Alson Ndzilana (picture credit: www.mikedekockracing.com)

Alson Ndzilana’s Randjies Yard Opens Doors On May 1

Mike de Kock’s assistant trainer Alson Ndzilana, who was previously the long time assistant of Joey Ramsden, has acquired his own trainer’s license and will be opening his yard at Randjesfontein on May 1.

Former trainer of 45 years experience James Goodman helped him make the breakthrough as is revealed later in this article.

Alson is now looking for owners to join his yard.

He has a life-time of experience in horses and more than thirty years experience in the racing industry.

He hails from Umtata and grew up riding horses.

His father Jackson worked at Summerveld for Steve Benton.

Alson spoke to presenter Benni Langa on 4Racing’s Racing Today show and revealed, “I learnt about horses from my father. He told me what he wanted me to do, but I went the opposite way. He kept telling me don’t go and be a groom, but I chose myself to be a groom. I went to Cape Town and the first trainer I worked for was Mr Piet Steyn. I started in 1991 and worked for for him for a few years. In 1996 I joined Mr Joey Ramsden. I spent a lot of years there and gained a lot of experience. He ended up trusting me to look after his horses.”

Alson said a life in horseracing appealed to him from the beginning because as a young horseman he grew to love horses and still does today.

Asked what appealed to him about training he said, “I want to train racehorses, because I know I can do it.”

He added, “I am quite confident I will be a top trainer.”

He said his two chief inspirations had been Ramsden and De Kock.

He revealed that even before joining De Kock he used to watch what the master trainer did when he brought horses to stay at the Ramsden Milnerton yard for the Cape Summer Season.

He also used to watch De Kock during the SA Champions Season at Summerveld, because he shared a ring with Ramsden.

He said, “They are my role models and I want to be on a similar level as a trainer.”

He said there were many things Joey Ramsden had taught him, but the chief among them was how to look after horses and keep them in good condition and how to ascertain there was something not right with a horse.

The Hollywoodbets Durban July and the WSB Met are the two races Alson would most like to win, among other big races.

The process of becoming a trainer included experience as a “stable employee” and experience as an “assistant trainer”, which qualified him to sit for his trainers exam.

Goodman said Alson had made it sound easy in the interview, whereas in actual fact his rise from groom to trainer has been meteoric.

He pointed out Alson had been instrumental in preparing a July winner, the Ramsden-trained The Conglomerate in 2016.

Alson recalled that day and said, “I was over the moon.”

He recalled the turning point for The Conglomerate, whose preparation he admitted had not been going very well, had been when he suggested removing the cheekpieces.

He had told Ramsden his work on the track, without the cheekpieces, had been brilliant.

However, he could not answer Ramsden’s reply question, which had been why had Anton Marcus in that case chosen to ride the stablemate St. Tropez?

However, Alson was thrilled when the legendary jockey Piere Strydom was booked for The Conglomerate, knowing that this horse did not like the stick. The cheekpieces had also been removed.

Alson recalled of the four horses on July day that year, two had to be scratched so they only took two runners to the course, and both of them were in the main race.

“It was exciting, but there was pressure,” he recalled.

James Goodman said, with the support of Fundi Sithebe and 4Racing, he had sought a sponsor about two years ago to set up a trainer from a previously disadvantaged background, knowing how enormous the expenses were to set up oneself, not to mention the red tape involved and the difficulty of attracting owners.

The initial sponsor pulled out, so it has been a long road.

James said he had spent the ensuing two years “traipsing up and down driveways” looking for a new sponsor and Betway had “really been my last port of call, I had exhausted all other avenues.”

He continued, “Betway were involved with Mike de Kock, so they know Alson and they saw the value. 4Racing then organised stables at Randjesfontein and they’ve done a fantastic job fixing up the stables. Then CMH motor group have said they will provide Alson with a vehicle. All three of these sponsors were equally important.”

James added, “We have reached a point where the stable doors are open, but we now need to close a horse in that box behind them. So now we have to go out and canvas owners. We’ve had many really good owners who said they would support this initiative and hopefully we can get horses in the yard that have some potential, so Alson can show what he can do with them.”

He continued, “We will run his background business. Make sure all the vat is done, the groom’s wages are paid, the groom’s contracts, the admin, the signage.”

He added, “We are going to have functions at the stables and be able to look after owners the way they should be looked after.”

He said at the beginning of this initiative the chosen trainer had had to fit certain criteria, including being younger than 50, and of all those canvassed Alson had fitted the bill perfectly.

He added, “I don’t think Mike de Kock will be too happy to lose Alson because he is a talent. Beside training a July winner he also trained a Computaform Sprint winner (the Ramsden-trained Attenborough) and a number of other Group races.”

James continued, “Mike has really been a great help. He is losing his right arm, Alson is an integral cog in his operation, but Mike has been nothing but supportive and we are really, really grateful to him.”

Goodman said he himself had given his life to racing and this project was his last “hurrah.”

He said, “I want to end off by putting somebody who deserves to be in this position on the map and then see him making a success of it.”

James added, “I think Alson is a better trainer than me, so I’m certainly not going to interfere with him as far as training goes!”

Owners, staff and equipment would be the order of business for Alson in the near future.

Alson said, “Each and every owner when they come to my yard, the door is open.”

Alson Ndzilana has tasted success at the top, but now he wants to achieve it under his own name and many who have seen him at work will be as confident as he is that he can do it.

Lot 318, a Lancaster Bomber colt out of multiple Grade 1-winning mare Inara, bred and consigned by Drakenstein Stud, sold for R3-million to Bass Racing and was the highest price lot on day 2 of the BSA National Yearling Sale. (Candiese Lenferna Photography).

National Sale Of 2023 – A Resounding Triumph!

BSA

An outstanding catalogue and some spirited bidding saw the 2023 National Yearling Sale come to a triumphant conclusion late on Saturday afternoon. The two day auction saw gains in aggregate, and average and median prices, while the clearance rate at the sale improved off results seen last year.

The sale’s aggregate rose by more than R16 million, with the 2023 National Sale’s gross aggregate reaching R153.8 million, while the average and median rose to R443 228 and R300 000 respectively. The average rose from R357 454 a year ago, while the median price increased from R250 000 from 2022.

A strong and resilient middle market also saw 347 horses of the 363 offered (38 lots being withdrawn) find new homes, with just 16 lots failing to reach their reserve prices. The outstanding clearance rate was a marked factor in both days of this year’s National Yearling Sale and confirms the strength of the market.

Kommetjie Storm (Lot 161), the Elusive Fort own-sister to G1 Vodacom Durban July/G1 WSB Cape Town Met victor Kommetdieding, was the top-lot sold off the sale, with this Oldlands Stud bred filly knocked down to Kestorm Investments for R3 200 000.

Drakenstein Stud consigned the sale’s top priced colt in the form of Air Raid (Lot 318), a son of the farm’s ill-fated War Front horse Lancaster Bomber and five time G1 winner Inara, a daughter of Drakenstein’s champion sire Trippi, with Air Raid knocked down to Bass Racing for R3 000 000.

Former National Sale graduate Vercingetorix had an outstanding sale this year, and the former Equus Champion ended up as the Leading Sire by Aggregate at the National Yearling Sale of 2023. The Maine Chance Farms resident had 35 yearlings gross a total of R29.9 million, with Vercingetorix sired yearlings averaging an impressive R854 286. The son of Silvano had no fewer than 11 yearlings make R1 000 000 or more, with his top lot at this year’s National Sale the Boland Stud consigned, as Agent, colt (Lot 158) who was sold to the Hong Kong Jockey Club for R2 400 000.

Drakenstein Stud brought an exceptional draft to the auction, and the Simondium based farm’s 18 yearlings offered all found new homes while grossing R16 225 000. The draft averaged an impressive R901 389, a great reflection of the quality thoroughbred bred by Drakenstein.

While the buying bench proved a deep one, it was Form Bloodstock who topped the Leading Buyers List at the National Sale this year, with Jehan Malherbe signing for 24 yearlings for an aggregate of R21.84 million. Form’s purchases included the Wilgerbosdrift consigned Gimmethegreenlight colt High Respect (Lot 311), who made R2.7 million, and the Varsfontein Stud consigned Vercingetorix colt Dubbelosix (Lot 211), a R2.4 million purchase.
Bloodstock South Africa would like to thank the vendors for bringing some outstanding prospects to this year’s sale and wish all the buyers at the 2023 National Yearling Sale best wishes with their purchases going forward.

A full list of prices and statistics for the National Sale can be found online by CLICKING HERE

This Sandown-bred and consigned Soqrat filly was knocked down to Sabine Plattner for R700,000. (BSA)

Soqrat – An Emergent Sire Not To Be Passed By

by Gregg Clarke

One of the take-aways from the outstanding and confidence boosting 2023 BSA National Yearling Sale is the impressive arrival of an “under the radar” freshman sire.

His 5 progeny sold for an average price of R499k (rounded) making him the 3rd highest average seller of the Sires who sold 5 or more and only behind the obvious and predictable chart-toppers Vercingetorix and Gimmethegreenlight.

One of his progeny going for R120k dropped his average selling price down from an eye catching R594k (average of the other 4) to R499k (average of all 5).

Had this not been the case this Sires Final Sales Log Position would have put daylight between him and the rest. This is significant in the analysis.

Another observation and arguably partially why buyers were attracted, is that his progeny looked outstanding having been bought by some leading lights of the industry.

One more factual observation is that he has not received a large books of mares, with around 30 in eac of his first 3 seasons – 31 in 2020 (some progeny on this sale), 32 in 2021 and 29 in 2022.

BSA’s experienced Quality Inspector Alistair Gordon may have contributed to the success when asked ahead of the sales which of the new sires caught his eye and prophetically went on record with “If I had to single one out it would be Soqrat. He has produced some amazing quality, but we all know they still have to prove themselves on the racecourse.”

Hats off to Alistair a man of much wisdom and a keen eye.

SOQRAT is a smashing specimen and was a very good racehorse.

CLICK HERE TO SEE SOQRAT’S PROFILE

Whilst he may possess a pedigree that on the face-of-it doesn’t appear to lend itself well to SA bloodlines, there is certainly a quality about him, as recognised by BSA’s Gordon, that should not be passed by and commands respect from the industry, if the industry is to be fair to itself.

Sandown’s James Armitage is delighted with the success of the Sire at the sale and adds that “he was a very sound and tough-as-nails racehorse both mentally and physically” continues “I have received many a positive feedback from Breeders about the quality of the foals” and signs off with “He is producing progeny with a lovely head and eye and a great hindquarter”.

This Sire has certainly left a “bow wave” in the market who ought to be impressed with the quality, demand and outcomes for his progeny at this sale.

Rob Caskie rounded off proceedings on Day 2 of the Sales with a highly entertaining talk around the 100 Years of Thoroughbred Breeding in SA in which he quoted Churchill with “there is something about the outside of a horse that is very good for the inside of a man”. Never has a more true sentence been verbalised. SOQRAT is a “horse” that puts substance into that famous statement by Sir Winston.

Puerto Manzano will be out to do the Betway Summer Cup/WSB Premier’s Champions Challenge double (Candiese Lenferna Photography).

Top Quality Fields Set For R4,895 million Stakes WSB Championships Season Finale

4Racing

The stage is set for a spectacular day of racing on Saturday 29 April as Johannesburg’s showstopper World Sports Betting (WSB) Championships Finale takes place at the Turffontein Racecourse with no less than seven red-hot Graded races.

The R4 895 000 Champions Day is the climax of what has been a thrilling 5-part The WSB Championships season, which now culminates with the best of the best doing battle at Turffontein on one of the biggest days on the South African horseracing calendar.

The WSB Championships Finale will be headlined by the R2 000 000 WSB Premier’s Champions Challenge over 2000m, with big guns Puerto Manzano, Nebraas, Aragosta, Red Saxon, Second Base, Rain in Holland, Billy Bowlegs, Litigation, MK’s Pride and Zeus all among those lining up in a massive showpiece race of the Johannesburg season.

Another major Grade 1 race on the day will be the R1 000 000 Jonsson Workwear ComputaForm Sprint over 1000m, which is packed with the country’s best speedsters including Master Archie, William Robertson, Isivunguvungu, Taikonaut, Sheela, Big Burn, Rollwiththepunches, Princess Calla and Gobsmacked all lined up to contest for honours.

“There have been so many great storylines during the World Sports Betting Championships Season,” said Fundi Sithebe, CEO of 4Racing.

“Piere Strydom rolling back the years with Lady of Power in the Gauteng Fillies Guineas and Rachel Venniker showing us the future of the sport is in good hands with her sensational win in the WSB Gauteng Guineas on Eye of the Prophet.

“Anfields Rocket, Bless My Stars, Son Of Raj, Trip Of Fortune and Desert Miracle are all fantastic runners who have had big wins during this WSB Championships season and now we’ve saved the best for last. We are excited for Champions Day, looking at the quality fields we have lined up from start to finish, there is no doubt this will be a memorable showcase of top-class horse racing and we urge punters to come to Turffontein in their numbers.”

Warren Tannous, CEO of World Sports Betting, is equally excited about the WSB Championships Season Finale.

“We would like to thank our partner, 4Racing, as well as our valued clients and racegoers for their support and enthusiasm throughout a spectacular series of racing,” said Tannous.

“Our vision is to welcome a new life into the sport of racing, creating awareness, an element of fun and lifestyle too. We look forward to a long and prosperous partnership with 4Racing and what lies ahead.

“It is befitting that the season concludes with the much-anticipated The World Sports Betting Championships’ Finale – Champions Day, a major highlight of what’s been a great addition to the country’s horse racing calendar.”

Racegoers can expect a vibrant line-up of music acts including popular singer-songwriter and producer Lee Cole, 5FM’s Austin Cassim, bass brothers Ebb and Mayo and popular Hip Hop and R&B DJ Marco da Costa.

Entrance to Turffontein Racecourse is absolutely free for Champions Day and gates will open from 10am.

All the action from Champions Day will be broadcast live on Racing 240, DSTV Channel 240. SABC 3 will also show the exhilaration of the main race at 15:00.

Here are the final fields for the Grade 1 races to be run at the WSB Championships Finale on Saturday 29 April 2023:

Race-6 (Turf) R1 000 000 1000m 14:37

JONSSON WORKWEAR COMPUTAFORM SPRINT (Grade 1)

1	5	Master Archie	60	128	A	Craig Zackey	Tony Peter
2	6	William Robertson	60	125	JA	Piere Strydom	Corne Spies
3	2	Bartholdi	60	119	BA	Juan Paul v’d Merwe	M G Azzie/A A Azzie
4	1	Isivunguvungu	60	119	A	Richard Fourie	Peter Muscutt
5	8	Rollwiththepunches	60	112	A	Denis Schwarz	Roy Magner
6	3	Danilo Danilovitch	60	103	BA	Marco V’Rensburg	Paul Matchett
7	4	Taikonaut	58	111	A	Muzi Yeni	Roy Magner
8	7	Karangetang	58	110	PA	Luyolo Mxothwa	J A Janse van Vuuren
9	11	Princess Calla	57.5	127	A	Gavin Lerena	Sean Tarry
10	10	Sheela	57.5	117	A	S’manga Khumalo	M G Azzie/A A Azzie
11	12	Big Burn	57.5	115	A	Ryan Munger	Sean Tarry
12	9	Gobsmacked	55.5	113	Ae	Keagan de Melo	J A Janse van Vuuren
Same Trainer
(3,10) (5,7) (8,12) (9,11)

Race-7 (Turf) R2 000 000 2000m 15:15

WORLD SPORTS BETTING PREMIER’S CHAMPIONS CHALLENGE (Grade 1)

1	3	Puerto Manzano (ARG)	60	123	BA	Keagan de Melo	J A Janse van Vuuren
2	9	Mk’s Pride	60	122	A	Muzi Yeni	Robbie Sage
3	13	Golden Ducat	60	120	A	Diego De Gouveia	Mike de Kock
4	2	Nebraas	60	117	TBA	Piere Strydom	Sean Tarry
5	8	Aragosta	60	116	A	Craig Zackey	Mike de Kock
6	12	Red Saxon	60	116	A	S’manga Khumalo	Joe Soma
7	10	Litigation	60	113	T A	*Philasande Mxoli	Sean Tarry
8	11	Divine Odyssey	60	109	BA	Kabelo Matsunyane	J A Janse van Vuuren
9	1	Second Base	60	104	BAe	Chase Maujean	Robyn Klaasen
10	4	Zeus	60	104	A	Raymond Danielson	Fabian Habib
11	6	Rain In Holland	57.5	120	BA	Richard Fourie	Sean Tarry
12	5	Billy Bowlegs	56.5	114	A	Gavin Lerena	Alec Laird
13	7	Rule By Force	56.5	108	TBA	Luyolo Mxothwa	Joe Soma
Same Trainer
(1,8) (3,5) (4,7,11) (6,13)

The rest of the races on the day will have the following fields:

Race-1 (Turf) R90 000 1160m 11:10

WORLD SPORTS BETTING WELCOMES YOU TO CHAMPIONS DAY MAIDEN JUVENILE PLATE

1	4	Anamericaninvenice	60	0	A	Nathan Klink	J A Janse van Vuuren
2	11	Brenheisen	60	0	A	*Malesela Katjedi	Candice Dawson
3	8	Copper John	60	0	A	Craig Zackey	Alec Laird
4	6	Imperial Eagle	60	0	A	Denis Schwarz	Kobus Roux
5	10	Launch Code	60	0	A	Hennie Greyling	J A Janse van Vuuren
6	3	Mk’s Dreams	60	0	A	Muzi Yeni	Robbie Sage
7	12	Red Bomber	60	0	A	Gavin Lerena	J A Janse van Vuuren
8	2	Tail Of The Comet	60	0	A	*Donald Geerthsen -2.5	Sean Tarry
9	5	Vivacious Vicky	60	0	A	Richard Fourie	Stuart Pettigrew
10	7	Cala Muretta	57.5	0	A	Ryan Munger	Ashley Fortune
11	1	Phantom Express	57.5	0	A	*Philasande Mxoli	Paul Matchett
12	9	Thing Called Love	57.5	0	A	Keagan de Melo	J A Janse van Vuuren
Same Trainer
(1,5,7,12)

Race-2 (Turf) R105 000 1600m 11:45

CITIZEN JUVENILE PLATE

1	4	Max The Magician	60	0	A	Muzi Yeni	Roy Magner
2	2	Battle Of Kursk	57	0	A	*Donald Geerthsen -2.5	Roy Magner
3	7	Holocene	57	0	A	*Kaidan Brewer	Mike de Kock
4	8	Purple Pitcher	57	0	A	Julius Mariba	Billy Ruiters
5	3	Sugar Blast	57	0	A	Richard Fourie	Mike de Kock
6	6	Tenstar	57	0	A	Craig Zackey	Mike de Kock
7	1	Trexcellent	57	0	A	*Philasande Mxoli	Jaap Visser
8	5	Dakota Cat	54	0	A	Denis Schwarz	Kobus Roux
Same Trainer
(1,2) (3,5,6)

Race-3 (Turf) R90 000 1600m 12:15
WORLD SPORTS BETTING GROOMS INITIATIVE MAIDEN PLATE

Mo The Man

Keagan de Melo

J A Janse van Vuuren

Free Movement

Muzi Yeni

Robbie Sage

Fast Duty

Diego De Gouveia

Stuart Pettigrew

Kambulu

THA

Piere Strydom

Sean Tarry

Time To Meditate

TBA

*Kaidan Brewer

Weiho Marwing

Fully Loaded

S’manga Khumalo

Fabian Habib

Royal Guide

Gavin Lerena

Alec Laird

Indian Ocean

Craig Zackey

Paul Matchett

Same Trainer

(-)

Race-4 (Turf) R300 000 1160m 12:50
WORLD SPORTS BETTING SA FILLIES NURSERY (Grade 2)

1	7	American Graffiti	60	0	A	S’manga Khumalo	Sean Tarry
2	2	Cullinan Blue	60	0	A	Kabelo Matsunyane	Brett Crawford
3	1	Heirloom	60	0	A	Chase Maujean	Robyn Klaasen
4	6	Leaving Las Vegas	60	0	A	Denis Schwarz	Tony Peter
5	8	Miss Hannigan	60	0	A	Athandiwe Mgudlwa	Gareth van Zyl
6	9	Mist In Scotland	60	0	A	*Philasande Mxoli	Paul Matchett
7	3	Mrs Geriatrix	60	0	A	Richard Fourie	Sean Tarry
8	5	Rani Of Kittur	60	0	A	Muzi Yeni	Roy Magner
9	11	Red Hot Rose	60	0	BA	Craig Zackey	Mike de Kock
10	4	Sigrid Swing	60	0	BA	Jeffery Syster	Heinrich van der Westhuizen
11	10	So Seductive	60	0	A	Keagan de Melo	J A Janse van Vuuren
Same Trainer
(1,7)

Race-5 (Turf) R400 000 1160m 13:25
WORLD SPORTS BETTING SA NURSERY (Grade 2)

1	8	Fire ‘N Flames	60	0	a	Denis Schwarz	Kobus Roux
2	6	Guy Gibson	60	0	A	Raymond Danielson	Roy Magner
3	2	Halberdier	60	0	A	Diego De Gouveia	Billy Ruiters
4	7	Jerusalema Rain	60	0	A	Luyolo Mxothwa	Ashley Fortune
5	5	Lucky Lad	60	0	A	Richard Fourie	Sean Tarry
6	4	Pure Predator	60	0	A	Gavin Lerena	Fanie Bronkhorst
7	3	Amber Rock	57.5	0	A	S’manga Khumalo	M G Azzie/A A Azzie
8	1	Ripple Effect	57.5	0	A	Ryan Munger	Ashley Fortune
Same Trainer
(4,8)

Race-8 (Turf) R300 000 1160m 14:00
WORLD SPORTS BETTING CAMELLIA STAKES (Grade 2)

1	7	Bon Vivant	60	112	BA	Keagan de Melo	J A Janse van Vuuren
2	2	Full Velocity	60	112	BA	Gavin Lerena	Sean Tarry
3	6	Stiptelik (AUS)	60	109	A	Luyolo Mxothwa	Brett Crawford
4	5	Sweet Pepper	60	109	TBA	S’manga Khumalo	Sean Tarry
5	4	Cold Fact	60	104	PA	Denis Schwarz	Tony Peter
6	8	Whoa Whoa Whoa (AUS)	60	101	Ae	Kabelo Matsunyane	Brett Crawford
7	9	Lucy English	60	91	T A	Craig Zackey	Lucky Houdalakis
8	3	Kiss Me Captain	58	109	A	Richard Fourie	M G Azzie/A A Azzie
9	1	Miss Daisy	58	106	T A	Ryan Munger	Billy Ruiters
Same Trainer
(2,4) (3,6)

Race-9 (Turf) R300 000 2000m 15:50 WORLD SPORTS BETTING GERALD ROSENBERG STAKES (Grade 2)

1	4	Pink Tourmaline	60	108	A	Luyolo Mxothwa	Brett Crawford
2	9	Light Of The Moon	59	107	T A	Piere Strydom	B Botes / Y Vosloo
3	5	Gilded Butterfly	59	106	A	Keagan de Melo	Stuart Pettigrew
4	7	Sprinkles	59	105	A	Gavin Lerena	J A Janse van Vuuren
5	2	Terra Time	59	101	HA	Marco V’Rensburg	Lucky Houdalakis
6	3	Bureau des Legende	59	97	A	Gabriell Pieterse	Robyn Klaasen
7	8	Bold Fortune	59	93	BA	Diego De Gouveia	Stuart Pettigrew
8	6	Bless My Stars	57.5	109	A	S’manga Khumalo	Sean Tarry
9	1	Lady Of Power	56.5	109	T A	CARD SCRATCHING	M G Azzie/A A Azzie
10	11	Emirate Gina	55.5	105	CA	Muzi Yeni	Roy Magner
11	10	Littlemarysunshine	55.5	93	BA	Craig Zackey	Mike de Kock
Same Trainer
(3,7)

Race-10 (Turf) R250 000 3200m 16:20 WORLD SPORTS BETTING GOLD BOWL (Grade 3)

1	5	Shangani	62	120	A	Keagan de Melo	Tony Peter
2	4	Arumugam	52	94	BA	*Kaidan Brewer	Weiho Marwing
3	1	Tabebuia	52	94	PA	Wesley Marwing	Gareth van Zyl
4	7	Future Pearl	50	100	TBA	Athandiwe Mgudlwa	Sean Tarry
5	2	Top Sail	50	96	A	*Philasande Mxoli	Paul Matchett
6	8	Flying First Class	50	89	HA	……………	David Nieuwenhuizen
7	6	Apache Fighter	50	81	A	Muzi Yeni	Roy Magner
8	3	Electric Surge	50	78	A	Chase Maujean	Robbie Hill
Same Trainer
(-)

Klondike after a promising debut win on Saturday at Newbury in the Nick Jonsson colours (Simon Milham/PA)

Listed Race Next For Nick Jonsson’s UK Winner

Nick Jonsson had his first winner in the UK at Newbury on Saturday with a William Haggas-trained first-timer called Klondike and this stoutly bred colt will now be going for a Listed race.

If he does well in that race, he will be aimed at Royal Ascot, where the Group 2 King Edward VII Stakes over a-mile-and-a-half for three-year-old colts and geldings would be the most obvious target.

Klondike, by Galileo, was born at Luca Cumani and his wife Sara’s Fittocks Stud, which is situated in the hamlet of Upend, five miles from Newmarket.

Klondike was the subject of a foal share agreement between Fittocks Stud and Coolmore, who owned Galileo.

The Galileo colt was signed for by John Magnier’s son at the Tattersalls October Yearling Book 1 Sale.

Nick Jonsson has had horses trained before by William Haggas and the latter alerted him to there being a share available in Klondike.

Fittocks Stud retained a share and the two others owners are the illustrious partnership of John Magnier and Michael Tabor.

Klondike was placed in midfield in the running on Saturday by Tom Marquand in the one mile-three-and-a-half furlong maiden.

After a late surge he got up to win by a head in a blanket finish, converting odds of 7/2.

One of the studio presenters for Racing TV was not complimentary and felt that the race might produce some juvenile hurdlers but not much else.

She must have failed to have looked up Klondike’s stout pedigree or to have noticed his green tendency in the straight in which he appeared to want to continually run in behind the horses in front of him.

That is not to mention the testing conditions.

When Marquand did manage to switch Klondike far enough out to see daylight he fairly took off and made up the necessary length or two in the space of half-a-furlong.

Klondike is out of the Pivotal mare Koora, who won a Group 3 over a mile-and-a-half at Newbury.

Koora has produced two twice winners by Dubawi, including the gelding Kemari, who won the Group 2 Queen’s Vase over a mile and six furlongs as a three-year-old and who was recently the runner up in the Group 2 Dubai City Of Gold over a mile-and-a-half at Meydan.

Given his stout breeding, it was not surprising to see Klondike making his debut over a mile-and-three furlongs and he would have likely loved the testing conditions too, which added to the test of stamina.

Far from Klondike striking as a plodder who will soon be on the hurdle circuit, he looks to be an exciting St. Leger prospect.

William Haggas was upbeat afterwards and said, “I hope he’ll go on.”

Klondike runs in Nick Jonsson’s colours of cyclamen (pink), spectrum green crossed sashes, white sleeves and cyclamen cap.

Nick registered these colours in South Africa in the early 1990s and registered them in the UK four years ago.

He has two other horses-in-training in the U.K, a Sea The Stars three-year-old who will run in about a month’s time and a two-year-old by Zoustar.

Meanwhile, he had a successful BSA National Yearling Sale, buying nine yearlings, including a What A Winter half-brother to Do It Again.

Happy winner Clyde Basel, seen with Cape Racing boss Greg Bortz and Darryl Maree at the TBA Sales Complex on Saturday.

Clyde Basel Is The Hollywoodbets SA Racing Star’s Challenge Weekly Winner

The veterans kept up their overall dominance of the Hollywoodbets SA Racing Stars Punters Challenge in the third week.

Clyde Basel gathered the most points for the week, while Grant Knowles tipped the most winners.

The veterans dominance was only broken by Gold Circle presenter and commentator Devonne Govender, who won the final day of last week’s Challenge.

Devonne won week 1 of the Challenge and has now won the daily Challenge twice.

The other daily winners in week three were Paul Lafferty, Gary Lemke X 2, Charl Pretorius and Henk Steenkamp.

The final day of the week was rained out.

Lemke has now had an amazing four wins of the daily competitions, whilst Charl Pretorius has had two.

The Challenge continues to cement ties between the competitors through the daily banter on the WhatsApp group and has been a great initiative by Hollywoodbets.

See all the Racing Stars leaderboards here

Il Etait Temps

Hollywood/Barnane Stud’s Il Etait Temps Runs At Punchestown Tuesday

Racing Factors

Willie Mullins is confident Facile Vega can prove he has more than enough speed for two miles in the KPMG Champion Novice Hurdle at Punchestown on Tuesday, where he will also run the Hollywood Syndicate/Barnane Stud-owned Il Etait Temps and one other.

A son of Walk In The Park out of the brilliant racemare Quevega, the six-year-old Facile Vega has always been held in the highest esteem by the champion trainer and has largely lived up to his reputation on the track.

He was unbeaten in four bumpers, including Grade One wins at the Cheltenham and Punchestown Festivals, and won his first starts over hurdles at Fairyhouse and Leopardstown.

But Facile Vega blotted his copyback when last of five finishers at the Dublin Racing Festival in February, a defeat Mullins put down to poor tactics, and while he was strongly fancied to bounce back to winning ways in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle last month he proved no match for Marine Nationale.

The latter defeat in particular, and the fact Quevega did most of her winning over long distances including four successive victories in the Champion Stayers Hurdle at Punchestown over three miles, has led some to question whether Facile Vega is now in need of a more searching test of stamina.

Mullins, though, has no fears about running his charge over the minimum trip.

“I’m not too worried about Facile Vega over two miles,” said the Closutton handler.

“I always thought Quevega had plenty of speed to win over two miles and I think she did earlier in her career in Punchestown, but we always went down the longer road with her because we had Hurricane Fly and Annie Power around that time.

“This fellow has plenty of speed. We saw that in Cheltenham, he was so fast down between the third-last and the second-last. He’s not short of speed. It’s just using it and it was just the way the race worked out in Cheltenham.”

Facile Vega is taken on by four rivals, including two stablemates in Diverge and Il Etait Temps, both of whom were not too far behind the hot favourite when third and fifth in the Supreme.

The field is completed by Oliver McKiernan’s outsider No Looking Back and and the Gordon Elliott-trained Found A Fifty, who failed to run up to expectations at Aintree less than a fortnight ago.

Elliott said: “Things just didn’t work out for Found A Fifty at Aintree. He’s a very talented animal and we didn’t see the best of him there and he’s one to be very excited about for the coming seasons.”

Mullins is also well represented in the Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase, fielding four of the six runners for a Grade One contest run over an extended three miles.

Appreciate It returns to the Naas winner’s enclosureAppreciate It returns to the Naas winner’s enclosure (Gary Carson/PA)

Stable jockey Paul Townend has seemingly sided with Appreciate It over the Cheveley Park Stud-owned pair of Classic Getaway (Danny Mullins) and Sir Gerhard (Patrick Mullins), while Daryl Jacob partners James Du Berlais for his retaining owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede.

Appreciate It has been beaten in Grade Ones at Leopardstown, Cheltenham and Fairyhouse since the turn of the year and Mullins appears more hopeful than confident that a hike in distance will do the trick.

He said: “Appreciate It disappointed me a little bit in Fairyhouse. It might be too much coming back again (16 days later), but we’ve nothing left to lose and we’ll just let him take his chance.

Sir Gerhard is a dual Cheltenham Festival winnerSir Gerhard is a dual Cheltenham Festival winner (Mike Egerton/PA)

“He’s a fair sort, I think, on his day. You’d have thought going up to two and a half miles should be enough for him. Sometimes horses lose their form and he might be one of those. Maybe he wants a trip, but he won’t be going there fresh.

“It’s going to be a tough race. He’s one of the higher-rated horses in it, but a lot will depend on what he does.”

Sir Gerhard was just over four lengths in front of Appreciate It when second in the same WilllowWarm Gold Cup on Easter Sunday, while Classic Getaway has been off the track since making a successful chasing debut at at Gowran Park in November.

Naas Grade Three winner Journey With Me is a major contender for Henry de Bromhead, while Feronily also merits respect for Emmet Mullins.

The Nunthorpe

Today’s Question

Who was the first two-year-old filly to win the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes run over five furlongs at York and who rode her?

Vaal Classic Fields, Tuesday

Lyric Fantasy wins the Nunthorpe under Michael “Muis” Roberts in 1992. (ITM).

ANSWER TO TODAY’S QUESTION:

The Richard Hannon-trained Lyric Fantasy (Tate Gallery) ridden by Michael Roberts became the first two-year-old filly to win the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes when doing it easily in 1992.

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Turf Talk Newsletter – 24 April 2023