Miss Soho, ridden by Donald Geerthsen, gave Craig Mayhew (second from right) a winning comeback to the training ranks at the Vaal today. (JC Photos).
Craig Mayhew Makes Winning Comeback
Craig Mayhew was one of the few who departed the training ranks around the time of or after the Covid-19 pandemic and he made a fairytale comeback at the Vaal today.
Craig’s previous runner as a licensed trainer was on November 26, 2020, at which point he joined the Ashley Fortune yard as an assistant.
The latter’s recent departure to Australia forced him to take out his license again and it is not going to be easy starting with a stable of just five horses.
Two of them ran today, both of them ex Fortune-trained horses.
It looked as if his first runner back, in the first race over 1200m, gave him a fair chance of making a winning comeback.
The Canford Cliffs filly Southern Style was having her 24th outing, but is always thereabouts and had finished in the first five on 19 occasions going into today’s race, a fillies and mares maiden over 1200m.
It was a family affair because Craig’s 4kg claimer son Trent Mayhew was aboard her.
She earned a 20th top five finished by running a 0,85 length fourth at odds of 16/1.
Craig still had another chance for a family celebration, because his second runner on the day Miss Soho is part-owned by his daughter Kelsey Mayhew-Munger.
However, this Master Of My Fate filly was coming off a 15 length beating over 1000m in her comeback from a seven month layoff and duly started at 100/1 odds in the fillies and mares MR74 Handicap over 1200m.
The 2,5kg claimer Donald Geerthsen was aboard and followed instructions perfectly.
He allowed the blinkered four-year-old filly to use her pace to carve out a lead and he then asked her for more in the last 400m.
She found more to win by a cosy 1,25 lengths.
Craig said, “I wasn’t expecting it to be honest even though she was working well. She had picked up her game a little bit over the last month-and-a-half that I’ve had her on my own. But you always come here thinking they might just need one run and I thought I would need the run! I told Donald to jump and let her use her speed and if she is comfortable out in front to just leave her and she might just stay on. It was a cracking ride and a helluva run from the filly, so I’m very happy.”
In her maiden win she only just got there over 1000m, so there were doubts about her seeing out the 1200m.
However, Craig said, “We actually thought she would get 1400m and put her over 1400m early on in her career and she just never saw it out and then we bought her back to 1000m where she just held on. But she is strengthening up slowly. She is still not a very pretty looking girl, but if she runs like this again once or twice more she can stay ugly!”
Craig revealed he had little choice other than taking out his license again: “The Fortunes did up and move off quite suddenly and there aren’t many options for us old trainers, so I had to come back. It’s been very hard starting off again. I’ve only got five horses. So we starting off slowly. But we are back and we’re going to give it a bash.”
Donald Geerthsen had said earlier, “Mr Mayhew’s such an awesome guy and I’m very happy to have ridden his first winner back.”
Syndication is huge in Australian and hearsay has it that one in every 200 Australians own some sort of percentage in a racehorse (Picture: triplecrown.com.au).
“Classic Racing” Aims To Boost Syndication In SA
Durban Bloodstock agent Andy Williams and former KZN trainer Willie Pieters aim to use their years of experience in the game to bolster much needed syndication in SA racing through a new bloodstock agent they will be starting.
Willie said, “Andy and I got together for a meal a couple of weeks ago and we talked about the industry, we talked about what was lacking, how things could improve. Andy spent a lot of time in Australia where syndication is huge. In Australia one in every 200 people owns some sort of a percentage in a a racehorse. So we thought there may well be an opportunity to start up a new blood stock agency and we’ve called it Classic Racing. The focus will be to put syndicates together, to manage them professionally, make sure that all the syndicate members are properly informed with regular feedback on the horses. We will interact with trainers on behalf of the syndicate and my little bit of experience that I’ve had with training will help. So we will put our heads together and plan to do the best for every horse that’s syndicated. So plan is for all horses to race under Classic Racing and the structure will be below that for all the syndicate members. So that’s the first focus. But we will also act as a normal blood stock agency and advise on yearling selections to individual owners. Also where an owner has a portfolio of horses, we could possibly assist in managing that portfolio in the same way we would manage a syndicate by planning horses’ careers, liaising with trainers and providing feedback to owners.”
Willie concluded, “Andy has been at it for a very long time and he’s bought in some really good horses like Devon Air and Foveros and he was also responsible for buying that horse Rocket Man in Singapore. I trained for 15 years and had reasonable success. So I think if you put the two of us in a partnership we could add value.”
Willie Pieters (far left) and Jeff Lloyd (far right) and connections after Senor Santa had won the Gr 1 Star Sprint for a second time in his second last career start (Picture: Sporting Post).
Willie Pieters Recalls How Muis’ Cunning Tactics Won The Famous Match Race
Willie Pieters recalled today how Michael “Muis” Roberts tactical mastery won the day in the famous Winning Form-sponsored December 1989 match race between the two paternal siblings, the Paddy Lunn-trained Northern Princess and the Willie Pieters-trained Senor Santa, who were both by the top sire Northern Guest.
Willie said, “I always rated Gavin Howes and that is why he was my first choice jockey at the time. Senor Santa had to come from behind. Once he hit the front he stopped racing, he thought it was race over. You had to time it just right. In all of his races he came from behind. Of course Muis knew that only too well. So being the cunning person that he is, and I mean that with the greatest respect, Muis spread the news a couple of days before the race that he was going to force Senor Santa to go to the front because that is the only way to beat him. He told this to anybody who was prepared to listen. But of course as far as Gavin was concerned that was not going to happen. So when they came out of the pens Muis went like a bat out of hell and Gavin literally trotted out the pens to make sure he wasn’t going to be in the front. So they hadn’t gone 100 metres and Muis was ten lengths ahead. He did exactly the opposite to what he said he would do. Credit to Gavin he didn’t panic and he gradually made up that distance. But he had to make up the ten lengths before he even started the race. He actually got to Northern Princess and actually headed her about 100m before the post, but he couldn’t sustain it, he had done his dash. So it was very clever tactics from Muis, but when I say clever tactics he started his tactics three days before the race and my hat off to him, he deserved it. But obviously Gavin was a bit between a rock and a hard place.”
Willie, who trained out of Summerveld, said Senor Santa was the best horse he ever trained and reminisced about his beautiful daisy cutting action, which was highly effective as long as the going was good.
He said, “The times he flopped was almost 100% exclusively due to soft going. He could not operate in soft going.”
Willie recalled one particular occasion when the going went against Senor Santa (he couldn’t quite remember the race but looking at the horse’s record it was likely the Gr 1 Star Sprint at Turffontein, which followed his exhilarating 2.05 length victory over Goldmark to give him his second Computaform Sprint at Gosforth Park in 1991).
Willie recalled, “The night before the race it poured down. He was odds-on and I went to the stipes and said ‘Can I scratch the horse?’ They said, ‘On what grounds, have you got a veterinary certificate?’ and I said, ‘No, he just does not act in the wet.’ They said, ‘That’s not good enough, you have to have a veterinary certificate.’ I said, ‘I don’t but the horse cannot gallop in the wet.’ They refused and made me run him and he ran right down the field. I was sworn at and I was abused verbally by punters.”
Willie can not take the credit for selecting Senor Santa at the sales.
He was chosen by Tony Rivalland who, after nurturing him as a youngster, lost him due to an unfortunate fall out with the owners.
Senor Santa, who has a race named after him today, had 35 runs for 15 wins and 11 places and he won six Gr 1s, five of them sprints and one over 1600m.
All the Equus Award winners of 2022 (Picture: Equus Awards).
Who Will Win The Equus Awards?
The Equus Awards usually throws one or two surprises or controversies and this might be the case tomorrow (Wednesday) night too as some of the categories are debatable.
The Equus Horse Of The Year Award is one of the debatable ones. Statistically it should go to Princess Calla. She was on top of the points table for this category through victory in three Gr 1s and three Gr 2s. Her two Gr 1 wins against fillies and mares were over 1200m and 1600m respectively, they were both weight for age events and she was dominant. She then came out and beat the boys in an open wfa event over 1800m. Of her three Gr 2 wins one was against the boys and she won that one by 5,25 lengths. However, other chief protagonist Charles Dickens has the “wow” factor about him and is the highest rated SA horse in the Longines World rankings. He is also the highest merit rated horse in SA. His two Gr 1s were in the sire-producing Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas and in an open wfa mile at Hollywoodbets Greyville, the Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge over 1600m, and he was hugely impressive in both. He also won a Gr 3 and a Gr 2 in fine style and went close in two Gr 1 defeats in the prestigious Gr 1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate and Gr 1 Splashout Cape Derby. It will be a close call.
Turf Talk Prediction: Princess Calla
The Two-year-old Male award looked to be going all Lucky Lad’s way until the last meeting of the season. He had no luck in the Gr 1 World Pool Moment Of The Day Champion Stakes and trailed in last. Th winner Sandringhan Summit, who was coming off a Gr 2 win, was enormously impressive. Lucky Lad did finish on top of the points table though.
Turf Talk Prediction: Sandringham Summit
The two-year-old filly award is set in stone.
Turf Talk Prediction: Mrs Geriatrix
Three-year-old Male Award: Charles Dickens was defeated by See It Again in the Gr 1 Splashout Cape Derby but exacted revenge in the Gr 2 WSB Guineas. See It Again later won the Gr 1 Daily News 2000 and finished a close second in the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Durban July. However, Charles Dickens won an open wfa Gr 1, the Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge. See It Again’s failure to win the open wfa Gr 1, the HKJC World Pool Champions Cup, where he finished second, dented his chances.
Turf Talk Prediction: Charles Dickens
Three-year-old Filly award: Make It Snappy won two Gr 1s, the WSB Cape Fillies Guineas and the Gr 1 Cartier Paddock Stakes, a weight for age event for fillies and mares. That should have sealed it, although Bless My Stars finished with a flourish adding a Hollywoodbets Durban July third place to her Gr 1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic win and then adding the Gr 2 Riding High Together Gold Bracelet at the last meeting of the season. It would be no surprise if she clinches it, considering Make It Snappy was last seen in January.
Prediction: Make It Snappy
Champion Older Male: This is a tough category with points table winner Trip Of Fortune having won an open wfa Gr 1 plus two Gr 2s and a Gr3; versus Isivunguvungu (two open wfa Gr 1s); And Gimme A Prince (one open wfa Gr 1, one handicap Gr 1 carrying topweight and a Gr 2); And Puerto Manzano (Handicap Gr 1, Open wfa Gr 1, two Gr 3s).
Turf Talk prediction: Gimme A Prince
Champion Sprinter: It is between Isivunguvungu and Gimme A Prince and Princess Calla.
Turf Talk Prediction: Gimme A Prince
Champion Middle Distance:
Turf Talk Prediction: See It Again
Champion Miler:
Turf Talk Prediction: Charles Dickens
Champion Stayer:
Turf Talk Prediction: Future Pearl
Watch The Equus Awards On A Live Streaming Service
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Alec Laird’s last visit to Hollywoodbets Scottsville bore fruit when he won with Royal Guide and he can do well again this week (Candiese Lenferna Photography).
Laird Raiders Set For Success In KZN
Jack Milner (Tab4Racing)
Trainer Alec Laird makes a rare visit to Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Wednesday and could come away with a couple of winners.
Three runners from the yard are carded to race and his best two appear to come up in Races 1 and 2 where he sends out Lady Lennox and Birthright respectively.
Lady Lennox contests a Maiden Plate for fillies and mares over 1400m and Laird will be hoping for better luck than she had last time. This daughter of Global View has only raced twice and started off her career well when fourth behind One Fell Swoop over 1200m on the Turffontein Inside track last month.
She found betting support in her second outing over 1400m on the Turffontein Standside track but was squeezed out at the start, then had to be checked and finished up in sixth place behind Elemental Force.
This is not the strongest of fields and if she takes to the track, Lady Lennox, with JP van der Merwe in the irons, looks the runner to beat.
Birthright might have gone off at 66-1 on debut but ran a cracker when finishing a 1.50-length fourth behind Jerusalema Rain over 1200m at the Vaal in March.
The son of William Longsword has not raced since but Laird is unlikely to have brought him to KwaZulu-Natal if he needed the run and from No 1 draw looks hard to oppose in Race 2, a Maiden Plate for three-year-olds over 1400m.
Jack Milner’s selections
Race 1: 6 Lady Lennox, 4 Freedom Square, 3 Lady Greensleeves, 1 Dame Mazona
Race 2: 1 Birthright, 6 Vibe Sa, 4 Palace Revolt, 9 Dynalley
Race 3: 1 Tickalox, 2 Navajo Nation, 5 Jet Bund, 6 Global Ruler
Race 4: 11 Quantifier, 1 Arverni King, 2 Tin Cup, 5 The Bund
Race 5: 8 Donquerari, 1 Rulership, 3 Coin Spinner, 5 Tchaikovsky
Race 6: 6 Cinnamon Blush, 4 Shona Kirsty Yves, 2 Tiz Magic, 3 Birdwatcher
Race 7: 5 Captain Casey, 7 Passage Of Power, 2 Ideal Act, 4 Formagear
Race 8: 6 Master Josh, 8 Political Party, 12 New Mexico, 7 Medal Of Freedom
BEST BET
Race 1 No 6 Lady Lennox
VALUE BET
Race 8 No 6 Master Josh
BEST SWINGER
Race 2 1×6
BIPOT
R288
Leg 1: 6
Leg 2: 1, 6
Leg 3: 1, 2, 5
Leg 4: 1, 2, 5, 11
Leg 5: 1, 3, 8
Leg 6: 2, 3, 4, 6
PLACE ACCUMULATOR
R324
Leg 1: 1
Leg 2: 1, 2
Leg 3: 1, 2, 11
Leg 4: 1, 8
Leg 5: 2, 4, 6
Leg 6: 2, 5, 7
Leg 7: 6, 8, 12
PICK 6
R2304
Leg 1: 1, 2, 5
Leg 2: 1, 2, 5, 11
Leg 3: 1, 3, 8
Leg 4: 2, 3, 4, 6
Leg 5: 2, 4, 5, 7
Leg 6: 6, 7, 8, 12
JACKPOT 1
R192
Leg 1: 1, 2, 5, 11
Leg 2: 1, 3, 8
Leg 3: 2, 3, 4, 6
Leg 4: 2, 4, 5, 7
JACKPOT 2
R192
Leg 1: 1, 3, 8
Leg 2: 2, 3, 4, 6
Leg 3: 2, 4, 5, 7
Leg 4: 6, 7, 8, 12
Mostahdaf (left) and Paddington are the two chief protagonists in the small but quality field for tomoorw (Wednesday’s) Gr 1 Juddmonte International at York (Sporting Life).
Juddmonte International Preview: Paddington versus Mostahdaf
John Ingles (Sporting Life)
Juddmonte International preview: Quality rather than quantity
John Ingles previews a small but select field for the Juddmonte International that is headed by Paddington bidding for his fifth consecutive Group 1 victory.
How many horses does it take to make a memorable race? The question is prompted by a four-runner field for the Juddmonte International which has even left York’s head of marketing and sponsorship James Brennan expressing some disappointment that more runners haven’t been declared for a race which three years ago was awarded the title of Longines World’s Best Horse Race of 2020.
That accolade was based on the average rating of the first four home that year, namely Ghaiyyath, Magical, Lord North and Kameko, all of them Group 1 winners. How many runners were there in that year’s race? Five – just one more than this year.
A famous match
Crowds have been flocking to the Knavesmire for centuries to see some of the best horses taking each other on, regardless of the size of the field. There’s a reminder of that in the name of the race which precedes the Juddmonte International. The Great Voltigeur is named after the Derby and St Leger winner of 1850 who was the loser in the most celebrated match race in racing history which took place at York in May of the following year when he was beaten by older rival The Flying Dutchman, another Derby and St Leger winner, whom Voltigeur had defeated in another two-horse race for the Doncaster Cup the year before.
This clash between the Yorkshire-trained pair is reported to have attracted a crowd of more than 100,000 to the Knavesmire which was apparently the largest gathering since it staged the hanging of an infamous murderer during the previous century. Thankfully, tastes in public entertainment have changed since then, though the desire to see top horses in competition lives on and is something the Juddmonte International has been able to provide on a regular basis, ever since Derby winner Roberto inflicted the only defeat in the brilliant career of Brigadier Gerard in the inaugural running in 1972.
More recently, the likes of Sea The Stars, Frankel and, last year, Baaeed, are other outstanding horses to have added their names to the list of winners. Sea The Stars in 2009 was the most recent Juddmonte International winner to face only three rivals, though his victory over Mastercraftsman was itself a virtual match given that the other two runners were mere pacemakers for the Aidan O’Brien-trained runner-up.
Sea The Stars went unbeaten in six Group 1 races that year, going one better than the 2000 Juddmonte International winner Giant’s Causeway who won five consecutive top-level contests during his three-year-old season for O’Brien, winning the St James’s Palace, Eclipse and Sussex Stakes prior to York and going on to win the Irish Champion Stakes afterwards.
O’Brien’s contender this year, Paddington, is thriving on a very similar campaign, though having also won the Irish 2000 Guineas prior to the St James’s Palace, Eclipse and Sussex, he has the opportunity to complete his Group 1 five-timer at York.
Paddington didn’t have to be at his best for his latest win in the mud at Goodwood but Sandown the time before was a better illustration of how good he really is. The Eclipse also proved that he stays a mile and a quarter, and that he’s got the attributes to deal with the potential pitfalls of a small field. In fact, anyone who needs a recent reminder of how entertaining a four-runner race can be should look at the Eclipse again as Paddington came out on top in a thriller against high-class older rival Emily Upjohn.
That filly’s handlers John and Thady Gosden again field Paddington’s chief opponent, though this time they’re taking him on with the five-year-old Mostahdaf. This time last year, when Baaeed won the Juddmonte International, he would have been considered an unlikely potential second successive winner of the race for owners Shadwell, but his clear-cut victory against some notable rivals in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot last time revealed the son of Frankel to be a high-class horse.
A super spare ride for Frankie
With Mostahdaf’s regular rider Jim Crowley serving a suspension, Frankie Dettori has the unexpected opportunity to become the most successful jockey outright in the history of the Juddmonte International. He currently shares that position with the late Lester Piggott, having gained the first of his five wins on Halling in 1996.
On the other hand, victory for Paddington would make O’Brien the leading trainer in the race’s history. His most recent winner, Japan in 2019, put him level with Sir Michael Stoute on six wins; Stoute lost his contender for this year’s race when 2022 Derby winner Desert Crown sustained a season-ending injury at the weekend.
But the Gosdens have a second string to their bow with the four-year-old filly Nashwa, she too by Frankel. Last year’s Prix de Diane and Nassau Stakes winner made a slow start to the current season but looked better than ever when dropped back to a mile at Newmarket and running away with last month’s Falmouth Stakes. She had excuses when failing in her bid to win the Nassau again last time and, with conditions on the firm side, her turn of foot if things get tactical could prove a big asset.
This looks a tough task for the other runner The Foxes, winner of the Dante Stakes over course and distance in May, but only 3 lb covers the other three runners on Timeform weight-adjusted ratings suggesting that Paddington’s bid for an eighth win in a row is no formality.
Perhaps the last word should go to the introduction to Timeform’s report on that 2020 Juddmonte International won by Ghaiyyath mentioned earlier:
‘Year on year, the Juddmonte International is a case of quality over quantity, not needing many runners to serve up something thrilling.’
Let’s hope that holds true again this year.
Total Surrender, ridden by Craig Zackey, gives Lucky Houdalakis a treble on the day at the Vaal (JC Photos).
Houdalakis Treble, Fourie And Klaasen Doubles
Lucky Houdalakis scored a treble at today’s (Tuesday’s) Vaal meeting, two of them ridden by Richard Fourie, and Robyn Klaasen scored a double too.
Houdalakis goes to five wins for the season at a strike rate of 21.74%.
Klaasen has also had five wins at 33.33%.
Fourie goes to 12 wins for the season at 17.91% and is now in second place on the national log.
He is eight behind early leader Muzi Yeni, whose 20 wins have been achieved at a strike rate of 23.53%.
York racecourse Credit: Edward Whitaker
Today’s Question
For how long has horseracing taken place on the Knavesmire in York?
Question answer at the bottom of the newsletter
