPRESS YOURSELF ran a fair race behind his stable companion on the 23rd of November, he unfortunately draws wide here which will make life tough for him, but the step up in trip will hopefully unlock more improvement and give him a good each way chance. 3 ENGLISH MISTRESS never runs a bad race, she is consistent and tries hard, include her into the Quartets.

(Brandon Bailey: 1 – 5 – 11 – 3)

Race 3

4 GROOVEJET quickened up in devastating fashion last time to beat Tothemoonandback by just over one length, he relaxes beautifully in his races and then comes with a storming finish late, even though he is carrying a big weight on his back of 61.5kgs, he will be the horse they all need to beat. 1 TOTHEMOONANDBACK won a gutsy race on the 4th of December at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, his form is very good, and he gets a nice draw for this Cape C Stakes race, include him into all bet types. 8 PINOT GRIGIO is a lovely three year old colt that is improving with every start, his first run out the maiden ranks was very good behind Gentleman Joe, he will love the step up in trip, watch him closely. 3 SUDDEN SONG is better than his recent form, he could sneak into the places at a decent price.

(Brandon Bailey: 4 – 1 – 8 – 3)

Race 4

6 AIR RAID moved up strongly in his last start when finishing second behind the improving Dawn Till Dusk, he will love the step up in trip to 1600m on Wednesday afternoon, there is no doubt he will have a massive winning chance in this race, the yard think highly of this gelding. 1 ZEITZ won his maiden extremely well on the 9th of November at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, he should get the run of the race from a good draw, he is still improving and will be competitive in this race. 8 HOODIA will need some luck in running from a tricky draw, his recent form is good, if the race works out for him, he could easily trouble them in the finish. 7 INDUSTRIALSTRENGTH had no luck in running last time, watch for big improvement.

(Brandon Bailey: 6 – 1 – 8 – 7)

Race 5

4 EMPIRE STATE fought hard all the way to the line in his last start when finishing second behind World Of Pleasure, he is still improving and should enjoy the step up in trip to 1600m, watch him closely, he will be right there in the finish. 3 UNICORN ALERT finally gets a good draw, he is racing off a dangerous mark at the moment, he could be the value in the race, include him into all bets. 9 HAPPY DAYS has done nothing wrong of late, his form is excellent, unfortunately the draw will make it extremely tricky for him.

(Brandon Bailey: 4 – 3 – 9)

Race 6

6 KAMCHATKA must have a huge winning chance in this Class 4 event, she ran a lovely race last time behind Hampstead Heath, she is a big filly that likes to race up on speed, she is still improving and will go very close to winning. 4 RUSSIAN ROYAL was given a great ride by Gavin Lerena to win at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on the 23rd of November, she is a beautiful filly that will get better and better with racing, from a decent draw, she will give them lots to think about. 3 SENHORA VICTORIA worked into the race smartly to win going away in her last start, this race does look to be more competitive, but she is clearly in a good space at the moment and must be respected. 7 GARDEN OF EDEN will need to improve, she was well beaten in a Grade 2, she is highly rated by the stable, watch her closely.

(Brandon Bailey: 6 – 4 – 3 – 7)

Race 71 CHAMPAGNE MAC was very disappointing in his last run on the 9th of November, he is much better than that performance, now that he has changed stables and gets a further rating drop, he should bounce back to his best form. 6 PRINCE OF TIBET was well beaten in a strong race last time, watch him closely, at this level he will always have a good winning chance. 2 XPLICIT CONTENT has run some nice races lately, he now steps up in trip to 1200m, on his best form he will have a solid place chance again. 3 TRUE HORIZON ran a fair race on the 29th of October at Hollywoodbets Durbanville, that formline has worked out well, she should be able to earn again for the connections.

(Brandon Bailey: 1 – 6 – 2 – 3)

Race 8

1 THE CHARLESTON was very unlucky in her last start on the 2nd of November when finishing a short head second behind All Is Green, she has the ability to win a race like this easily, include her into all bet types. 6 KYALAMI GIRL stayed on well behind Siddeley on the 26th of November, she needs a particular ride, if the race works out for her, she will be storming home late. 7 ARTISTE comes back to the races from a long rest of 147 days, she won her most recent start extremely well at Hollywoodbets Durbanville in testing conditions, she looks progressive, if she doesn’t need the run badly, she can win a race like this. 5 PRITTI VICTORY has been rested for 154 days, her KZN form is excellent, she must be respected here.

(Brandon Bailey: 1 – 6 – 7 – 5)