Turf Talk Newsletter – 13 January, 2025

Greaterix keeps Fire Attack at bay, although the latter put in the better performance on paper. (JC Photos)

The Mike de Kock-trained Vercingetorix colt Greaterix proved his class on Saturday in the Gr 3 Betway Got The Greenlight Stakes over 1400m and will have more to come as he actually needed the outing, whilst the runner up Fire Attack put in a better performance at the weights and is also proving a fine sort.

The Al Adiyaat homebred Greaterix, who is also owned by M F de Kock, C S Haynes, G Ragunan and N P Malherbe, beat a good field comfortably despite not having had a perfect preparation and the race did not pan out perfectly either.

The question now is whether he will stay the mile of his next target race, the Gr 2 Gauteng Guineas.

De Kock said this colt had so  much speed he was unable to work him with anything else as he just left them behind.

He said he had given the grey a two week rest after the Gr 2 Betway Dingaans as he had finished a bit distressed after being caught in front and then doing too much.

Given a more conservative ride on Saturday he reversed Dingaans form with Fire Attack, although it was over 200m shorter and he was also receiving 2kg from the latter.

Guru racing analyst Karel Miedema awarded Greaterix a 100 AR (ability rating) for the run, while he gave Fire Attack a 102.

Yeni, in just his fourth meeting back from a broken collar bone, had a fine day and Greaterix gave him a hattrick.

Muzi’s aim at home and on Saturday was to get Greaterix to relax into his big stride, so it did not augur well when he was short of room from the off jumping after from draw four as there was a horse on his heels.

Muzi did have cover in a one out position in fourth place, but said the horse had never felt comfortable. He said when the pace stacked up and considering Greaterix’s big stride he had had to let the grey colt roll early.

Greaterix showed a fine turn of foot under the hands to hit the front at the 400m mark. He was able to keep going under the hands after shifting to the rail.

Muzi used the stick for the first time in the last 50m to keep the Dingaans runner up Fire Attack at bay, as the latter had run on strongly from last.

Greaterix won by 0,70 lengths from Fire Attack. Both will be big players in the Gauteng Guineas.

Cosmic Speed will also be a player as he ran on strongly from well back for a 3,10 length third and was doing his best work late.

Potberrie was a maiden for ten starts so has shown amazing improvement lately and he finished a 3,70 length fourth with the recently disappointing The Specialist putting in a performance that was more like it, finishing a staying on 5,80 length fifth.

The highly regarded Choisaanada disappointed, leading from draw five and finding no extra to be beaten six lengths into sixth place.

Musical Score actually started second favourite at 4/1 (Greaterix started at cramped odds of 67/100), but it did not pan out well for him. He was taken handy from draw five but was caught wide one out and one back and duly found nothing to be beaten eight lengths into seventh.

Greaterix will have a fitness improvement advantage over the others in the Gauteng Guineas, having needed Saturday’s outing.

However, the question is whether he prefers shorter trips than a mile.

Furthermore, he has been outperformed twice in succession by Fire Attack, so the latter should be receiving more  accolades than he has been accorded.

Laurence Wernars’ homebred Gimmethegreenlight filly Gimmefabulous is led in after winning the Gr 3 Mother Russia Stakes. (JC Photos).

Cape Breeders

South Africa’s reigning Champion Sire Gimmethegreenlight came up with his 71st stakes winner on Saturday. His progressive daughter Gimmefabulous picked up her first black type win when she won the G3 Betway Mother Russia Stakes at Turffontein.

In the process, the three-year-old provided Gimmethegreenlight with a second consecutive winner of the Mother Russia Stakes, with Gimmethegreenlight daughter Let’s Go Now having won the race in 2024.

Trained by Michael and Adam Azzie, three-year-old Gimmefabulous did well to win the Mother Russia Stakes, with her jockey, Raymond Danielson, losing his whip in running.

Under a strong, hands and heels ride, however, the Gimmethegreenlight filly stuck her head down where it mattered most to win by a neck.

Bred by part-owner Laurence Wernars, Gimmefabulous has won three of seven starts.

The filly is out of the High Chaparral mare Being Fabulous. Gimmefabulous joins an increasingly long list of graded stakes winning daughters of Gimmethegreenlight, with this tally including Equus Champions Bless My Stars and Gimme A Nother, and fellow G1 winners She’s A Keeper and VJ’s Angel.

Gimmefabulous was one of two winners at Turffontein on Saturday for her multiple champion sire Gimmethegreenlight. The latter is also responsible for top-class gelding Barbaresco, who impressed when winning on Saturday.

Racing over a trip (1160m) considered well short of his best, the grey four-year-old showed his class to land the Racehorse Owners Association Pinnacle Stakes for Gavin Lerena and Johan Janse Van Vuuren.

Coming from last, the gelding, who had 62kgs on his back, switched out to the inside and stayed on smartly to win convincingly by nearly three parts of a length.

Bred by his part-owner Laurence Wernars, Barbaresco, winning for a fifth time on Saturday, had finished third in the G2 Allied Steelrode -Onamission Charity Mile two starts back.

The gelding, who is being aimed at the G1 Horse Chestnut Stakes, is out of the Fort Wood mare Negroamaro and is thus bred on the same cross as graded stakes winners Eye Of The Prophet, Green Pepper, Hack Green, and Second Base.

Richard Fourie on Lanciafiamme gets the better of Craig Zackey on American Matador at Fairview on Friday. (Pauline Herman Photography)

This season’s jockeys’ championship is turning out to be a thriller and it has meant there is a sideshow to a lot of meetings as the trio involved, reigning champion Richard Fourie, current log leader Craig Zackey and twice national champion Gavin Lerena, battle it out.

One amazing statistic, for example, is that there have been 24 races at Fairview this calendar year and only five of them have not been won by either Fourie or Zackey.

In the eight race meeting of January 3 on the turf, Fourie had five wins and Zackey two; in the eight race meeting on January 7 on the poly, Fourie had four wins and Zackey two; in the eight race meeting on January 10 on the turf they both had trebles.

The two stalwart jockeys represent the powerful stables of Alan Greeff and Gavin Smith respectively and this has added to the intrigue of the perennial East Cape trainer’s championship battle between these two yards.

Alan took over from his father Stanley many years ago, while Gavin took over from his father Andy and before that it was Stanley and Andy who battled out the championship. It is apparently decades since a Greeff or Smith did not win the East Cape championship. In recent times Alan captured seven titles in a row from the 2012/2013 season to 2019/2020, Gavin then won the next three championships, before Alan was back on the throne last season and he leads Gavin by eight wins this season.

Fourie broke Greg Cheyne’s record of 116 wins in an East Cape season last term and went on to set a new mark of 119 wins.

This season Fourie is on 59 wins in the East Cape and Zackey is on 36.

Meanwhile Gavin Lerena is not being left out. He had a treble on Saturday at Turffontein Standside, while Fourie and Zackey only managed one win apiece in the Saturday meeting at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth. This saw Lerena creeping up to within three wins of Zackey.

However, Zackey was the only one of the trio to ride at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Sunday and he scored a double. That took him to 114 wins for the season, five ahead of Lerena and seven ahead of Fourie.

At present Zackey is the only one in the country riding in all four centres, while Fourie is only riding in the East Cape and Cape Town, while Lerena rides on the Highveld and in select meetings in KZN and Cape Town. Thus, it would seem Zackey should be in the pound seats.

However, Hollywoodbets go 8/10 on Fourie for the championship and 23/10 for the other pair.

The reason is probably that the championship is in Fourie’s hands i.e. if he decided to start travelling to KZN he is likely to soon draw clear as he is in great demand there and he could also even travel to the Highveld. The title could depend on how much Fourie cherishes defending his title and of course the usual scenario of avoiding suspension and injury is another factor.

The respective strike rates of the three riders tell a story: Lerena’s strike rate is 26.72%, Fourie’s is 24.49% and Zackey’s is 18.21%.

Another championship that was full of intrigue last season was the KZN Trainers Championship, with a number of yards in contention before Gareth van Zyl’s late spate of winners took him past Alyson Wright.

This season it is former champion Garth Puller who is well clear with 30 wins at a strike rate of 16.39% with Mike Miller on 20 wins at 11.83% while Van Zyl and Peter Muscutt are on 19 wins and Wright and Michael Roberts are both on 18 wins and Andre Nel is on 17.

The KZN jockeys’ championship is intriguing this season with Rachel Venniker leading on 39 wins and Sean Veale on 35. Serino Moodley is on 25 together with Zackey. Lerena is on 24 and Tristan Godden is on 23.

Imilenzeyokududuma gives both Sean Veale and Hollywood Racing a double. (Candiese Lenferna Photography).

Andrew Harrison

Former Betway Summer Cup winner Royal Victory was widely expected to land the Non-Black Type Michael Roberts Stakes on Sunday at Hollywoodbets Scottsville, but clearly 1750m is now way short of his optimum as market rival Imilenzeyokududuma gave Sean Veale a double for Hollywood Racing, after scoring earlier in an enterprising ride on the Stuart Ferrie-trained Capsaicin.

Always within striking distance of the pace, Veale went for home at just the right time on Gareth van Zyl’s runner to hold off the Miller-trained Narina Trogon with Royal Victory making late progress to make up the trifecta.

Mike Miller is a wizard at getting his horses to come early and generally dominates the early two-year-old exchanges in KZN.

With the new KZN Futurity progamme in place courtesy of Hollywood’s anticipated takeover of Gold Circle, Miller was not caught napping in taking advantage of the R300k stake on offer, going home with the lion’s share of the booty, winner Comic Relief unbeaten in two.

Miller had three fillies taking on males in the first of the KZN Futurity races at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Sunday and it was 1-2-3 for the yard with Holds The Key, the only colt in his quartet, finishing fifth. Given the increased stake money, this trend of fillies taking on males is likely to be ongoing and likely encourage other trainers to have a rethink about how they go forward with their juveniles.

Holds The Key was quickly out of the blocks and went tearing off to the lead with stable first call rider Tristan Godden biding his time on Comic Relief who looked to be the stable’s first choice.

And so it proved, as Comic Relief finished off her race smartly to hold off charging stable companion Captains Envy with Siesta Sunset a comfortable third.

William Robertson, back over one of his favourite courses and well weighted to win the Non-Black Type African Holly Stakes, found one too good for him as Siphesihle Hlengwe got outsider Captain Bombshell home to hold off the late-charging favourite. With the ground a touch on the soft side, William Robertson looked to be somewhat out of his ground in the early exchanges as Craig Zackey sat off the pace, and although finishing strongly, William Robertson ran out of runway the last 200m.

Ride of the day went to Veale on Capsaicin in the opening leg of the Pick 6. His mount to took a hold of the bit, intentionally or not – he was reluctant to be drawn on the issue – but he went many lengths clear in the manner of an inexperience 4kg claimer.

However, as the opposition closed up at the top of the straight, Capsaicin kept on giving in what was an heroic victory.

Mike and Dianne de Kock along with son Matthew were on course, no doubt hoping that Calantha would win for the Ladies Onamission syndicate of which Dianne is the nominee, but the filly was run out of it by the Miller-trained Licence To Thrill.

However, the team did not go home empty handed as Top Seed, rested and gelded after pulling up dodgy on debut, made short work of his opposition in the first leg of the PA, winning with authority and De Kock senior making the point that Top Seed will not die a one-time winner.

Gem King wins a class 3 event to record his first victory since March 2023. (Picture: Wayne Marks)

Graeme Hawkins (Gold Circle)

Without a win for close on two years, and with very little in the way of recent form, the Piet Steyn-trained Gem King delivered a 100/1 knockout blow when he suddenly bounced back to winning ways in the eighth race at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday, the R160 000 Klawervlei Stud Class 3 Handicap over 1200m. Ridden by Corne Orffer, Gem King joined issue with the front-running Arctic Wizard inside the final 200m and although the latter tried gamely to cling on to his advantage, Gem King found that bit extra to score by a head.

Talk To The Master had to switch at a crucial stage of the race but stayed on to finish third ahead of War Chariot and a one-paced Riverstone. Marsh Shirtliff and Bryn Ressell race both Gem King and Talk To The Master in partnership, while Marsh also bred the runner-up Arctic Wizard to complete a “personal” Trifecta which yielded a dividend of R3004-00. Gem King’s unexpected victory saw the exit of most Pick 6 tickets and the nett pool of R492 554 was largely carried over.

The Justin Snaith stable has dominated the early juvenile races in the Western Cape and the first race on Saturday, a Maiden Juvenile Plate (Fillies) over 1000m, proved no exception with Music Of The Night (28/10) under Richard Fourie drawing clear of the tote favourite Whatastar to score by more than a length. Both the winner and runner-up are sired by Drakenstein-based stalwart What A Winter.

Lucy Rocket belied odds of 66/1 to score a dominant victory in the second race, a Maiden Plate over 1000m, but fortunately for Bipot punters the favourite Catch A Penny snatched the runner-up berth just ahead of Summer Snow and Flying Finley. The third race, a Cape B Stakes (F&M) over 1200m, produced a form result and a good finish between Miss World and Mai Sensation. Fourie attempted to make all the running on Miss World (9/4) but was collared late by Mai Sensation (7/2) who continued trainer Lucinda Woodruff’s rich vein of form.

Pick 6 punters began on the front foot in the opening leg, a D Stakes over 1800m, when the well-supported Summer Night City (28/10) just prevailed over My Only Weakness (4/1) by a very narrow margin in a driving finish. The improving 3yo My Only Weakness, a half-sister to Equus Champion Bless My Stars, conceded 5,5kgs to the more seasoned Summer Night City and was certainly not disgraced in defeat. Summer Night City was ridden by log-leading Craig Zackey and was the first leg of a race-to-race double for trainer Eric Sands.

The fifth race, a Class 4 Handicap over 1600m, saw another stirring battle between the favourite Hoodia and the Eric Sands-trained 5yo son of Pomodoro, Kebonalesedi. The latter took up the running from pole position at a solid gallop and fought on bravely when tackled by Hoodia approaching the final 200m. Just when it seemed as if Hoodia (9/4) would gain the upper hand, Grant Van Niekerk extracted hidden reserves from Kebonalesedi (7/1) who rallied bravely to score by a head.

The first nail in the coffin for Pick 6 punters came in the sixth race, a Class 4 Handicap (F&M) over 1600m, with recent maiden winner Tap Shoes (16/1) finishing strongly from quite far back to run down Family Power and win going away in good style. Tap Shoes, a chance ride for Ashton Arries, was having only her fourth start and the full sister to Zapatillas is clearly on the upgrade. Enchanting Choice had every chance in third spot but failed to quicken at the business end while Kamchatka disappointed badly, fading tamely over the final 200m to finish downfield.

Palace Gift was the subject of shrewd support in the seventh race, a Class 5 Handicap over 1200m, and the Shane Humby-trained 4yo son of Potala Palace scored readily by more than a length from the fast-finishing Rougarouin. Ridden by Oswald Noach, Palace Gift was in control throughout, registering his maiden victory at the tenth time of asking.

Kelp Forest has taken on a new lease of life since being equipped with blinkers and was a popular winner of the ninth race, a Class 4 Handicap over 1200m. The 5yo son of Flower Alley followed up on his victory a month ago with a commanding effort, notching up the sixth win of his career for trainer Adam Marcus and giving Grant Van Niekerk a double on the day. Kelp Forest (28/10) lagged some way off the early speed, but he quickened up smartly under a confident ride and was more than a length ahead of the well-backed Sooty at the line.

Jonbon (left) and Energumene are set to clash in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot on Saturday. (Picture: The Guardian) 

Top-rated Jonbon and Energumene primed for epic clash at Ascot 

Big-race head-to-heads do not always deliver but this could rival the great Clarence House Chase clash of 2022

Greg Wood (The Guardian)

The Clarence House Chase has been frozen out of its traditional Ascot home in the two seasons since Shishkin and Energumene fought out a memorable battle on the run-in in 2022, but this year a thaw seems to have arrived just in time and the stage is set for another compelling duel in the Grade One contest on Saturday after Jonbon and Energumene, the top-rated two-milers in Britain and Ireland respectively, both appeared among Monday’s five-day entries.

Big-race head-to-heads do not always deliver on their buildup. Shishkin versus Energumene, though, was an instant classic, as Shishkin dug deep to claw back a one-length deficit jumping the last and edge in front a few strides from the line.

It would be greedy to expect a similar drama on Saturday – but at the same time, the parallels between 2022 and 2025 are difficult to ignore. Energumene, of course, is common to both, but Willie Mullins’s 11-year-old is also up against a prolific Grade One winner from the Nicky Henderson stable, while the top two in the betting are also separated by just 1lb on official ratings.

Jonbon, in fact, is currently the top-rated British-trained chaser at any distance, which is in part a sign of the dearth of top-class talent at staying trips but also a reflection of the nine-year-old’s class and astonishing consistency over four-and-a-half seasons on the track.

Following his win in the Grade One Tingle Creek at Sandown in December, Jonbon has now raced 19 times, winning 16 and finishing second in the other three. It is a remarkable record by any measure and yet, thus far at least, Jonbon does not quite seem to have captured the public imagination in the manner of previous top-class two-milers from the Henderson yard like Altior, Sprinter Sacre and Shishkin.

There are several possible reasons why, including Jonbon’s misfortune in sharing a novice season over hurdles with his stable companion, Constitution Hill, who hogged all the attention in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons and became the only horse to beat Jonbon over timber in the Supreme Novice Hurdle in 2022. Jonbon was beaten at the 2023 Festival too, finishing second to El Fabiolo in the Arkle Trophy Novice Chase.

It has been somewhat unfortunate for Jonbon in terms of his public appreciation that the sprinkling of defeats on his career record have occurred in every fifth race, which has prevented him running up a long winning sequence in the manner of his illustrious predecessors.

Altior won his first 19 starts over jumps, Sprinter Sacre landed his first 10 over fences and Shishkin extended his win streak to 10 against Energumene three years ago. Jonbon, though, has yet to win more than four races in a row, despite having a better strike-rate than all three over the course of their careers.

Henderson recalled the 2022 Clarence House as “one of the great races of all time” after the entries were published on Monday. “It was billed as that and it lived up to that, which was terrific,” he added. “Well, it was terrific for us. I don’t think Willie enjoyed it as much as we did. It was going their way and then it came back to go our way at the end.

“Energumene was impressive on his comeback run a few weeks ago, so it looks as if we’re going to have a redo, but it will be Jonbon who’s going to have to do battle with him.”

Saturday’s race offers Jonbon another chance to break out of the WWWWL pattern that has run through his career to date like a watermark, and Ladbrokes installed him as their 8-11 favourite in the early betting on Monday, with Energumene at 15-8 and Edwardstone – a three-time Grade one winner over fences – on 9-1.

Energumene, though, looked rusty but still as talented as ever on his return from a 593-day injury layoff at Cork in early December, and will attract plenty of support as he attempts to get a Clarence House Chase win on his record at the third attempt.

“The interesting thing is that Jonbon’s very happy up there [setting the pace, so] they could be going a right good gallop,” Henderson said. “This could be brewing up for another historic renewal.”

Who was the first horse to do the Epsom Derby/Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe double?

Picture: Derby and Arc double horse at work.

Today’s Question Answer