Lady Christine Laidlaw leads in her homebred Gimmethegreenlight gelding Gimme A Prince after he had won Saturday’s Grade 1 Pongracz Cape Flying Championship (Wayne Marks).

Gimme A Prince A Real Reward For Lady Laidlaw

Trainer Dean Kannemeyer and bloodstock agent and racing manager Jehan Malherbe identified the Trippi filly Real Princess at the 2013 Cape Premier Yearling Sale and had to go to the sales topping price of R2,7 million to secure her on behalf of Lady Christine Laidlaw.

However, that has proved well worthwhile because not only did she win a Grade 1, but her first foal, the Lady Laidlaw homebred gelding Gimme A Prince, is now also a Grade 1 winner having won the Pongracz Cape Flying Championship on Saturday.

Kannemeyer, trainer of both Real Princess and Gimme A Prince, said, “Real Princess was a magnificent athlete and stood out at the sale. She got better as she got older and is from a very good family.”

Real Princess is out of one of Klawervlei’s best broodmares, Pagan Princess, a Fort Wood mare who is a half-sister to Victory Moon (Al Mufti) and to Grade 1 winner Kelly (Ethique (Arg)).

Pagan Princess is also the dam of Grade 1 Cape Guineas winner and ultra promising sire William Longsword (Captain Al) as well as dam of stakes winners Silver God (Silvano) and Really Royal (Captain Al).

Real Princess won the Grade 3 Poinsettia Stakes and Grade 1 SA Fillies Sprint in consecutive runs over 1200m at Scottsville as a four-year-old.

Lady Laidlaw bred Gimme A Prince but he was reared at Varsfontein Stud.

Dean said Keagan de Melo was more confident than he himself was before Saturday’s Cape Flying.

He said, “I told Jehan (who is Lady Laidlaw’s racing manager) I thought he might be run off his feet a bit early, although I did add he would be flying at them in the finish. But he showed how good he was – the horse he beat was a former Equus Champion Sprinter.”

Gimme A Prince, jumping from draw 2, was a touch outpaced early but not by much. He made up ground steadily down the inside and then had too many guns for the opposition in the last 400m. He beat fast-finishing former Equus Champion Sprinter Rio Querari by 0,30 lengths, with Isivunguvungu, Bartholdi and Princess Calla next best.

Kannemeyer said Gimme A Prince would be aimed at the Grade 2 Khaya Stables Diadem Stakes next on Cape Derby day.

Lady Laidlaw fittingly won that race last year with the Kannemeyer-trained Cosmic Highway (Gimmethegreenlight). She, Kannemeyer and Gimmethegreenlight will be strong favourites to repeat the feat.

Real Princess’ second cover was by Dynasty, but the foal slipped, and she then went back to Gimmethegreenlight.

Gimme A Prince’s two-year-old full brother is already in Dean’s yard and he said he looked just like him.

Dean has never been one to rush two-year-olds and said an adage he followed was, “If you push them they will make sure you wait for them.”

Dean is thankful for Lady Laidlaw’s patience, which has paid dividends in the career of Gimme A Prince.

He won on debut as a two-year-old over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville and was the ante-post favourite for the Grade 1 Gold Medallion.

However, he “messed around in the gates” on the day and did not jump well and then returned “shaken up.”

Dean said, “The veterinarian suggested he be kept to walking for three months, but I said to Jehan and Lady Laidlaw this is a top horse so I am going to rest him for five months. That is why he missed most of his three-year-old season.”

Gimme A Prince has only had seven career starts to date for five wins and a second.

Dean reckons he is a 1200m to 1400m horse, like his mother, who won twice over 1400m.

He said a tilt at the Grade 1 Computaform Sprint had not yet been discussed.

Dean has traveled to Johannesburg before in recent times with the Lady Laidlaw-owned Capetown Noir and he should have won the Grade 1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes back in 2014. He veered to the outside in the closing stages and this cost him because he then finished with a wet sail and lost on the head bob to the top class Yorker.

One race Dean does have on his radar for Gimme A Prince is the Grade 2 IOS Drill Hall Stakes over 1400m, which is run every year on the opening day of SA Champions Season.

The Glen Kotzen-trained Rascova becomes the late Lancaster Bomber’s first stakes winner at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday (Wayne Marks).

Drakenstein’s Bombers Now Sort After – Rain In Holland Off To Jo’Burg

Drakenstein’s late sire Lancaster Bomber scored his first stakes win when his Glen Kotzen-trained two-year-old daughter Rascova won the Listed City Of Cape Town Summer Juvenile Stakes over 1100m under a typically sublime ride by Christophe Soumillon at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday.

Kevin Sommerville, racing manager of Drakenstein, said, “It was a fantastic result for Lancaster Bomber. He is a sad loss to the industry, but there is still one more crop and I think many will be champing at the bit to get hold of one. This year will be their last opportunity. I definitely don’t think his progeny will just be two-year-olds. There are a lot of exceptionally good looking fillies in his quality second crop. I think he is going to make a big impact on SA racing.”

Meanwhile, the CV of the stud’s great sire Trippi has one more accolade as he is now the sire of a Met winner, Jet Dark.

His future will be played by ear.

Kevin said, “He is 26 now and doesn’t owe us anything.”

Drakenstein were happy with the Met run of their Sean Tarry-trained homebred Triple Tiara heroine Rain In Holland (Duke Of Marmalade).

Kevin said, “It was a run full of merit considering she was drawn wide, the lack of pace and it was overall a messy race.”

She finished just 4,40 lengths back in 12^th position.

She will now be targeted at the Grade 1 Premier’s Championship Challenge and will likely go into that race via the Grade 2 Colorado King Stakes over 1800m on March 25.

4Racing Launches ‘The Championships Series’ On Saturday

4Racing Media Release

Johannesburg, 2 February 2023

4Racing this weekend launches the Johannesburg horseracing season with The Championships – an exciting series of five big race days over three months, which climaxes with the Champions Day finale on 29 April.

The Championships kicks off at 12h00 this Saturday, 4 February, with the Gauteng Guineas Day, which will see the first leg of the eagerly anticipated World Sports Betting Triple Crown and Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara for champion three-year-olds.

Turffontein is an iconic place where legends are made and there’s nothing quite as intoxicating and exciting as a day at the races on this majestic course with its stunning views of Joburg’s skyline. 4Racing invites the country’s horseracing punters and fun lovers to be part of The Championships this summer.

Entry for all five race days of The Championships is free, while punters can also watch all the action on 4Racing.TV and Racing 240.

The Triple Series, with its R2 million bonus for the winner of all three legs of the World Sports Betting Triple Crown and R1 million bonus for fillies winning all three legs of the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara, is considered the ‘ultimate test’ in South African horseracing and is a feat few thoroughbreds have been able to achieve over the years.

History was sensationally made in 2021 when the Triple Crown and Triple Tiara was won on the same day for the first time, with Varsfontein Stud’s Malmoos winning the Triple Crown and Summerhill-bred filly War of Athena winning the Triple Tiara in scintillating fashion.

Last year Drakenstein Stud’s mercurial champion filly, Rain in Holland, won the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara for trainer Sean Tarry, as the Triple series lived up to its reputation of producing sizzling racing and good value for punters.

More of the same high-quality, adrenaline fuelled racing is expected during The Championships season, with the World Sports Betting Triple Crown wide open with the likes of Shoemaker, East Coast, Royal Victory, Jimmy Don, KZN visitor Money Heist and the talented Anfields Rocket putting up their hands for a tilt at glory when Guineas final fields came out. Interestingly, Brett Crawford has also nominated Le Morne and Allez Moris.

In the hunt for the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara, promising fillies Gimme A Shot, Feather Boa, Miss Cool, Orarari Gold, Lady Of Power and Sean Tarry’s duo of Bless My Stars and Rock The Fox are among the strong contenders to try and emulate Rain In Holland’s Triple Tiara feat.

The second day of The Championships and Triple Series is Classic Day on 4 March, which will consist of two of the country’s foremost events for three-year-olds: the WSB SA Classic and the Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic, which are both Grade 1 races over 1800m.

The Triple series will conclude with its third leg on Derby Day on 1 April with the Grade 1 WSB SA Derby and Grade 2 Wilgerbosdrift SA Oaks, both over 2450m. The Grade 1 H F Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes over 1600m is a further attraction on this big day.

Day four of The Championships is Ladies Day at Turffontein on April 15 and is headlined by the Grade 1 HSH Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes for fillies and mares over 1600m, sponsored by and held in honour of long-time partner and supporter, Princess Charlene of Monaco.

The Championships concludes with the high-octane Champions Day on April 29, a major highlight on the South African horseracing calendar packed with top quality races.

Champions Day races include the Grade 1 Premier’s Champions Challenge over 2000m, the Grade 1 Jonsson Workwear Computaform Sprint, regarded as the quickest 1000m event in the country, and a host of Graded races for Juveniles, as well as for fillies and mares.

“The Championships is the biggest summer series of races on the South African horse racing calendar, bringing punters and racegoers the highest graded races the sport has to offer across all categories,” said 4Racing CEO, Fundi Sithebe.

“Championship seasons generate huge excitement the world over in the sport of horse racing, and we are really looking forward to this inaugural The Championships season and to three months and five great days of major horseracing, which honours the best of the generation.

“These high-grade, quality race days will be something that all racegoers will thoroughly enjoy, bringing the people of Joburg together for a sizzling summer of racing at Turffontein.”

The Championships race days details are as follows:

Day 1: Gauteng Guineas Day, 4 February:

• World Sports Betting Gauteng Guineas (Grade 2) (First leg of the Triple Crown)

• Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas (Grade 2) (First leg of the Triple Tiara)

Day 2: Classic Day, 4 March:

• World Sports Betting SA Classic (Grade 1) (Second leg of the Triple Crown)

• Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic (Grade 1) (Second leg of the Triple Tiara)

Day 3: Derby Day, 1 April:

• World Sports Betting SA Derby (Grade 1) (Third leg of the Triple Crown)

• Wilgerbosdrift SA Oaks (Grade 2) (Third leg of the Triple Tiara)

• H F Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes (Grade 1)

Day 4: Ladies Day, 15 April:

• HSH Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes (Grade 1)

Day 5: Championships Finale, Champions Day, 29 April:

• Premier’s Championship Challenge (Grade 1)

• Computaform Sprint (Grade 1)

• SA Nursery (Grade 2)

• SA Filles Nursey (Grade 2)

• Gerald Rosenberg Stakes (Grade 2)

• Camellia Stakes (Grade 2)

• Gold Bowl (Grade 3)

Entrance to the Turffontein Racecourse is free throughout The Championships season.

ENDS

For any media inquiries contact

Jermaine Craig

0832010121

JermaineC@4racing.com

Star Brisbane apprentice jockey Angela Jones will be mentored by retired champion jockey and heart surgery recovery patient Robbie Fradd. Picture: Grant Peters-Trackside Photography

Retired Fradd To Mentor Jones

jockeyhub.com.au

Now Retired Champion Jockey Robbie Fradd has taken on a mentor role to Leading Brisbane Apprentice Jockey Angela Jones. Fresh out of heart surgery, Fradd received a call from Top Queensland Trainer Tony Gollan to offer him the opportunity to mentor Angela Jones, one of the best up and coming jockeys in the country.

Gollan believes that Fradd’s mentorship will be of great value to Angela Jones as she approaches the end of her apprenticeship and moves into senior riding.

“I think some of these young riders need a cool head mentoring them to help them through the pressures they face,” Gollan said.

“Robbie has got the right nature for it.

“I really wanted an old head to help Angela get through the pitfalls that a jockey can face going through their apprenticeship.

“Robbie understands racing really well, he is unbelievably experienced and he’s a really good person to go with it.

“I thought he was the perfect choice.”

Fradd was thrilled to be offered the opportunity to mentor the young apprentice jockey and believes she has a real future in racing.

“Tony said he would put me on his books to mentor Angela, that sounds great,” Fradd said.

“I’ve been through a lot of pressures in my riding career so I can pass some of my experiences onto her and how to deal with various things.

“Angela has got the ability as a rider, there is no question about that, and she has got a lovely attitude towards the industry.

“Sometimes though when you lose your (riding) claim that’s when the pressure goes on, because you have got to keep riding winners without your claim, and that’s where I can help her.”

Despite confronting serious health issues in recent times, Fradd hasn’t lost his trademark dry wit.

When asked about his heart operation, Fradd said: “It was a five-hour operation, they took one hour to find my heart and then four hours to rectify the problem.”

Jones has seven wins for the year already with four of her win rides coming from the Gollan stable.

The SA-bred The Apache (far side) crosses the line first in the Arlington Million but has carried the runner up outward and he is later demoted to second place (Four Footed Fotos)

Arlington Park, Home Of The Arlington Million, Has Been Auctioned Off

South African racing has two recent bitter-sweet memories of the now defunct Arlington Park, which was home to the world’s first million dollar race, The Arlington Million.

In 2008 Mike de Kock ran Archipenko (Kingmambo) in the Arlington Million and he might well have won had Irish jockey Johnny Murtagh not kept him in a pocket in the straight. Murtagh was entitled to do so, but some would have let Kevin Shea if knowing their mount had no chance of winning and that looked true in the case of Mount Nelson, who had no extra.

Spirit One won the race with Archipenko a three-quarter length second and Mount Nelson a 2,25 length third.

CLICK HERE to watch a replay of the race.

In 2013 De Kock took the Scott Brothers SA-bred The Apache (Mogok) over to run in the Arlington Million and he crossed the line first under Christophe Soumillon. However, he had carried second-placed Real Solution outward in the closing stages and the subsequent objection was not surprisingly upheld.

CLICK HERE to watch a replay of that race

Arlington Park is now no longer.

The Paulick Report ran a three-part report about the auction for the course.

CLICK the links below to read the three parts of the article.

CLICK HERE to read Part 1

CLICK HERE to read Part 2

CLICK HERE to read Part 3

A bookmakers board

Pricing Up A Market: An Essential Skill Punters Really Should Learn

UK Racing guru Simon Rowlands wrote this article back in 2007, but it is still relevant today.

Building your own book is a must to turn punting into profit says racing journalist Simon Rowlands in this week’s Rowley File

I got round to reading “A Bloody Good Winner” – the book by professional gambler Dave Nevison – the other day, and a bloody good read it was as well.

What attracted me to the book, as much as anything, was a strange piece in The Irish Field, in which the reviewer described Nevison’s method of compiling his own tissue and then betting where he saw value, rather than because he thought a horse “would win”, as “unorthodox”.

It is not the only way of doing things, certainly, but well nigh every successful punter I have met prices up events at least part of the time and appreciates the concept of value.

Nevison himself does not go into much detail about what is involved in the process of compiling a tissue – creating your own assessment of the odds of an outcome happening – so I thought I’d ask around a few people who know a thing or two about this subject.

First off, a bit of simple arithmetic.

Odds should be converted into percentages and then summed for all possible outcomes. If the likelihood of an outcome is 100% – such as that something will win the race you are pricing up – then the sum of your odds percentages should be the same.

Odds are converted into percentages by dividing 100 by n when dealing with decimal odds (n being the decimal odds themselves) or by n+1 when dealing with fractional odds (n being the fractional odds themselves). A 4.0 shot on Betfair is taking 25% out of the book (100/4). A 2/1 shot at fixed odds is taking 33% out of the book (100/(2+1)).

Ian Dean, a former colleague at The Sportsman and part of the Betfair-Timeform odds-compiling team, looks to get a feel for the overall strength or otherwise of the race before moving on: “A horse’s price is a reflection of the opposition, as well as of itself”.

Andy Richmond, head of the Betfair-Timeform team, and Paul Smith, Spotlighter with Racing Post, usually try to identify the front two or three in the betting early on and invest more time in getting these “right”. The odds of other horses follow more easily from this, they reckon.

I tend to try to “brainstorm” a race in one go and then go back and tweak the prices and incorporate more information after this initial overview. More than about 14 runners tends to make my head hurt and often causes me to move on!

And therein lies one of the advantages of pricing up for yourself. You don’t have to price up races you don’t like or find too hard. Specialisation is key. Play to your strengths.

What’s more, you don’t have to be precise about each and every horse you are pricing up, unless you are doing it for publication. Andy Richmond recommends coming up with a range of prices in the first place and then narrowing this.

Some horses are easy to price. Others, perhaps unexposed and/or trained by stables who get the money down when a win is expected, are not. The former may be “between [3.5] and [4.0]”. The latter may be “between [2.0] and [8.0]”!

I prefer to concentrate on races where speculation is not a huge issue: handicaps; Group/Graded and Listed races; races for exposed maidens; races where you have got plenty to go on but where the last value has not already been squeezed out of the market.

I also like to refer to the odds at which a horse started the last time it ran. This needs to be viewed in the context of the race it was running in, how it ran, when it ran, and what it is running in now.

We punt, among other reasons, because we think the market is wrong. Sometimes it is.

But it would be folly to overlook the fact that the market is a distillation of an incredibly large amount of information about the competitors in a given race and at a given time.

A 10/1 shot that finishes mid-field in a 12-runner handicap had a roughly average chance before the race according to the market and performed in the race as if the market was right. This is a simplification, but I hope you get the idea.

And finally, as Andy Richmond says: “If you are struggling to price the runners, at the very least you should be able to put them in some sort of order. Get the order right and the prices themselves often follow.”

I would strongly recommend anyone who takes their betting at all seriously to give pricing up a go and to compare their results with the markets on Betfair. It is a good discipline – a vital discipline, perhaps – to learn.

And, in spite of the unavoidably schoolteacherish tone of some of the above, it can actually be good fun!

Lucy English bounces back to her best under Raymond Danielson to give the Lucky Houdalakis yard a double at the Vaal Classic track today (JC Photos).

Houdalakis, Munger and Schwarz Doubles

Lucky Houdalakis, Ryan Munger and Dennis Schwarz all has doubles at the Vaal Classic track meeting today.

Houdalakis goes to 24 wins for the season at a strike rate of 16.33%.

Munger is on 64 wins at 10,68% and Schwarz, who recently arrived back from Mauritius, is on seven wins at 15.22%.

The subject of the answer to the question is pictured above (americanclassicpedigrees.com)

Today’s Question

Which great horse started at odds of 1-100 three times in his career.

See answer at the bottom of the newsletter

Fairview Turf Fields, Friday, CLICK HERE

NB Please wait a few seconds for fields to appear.

ANSWER TO TODAY’S QUESTION:

The great American thoroughbred Man O’ War won twenty of his 21 starts and on three occasions started at odds of 1-100.

His only defeat was to a horse appropriately called Upset and happened after he had whipped around at the start and lost several lengths and then in the straight he ran into a wall of horses, switched to the outside and failed to get up by half-a-length (see picture above).

Turf Talk Newsletter – 2 February 2023