Turf Talk Newsletter – 25 September, 2024

Craig Benton with work rider Bonnie Corfield at The Limes. (Sterlin Navamani).

South Africans Craig Benton (2 winners) and Dylan Cunha won three of eight races on the Polytrack at Chelmsford last Thursday. While Cunha is now well established with a competitive string at Newmarket and doing exceptionally well, Benton started with only five runners this year and this double finally got him off the mark in the UK.

Benton opened shop at Epsom Downs, where he was placed in charge of Equestrian R Infinity Limited, re-schooling and rehoming retired race horses for various equestrian disciplines, on behalf of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. This followed his 10-year stint as head of Hong Kong’s Racing Development Board, training and schooling work riders, grooms and jockeys, a position now held by Felix Coetzee. He also performed a stint as official starter for the club.

EqR Limited has two operational sides, the equestrian side and the racing stable. Benton explained: “There are similar centres in New Zealand, Australia and China. The objective is to re-school retired, injured or semi-retired racehorses for equestrian sports, including showjumping or dressage. Most of those who come to us are not able to return to the racetrack, but there are some with racing left in them, like our Chelmsford winners Twitch and Bold Suitor. They’re both seven-year-old geldings who are sound again and enjoying their racing. They’re entered again for Saturday at Chelmsford and should run well again.”

Georgia Dobie on Twitch, at Chelmsford.

Benton, whose father Buller was a top trainer in South Africa in the 1970s and 1980s, cut his teeth as assistant to Dennis Drier (“an amazing man and teacher”), and then trained successfully on his own with Graded winners like Melting (who held the honour of once beating the legendary Empress Club); Art Di Vivre and Another Cuddle among his stars. As a young man, he also trained for a while in California.

Benton detailed the rest of his journey in racing: “I left South Africa in 2004 to become a steward in Macau and a few years later Training Operation Manager at the British Racing School at Newmarket before I was head-hunted by the Hong Kong Jockey Club. It’s all finally led to Epsom, where we are now hoping to expand the racing yard. Tony Millard’s former assistant Erik Lin works alongside me at The Limes, a wonderful training stable formerly occupied by John Benstead. He was the first trainer to train for the Arabs.”

Benton will be attending the Ready To Run sales at Newmarket next month and said: “I have nine new buyers and we’re looking to get at least six new runners. You’re as good as your next winner here in the UK, and people only start taking notice when you’re on the scoreboard. We’re looking to race more often and I am very pleased for Dylan Cunha, who has built his own yard virtually from scratch, like I am doing now. Brian Finch, who is chairman at Epsom, has been of great assistance helping me to dig in and get some support.”

Isivunguvungu stretching his legs at the Fair Hill Training Centre (Maggie Kimmitt).

Former SA Champion Sprinter Isivunguvungu’s dream bid for glory in the $1 million Prevagen Gr1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar in San Diego, California, on 2 November, is well on track.

The Sporting Post spoke to his trainer Graham Motion, who saddled Animal Kingdom to win the 2011 Kentucky Derby and 2013 Dubai World Cup.

Motion said: “He took his run in the Da Hoss Stakes, three weeks ago, really well. We are very much on schedule with him and have been focussed on keeping him ticking over and making sure he is a happy horse. He got what he needed out of the Da Hoss Stakes.

“He will have his first work since his race outing this coming Friday, which is our standard out here. He won’t have another run before his clash with the stars in the Breeders’ Cup in California, in November.

“I am told with confidence that he should make the cut and I feel that his winning the Da Hoss was important, as it underscores recency of form and fitness. And then there is his Group 1 back form collateral in South Africa to support his case,” added the trainer who already has Breeders’ Cup successes to his credit via Shared Account in the Filly & Mare Turf in 2010, and Main Sequence in the 2014 Breeders’ Cup Turf.

From a ‘Mud Hut’ to the Winner’s Box!

Palace Dancer with Amos Nkosi and Phenisile Mongqawa. (JC Photos)

When Amos Nkosi was 14 years old, he huddled in his family’s mud hut on a dusty road in the old Daggakraal township near Amersfoort, Mpumalanga, listening to a live broadcast of the 1984 Rothmans Durban July on a transistor radio. He was captivated by the excitement of the race and the call, performed by Ernie Duffield.

Amos has a remarkable memory. More than 40 years later, he remembers that the race was won by Devon Air, trained by Terrance Millard and ridden by Felix Coetzee. Robbie Hill finished second on Versailles and Jeff Lloyd was third on Bodrum. Amos was hooked on horseracing from that day, and describes the sport as his lifelong ‘vessel’ for survival and hope.

Years of nurturing his dream to own a racehorse himself culminated in a moment of triumph on 12 September. Amos finally stood in the winner’s box at the Vaal after his three-year-old filly, Palace Dancer (Potala Palace), claimed an impressive victory in a Maiden Plate over 1200m. He shares ownership of Palace Dancer with trainer Tony Peter.

Amos’s journey to his first win as a racehorse owner was paved with hard work and countless memorable racecourse experiences. He moved to Johannesburg in 1989, where he initially found a job on a construction site, pushing wheelbarrows. He also spent a few years as a labourer in the flour mills at Premier Milling. A chance encounter with an executive from Lancet Laboratories in 1996 opened the door to a ground-level position. Over time, Amos worked his way up to their administrative department, where he remains a respected and well-liked veteran of the company. “I was able to take the day off when Palace Dancer ran second on her debut and again when she won,” he says.

Read more on the link below:

Off The Record, by Charl Pretorius.

A social morning for clients at Bass Racing Stables, Milnerton. (Facebook)

Media position available at Bass Racing Stables

Candice Bass-Robinson and her team at Bass Racing seek a junior assistant to join their team. The applicant should ideally be based in Cape Town and be able to work from the Milnerton stables.

Mark Bass said: “We are looking to recruit a Media assistant and content creator to work with the Bass Racing team. Duties will include:

– Development and execution of a social media strategy

– Content creation

– Moderation and experience using content management systems is essential.

– analysing social data

– collaboration with key players

Social media experience is a key requirement, while working with horses in a stable environment is not essential, but advantageous.

Contact Bass Racing via Email mark@mikebassracing.com 

(Please make sure that you have the necessary attributes before you apply).

John Gosden has a decision to make.

Report by Graham Clark, Sporting Life.

John Gosden is considering letting multiple Group One winning mares Nashwa and Inspiral lock horns in a heavyweight clash in the Virgin Bet Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket next month.

This photo was taken at the 2009 J&B Met. Of the 15 jockeys engaged to ride in the big race that day, nine have retired, two are training, four are still riding.

Question: Who is the jockey next to MJ Byleveld, second right, bottom row?

The jockey in the blue and red silks, bottom, second from right, is Fareed Anthony. He rode outsider Golden Dice into fifth place behind the winner, Pocket Power, for trainer Darryl Hodgson. Fareed, now retired, was the first person of colour to graduate from the SA Jockeys Academy. Fareed was champion apprentice for the 1982/83 season and saw out his apprenticeship with Stan Elley, qualifying on 27 December 1984. He retired in 2018.