Haute Couture gets the better of Rich Man’s World in a thriller (Race Coast)
A trivia question that would leave many floored would be. which horse was the last to win both the Gold Medallion and the Cape Guineas?
The answer is surprising in that the last to do it was not a colt but a filly, the great “galloping goldmine” Empress Club.
With the Mike and Mathew de Kock yard’s propensity to send horses down for the Cape Guineas, there could be a chance of ending that trivia fact, because Saturday’s Gold Medallion winner Haute Couture looks to be top class.
He had to tackle the country’s most talked about prospect. the Vaughan Marshall-trained Rich Man’s World (One World), in Saturday’s Gold Medallion and he prevailed in a thriller.
Richard Fourie, mindful that last time he had to keep on reining Rich Man’s World in over 1100m on this track in the Gr 3 Godolphin Barb Stakes, allowed Rich Man’s World to pull himself to the front after he was a bit keen early.
Haute Couture, meanwhile, was using his huge stride but was relaxed and within himself, so his supporters must have been licking their lips a long way out as he was at Rich Man’s World’s quarters.
At the 400m mark Rich Man’s produced a good kick, but Haute Couture responded with a devastating burst of speed at the 200m mark that saw him come alongside.
Rich Man’s World tried his hardest to fight back but Haute Couture always had his measure and won by 0,30 lengths under a fine ride by Callan Murray.
It was a memorable race too for the trainer who is increasingly commanding attention, Mano Pandaram, as he gained a Gr 1 third place finish with recent maiden winner Kudikaran, who was beaten 6,40 lengths.
Only time will tell whether Haute Couture is a classic horse.
His dam by Var, Isle De France only won one race, over 1450m, but she was in turn out of the Gr 2 SA Oaks winner Ilha Bela.
Cape Breeders website wrote this about Haute Couture:
Ridgemont’s top-class sire Rafeef looks to have come up with a top-class colt in the form of Haute Couture.
The latter made it two wins from two starts when he won the G1 Gold Medallion (1200m) at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Saturday.
In the process, Haute Couture became his sire’s fifth G1 winner, with Rafeef’s G1 winners including 2022 Gold Medallion winner Thunderstruck.
A ten and a half length winner on debut, the Mike and Mathew De Kock trained Haute Couture made a mockery of his inexperience when he won Saturday’s R1.75 million feature.
Under Callan Murray, Haute Couture was always up with the pace, and he settled down to fight out the finish with favourite Rich Man’s World.
The Rafeef colt just put his head down where it mattered most with Haute Couture going on to win the 2026 Gold Medallion by a long neck.
Bred by Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein, Haute Couture races for the Murugasa family.
Haute Couture, a R2 100 000 buy from the 2025 National Yearling Sale, is out of the Var mare Isle De France and is thus bred on the same cross as such G1 winning sires Master Archie and Thunderstruck.
The inform Rafeef has another very smart two-year-old on his hands in the form of Flower Island, with the latter finishing second in Saturday’s G2 Allan Robertson Championship.
