Paul Peter Talks About His String
Jack Milner (4Racing)
Champion trainer Paul Peter is looking ahead as he prepares to defend his title this season and believes the potential of the stock in his stable has enough promise to make him competitive once again.
The first horse mentioned was Electric Gold, who showed he is a runner to watch with an impressive victory in Race 5 at Turffontein on Tuesday.
Ridden by Rachel Venniker, the three-year-old son of Flying The Flag lengthened his stride beautifully in the closing stages to beat stablemate Indus Knight by 0.50 lengths.
“He’s a smart horse,” said Peter, “and his mission will be the Dingaans.”
In fact, they nominated Electric Gold to run in the Grade 1 Premiers Champion Stakes at Greyville but despite being a two-time winner, one of them a handicap in open company, he was eliminated from the final field.
Peter said the fillies in the yard look particularly useful. “Three-year-old fillies I’ve got bombs, but overall the colts are not strong.
“We have a filly called Moraine. She won at the Vaal first time out and we put her away for the winter.
“Mrs Browning also won on debut and looks useful. She’s very closely related to Summer Pudding and she’s a full sister to Aragosta.
“Obviously we’ve got Glittering Girl, she ran second in the Grade 1 Allan Robertson at Scottsville.
“Bless My Stars ran third in the Thekwini Stakes (beaten just 0.35 lengths) and she was still very green. She’s very lightly framed but she’s very decent.
“We’ve given her a bit of time off now and I think she’s going to be a very smart filly. I also think she will stay up to 2400m. I make her a Triple Tiara filly.
“Then we have Summer Pudding and Vanderbilt’s unraced half-sister, Gimmethecherry, who is by Gimmethegreenlight. She’s also nice. We haven’t pushed her, but she has a good action and she shows us a lot at work.
“Ode To The Ocean hurt herself in the Storm Bird Stakes early in the season. She came back to run in the Grade 2 Debutante on Gold Cup day and ran just out of the money, about three lengths off them, but she had a rough race and got a bit left.
“She’s also decent and needed the run.
“Of the younger colts, Swing Upon A Star won the Grade 2 Umkomazi Stakes at Greyville on Gold Cup day and he’s still very immature. I think there is a lot more to come. Being by Elusive Fort, to win over 1200m in the manner he won is impressive.
“His half-brother (Flying Bull), ran second in the Lonsdale over 2400m.”
Of the fillies who are more exposed Peter says he really rates River Queraress. “She’s slightly built, but tall, and I think you’re going to see the best of her in six months’ time.
“I’m going to really take it easy with her. She had a hard campaign as a two-year-old but I really do fancy her as a horse and I think she can go places.
“Maharanee we took to Durban for the Golden Slipper. She had a bad draw so Warren (Kennedy) pushed her early and when he asked her to come back to him she was a bit headstrong.
“I kept her in Durban for the next month and a half and just gave her very, very light work. She’s developed into a really nice thick-set filly, her temperament has gone the right way. She’s very nice.”
Then he still has the “older brigade” with likes of Big Burn, Master Archie, Sprinkles, Val D’Orcia, Smorgasbord, MK’s Pride and Astrix to keep the winners ticking over.
Picture: Frankel colt born to Run Fox Run yesterday.
Run Fox Run Foals Down Colt By Frankel
Ridgemont Highlands announced from Barnane Stud in Ireland: “We are delighted to announce that Run Fox Run has foaled down her Frankel colt. A smashing little fella with handfuls of Mummy’s character.”
“An exciting journey ahead for this chap – by the super star Stallion and out of South Africa’s fastest Grade 1 winning horse in 2021.”
Run Fox Run (Chase Liebenberg)
The Australian-bred Foxwedge mare won her first five starts and retired as a winner of eight out of eleven starts and she was never out of the frame.
She won the Grade 1 Cape Flying Championship in her final start, beating four Equus champions in Rio Querari, Celtic Sea, Kasimir and Russet Air.
That added to her Grade 2 WSB Southern Cross Stakes win and her shorthead loss to Celtic Sea in the Grade 1 SA Fillies Sprint.
Foxwedge won the Group 1 William Reid Stakes over six furlongs at Moonee Valley.
He is a son of Fastnet Rock and has produced five individual Group 1 winners.
Frankel needs no introduction as the highest Timeform rated horse in history.
He is by Galileo and Galileo X Fastnet Rock is known to be a powerful nick.
The Frankel-Run Fox Run mating produces 3X4 in-breeding to Danehill.
Picture: Frankel in his box at Barnstead Manor Stud (facebook pictures)
Meanwhile, Mark Naidoo visits Frankel himself!
Peter Muscutt’s assistant trainer Mark Naidoo visited the Juddmonte-owned legend at Banstead Manor Stud in Cheveley near Newmarket, England.
He also got to meet the 2014 European Horse Of The Year Kingman (Invincible Spirit).
Frankel and a statue of Frankel
Kingman
Picture: Quickthorn made all for a dominant victory in the Lonsdale Cup (Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos))
Stunning Front-Running Display by Quickthorn After Stradivarius And Trueshan Scratched
Stradivarius’ Bruised Foot Sees Him Miss York Farewell
Trueshan Scratched Due To Fast Ground
Could Strad have caught him?
Quickthorn storms to stunning 14-length win
By Peter Scargill (Racing Post)
Friday: Lonsdale Cup, York
In the absence of star stayers Stradivarius and Trueshan, Quickthorn stunned his remaining five rivals with a dominant all-the-way victory in the Group 2 Lonsdale Cup with nearest challenger Coltrane trailing in 14 lengths behind.
While there was significant focus on the rides given to Quickthorn’s rivals, jockey Tom Marquand was keen to emphasise how good his horse had been.
“I wouldn’t say I’m brilliant for that, I’d say he’s really coming to the fore now as a top stayer,” he said. “He goes around in that highly exuberant fashion and when we came back from France I felt he had two more gears up his sleeve. After a little bit of time you’re thinking ‘did I really? am I kidding myself?’.
The race was shorn of much of its star power when Stradivarius was declared a non-runner early on Friday morning after bruising his foot, and he was followed out by Trueshan after Alan King decided the ground was too quick for his two-time Group 1 winner.
Both would have had a job on their hands catching the impressive winner, and Marquand added: “He’s got the most enormous engine and he’s learning how to use it now. Fair play to Hughie [Morrison] for getting him to channel it in the right direction.
“I know we didn’t have the champions in there and that’s a shame because I think he’d have given them a real race today. He’s going to be giving them a good race in the future when they do meet.”
ITV Racing pundits Jason Weaver and Adele Mulrennan agreed the race was won in the early stages of the contest, while Andrew Balding had expressed concerns as to whether Coltrane would be able to run as well as expected after a busy season.
Mulrennan said: “It’s always difficult at the time to know whether he’s going too quick. He jumped out and hit the brakes to give the indication he was going to go steady but then from the first bend he got him into a perfect rhythm and they couldn’t go with him.”
Weaver added: “He’s very quick, this horse. The damage was done early and they couldn’t go with him.”
International Racing Club Q & A: Nico Kritsiotis
IN IT FOR LIFE: Nico Kritsiotis is a staunch and talented contributor to racing.
Nico Kritsiotis has devoted most of his working life to the racing industry, making notable contributions in various capacities.
He started calling races at the age of 16 at Ascot Racecourse in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. He attended the University Of Natal in Pietermaritzburg in 1989 and graduated with a B Comm degree in accounts. He started working at the old Clairwood Racecourse as a presenter for off-course racing in 1991. To back this up, he was the ground announcer at Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban for three years in the mid-nineties.
Nico moved to Johannesburg in 1996 and was appointed as a presenter at South Africa’s original IGN racing channel which developed into SuperTrack and later into Tellytrack – he served until 2015, holding the position of progamme manager between 2011 and 2011.
An astute caller on top of this, he commentated at Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Turffontein, Gosforth Park, Newmarket, Vaal, Arlington and Fairview from 1998. His career was interrupted by serious illness and a removal of both kidneys and dialysis from February 2010 to November 2011, when he had a successful kidney transplant.
He soon picked up where he left off, working as a VIP punter liaison executive and in the marketing department at Betting World between 2015 and 2020, setting up the Club Elite lounges in six branches.
Nico left the racing operator and started the ‘Clocking The Gallop’ channel on Youtube in May 2020 in the midst of lockdown with Neil Andrews. CTC has gone from strength to strength reaching 1.5 million views earlier this month, with just under 18000 unique viewers. He is also popular as an MC at racing and charity events.
Here is our Q&A with Nico Kritsiotis:
1. Full name? Nico Kritsiotis
2. Date of Birth? 2nd October 1970
3. Steak or sushi? Definitely a good steak.
4. Superstitions? Not superstitious but I’ve been talked into the “green” thing for racing over time!
5. Fav Holiday Destination? Has to be the islands of Greece, specifically my home island of Karpathos
6. Which: BMW or Merc? Merc
7. Who inspires you the most? My 2 kids
8. Big night out or quiet night in? Anyone that knows me would say the former, and guess what, they would be right!
9. Left-handed or right-handed? Right-handed
10. Nicest person ever interviewed? João Moreira, he really was the most humble guy I have met.
11. What annoys you the most? Punters who don’t know all there is about racing but pretend to know!
12. Worst interview ever? There have been a couple but one I remember vividly was when I had to stand in for someone at the last minute and they located me in a pub on my tenth!
13. Best horse race watched, live? The Computaform Sprint in 2009 fought out between Private Jet, Rebel King and Warm White Night
14. Funniest person you have ever met? Has to be my compatriot Neil Andrews. We have a lot of fun together.
15. Biggest race called? The Summer Cup more than once
16. Strict whip rules or no whip at all? Strict whip rules. Not the same without them.
17. What is your biggest phobia? Death
18. Most embarrassing moment? Calling the wrong winner home at Newmarket one night when I was standing in at the last minute. I hadn’t even learnt the colours of that horse and it WON!
19. Biggest influence on your career? There are a few to mention here : Basil Thomas (now with Hollywood) who was the first person to hire me in racing in South Africa, Neil Andrews who hired me at IGN and Martin Locke, who, in my youth, was the best broadcaster by far.
20. Best media personality worked with? I am flattering him but has to be Neil Andrews. The ultimate professional and never ceases to amaze me.
21. If you had to pick one: In-studio presenting, on-course presenting, you-tubing or race calling? Would have to be race calling. It is the biggest thrill to call a race and keeps me motivated.
22. Proudest Achievement? Getting my B Comm degree and having 2 gorgeous sons.
23. Economy or business class? I only know Economy but one day I’ll be able to answer that!
24. One thing to make racing better for everyone? A unified industry sailing in the same direction with a centralised business hub and ONE budget!
25. Your star sign? Libra
26. Bath or shower? Either or. Shower mostly because of time!
27. Read or Netflix? Neither!
28. Attitude to life? Having fun and being kind. Another is to fight fire with fire.
29. Favourite bet? A straight win bookmaker bet. I am averse to exotics and multiples.
30. Would you rather ask for permission or ask for forgiveness? Permission.
Nominate someone for our Q&A next? Lyall Cooper, my fellow Clocking The Gallop contributor for the Joburg meetings.
Picture: Highfield Princess blitzed her Nunthorpe Stakes rivals under jockey Jason Hart on Friday (Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)
Well-backed Highfield Princess Crowns Remarkable Rise With Nunthorpe Victory
By Richard Birch (Racing Post)
Friday: Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes, York
High-flying mare Highfield Princess posted a famous win for trainer John Quinn and jockey Jason Hart.
The five-year-old, who began her career in handicaps off a mark of 57, added York’s premier sprint to the Prix Maurice de Gheest she landed at Deauville this month.
After travelling strongly just off the pace, Highfield Princess, backed from 10-1 to half those odds before the race, unleashed a sparkling turn of foot inside the final furlong to power past The Platinum Queen, the juvenile who had shown sizzling early speed, and score by two and a half lengths. Emaraaty Ana kept on to finish third.
Hart said: “It means even more to win a Group 1 on home soil at York. I was really confident all the way.
“The two-year-old [The Platinum Queen] gave us a good tow into the race, and I felt I could pick her up whenever I wanted. She won over seven furlongs at Royal Ascot last year and is definitely getting quicker.”
Quinn also paid tribute to his stable star, saying: “She’s a wonderful mare. She didn’t run at two, and has taken a while to learn her trade.
“This year she won the all-weather final at Newcastle, and then romped home in the Duke of York before running well in the Platinum Jubilee and winning the Group 1 at Deauville.
“She’s the most extraordinary horse I’ve ever trained, and I’ll put her in the Foret and Abbaye now before running her in the Breeders’ Cup.”
Disappointment of the race was the James Tate-trained Royal Aclaim, who had looked a potential sprint star in winning the Listed City Walls Stakes at York last month.
After showing up prominently under Andrea Atzeni, the three-year-old filly, sent off 5-2 favourite, proved one-paced from over a furlong out and could finish only sixth.
Highfield Princess became the seventh filly or mare to have landed the Nunthorpe in the last 11 runnings.
Smith, Mxoli Doubles At Fairview, Govender, Tarry, Danielson Doubles At Greyville
ROYALS BEAT STINGERS AND THEY MEET AGAIN IN THE FINAL
Gavin Smith and Philasande Mxoli scored respective doubles on the Fairview poly today.
Smith goes to 6 winners for the season at 7.6% and is 4 behind his perennial rival Alan Greeff, who had another winner today.
Mxoli goes to 3 winners for the season at 7.32%.
Yogas Govender, Sean Tarry and Raymond Danielson all scored doubles on the Hollywoodbets Greyville turf, where the Kwazulu Royals beat the Cape Stingers To Claim top spot in the Global Team Horse Racing competition, having won both of their contests. They will meet second-placed The Stingers in the final next Friday.
Govender goes to 3 winners for the season at a strike rate of 17.65%.
Tarry goes to 5 winners for the season at 16.13%.
Danielson has had 3 winners at 15.79%.
Picture: Kwazulu Royals fans have plenty to cheer about. (GTH)
Today’s Question
Which common phrase whose loose meaning is “to involve everyone or everything” originated from horseracing?
Picture: America’s Best Racing
Kenilworth Fields
Hollywoodbets Scottsville Fields
Today’s Question Answer
The phrase “across the board” originated in America and referred to a kind of bet placed in horse racing. An “across the board” wager was one in which equal amounts are bet on the same horse to win, place or show. The phrase was first used in print in this sense in the The Atlanta Constitution in November 1901. It was later used in other situations also and became popular around 1945. Source: theidioms.com
Picture: America’s Best Racing
