Turf Talk Newsletter – 4 February, 2025

Gary Player after winning the Cartier Paddock Stakes with Double Grand Slam. (Picture: Wayne Marks)

Gary May Celebrate 90th Birthday With Breeders Cup Runner

If – on New Year’s Eve – breeder and golf legend, Gary Player, raised his glass to 2024, that’s highly understandable. It’s not every year one breeds the Equus “Horse-of-the-Year” but he did it with Dave The King.

However, there’s every chance Gary could trump that in 2025. The nine-time Major winner could celebrate his 90th birthday with a Breeders Cup runner at Del Mar in California. The horse likely to represent Gary, Gaynor Rupert and Dave Maclean is Paddock Stakes victress, Double Grand Slam.

So will Double Grand Slam be making the journey for the two-day Breeders Cup meeting on Oct 31 and Nov 1.

America has been a happy hunting ground for Gary during his illustrious career. He won the Masters in 1961, 1974 and 1978, the PGA in 1962 and 1972 and the US Open in 1965.

Thanks to the efforts of my daughter, Jade, who lives in London, we were able to get hold of Gary for an exclusive interview for Turf Talk.

This is the message he sent back to her and my thanks for his swift response.

“It’s a pleasure to be able to speak to David Mollett, who I always like so much, and he is so knowledgeable about racing. The Breeders’ Cup, obviously I’d love to have a horse in the Breeders’ Cup. We have a winner but it’s a tall order.”

“I think if my horse had won the Majorca and had not lost by an inch, yet unfortunately we all make mistakes. But Richard Fourie rode a terrible race, if he’d run and listened to instructions, he would have won.”

“If he rode the similar ride that he had in winning the Met against the rail, which made a vast difference. But we all make mistakes. But it’s a very costly mistake because if she’s a two-time Group 1-winning mare, she obviously is worth a lot more if she goes to America and then would definitely be invited to the Breeders’ Cup.”

“Plus, I’ve got two half-sisters, which would have meant an awful lot to them. Plus, as a broodmare in the future. But the jockeys don’t seem to worry very much about all this. You’ve only got to see the sad things that happen. And the jockey said they’re not going to run the last two races because the grass is growing too much in the afternoon. Or in the met that some of the jockeys say they’re not going to ride the last two races.”

“Now imagine if I’ve got a horse or you’ve got a horse in the race and they turn around and say I’m not riding the last two races. Now you’ve got to scramble for a jockey. There should be some kind of a fine. Your word is your bond.”

“I’m 90 and I’m traveling around the world for companies and sometimes I feel very tired of the time-turn but I can’t turn around and say I’m not going to do it. I’ve got to honor my word. There’s not enough discipline in our business unfortunately.”

“As far as Justin is concerned, his opinion about the Breeder’s Cup, you have to ask him. I cannot answer for him. But I would prefer to have an American jockey if we ever did have a horse in that race because the tracks are so different and our jockeys are not riding. They’re not used to riding the same style and tracks and speed as the American jockeys are.”

“It’s always better to have a man who’s indigenous to ride your horse unless of course he’s a Frankie Dettori or with somebody of that nature. South Africa has had great horses.”

“You think of Bold Tropic, Ipi Tombe, I owned the sire of Ipi Tombe (Manshood), Mike de Kock still says it’s the fastest filly he ever had. Colorado King, how well he did. South African horses today are far better. We can stand our ground without a question. So all in all, I think that we have the stock, we have people like Gaynor, Rupert, we have John Koster, we have people like Susan Rowett, people who really are fantastic for the business in this country, and a host of others.”

“So we have the stock. I just don’t like also that I’ve had a few people that I’ve had interests in. I’m always trying to get people into the racing business and recently I’ve had people and they say, is there a money list, and I say yes, and they say, if I buy a horse do I qualify for the race, I say no, you’ve got to be an individual, they say but I don’t want to do it as an individual, I want to do it with you as a partner, and this happens across the spectrum.”

“Can you imagine an association, not including, if you’ve got three owners in a partnership and the first prize is 90, you allocated 30,000 towards your individual money list, but it’s too much
work, or there’s too much paperwork, whatever the answer is, it’s feeble. Today with all the technology that we have, AI, all the computers, etc etc…no excuse.”

“So we lost two very, very big owners here. We’ve got to do everything in our power to encourage people to come into the business. Because the horse business is a disease and the joy you get out of it is fantastic. And we have a lot of people in this country now that are dedicating themselves for the improvement of the sport.”

“But we need discipline, and we need everybody to play their role, as Shakespeare said,” concluded Gary.

It would appear there’s every chance of SA having four runners at the Breeders Cup – Double Grand Slam, One Stripe, Isivunguvungu and Quid Pro Quo.

The forward-thinking of Owen and Devin Heffer has seen Hollywood take a leaf out of Godolphin’s book and One Stripe will sport their colours overseas.

After her defeat on Saturday, it would be no surprise if Quid Pro Quo was on the next plane to the States.

All these developments may have perked the interest of charismatic KZN owner, Phil Georgiou. He has run several successful trips to Dubai for SA racing fans and looks the ideal guy to organise a group for the Breeders Cup.
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Dave Mollett column topic 2

Media bashing is usually confined to the political arena – American President Donald Trump is the perfect example criticising most TV stations (except his backers Fox) during his election campaign.

So there will have been raised eyebrows from SA racing scribes as – during the WSB Met prize giving – owner Nic Jonsson chose to launch an attack on the country’s racing media.

Apparently, his dissatisfaction centres around the naming of his three year-old and Met winner, Eight On Eighteen.

Personally, I had never given the subject much thought. I thought it might refer to the address of a family member.

I like to keep up to date with the sport’s ongoings by regularly checking out Turf Talk, Sporting Post, SA Horse-racing.com and African Betting Clan.

Scouring the Met previews I couldn’t find anything detrimental to the chance of Mr Jonsson’s runner, most of the comment was positive.

Turf Talk editor, David Thiseleton, liked the chances of See It Again which was fair enough. Regarding Eight On Eighteen, he wrote “TGhe three year-old is progressive and strikes as one who will enjoy the step up in trip.”

I awaited a response from the various websites but – with the exception of SA Horseracing.com – there was precious little.

Praise for Eight On Eighteen’s win for Mr Jonsson in Turf Talk while Sporting Post said the media had been subjected to “a bit of a rev” and Dave Scott in ABC called it a “perfect day.”

So its hats off to SA Horseracing.com which wrote a long piece on the incident and made a valid point when stating “the public lashing may further discourage those still committed to the craft.”

In my many years as a racing journo – 13 years with The Rand Daily Mail and 38 with Business Day – there were plenty of salvos fired regarding articles that ruffled the feathers of anyone ranging from officials at the Jockey Club, owners, trainers and jockeys.

That’s accepted as just part of the job, but Saturday’s “stinging critique of the country’s racing media” (SA Horseracing.com) looked like a case of bad timing by Mr Jonsson.

He was the centre of big race celebrations but the joyfulness went out of it when he suddenly got serious. He should rather have voiced his opinion on the comment sections of various websites.

Mid Winter Wind wins on debut in Hong Kong after producing a devastating finish from last in the running under Luke Ferraris. (Picture – HKJC)

Sarah Whitelaw

Mid Winter Wind’s recent win in Hong Kong was a tribute not only to his immediate connections but to all those behind the scenes who got him to Hong Kong.

Hobday Equestrian Enterprises (HEE) played a major role in Mid Winter Wind’s success.

For the first time in 14 years South Africa got the green-light for exporting horses directly to Europe and the first direct export from Cape Town to Europe in just under 14 years was successfully dispatched on 17 August 2024, from Cape Town International Airport to Liège Airport in Belgium. This was a full charter of 32 horses using a company called Easy Charter. In an effort to create a cohesive transport solution, Hobday Equestrian Enterprises accommodated three horses that were booked by other equine shipping agents.

Due to the lack of cargo freighters in SA, the Intradco/HEE team experienced logistical constraints in securing a suitable charter date. These difficulties initially led to several flight date changes. Due to these changes, there were availability issues with respect to transport from quarantine to the Airport, but luckily New Turf Carriers came to the rescue.

Mid Winter Wind, who began his career with Sean Tarry, showed very smart form in South Africa. After finishing third over 1160m on debut, Mid Winter Wind went on to finish second in the R300 000 Betway Conditional Maiden Plate on 2023 G1 Betway Summer Cup day. (In finishing runner up in that race, Mid Winter accounted for the smart performer Presley by three and a half lengths, with multiple winners Mastership, Two Miles West and Forgiveness (third in the 2024 G3 Allied Steelrode Yellowwood Handicap) further back in running.

After finishing second, to Ryans Boulevard, next time out, Mid Winter Wind then commenced on a four race winning streak. After thrashing Theres A Light to break his maiden by nearly four and a quarter lengths, Mid Winter Wind went on to give weight and a near one length beating to his stable mate Champion Warrior. The latter would go on to finish second next time out, before recording back to back wins the following season.

Mid Winter Wind made a hatrick of wins when he won a middle stakes over 1400m at Turffontein. Runner up to Mid Winter Wind was Texas Red, who finished a good third, to G1 winner Main Defender, most recently.

A one and a half length win in the G3 Byerley Turk of 2024 would prove to be Mid Winter Wind’s final victory in South Africa. Byerley Turk runner up Gimmeanotherchance was beaten just a length and a half next time out when fourth, to Royal Aussie, in the G2 Independant On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes, although he has proved somewhat disappointing since. Red Bomber, third to Mid Winter Wind, ran G1 winner Dyce to under three lengths next time out, while Byerley Turk fourth place finisher, 2023 G1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas winner Snow Pilot, ran third, beaten just 0.6 of a length, in the G2 World Sports Betting Guineas (where he turned the tables on Mid Winter Wind).

Mid Winter Wind failed to feature in his final two starts in South Africa, running fifth in both the WSB Guineas and G1 Daily News 2000.

The gelding was bred to be well above average, with Mid Winter Wind a son of Equus Champions What A Winter and Lady In Black. His sire What A Winter, a dual Equus Champion Sprinter and Equus Champion Older Male of 2011-2012, was South Africa’s Leading First Season Sire 2016-2016, and Leading Sire of 2YOs in 2019-2020.

A regular fixture on the top ten on the General Sires premiership, the four time G1 winning What A Winter has been responsible for nearly 30 stakes winners, with each of his first seven crops producing at least three black type winners per crop.

What A Winter’s growing list of graded stakes winners is headed by Equus Champion Sprinters Russet Air and Isivunguvungu (with the latter landing the Da Hoss Stakes in North America last year), as well as G1 winning females Clouds Unfold and Humdinger. His stars also include G1 Tsogo Sun Sprint winner Warrior’s Rest as well as this season’s G2 Cartier Sceptre Stakes/G3 World Sports Betting Southern Cross Stakes winner Asiye Phambili.

Isivunguvungu could bring further international attention to his sire should he contest the G1 Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai at the end of March.

Bred on the same What A Winter/Dynasty cross as 2023 G2 World Sports Betting Camellia Stakes winner Cold Fact, Mid Winter Wind is out of the Dynasty sired mare Lady In Black, Equus Champion 2YO Filly of 2016-2017.

A full-sister to dual G2 Peninsula Handicap winner Nexus, Lady In Black won five times, from 1200m to 1600m, including the G1 Thekwini Stakes of 2017, and the following year’s G3 Umzimkhulu Stakes.

Twice runner up in the G1 Paddock Stakes, Lady In Black also pulled off a memorable feat when she accounted for Met winning champion Oh Susanna in a pinnacle stakes over 1600m in 2018.

The Alec laird-trained Parisian Walkway (Ideal World) being led back after winning the Gr 2 TAB Gauteng Guineas under Diego De Gouveia. (JC Photos).

NHA Press Release

Handicapping Ratings Update

Tab Gauteng Guineas (Grade 2)

PARISIAN WALKWAY has had his rating adjusted from 101 to 121 after capturing the Grade 2 Tab Gauteng Guineas for 3-year-olds over 1600m at Turffontein Standside Track on Saturday. The Handicappers were of the opinion that sixth placed, BACCHUS made for the most suitable line horse to assess this race, leaving his rating unaltered on 101.

The winner aside, there were upward adjustments for three more horses. Runner up, GREATERIX, went up to 120 from 109 and third place finisher, ARISTOTLE, was raised from 94 to 113.  Lastly, MUSICAL SCORE was adjusted to 104 from 100.

Two horses received merit ratings drops following this race.  LEGEND OF ARTHUR dropped to 109 from 111 and Waheed was reduced to 101 from 105.

Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas (Grade 2)

The unbeaten SPUMANTE DOLCE has seen her official merit rating increased from 89 to 119 following her third victory in as many starts in the Grade 2 Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas for 3-year-olds over 1600m at the Turffontein Standside Track on Saturday. The Handicappers opted to use second-placed VJ’S ANGEL as the line horse to rate this race, leaving her rating unchanged at 119.

There were also merit rating increases for five other runners besides the winner. QUID PRO QUO, who finished third, was raised to 118 from 115, while FIERY PEGASUS was increased from 107 to 115.  Additionally, fifth-place finisher POBLANO was adjusted from 93 to 107. TOO LATE MY MATE, and BAKWENA were also raised, with TOO LATE MY MATE increasing from 83 to 100, and BAKWENA moving from 95 to 97.

There were no drops for any runner in this race.

Enquiries:

The Handicapping Team

Duke Of Africa winning on the Hollywoodbets Greyville poly on Friday might. (Candiese Lenferna Photography).

The Trippi mare Shatoosh was bought for a bargain R5,000 at the 2023 Cape Racing Winter Mixed Sale and, as so often happens when a mare is given up on, her progeny then suddenly started producing.

Among Shatoosh’s progeny who have done well since that sale is the Frank Robinson-trained Duke Of Marmalade gelding Duke Of Africa, who has a remarkable story behind him as he has recovered from a snake bite, which is a rare outcome of such a misfortune.

Frank said, “It is apparently not rare, I am told, for a snake to come into a box at night to drink water from the buckets in the corner. They will drink and then just depart again, But sometimes what happens is a horse will stand on them and they will then strike. We don’t know what type of snake bit him, but the bite was into the joint. What normally happens with a snake bite is all the flesh falls off the bone, so the whole leg just falls down and they have to be euthanased. However, what we did was not something very conventional. We dripped him with an anti-bacterial all night, and we then sweated the leg continuosly with Epsom salts and bandages to try and extract the poison. And he made it. He was off for nearly a year though. Funnily enough, before he was bitten by the snake he had a few little aches and pains behind and we were resting him quite a lot, so he actually had a good rest for recovery this time and he moves so much better now as a result, so it has helped all round. I still bandage over the wound area every day. It is just one of those ailments that improves and improves … I left him in the paddock a lot so he could walk a lot and keep mobile otherwise it could flare up. It took a long time to heal.”

Pictures showing the progress of the wound after treatment.

It would not have been possible to treat Duke Of Africa with such high care without him having had a caring owner, so accolades must go to Paul Janse van Rensburg, who never questioned anything done for the horse during the treatment and recovery period.

Frank said, “Paul is such a nice guy and just wants what is best for the horse. He is now reaping the rewards, because the horse can race on until he is eight or nine years old.”

Picture: A deserving Paul Janse van Rensburg leads in Duke Of Africa on Friday night. 

Duke Of Africa made it a second win in seven starts since the bite and he has also had two thirds, a fourth and a fifth from those starts.

Frank said, “The heavier that poly track is the more he just rolls through it. His first win after the snake bite was on a heavy poly track over 2000m and he won by 7,90 lengths and it was over the same course and distance last Friday night and in the same conditions that he won by 2,90 lengths.”

Frank is now going to look at a race for him up at Turffontein over 3000m, because he believes that is what he is looking for.

Frank noticed that on the heavy track on Friday night another Duke Of Marmalade also won.

Another sibling of Shatoosh who has blossomed since the mare was sold for R5,000 has been the Mike and Adam Azzie-trained Andi’s Girl, who was a touch unlucky not to gain Listed status last time out.

That is not to mention Shatoosh’s Erupt colt selling for R200,000 at the Cape Racing ‘s ready to run Sale last year.

Shatoosh won four races from 1200m to 1600m.

Duke Of Africa is the product of a potent combination i.e. the late Duke Of Marmalade, who won five successive Gr 1s in Europe, and his damsire, the late stallion Trippi, who has sired 68 stakes winners to date, including 14 Gr 1 winners.

Trippi was a producer of speed but also of class, so his progeny, like Jet Dark, are able to win over the classic distances too.

Frank was surprised to secure Duke Of Africa for R45,000 at the BSA Cape Yearling Sale of 2021.
Frank was a fan of Duke Of Marmalade due to his famous Gr 1-

winning streak and he was also lucky enough to meet him when visiting Aidan O’Brien’s yard many years ago. He noticed his good looks and excellent temperament and described him as “an absolute gentleman.”

He continued, “Duke Of Africa actually looks very much like him and what was interesting is I weighed my runners the other day and a lot of the big ones were 480kg and 490kg and he was 530kg.”

He added, “He was bred by Drakenstein and I thought the name, Duke Of Africa, they could have used on anyone of their horses but I believed they would have given it to a special horse. He was a very nice yearling, but some people had gone off Duke Of Marmalade.”

Duke Of Africa has only run beyond 2000m once and he looks to be one to follow over staying trips.

Royal Lytham has been selected to win Race 8. (Picture: Wayne Marks).

Jack Milner (Tab4Racing)

One sometimes finds that one jockey lands up with the standout rides at a race meeting and of late it has been Richard Fourie and Gavin Lerena who tend to dominate these proceedings.

However, at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Wednesday that honour appears to go to Aldo Domeyer. He has six rides on the nine-race card and five of them are for Candice Bass-Robinson and the other for Adam Marcus, and one could actually make a winning case to some degree or another for all his rides.

Arguably, the best of the lot comes up in Race 4 where he rides Future Frequency in this Maiden Plate over 2000m.

This three-year-old Futura colt has only raced four times and began his racing career in a 1250m sprint at Hollywoodbets Durbanville. He found no betting support on that occasion and raced accordingly but in his second start, over 1400m at Kenilworth, there was some interest in him and he did run well enough to finish fourth.

His next start was over 1600m and that was the first time Future Frequency teamed up with Domeyer. He lost a little ground at the start but kicked on nicely to finish a 1.75-length runner-up behind Beer With The Boys.

Last time, again with Domeyer in the irons, was over 1800m and once again he ran on nicely but again found one too good in Bombers In The Sky, once again finishing 1.75 lengths behind the winner.

The additional 200m will be right up his street and ideally drawn in gate No 3, he looks to be one of the best bets on the card.

Marcus-trained Royal Lytham, after two course-and-distance seconds in her last three starts, is another of Domeyer’s mounts with genuine winning credentials in Race 8, a Class 5 Handicap for fillies and mares over 1200m.

He knows the filly well and this is a slight drop in class.

Jack Milner’s selections

Race 1: 3 Malmesbury Missile, 5 Rockaroundtheclock, 7 New World, 2 Conditionally

Race 2: 8 Diamond Bomber, 1 Catch A Penny, 3 Beautiful Side, 2 Winter Gamble

Race 3: 7 Tenpenny, 9 Dubbelosix, 5 Brigadier Billy, 10 War Hawk

Race 4: 3 Future Frequency, 5 Umfula, 8 Ahead Of The Facts, 7 Wood World

Race 5: 9 Strawberry Thief, 10 Double Dash, 5 English Mistress, 6 Tuscan Romance

Race 6: 5 Red Dawn, 4 Mela Strength, 3 Summer Night City, 1 Past And Present

Race 7: 3 My Only Weakness, 4 Lady Springfield, 7 Jet To The Sun, 8 Senhora Victoria

Race 8: 9 Royal Lytham, 7 Becky Sharp, 6 Why Not Jackie, 5 Easy Money

Race 9: 9 Tanneron, 5 The Charleston, 2 First Masterpiece, 8 Love Shack

BEST BET

Race 4 No 3 Future Frequency

VALUE BET

Race 6 No 5 Future Frequency

BEST SWINGER

Race 3 7×9

BIPOT

R256

Leg 1: 1, 8

Leg 2: 7, 9

Leg 3: 3

Leg 4: 5, 6, 9, 10

Leg 5: 1, 3, 4, 5

Leg 6: 3, 4, 7, 8

PLACE ACCUMULATOR

R162

Leg 1: 7, 9

Leg 2: 3

Leg 3: 5, 9, 10

Leg 4: 3, 4, 5

Leg 5: 3, 4, 7

Leg 6: 9

Leg 7: 2, 5, 9

PICK 6

R1500

Leg 1: 3

Leg 2: 1, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10

Leg 3: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Leg 4: 2, 3, 4, 7, 8

Leg 5: 7, 9

Leg 6: 2, 5, 8, 9, 10

JACKPOT 1

R300

Leg 1: 1, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10

Leg 2: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Leg 3: 2, 3, 4, 7, 8

Leg 4: 7, 9

JACKPOT 2

R250

Leg 1: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Leg 2: 2, 3, 4, 7, 8

Leg 3: 7, 9

Leg 4: 2, 5, 8, 9, 10

Herman Brown Jnr hails from a training dynasty with his grandfather Herman being a trainer and his father Herman being a legend who not only trained many Gr 1 winners but who also taught many others the ropes.

It was revealed in Charl Pretorius’ Off The Record column that Herman Brown would be making a comeback to the training ranks.

CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT HERMAN BROWN JNR’s COMEBACK

Herman did very well as a trainer himself both in SA and with the overseas strings he campaigned with.

His greatest moment happened on 29 March, 2008.

Read about that pinnacle night in Dubai below in an article that was written a couple of days after the event.

Jay Peg’s iconic victory in Dubai. 

Which horse was only the fifth to win the British Fillies Triple Crown since its inception in 1814, went on to win 15 races in succession and became one of the greatest broodmares of the 20th century.

The subject is pictured above. (Picture: wikipedia).