Duke Of Rock will be the first of three Drakenstein Stud-bred siblings, all out of the Seventh Rock mare Rock On Baby, who will respectively be running in three successive SA meetings from Saturday through to Tuesday (Picture: JC Photos)

The much vaunted Mike and Adam Azzie-trained Drakenstein Stud homebred Amber Rock makes her reappearance in the first race at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Sunday, one day before her older half-brother Duke Of Rock runs at the Vaal on Saturday and two days before her younger half-sister Ring A Ling runs at Turffontein Standside on Tuesday.

The trio are all offspring of the former Dennis Drier-trained Seventh Rock speedster Rock On Baby, whose three wins were all over 1000m.

Rock On Baby is a half-sister to two stakes-winning Drakenstein Stud homebred fillies, the Listed-winnning Sailing Ship (Duke Of Marmalade) and the Gr 3 and Listed-winning Santa Maria (Trippi).

The three-year-old Gimmethegreenlight filly Amber Rock had the dogs barking in no uncertain terms before her debut on March 25 this year and she was duly backed in to 17/10 favourite, despite the race being a Gr 3 event, the Protea Stakes over 1100m..

It would likely have been a major disappointment to those who knew her well that she was beaten that day.

However, in retrospect there is nothing disappointing about that run at all.

The horse who beat her by 0,40 lengths, albeit when giving her 5,5kg, was none other than Lucky Lad.

That Gimmethegreenlight colt went on to win the Gr2 WSB SA Nursery over 1160m by 2,75 lengths before winning the Gr 1 Gold Medallion over 1200m in ultra impressive style by 5,30 lengths.

Furthermore, beaten five lengths into third in the Protea Stakes was none other than Gimmeanotherchance, the Mike de Kock-trained stalwart who went on to win a Listed race before suffering a string of narrow feature race deafeats to the like of Sandringham Summit, Main Defender and Purple Pitcher.

The fourth-placed finished in the Protea Stakes, beaten 7,25 lengths, was the useeful The Africa House, who was recently fourth in vintage renewals of both the Gr 3 Betway Graham Beck Stakes and the Gr 2 Jonsson Workwear Dingaans.

The other two runners in the Protea Stakes, beaten 19 lengths and 36 lengths respectively in the soft going conditions that day, were Qhawi Lami and Ziyasha. Both of those horses have gone on to win three races to date and are merit rated 97 and 102 respectively.

To say Amber Rock’s Protea Stakes run was “useful form” would be the understatement of the century.

Her second run was genuinely disappointing.

She faced Lucky Lad again in the Gr 2 SA Nursery and started 28/10 second favourite, but took an awkward stride at the 200m mark and was eased out of the race by S’Manga Khumalo.

This was a bit like deja vu because the first of the siblings, a Philanthropist filly called Rock On Philly, had won on debut and second time out had finished tailed off despite starting second favourite at 5/2.

Amber Rock has not run again since the SA Nursery more than seven months ago.

Khumalo is aboard on Sunday in the 1000m event and Drakenstein will be hoping to see her recording her first victory.

They will also be hoping to see the Barend Botes and Yolandi Vosloo-trained Duke Of Rock winning over 1200m at the Vaal on Saturday under Muzi Yeni. This Duke Of Marmalade four-year-old gelding had two decent runs at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth before winning on debut on the Highveld. He then didn’t seem to stay 1600m and was dropped back to 1200m.

In his last start, his first since winning a maiden over 1200m and with Piere Strydom aboard, he showed good pace and at the 400m mark cruised into the lead still under the hands. However, he didn’t go through with it and finished a 4,20 length eighth.

However, there was probably a good reason. He was wearing first time blinkers and did race too strongly in the first half of the race.

The blinkers are now off and hopefully that will do the trick.

Then on Tuesdfay over 800m at Turffontein it is the turn of the Futura filly Ring A Ling, who is trained by Sean Tarry and who will be ridden by Richard Fourie.

Hopefully, by the time of that race, she will be out to become Rock On Baby’s fourth winner from four runners.

However, that will depend on Amber Rock winning on Sunday.

Picture: A life-size statue of Captain Al stands at Klawervlei Stud 

Sarah Whitelaw

The late Captain Al achieved some mighty numbers during his stud career. The 2000 G1 Cape Argus Guineas winner, who won ten of 17 starts, became the first South African bred stallion to sire 100 stakes winners, with Captain Al leaving behind a total of 105 black type winners. (The bay was also responsible for a further 92 stakes placed performers).

According to the esteemed website arion.co.nz, Captain Al was Champion Sire twice in South Africa, with the son of Al Mufti heading that premiership in both 2014-2015 and 2017-2018. (Ed – pfficially he was only champion sire in 2014-2015).

A prolific source of two-year-old talent, Captain Al was South Africa’s Leading Sire of 2YOs on no fewer than eight occasions, with the half-brother to dual G1 winner Shadow Dancing topping that South African premiership in 2008-2009,2009-2010, 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2012-2013, 2013-2014, 2014-2015, and 2015-2016.

He was the sire of a host of stars (Captain Al sired 25 G1 winners in total), including the Equus Champions Captain’s Ransom, Carry On Alice, Captain Of All, One World, Celtic Sea, Kasimir, All Is Secret, Captain’s Lover, Always In Charge and Cloth Of Cloud.

Other notable performers sired by Captain Al included Triple Crown winner Malmoos, triple G1 winner Captain America (who earned more than R6 000 000 in prize money), the Cape Guineas winners Tap O’ Noth and William Longsword, Met victor Hill Fifty Four, and Cape Fillies Guineas winners Missisippi Burning and Snowdance (his champion daughters Captain’s Ransom and Captain’s Lover also both won the Cape Fillies Guineas of their respective years).

John Freeman, who managed Captain Al throughout his remarkable career, explained the reason for the Guineas winner’s great success. “He had a very broad-based syndicate with just about all of the best breeders on board. The shareholders were passionate about him and created a wonderful vibe. Our syndicate meetings were legendary. A really superb syndicate of people and easy to work with. Captain Al was a big strong horse and very well made with good legs which he passed on to his progeny – that’s also why he is doing so well as a damsire

We called him Doctor Fix-it because most of the time when he covered mares with bad legs he was able to fix them in his foals. He was extremely fertile and had excellent libido – people don’t realise how important that is until you have a sub-fertile sire or one who cant cope with a proper book of mares

Although he started his career from a very low base his rise to fame was steady and then exploded to the point where breeders were queuing up to get to him. shares that initially were R12,000 each started selling for R700,000.

I did a comparison of the mares he covered in his fist three years compared to Jet Master, who as the winner of 7 Gr1 races was much more popular so Jet Master had a sizeable head start. He improved those early mares stud book value 10 fold and as he started getting stakes winners from those early crops breeders sent him better mares with better pedigrees.His pedigree helped a lot too. He was one of the very few sires in SA that was free of Northern Dancer blood. This made him a natural. He was inbred 3×4 to Buckpasser and his half sister Oak Cluster which was an ideal match for many of the mares in our stud book so “nick” started to appear quickly.”

No one knew Captain Al better than John Koster, who had the following to say about his great sire, “For me he was the perfect stallion in everyway. Amongst a host of other positive characteristics, he was prepotent in ….

Upgrading his mares (started off with very mediocre mares at R4 000 per service.)
He produced a stunning type that were easy to prepare for sale.
He produced soundness.
His progeny were incredibly versatile and could race over any distant. He had great fillies and great colts. Everyone in the industry across the world loved a horse by Captain Al. To cap it all, his story is one written and sent by the universe.”

Captain Al also achieved a new milestone, albeit posthumously, in 2022-2023, when he was crowned South Africa’s Leading Broodmare Sire by stakes. During the 2022-2023 season, Captain Al mares were responsible for 11 individual stakes winners who claimed 20 black type races between them. Star of the show was the mighty Princess Calla, who is dam is the Captain Al sired G2 Sceptre Stakes winner Princess Royal.South Africa’s Horse Of The Year and Champion Older Female of 2022-2023, Princess Calla won six graded races during the 2022-2023 season, with her tally headed by wins in the G1 South African Fillies Sprint, G1 Ridgemont Garden Province Stakes and G1 HKJC Champions Cup.
Captain Al also ranks as the broodmare sire of young stallions, and G1 winners, Eden Roc and Kommetdieding, Equus Champion Sandringham Summit and fellow top-level winners Gunner, Potent Power, Vernichey and Same Jurisdiction.

The latter, winner of the 2014 G1 Thekwini Stakes (beating Captain Al’s champion daughter Carry On Alice into second) and 2015 G1 Garden Province Stakes, is the dam of useful Nathaniel filly Grand Providence (winner of the 2023 Turners Cesarewitch Trial Handicap) and promising filly Clifton Bay. The latter caught the eye when winning impressively at Newbury on debut in 2023.

The influence of this wonderful stallion looks set to be felt for years to come. Not only is Captain Al the sire of proven stallions Captain Of All (whose progeny include dual G1 winner Linebacker) and William Longsword (sire of impressive recent G3 New Turf Carriers Merchants winner Dyce among others) (as well as broodmare sire of the aforementiond pair of Eden Roc and G1 Vodacom Durban July/G1 WSB Cape Town Met winner Kommetdieding), he also has a host of young stallion sons who look set to continue their sire’s legacy.

The Captain Al sired G1 Sun Met winner, and Equus Champion Older Male of 2019-2020, has gotten off to a fine start with his very early first two-year-olds having already caught the eye. Of One World’s first four runners, three have finished in the money, and, with plenty of well bred two-year-olds in the wings (not to mention the fact his progeny should only get better with age and a step up in trip), the future looks bright for Captain Al’s Met winning champion.

Captain Al also has two very exciting young sire sons in the form of Erik The Red and the latter’s very close relative Malmoos. Bred on the same Captain Al/Western Winter cross as champion Carry On Alice and Guineas winner Tap O’ Noth, Erik The Red, whose first yearlings go through the ring in 2024, was a graded stakes winner at both two and three, with the speedy son of Captain Al accounting for champion Rio Querari when victorious in the 2020 Cape Thoroughbred Sales Cape Merchants.

Out of a stakes winning half-sister to the successful sire Master Of My Fate, Malmoos, bred on the same Captain Al/Fort Wood cross as fellow G1 winners Captain America and William Longsword, won the South African Triple Crown in 2021, and was also victorious in both the G2 Avontuur Estate Concorde Cup and G3 Palacebet.co.za Live Games Graham Beck Stakes. His first foals have arrived to rave reviews and the future looks bright for Malmoos.

As further testimony to Captain Al’s lasting influence, inbreeding to the former Klawervlei resident is now taking place. A One World yearling out of Greendale was sold at the November Two Year Old Sale, with this colt in question sired by a son of Captain Al out of a daughter of Captain Al!

This photo illustrates just how diminutive Beach Bomb is (Picture: Wayne Marks) 

John Bescoby, a former Gold Circle Chairman and long time racing owner, was a member of the Shanks Syndicate who raced Beach Beauty and he is still in awe of the daughter of Dynasty.

Asked if he had watched Beach Beauty’s Candice Bass-Robinson-trained daughter Beach Bomb winning the Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas on Saturday, he quipped, “Well do you think I wouldn’t?!”

John confirmed he had indeed watched and added, “It was a great performance and reminsicent of her mother, although as everybody has said she is a little bit smaller than her mother and Beach Beauty was small!””

He continued, “Watching the race brought back a lot of great memories.”

Beach Beauty, a five-times Gr 1-winning champion, was a special horse in the Summerveld yard of maestro trainer Dennis Drier and even her equine stablemates appeared to agree.

Upon arrival at her current home of Drakenstein Stud she was put into a paddock with her former Drier yard stablemate Schiffer, a useful sprinter by Var, and the latter reportedly became fiercely protective of her tiny colleague. When they were later moved into a more populated paddock, Schiffer would chase any other mare that came close to Beach Beauty off before returning to her side.

John is very grateful Beach Beauty was purchased by Drakenstein.

The Beach Beauty fairytale is well documented.

To put it briefly a racing syndicate called The Shanks Syndicate made up of friends and family of the late Mark “Shanks” Armitage was formed to race in the latter’s honour. Beach Beauty was leased as their first runner. Beach Beauty was bred by Mark’s father Trevor Armitage and was given her name by Mark’s oldest daughter Kate. The colours of the syndicate were a reflection of the plumage of the Narina Trogon. Mark was an avid birdwatcher and one of his friends remembered his excitement one day when making a positive spotting of tihe Narina Trogon.

John said, “It is a fantastic story that started with a filly of whom we had no expectations and she became such a darling of the turf, everybody knew her by the time of her retirement. And then to produce what she has produced, that is outstanding.”

Poetry in motion, Sean Cormack and Beach Beauty (Picture: Liesl King)

Besides Beach Bomb, the Dynasty mare has also produced two Gr 2 winners. The two others of her five runners to date have both won Non-Black Type features and one of those is multiple Graded placed.

John added about the Lancaster Bomber filly Beach Bomb, “That’s a great name too, isn’t it, because you know you could be looking at a girl on the beach and you could say. “Wow look at that bomb!'”

John revealed that the money Beach Beauty was purchased for by Drakenstein was of great help to her owners, the Armitage family, especially considering Trevor had passed away a year before Beach Beauty’s retirement.

That was one of the reasons John was grateful to Drakenstein Stud.

He added, “It was a great period in our lives and then for her to go to Gaynor (Rupert), who had access to the Trippi’s and Lancaster Bombers and all the great stallions and up-and-coming stallions we’ve had over the last ten years, is just fantastic.”

WSB Cape Fillies Guineas day before the crowds had arrived (Picture: Cape Racing)

Neil Andrews penned this last week and it is still relevant

Neil Andrews (The Citizen)

Golden Sixty’s owner Stanley Chan draw barrier 14 for his champion (Picture: Kenneth Chan)

The widest gate of his career

Nine-time Group One winner’s momentous international day task becomes even more complicated

Gavin Sheehan celebrates winning the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury last weekend on Datsalrightgino
Credit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Gavin Sheehan has spoken of his relief at getting a controversial 14-day riding ban overturned and is now plotting how he can overturn Constitution Hill – a horse he describes as the best in training – at Sandown on Saturday.

Sheehan enjoyed a memorable day last weekend when he won Newbury’s Coral Gold Cup on the Jamie Snowden-trained Datsalrightgino and is due to partner stablemates Colonel Harry and You Wear It Well in Grade 1s at Sandown.

However, he could only really relish that prospect shortly after 3pm on Thursday when an appeal against a suspension dished out to him at Huntingdon for his ride on Zain Nights for Lucy Wadham last month – which initially ruled him out of those engagements – was upheld at a disciplinary panel hearing.

Stewards on duty that afternoon reasoned the 31-year-old failed to ask his mount for a “timely, real and substantial effort to obtain the best possible placing”.

They also banned the gelding, beaten 16 lengths into third by Tellherthename, later described by his jockey Kielan Woods as the best he has ridden, from running for 40 days.

Wadham, who said she was pleased with Sheehan’s ride in a subsequent inquiry, was fined £3,000 for schooling and conditioning the horse on a racecourse.

She was also successful with her appeal, which was heard by Rachel Spearing, Austin Allison and Joanna Armstrong during a lengthy and thorough process.

Sheehan, whose ban was due to start on Saturday, breathed a huge sigh of relief and said: “I was expecting to get off, but you never count your chickens. I thought the right thing was to have it quashed.

“Saturday is a massive day for me, Jamie and the owners with two Grade 1 runners and I would have been very upset had this gone the wrong way, but I didn’t think we even needed to be here [appealing] in the first place.”

The Cork native won the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival on You Wear It Well in March and she is due to contest the rearranged Betfair-backed Fighting Fifth Hurdle (1.15) at Sandown, where the towering presence of the unbeaten Constitution Hill lies in wait.

“She’s a very special mare,” Sheehan added. “But Constitution Hill is the best horse in training and if I could ride any horse it would be him. Every horse can have a bad day, though, and I’m on a mare who doesn’t know how to have one. She’s tough, hard and gives her all. She’s likeable, honest and felt stronger when she won at Wetherby last time, which is exciting, but she does need to improve.

“I want to win every race and will go out there with the clear intention to win, but it would be brilliant if we finished second to Constitution Hill, who is a superstar – we’re taking on the best.”

You Wear It Well is a top-priced 14-1 to dethrone the exceptional 1-5 favourite, but Sheehan has, in betting terms, a bigger chance of winning Sandown’s Betfair Henry VIII Novices’ Chase (1.50) on Colonel Harry, a 4-1 shot who made a winning debut over fences at Chepstow last month.

“He’ll relish testing conditions and won nicely last time, while he really enjoyed Sandown on two runs there last season,” the rider said.

“This could be his Gold Cup in a sense because we know, touch wood, he should stay well up the hill on the ground.”

Many observers feel Sheehan, Britain’s champion conditional in 2013-14 who had his most prolific campaign with 79 winners last term, is riding better than ever, but he is keen to keep grounded despite appearing to be on the crest of a wave.

He registered more victories (19) in November than any other month, and with 55 winners to his name this season is well on course to surpass his 2022-23 tally.

“I normally head home after the races, but it was wonderful to go into the royal box at Newbury after Datsalrightgino with his owners – the Glyn-Davies family – and Jamie and his family,” Sheehan added.

“But I still have a lot of learning to do, and I mean that. People are entitled to say I’m riding well, but I am riding better horses. I do think I’ve improved as a rider and a person, but I hope there’s more to come and the day you stop trying to improve is the day you kind of give up. Hopefully there are more good days to come, starting on Saturday.”

Jury’s Out (Gimmethegreenlight) followed up on his maiden win to give both Gavin Lerena and Candice Dawson individual doubles today (Thursday) at the Vaal Classic track (JC Photos).

Trainer Candice Dawson and jockey Gavin Lerena had individual doubles at the Vaal Classic track meeting today (Thursday).

Dawson goes to 13 wins for the season achieved at a strike rate of 13.13%.

Lerena is on 60 wins at 17.29%.

Good Ba Ba (Lear Fan) is the only three-time winner of the Hong Kong Mile to date.