Turf Talk Newsletter – 17 July, 2025

Denis Le Breton with Tothemoonandback (Richard Fourie).
(Picture: Wayne Marks).

Mauritian-based Denis Le Breton has invested with purpose in the South African racing industry, following more than four decades as a leading owner on the island. Denis (pronounced ‘Deni’) will be starting the 2025/6 season with 46 horses in the care of Milnerton trainer Des McLachlan. Having already had 20 winners, they are hoping for their best season since the partnership was launched 18 months ago.

Denis bought 15 young horses at various sales this year to prop up the stable’s stock of fresh new runners. A number of his three-year-olds will turn four and are expected to be competitive, including Jet A One, It Is My Time and Money Extractor, and the older stalwarts include Tothemoonandback, Devil A Saint and Diamond Rock.

Their highest hopes next season lie with Master Of My Fate gelding Jet Force, who has won two of three starts, has much to come and, at a rating of MR83, is ahead of the handicapper.

Denis, who is permitted to spend up to 180 days a year in South Africa, said he flies in from Mauritius once a month, and tries to plan his visits to coincide with runners at Kenilworth.

Denis enjoyed 365 winners as an owner in his home base, but has never managed a big-race winner. He said: “I was holidaying in France when jockey Bernard Fayd’Herbe and I had a chat one day. He suggested I open a stable in Cape Town and that got my interest going. I won many races at home, but I never had good luck with top horses. Every piece of ‘gold’ I imported from South Africa turned to ‘bronze’, and some were very expensive.”

While graded winners will be nice bonuses along the way. Denis says he has always been in racing for pleasure and not for trophies or accolades. “I prefer racing alone to racing with partners. One can get involved with people who complain too much and don’t understand the game. I don’t gamble. All I want to do is watch them run, as much as I can, lead in as many winners as I can, and enjoy days out racing with good friends.”

Denis picked the experienced Des McLachlan as his trainer and said: “Des knows what he is doing, he is a very hard worker and I trust his judgement when it comes to selecting horses. We have a good thing going.”

Fayd’Herbe, who is presently booked off on medical advice and spending some time with his family in Madagascar, has also been of great help. “Bernard knows the industry inside out, and his advice and assistance have been valuable to me. He is a good friend who has ridden many winners for me too.”

Denis is the founder and chairman of DLB Construction, one of the biggest family-owned businesses in Mauritius. He employs more than 1000 workers and told, “I started off as a youngster working on a sugar mill, but after a while I said to myself, ‘there must be better ways of earning a living’, and I ventured out on my own. I am very proud of what we’ve built. I started without being gifted a single Rupee, and our business has come a long way.”

South African racing can only benefit from the support of people like Denis Le Breton, and we hope to see his blue and grey silks feature with regular success in the forthcoming season.

Denis and Bernard Fayd’Herbe. It starts with good friendship. (Facebook).

While the final decisions for the Equus Awards rest with the esteemed judging panel—Graeme Hawkins, Nico Kritsiotis, Rouvaun Smit, Deez Dayanand and Vicki Minott—the panel’s deliberations are heavily guided by the Equus Logs, which track each horse’s performances across the season with points allocated according to finishing position and grade of race.

This year, Eight On Eighteen has stamped his authority on the track and is leading the Horse Of The Year standings. The triple Grade 1 winner is also ahead in the Three-Year-Old Male category and the fiercely contested Champion Middle Distance division, where he faces tough competition from Fire Attack, Atticus Finch and The Real Prince. In the same Three-Year-Old Male division, Fire Attack and One Stripe are also in contention—although One Stripe’s recent export to the USA may influence the final call.

Gimme A Prince continues to head up the Champion Sprinter and Champion Older Male categories, but the margins are tight. In the older male division, William Robertson, Oriental Charm, Dave The King and Atticus Finch are all in the mix, while Mia Moo and William Robertson are the key contenders challenging Gimme A Prince for Sprinter honours.

The Champion Older Female category is also shaping up to be a closely fought affair, with Double Grand Slam, Mia Moo and Rascova leading the charge. In the Two-Year-Old categories, Good For You, Charming Cheetah, Chronicle King, Absolutely Yes and Malmesbury Missile are the standout colts, while Direct Hit heads a strong filly lineup that includes Anotherdanceforme, Golden Palm, Green Diamond, One Fine Winter, Elegantrix and Quickstepgal.

The Champion Miler division is packed with quality—Cosmic Speed, Oriental Charm, One Stripe, Dave The King and Double Grand Slam are all potential winners, making this one of the most competitive categories. Meanwhile, the Champion Stayer category features a wide-open field led by King Pelles, Holding Thumbs, Mucho Dinero, My Soulmate and Love Is A Rose.

With several key races still to come, including those on World Pool Gold Cup Day, the points and prospects in each division may yet shift dramatically. The Equus Awards are set to be a celebration of a truly competitive and high-quality racing season and will be held in the Silver Ring at Hollywoodbets Greyville Racecourse on Thursday 14 August.

LOGS

 HORSE OF THE YEAR

EIGHT ON EIGHTEEN  160
ONE STRIPE    96
FIRE ATTACK   81
DOUBLE GRAND SLAM    80
GIMME A PRINCE   75
FATAL FLAW   72
ORIENTAL CHARM   72
COSMIC SPEED   70

THREE-YEAR-OLD MALE

EIGHT ON EIGHTEEN  160
ONE STRIPE    96
FIRE ATTACK   81
COSMIC SPEED  70

THREE-YEAR-OLD FILLY

FATAL FLAW    72
FIERY PEGASUS  60
SPUMANTE DOLCE   56
MON PETIT CHERIE   50

OLDER MALE

GIMME A PRINCE   75
ORIENTAL CHARM  72
WILLIAM ROBERTSON  50
DAVE THE KING  48
ATTICUS FINCH  44
GLADATORIAN   44
MONTIEN   41
THE REAL PRINCE   40

OLDER FEMALE

DOUBLE GRAND SLAM   80
MIA MOO  56
RASCOVA  48

CHAMPION SPRINTER

GIMME A PRINCE   60
MIA MOO   56
WILLIAM ROBERTSON  50

MILER

COSMIC SPEED  64
ORIENTAL CHARM  48
ONE STRIPE   48
DAVE THE KING  48
DOUBLE GRAND SLAM 48

 MIDDLE DISTANCE

EIGHT ON EIGHTEEN   68
FIRE ATTACK   53
ATTICUS FINCH 44
THE REAL PRINCE      40

STAYER

KING PELLES  28
HOLDING THUMBS   25
MUCHO DINERO  12
MY SOUL MATE   12
LOVE IS A ROSE   10
SHE’S A BOMBER  8

TWO-YEAR-OLD MALE

GOOD FOR YOU  36
CHARMING CHEETAH  20
CHRONICLE KING   16
ABSOLUTELY YES  12
MALMESBURY MISSILE 10

TWO-YEAR-OLD FEMALE

DIRECT HIT   40
GREEN DIAMOND  24
ONE FINE WINTER 24
ELEGANTRIX  24
QUICKSTEPGAL   16
ANOTHERDANCEFORME 16
GOLDEN PALM 16

John Size, peerless at 71. (hkjc.com).

John Size  won a 13th trainers’ premiership  in Hong Kong, and Zac Purton is champion jockey for the seventh time, following the closing meeting of the season at Happy Valley on Wednesday.

The 71-year-old said: “There’s a lot of satisfaction in [winning] and probably something I’m very grateful to achieve,” Size said. “It’s a very strong and stiff competition and so therefore you have to rise up to it.

“As I’ve said before, I’m surprised that I’ve been so successful in Hong Kong. It’s always been a test of if I can keep performing at that level and so far I’ve been able to over 24 years and, God willing, if my health is still OK, I can do it for a little bit longer.”

Purton has won the most races in Hong Kong racing history. He ended this season with 138 winners and gross stake earnings of $213,311,025. He was 64 winners clear of second-placed Hugh Bowman.

South Africa’s Luke Ferraris clinched a Top 5 spot with 47 winners and $78,798,675 in stakes, while the luckless Lyle Hewitson booted home 29 winners for $52,595,475 in stakes. He was sidelined by injury last month. The pair, as well as fellow locals Karis Teetan and Keagan de Melo will return for the new season.

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Mike and Mathew de Kock was of the opinion that it’s a case of, ‘the further the better’ with three-year-old gelding Corrupt, and he proved them right with a win over 1800m at the HWB Polytrack on Wednesday.

This win was more workmanlike than anything else, but there was merit in it. Corrupt plugged away, dug down and won well. Mat reckons that, while the gelding won his Maiden over 1160m, he’s developed into a stayer and that 1800m is probably ‘the bottom of his range’.

“We were a bit disappointed in his last run, he was showing good work but we expected better. But he was indicating a need for more ground and I think we’re going to have fiun with him. (Owner) Laurence Wernars was supremely confident today, well done to him and thanks for sending Corrupt to us.”

Jockey Callan Murray confirmed: “Corrupt has a lovely spot, he was a bit flat-footed and made heavy weather of it. But it was a good win, nonetheless. He is asking for a lot more ground.”

Mike de Kock was also impressed and said: “I think this is a nice stayer, we may be able to win a feature with him.”

Corrupt is by Erupt out of Lil’ Baccio, by Windrush, and was bred by Andre Nel. – www.dekockracing.com.

Here is an interview with Dean Smith about Gavin Smith’s runners at Fairview on Friday, 17 July. The stable has runners in all eight races on the card. For other trainer interview, please visit the Track Talk section on www.racingtoday.co.za.

Bloodstock South Africa are delighted to announce that an excellent catalogue has been put together for the 2025 August Two Year Old Sale.

This stellar offering is now online and can be viewed on the BSA website.

The August Two Year Old Sale is a well established thoroughbred auction, which produces top-class thoroughbreds year in and year out. In recent times, notable graduates of this sale include such graded stakes winners as Elegantrix, Golden Palm, Let’s Go Now, Nourbese, and White Pearl.

This year, the sale, which will be held at the TBA Complex in Germiston, will take place on 21st and 22nd August, with each day’s trading set to commence at 10h30.

The majority of South Africa’s top stud farms will be represented at this year’s August Sale, while top stallions represented here include Gimmethegreenlight, Master Of My Fate, One World, Querari, Rafeef, Vercingetorix and What A Winter.

Exciting young sires with members of their first crop on offer at the August Sale include Chimichuri Run, Malmoos, and Real Gone Kid.

While the sale has something for every buyer and budget, below are a few potential standout lots:

Lot 3 – a Declarationofpeace half-sister to R6 million plus earner Royal Aussie
Lot 9 – a Master Of My Fate full-brother to the promising Echo Check
Lot 14 – a Rafeef half-sister to the smart Roland Garros
Lot 16 – a Rafeef filly out of Gr1 winner Athina
Lot 24 – a Hawwaam half-brother to two stakes winners
Lot 39 – a Gimmethegreenlight colt out of a stakes winning daughter of Captain Al
Lot 43 – a Rafeef filly out of Gr2 winner Caya Coco
Lot 47 – a Vercingetorix colt out of dual Gr1 Majorca Stakes winner Clouds Unfold
Lot 58 – a Gimmethegreenlight half-sister to Gr2 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Nursery winner Golden Palm
Lot 82 – a Vercingetorix half-sister to Gr2 World Sports Betting Camellia Stakes winner Schippers
Lot 108 – a Malmoos colt out of Gr2 winner Heavens Girl
Lot 113 – a Futura half-brother to R3 million plus earner All Out For Six
Lot 121 – a Rafeef colt out of a Gr3 winning daughter of Jet Master
Lot 124 – a One World filly out of Gr2 Sceptre Stakes winner Joshlin
Lot 134 – a Legislate 3/4 brother to Gr3 winner Rollwiththepunches
Lot 138 – a Malmoos 1/2 sister to Gr2 winner Celestial Love
Lot 150 – a Querari 1/2 brother to Gr2 4Racing SA Fillies Nursery winner Heavens Girl
Lot 154 – a One World filly out of a stakes winning daughter of Querari
Lot 165 – a Querari 3/4 brother to Gr2 winner Maryah
Lot 169 – a Master Of My Fate half-brother to Gr1 Allan Robertson Championship runner up Glittering Girl
Lot 174 – a Soqrat half-brother to Highveld star Choisaanada
Lot 186 – a Rafeef half-brother to champion Nebraas
Lot 190 – a Hawwaam half-brother to Gr2 Mike De Kock Ipi Tombe Challenge winner White Pearl
Lot 193 – a Legislate full-sister to Gr3 winner Zimbaba
Lot 202 – a Fire Away colt out of a stakes winning daughter of Encosta De Lago
Lot 218 – a Gimmethegreenlight colt out of a winning sister to Gr3 winner Black Knap
Lot 223 – a Master Of My Fate half-brother to Gr2 winner Cala Muretta
Lot 225 – a Querari filly out of a stakes winning own sister to Gr1 winner Elusive Gold
Lot 230 – a Gimmethegreenlight colt out of a Gr1 winning daughter of Master Of My Fate
Lot 263 – a Chimichuri Run filly out of Gr3 winner Tropic Sun
Lot 268 – a Last Winter half-sister to Hong Kong Gr3 winner Chefano and current top-class performer Madison Valley
Lot 275 – a Futura half-brother to dual Gr2 winner Outlaw King
Lot 282 – a Gimmethegreenlight filly out of Gr3 Acacia Handicap winner Wylie Wench

With such well bred thoroughbreds on offer, no doubt more stars will be unveiled at this year’s August Two Year Old Sale!

King Pelles, early Gold Cup favourite. (Picture: Race Coast).

The final field for the Grade 3 World Pool Gold Cup over 3200m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on 27 July, has been announced:

The picture presents the clue:

This horse won the Gold Cup in 1993, and the Durban July (on objection) in 1994.