Turf Talk Newsletter – 8 October, 2026

The Nick Jonsson-bred Night Of Thunder colt who fetched top price on Day Three of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1 (Picture: Tattersalls) 

South African stalwart owner and occasional breeder Nick Jonsson could rightfully be called one of Southern Africa’s greatest horsemen such is his long list of achievements as a buyer of thoroughbreds and today (Thursday) he added another remarkable achievement to his list as he was the vendor of the top lot on Day 3 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book 1, one of the world’s most iconic thoroughbred auctions.

It is particularly noteworthy for a South African to have done it as the rand does not stretch far when in competition on the international bloodstock stage with the many pound sterling or euro-backed European breeding powerhouses.

The lot Nick sold was a Night Of Thunder colt and it was secured by Ace Stud for 2,2 million Gns.

The official vendor was Fittocks Stud, which is owned by Luca and Sara Cumani, but the colt was owned by Nick as he boards his mother, an unraced Sea The Stars mare called Capture The Heart, at Flittocks.

Nick’s buying skills were once again behind the achievement, because he identified Capture The Heart at a Tattersalls Horses Out Of Training Sale in December 2022 and purchased her for 175,000 Gns.

He said after the colt was sold today, “I was a very unwilling seller, really, in many ways. I was very happy to keep the horse. I happen to have got lucky and had a nicely bred filly [Capture The Stars] who didn’t get to the racecourse. We got lucky with Night Of Thunder.”

He revealed, “I was planning to send her (Capture The Stars) back to South Africa and Sara said I’d be mad to do that, and she was quite right. She gave me very good advice. So, it’s a good result.”

Nick was full of praise for the Cumani’s, whom he said had been instrumental in getting the colt to the Sale, although it was he himself who sent the mare to Night Of Thunder.

He said, “He is a beautiful colt. He has a walk on him that’s quite extraordinary actually, he has a beautiful long stride, he has a real presence and on top of that he is very sensible.”

Nick Jonsson being interviewed after the Sale (via Instagram)

Click here to see the above interview

Dubawi stallion Night Of Thunder was also responsible for the leading lot of the entire October Yearling Sale, with a colt of his fetching a new European record for a horse at auction of 4.6 million Gns on Day One of Book 1.

Capture The Heart is a full-sister to Gr 3-and-dual-Listed-winner in Europe, River Of Stars, who had two Gr 1 runner up finishes, including in Australia’s iconic Caulfield Cup.

So the hitherto unnamed colt has everything going for him.

The family is chock-a-block full of black type and the beauty from Nick’s perspective is this top-lot colt is Capture The Heart’s first foal, so he has some exciting and potentially lucrative Sales to look forward to.

Nick chooses all of his own horses at the Sales and his achievements in South Africa as an owner include an incredible four WSB Met wins in succession with four different horses, Jet Dark, Double Superlative, Eight On Eighteen and See It Again, he is the owner of three Equus Horse Of The Year winners, Do It Again, Eight On Eighteen and See It Again, he was owner of the statistically best Durban July horse of all time, Do It Again, he was owner of dual Queen’s Plate winner, Jet Dark, who achieved the rare feat of winning that prestigious weight for age race as a three-year-old and he also won the Met and two Champions Cups, and he has owned a number of other Gr 1 winners too.

The breeding bug is now highly likely to have well and truly bitten and Nick could one day be racing homebreds.

He is not the first Jonsson to have had extraordinary breeding success as his Uncle Hugh Jonsson was the breeder of the legendary seven-times South African Champion Sire, Jet Master.

Click here to read full Tattersalls report on Day three of Book 1

Matinee wins in fine style on debut (JC Photos)

Barry Irwin of Team Valor International is well know for the eye he has for a thoroughbred and a purchase he made at a yearling Sale in South Africa back in 2018 has now come full circle and provided himself and Anant Singh with some exciting times to look forward to.

He and Anant Singh bred with the aforementioned yearling purchase, a Gimmethegreenlight mare called Roll In The Hay, and they now race her first foal, a Sean Tarry-trained filly called Matinee, who won in impressive style on debut at the Vaal today (Thursday).

In fact this Rafeef filly won so well she could make up for the unfulfilled promise of her mother, who won a Listed race for Irwin and Singh, despite having suffered from a serious wind issue.

Matinee was not fancied in the betting market today, drifting out from 10/1 to 25/2.

Her chances were not enhanced when she dwelt at the start, losing a couple of lengths.

Howeever, promising apprentice Anaas Mosaheb used that to his advantage by sitting in behind horses and that gave him a nice tow into the race.

In the final stages she showed a tremendous turn of foot to win going away by 1,25 lengths down the unfavourable inside part of the track, beating the Australian-bred Beautiful Rosie.

Barry Irwin purchased Roll In THe Hay (Gimmethegreenlight out of Country Girl (Mon Sang)) for R400,000 at the Cape Premier Yearling Sale and he said at the time, “This is so much fun here, I feel like Sheikh Mohamed at this sale as I get to buy the horses that I really like. It’s easy to buy a nice horse here, it reminds me of the old days.”

Later, after Roll In The Hay had won the Listed Lady’s Pendant over 1200m at Fairview trained by Candice Bass, Barry said, “This filly represents quite a remarkable dilemma because of her wind. She has a completely paralyzed left aretynoid and she gets only a fraction of the air most of her rivals enjoy. Most horses that are wind-impaired like her are all out to last five-eighths of a mile. (We had one once that was unbeatable at 4 ½ furlongs in West Virginia, but could not see out the 5.)”

“We decided not to do surgery and see if we could do well enough with her over 5 furlongs and we have been moderately successful. But today she went 6 furlongs! Stunning. I know the course is downhill, blah blah, blah, but she ran for 67 seconds under a large weight package and won with something in reserve. It really is on the verge of being unprecedented.”

“I am seriously thinking of doing the tie-back surgery when she has a break, perhaps over their winter, because she has shown enough to make me believe that she could cut it in Grade 1 company. Remember how close she came in that Grade 2 Southern Cross Stakes? This filly is well built, has a real turn of foot and she retains all of her desire to compete at a high level of racing. I will talk to Candice about this next week.”

Roll In THe Hay was subsequently tried in four big sprint events, including in the Gr 1 SA Fillies Sprint, but she never managed a place in any of them.

However, her daughter Matinee now has the opportunity to fulfil unrealised potential.

Such is the beauty of breeding … it is a long game but can be very rewarding.

Anaas Mosaheb was full of praise for Matinee after her win.

Sean Tarry said he had expected the filly to run on into the money, but the win had come as a pleasant surprise.

He revealed that three months ago the filly had been on the verge of being released, as she was not moving well or doing well, so it was fortunate that they had perervered for a bit longer.

She looks to be one to follow.

Truth powers home on Thursday at the Vaal (JC Photos) ) 

Equus Champion Sprint Buffalo Storm Cody looked to have a straight forward task of winning a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1100m at the Vaal Today (Thursday), but that was just on paper because in reality he was drawn on the wrong side and it was always going to be tough to overcome that draw for a horse who likes to follow the pace before unleashing his devastating turn of foot.

That was especially considering the main dangers, Truth and Ziyasha, were drawn high.

Buffalo Storm Cody broke quite well and did manage to find some cover, albeit on the unfavourable side from his low draw of two.

Meanwhile, the Heavenly Blue gelding Truth was cruising at high speed in the favourable going towards the outside.

The Candice and Tammy Dawson-trained grey has a lot of pace and a kick to match.

He duly kicked away at the halfway mark and when Buffalo Storm Cody had to be eased momentarily while attempting to burst through a tight gap it was race over.

Truth went on to win by 1,70 lengths from Ziyasha, who ran on well,  and Buffalo Storm Cody was a head  further back.

Truth, who is owned by  Larry Nestadt, Gary Player and Lindsay Ralphs and family, has always had tremendous potential and this might be the season in which he realises it.

The work being done to care for equines is the subject of a heart-warming, documentary series, Equine Welfare – A Life Worth Caring For, set to premiere on 8 October 2026.

The four-part series will be screened on YouTube, Gallop TV, and the Hollywoodbets blog, made possible through the support of Hollywood Foundation, Hollywoodbets, and Race Coast.

The documentary shines a light on the effort of seven nonprofit organisations across South Africa.

Among these is an initiative that rescues, rehabilitates and provides a sanctuary for blind, differently abled, and mistreated equines. These organisations use the healing power of equine-assisted therapy to change the lives of youngsters living with disabilities and victims of gender-based violence.

Another highlight celebrated on camera are the remarkable bonds forged by humans and horses. We see and hear how horses improve the lives of people living with physical and mental disabilities, as well as victims of trauma and violence.

It’s a story of hope, healing and personal growth.

Viewers get a behind the scenes peek at the dedicated work done by horse care units, equine sanctuaries, riding schools and life-after-racing organisations. Viewers also visit their facilities, where they do the hard yards, and follow them into surrounding communities on outreach initiatives, rescue operations and educational programmes.

The featured organisations are:

• Coastal Horse Care Unit – KwaZulu-Natal;
• Highveld Horse Care Unit – Gauteng;
• Eastern Cape Horse Care Unit;
• Tom Ro Haven – Western Cape;
• BlindLove – Eastern Cape;
• South African Riding for the Disabled Association Durban, KwaZulu Natal; and
• Hollywoodbets Life After Racing – Ashburton, KwaZulu Natal

Viewers are taken to Hollywoodbets Life After Racing, the Hollywood Group’s own equine aftercare initiative.

Based at Ashburton near Pietermarizburg – KwaZulu Natal, it is dedicated to the retraining, responsible rehoming and rehabilitaion of racehorses, who go on to second careers in Polo, show jumping, eventing and other equine sports.

Devin Heffer, Hollywood Group brand and communications manager, saluted the efforts of these hard-working organisations and welcomed the documentary.

“What makes this series particularly special is that it goes beyond equine welfare to tell the stories of how these remarkable animals are also making a difference in people’s lives, whether through therapeutic riding programmes, community outreach or simply providing companionship and healing,” said Heffer.

He said the Group believes that the series will help raise awareness and appreciation for the important work being done to improve welfare for the country’s equines.

“It reinforces the commitment of the horse racing and betting industries to ensuring that horses are cared for throughout their lives,” he concluded.

Watch the documentary on GallopTV’s YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F1xy7YXRIE&list=PLZ0-amXyugNU&index=2&t=6s

Praise De La Ray could give Quaada Leung another winner (Picture: Race Coast)

Andrew Harison (Race Coast)

Punters have their work cut out finding winners on the poly card at Hollywoodbets Greyville tonight. It is a programme where form may not be all that reliable so best bet will be to follow the market.

The fifth, for example, is a super competitive handicap and has upset written all over it. Praise De La Rey has been in good form of late and her last win came over course and distance. Up in class but only has 49kg to shoulder. Pied Piper is back on what could be a more suitable surface. He steps up in trip which could suit. Vencedor won comfortably last run on the poly but got a six-pound jump in the handicap. However, he has come good of late and that may not be enough to stop him. Splash Of Love won well over course and distance last time out and gets the most experienced apprentice aboard.

It all starts in the card opener where Midnight Hour has useful form on the poly but does return from a short break. However, she does looks capable in this line-up of a maiden win. Dembele has a tricky draw but showed up well on debut where he did find some market support and the form has worked out. He could feature at decent odds. Darryl Moore saddles two runners, best of which could be Task Force who was close-up on the poly last run and has a useful claimer aboard. Gallic King has his second run for Mike and Mathew de Kock and started favourite at his last two. The switch to the poly could bring out the best.

The first leg of the PA is wide open. Hammer Blow was narrowly beaten first up on the poly and has been consistent. He is down in class and his big weight is eased by a 4kg claimer. Veteran Prophet ran a much improved race for his new stable after showing modest Highveld form. The change of scenery appears to have done the trick. The year older Trafalgar Square finished just ahead of Prophet in their last meeting. There should not be much between the two so the draw could be crucial.

Deonarie may be one of the better best on the card in the third as he has placed in all five of his starts. He makes his poly debut but with De Melo up he rates the one to beat. Captain Josh has a tricky draw but has not been far back at recent outings on the turf and gets first time cheek pieces. Etzebeth has been disappointing but was not far back first up on the poly for his new stable. While Mastercrafter found market support on his first outing on the poly. He now gets a tongue-tie which could see him improve.

The fourth is a competitive maiden but Close Encounter has had one outing for Mike and Mathew de Kock and makes his poly debut. He is a lightly raced colt and may still have a lot to come. After Fire has been consistent in blinkers and stays the trip and has a handy weight that will help. Crimson Typhoon disappointed last run but had steady form prior to that. She goes well on the poly and with a 4kg claimer up she should be competitive. Cali Bullet has been much improved on the poly. She gets a handy galloping weight and must have a winning chance.

Feature form, or even the lack of it, could be telling in Race 6. AMC Roy’s Fantasy has been rested but her last two outings were in strong feature company. Tristan Godden has stayed with the ride and if fit and well Kom Naidoo’s filly could be the one to beat. Silver Salute has the worst of the draw but was close-up over course and distance last time out. She is 1.5kg better off with Vixens War who won well last run. There should not be much between this pair. Taylor’s Version won first up on the poly and the extra furlong will suit.

In the seventh Navajo Dancer won well on the poly last run and although getting a four-pound penalty he gets the equivalent relief from the saddle and can follow up. Top weight Vaans Spirit is down in class and trip but goes well on the poly and has a useful claimer aboard. Kali Bwana is 2.5kg better off with Navajo Dancer given their last meeting so it should be close again. Pleasetoseeyou only got a three pound penalty for his last win over course and distance and can follow up in a competitive handicap.

In the last Red Hot Miss has been rested after taking on a strong feature field first up out of the maidens. She has done well on the poly and if fit and well she could prove too good for this field. Ocotillo was narrowly beaten last run over course and distance and has been making steady improvement. If Red Hot Miss fails to fire, she looks an obvious choice. Roy’s Grace got up narrowly with first time blinkers and only got a three-point penalty and could be dangerous while Chasing Gold is seldom far back. She is back from a break and down in trip but cannot be written off.

RACE 1

A tricky opening race. NET ZERO is a Gimmethegreenlight filly who is making her debut. She has a tricky draw to overcome but does not have to deal with very strong opposition. FLYING SKITT has not been disgraced in three starts and should be a threat. MOETHEMONEYMAN makes a local debut and could show vast improvement. LIGHTNING RED is capable of improvement. CHIM CHIM CHEREE showed improvement last time out and can have more to offer.

RACE 2

MASTER MTOTO has a string of three decent runner-up performances in a row, all in decent races. Jockey JP van der Merwe gets his first ride aboard him and he should win. SLASH ‘N BURN (IRE) did beat that rival last time out and there is no real change in the weights so in theory he could do it again, but that rival should have plenty of improvement forthcoming. SYMBOL OF LOVE is talented but is returning from a lengthy break. SPEED RACER also returns from a break and could need this run. DETAILED FORECAST has struggled of late but can earn some money.

RACE 3

Trainer Alan Greeff holds a decent hand in this opening leg of the Pick 6. TWICE A QUEEN is probably looking for further than this but does have stable jockey Richard Fourie in the irons and could score. Stable companion CAUTIONARY was not disgraced on debut in July and would not be a surprise winner. CAUGHTUBYSURPRISE and LYRICS AND SONGS are both battling to get out of the maiden ranks but have an opportunity to score. KITANA’S JOY is consistent and could also get involved with the finish.

RACE 4

RUSH GREEN proved just in need of his latest run. He will be fitter this time, is clearly talented and the one to be with. Stable companion COASTAL PATH has lost his way of late but can earn some money. RHYDIAN returned to his best with a fine win last time out and can double up if in the same mood. Stable companion GLOBETONIC is always a danger, particularly when given a soft lead and that could be the case this time again. Stable companions for trainer Cliffie Miller, STAR IN MOTION and TASTE THE RAINBOW, are also capable of running well.

RACE 5

WAIT FOR ME has not been reliable in his career but he is best weighted and his last run was particularly encouraging. GLOBAL DRUMBEAT was pulled out of last Friday’s race but is back and ready to make amends. Stable companion INTUITIVE SPIRIT ran well in a much better race than this last time out and would not be a surprise winner. SECRET ERUPTION picked up a first success last time out and could have more to show. GLOBAL SPEAK and ARIVIDICIO are very unreliable but are also not out of it.

RACE 6

A competitive-looking race. BEL CANTO DREAM returns from a short break but has shown improvement for trainer Jacques Strydom and can score again. GIVETHATMANABELLS will be a threat if given another patient ride. TRAVEL MASTER has proven to be a danger when allowed a soft lead and he may well get that in this race. EL CAPITAN has only been fair of late but is not out of it. More was expected from CLARA LUME’ last time out, but she is best weighted so must be respected for that.

RACE 7

IONA CASTLE has not been at her best in her last two starts but looks likely to run a decent race this course and distance. GENOVEFA is well drawn and is course and distance suited but does give weight away to a lot of her rivals. KINGS AGAIN was not disgraced in a better race than this last time but is not well drawn. MAKE BELIEVE remains in good shape and is clearly not out of it. UMZOLOZOLO and INSPIRATION seem better than their last runs and could surprise at these weights.

RACE 8

CHATTERBOX showed what she is capable of with a solid last win and could follow up as she has a decent draw and Richard Fourie remains aboard. CARNIVAL is talented and quickened up well to win her latest start. She must be respected again. POWEROFPEACE let her supporters down last time but was not beaten by far and can be a threat once again. PRINCESS GOLDIE makes a local debut and could improve. MIDNIGHT MUSIC, TOKYO PRINCESS and VOORSMAAKIE are also capable of making the frame.

Multiple champion jockey to begin new chapter, according to Daily Racing Form.

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