Cousin Casey’s participation in the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge was not originally part of the plan and this has led to a temporary jockey change. (Picture: Wayne Marks)

Glen Kotzen Explains Cousin Casey Jockey Switch

Glen Kotzen said a late decision to run Cousin Casey in the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge led to him having to find a jockey because regular pilot Grant van Niekerk was already booked to ride Al Muthana.

S’Manga Khumalo will ride the crack Vercingetorix colt in the prestigious Gr 1 weight for age mile race at Hollywoodbets Greyville on saturday.

Kotzen said no discussions about Cousin Casey’s Hollywoodbets Durban July jockey had accompanied the switch meaning Van Niekerk was at this stage still the incumbent.

Kotzen explained the decision to run Cousin Casey in the Gold Challenge.

He said after analysing his previous start he felt a pair of blinkers would be a good idea.

However, he was reluctant to go into the July with first-time blinkers on and as the colt had taken his run in the Daily News 2000 so well he saw the Gold Challenge as an opportunity to give him a trial with the blinkers on.

He said, “We were confident going into the Daily News and thought it was his race to lose, so it was disappointing.”

However, he pointed out how badly it had panned out for the champion Vercingetorix colt in the straight.

From draw one he was comfortable on the rail in midfield throughout and creeps up in the straight into a striking position.

A dream gap opens as the pacemaker drifts on to the rail and Van Niekerk goes for the stick.

However, as he does so Cousin Casey takes a bump from Without Question that knocks him sideways.

He takes another few smaller bumps when See It Again shifts on to Without Question.

Thereafter he is given a couple of backhanders and stays on, but his path is blocked by Dave The King anyway, so there is not much more he can do and he finishes a 2,30 length fourth.

However, it was a totally unsatisfactory outing because he was not given a chance to show his true ability in the straight.

Kotzen contuinued, “We will see how he goes against the best milers.”

He added he was not worried about the handicapper anymore and what would be would be.

He was referring to the real possibility of Cousin Casey finishing close to the 132-rated pair Charles Dickens and Al Muthana and being given a merit rated raise.

He concluded, “Charles Dickens is a beast of a horse, so if Cousin Casey did happen to win this race he would have a ready-made stud career and no other races would actually be necessary.”

Rockpool runs in Saturday’s Hollywoodbets Dolphins Cup Trial and will be out to book his place in the Hollywoodbets Durban July (Picture: Snaith Racing).

Snaith’s HWB Gold Challenge Meeting Runners Are In Good Shape

Justin Snaith has three important runners at the big Gr 1 meeting at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday.

Do It Again and Royal Aussie run in the day’s main attraction, the Gr 1 weight for age Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge over 1600m, and Rockpool runs in the Gr 3 Hollywoodbets Dolphins Cup Trial over 1800m.

Jonathan Snaith said, “Royal Aussie is doing great. He’s just off the best 3-year-olds in SA and will need to run the best race of his career to run into contention, but we couldn’t be happier. Charles Dickens looks near impossible to beat in this field. Royal Aussie will not stay the Hollywoodbets Durban July trip and if he ran well here then the Gr1 Champions Cup would be his next mission once we have discussed the next step with his owners.”

He continued, “Do it Again had a fantastic prep last time out and you can expect a similar run from him here and then he’ll be spot on for the HWB Durban July. He is a beast in KZN. You can’t leave Richard Fourie out of any Gr1 at the moment!”

Eight-year-old Do It Again has run in the Gold Challenge twice, winning it in 2019 and finishing a close third to Rainbow Bridge in 2020. However, he has only had one mission this season, the Hollywoodbets Durban July. He will become the first to ever run in SA’s premier race six times and will be attempting to become the first to win it three times.

Jonathan concluded, “Rockpool is flying and will take some beating in the Cup Trial. If he wins this he most definitely will be accepted to run in the HWB July and at 53kg he’d be a massive runner. One to follow!”

Rockpool jumps from pole position under Richard Fourie in the 1800m contest. He should be close enough to the pace turning for home for his huge stride to be used to full effect.

Halfway To Heaven, dam of SA-Based stallion Flying The Flag and of Rhododendron, who is dam of Saturday’s Epsom Derby winner Auguste Rodin (Getty Images).

Flying The Flag Boosted By Epsom Derby Winner

Aidan O’Brien won his ninth Epsom Derby on Saturday and the winner Auguste Rodin is out a full sister to South African-based sire Flying The Flag.

Auguste Rodin is by the late Japanese super stallion Deep Impact out of Galileo mare Rhododendron, who is out of the Pivotal mare Halfway To Heaven.

Rhododendron was also a high class racehorse, winning the Gr 1 Fillies Mile as a two-year-old, the Gr 1 Prix de l’Opera for fillies and mares over ten furlongs at Longchamp as three-year-old and the Gr 1 Lockinge Stakes over a mile at Newbury against the boys as a four-year-old. She was also second in the Gr 1 1000 Guineas, the Gr 1 Epsom Oaks and the Gr 1 Breeders Cup Fillies And Mares turf, all as a three-year-old, and she also won a Gr 2 as a two-year-old.

Auguste Rodin is Rhododendron’s first foal.

Flying The Flag’s best achievement on the racecourse was winning a Gr 3 over ten furlongs in Ireland as a three-year-old. In South Africa his best run was a third place finish in the Gr 3 London News Stakes over 1800m.

However, he has a magnificent pedigree as he is also a full-brother to the wonderful seven-time Gr 1-winning mare Magical.

Flying The Flag’s mother, Irish 1000 Guineas winner Halfway To Heaven, was a three-time Gr 1 winner.

Flying The Flag has not been given the chances his pedigree deserves in terms of quality mares, but his current three-year-old crop has two decent runners.

His grey Mike Miller-trained son Strawberry Bear downed the champion Cousin Casey as well Gr 1 WSB SA Classic runner up Jimmy Don when winning the Gr 3 Byerley Turk over 1400m at Hollywoodbets Greyville and although he was receiving 6kg from Cousin Casey he was only receiving a half-a-kilogram overweight amount from Jimmy Don.

His son Electric Gold was trained by Sean Tarry when finishing second in the Gr 3 London News Stakes and third in the Gr 2 WSB Gauteng Guineas and he is now back with Tony Peter, whose father Paul trained him to three wins on the trot.

Flying The Flag is now standing at Advocate Altus Joubert’s Riethuiskraal Stud in Stilbaai in the Western Cape.

Mawj (far side) gets the better of Tahiyra in a fantastic battle in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket (Credit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos))

Dermot Weld Commits Tahiyra to enthralling Mawj rematch in Coronation Stakes

David Jennings (Racing Post, Deputy Editor Ireland)

The sequel to a thrilling 1,000 Guineas is all set for Royal Ascot later this month after Dermot Weld reported Tahiyra to be heading for a rematch with Mawj in the Coronation Stakes.

The original was a classic in every sense of the word as Mawj and Tahiyra were embroiled in an absorbing battle inside the final two furlongs at Newmarket, a tussle from which the Godolphin filly emerged victorious by half a length. There were seven and a half lengths back to the third.

Tahiyra lost her unbeaten record there, despite trading at an in-running low of 1-5 on the Betfair Exchange, but she dusted herself down to win the Irish equivalent at the Curragh in superb style last month.

Now Weld has his sights set on winning a second Coronation Stakes, 45 years after his first with Sutton Place, who did the business under Wally Swinburn in 1978.

Weld said: “Tahiyra is on schedule for the Coronation Stakes and I’ve been satisfied with everything she has done since the Irish Guineas. Royal Ascot is the plan at the moment.

“She’s a very adaptable filly so Ascot shouldn’t be a problem. The Coronation Stakes is always a high-class Group 1 and it looks like this year is going to be no different.”

Despite her defeat at Newmarket, bookmakers believe Tahiyra will get her revenge at Ascot as she is generally a 6-4 favourite for the mile event on June 23, with the Saeed bin Suroor-trained Mawj next best at 2-1.

Bin Suroor and Godolphin are yet to win the Coronation Stakes, but the trainer confirmed his daughter of Exceed And Excel to be on course to right that wrong. He said: “Mawj worked last Thursday on our Chippenham gallops, her first serious work since the 1,000 Guineas. She’s doing good and it was always the plan to miss the Irish 1,000 Guineas and go to Royal Ascot as she needs time between her races to show her best form.”

In Tahiyra, Weld has arguably one of the best fillies in training, and he unleashed a very exciting colt at Gowran Park on Monday too.

Knight To King, a regally bred son of Kingman and Weld’s 1,000 Guineas heroine Nightime, won his maiden on his debut by seven and a half lengths under Chris Hayes.

Although entered in next month’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, Weld said no decision has been made about where Knight To King will go next. He did, however, state that the wide-margin win came as no surprise.

Weld said: “We left him in the Irish Derby, but there is no definite plan at the moment and we will see how he comes out of his maiden first. I’ll have a chat with Maurice Regan [of owners Newtown Anner Stud] and we’ll decide the best thing to do for the colt. He’s still immature.

“I wasn’t surprised by what he did as he had been showing me a lot of talent and had been working exceptionally well.”

Knight To King is a 20-1 shot for the Irish Derby with Paddy Power, for which Auguste Rodin is 4-6 favourite following his impressive victory at Epsom on Saturday.

Coronation Stakes (June 23)

BoyleSports: 5-4 Tahiyra, 2 Mawj, 15-2 Meditate, 8 Queen For You, 10 Jannah Rose, Kelina, Sounds Of Heaven, 12 Electric Eyes, 16 bar

This season’s Gold Rush winner, Royal Aussie (Cape Racing).

Gold Rush Tickets Are Being Snapped Up – Only 4 Left

Gold Rush II: Prospectors are lining up to win R7,5-million!

Prospector ticket sales for the second World Sports Betting. Gold Rush spectacular are picking up momentum. So far 12 of 16 tickets have been sold for the R7,5-million Gold Rush II, scheduled for WSB Cape Met Day, Saturday 27 January 2024, at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth. The concept is based on Australia’s ever-popular Everest Sprint.

The Gold Rush II offers 16 ticketholders (prospectors) the opportunity to race for the massive stake and is open to graduates of the 2022 Cape Premier Yearling Sale. Gold Rush II is open to participation from anybody who bought a horse at the sale, not just to the 16 Ticket holders. Those with tickets do, however, hold the negotiating power on selling their interests if their own 2022 Premier Sale buys are not in contention when the field is finalised next January. The winner’s cheque is a whopping R5-million. As it stands, the four remaining tickets for the 2024 race renewal are available on a first come, first served basis. They are like gold!

Last year’s winner, Royal Aussie (Royal Mo), raced on a ticket initially secured by Basie Viljoen and negotiated to include the colt’s owners Suzette Viljoen, Dr Jill Warner and Dane Squance. The owners of second-placed Dave The King (Global View) concluded a ticket deal with Klawervlei Stud, who didn’t have a suitable runner at race time. Both, as well as third-placed Itsrainingwilliam, and indeed seventh-placed See It Again have since established themselves as among the top horses in the country.

Suzette Viljoen spoke of her inaugural Gold Rush winner and said: “Royal Aussie was sired by Royal Mo, who was brought to South Africa by Heinrich Rix. Heinrich was a top showjumper on his day and competed against my brother, Edwin Ludick. Aside from that connection, it was wonderful to race with partners from locally and around the world and the race itself was hugely exciting. This was the first time we had a runner attached to a sweepstake prize and we thoroughly enjoyed the build-up and the event.”

The Viljoens, and most other Gold Rush II ticket holders, haven’t got all that much to report about their latest contenders, who have all been in training just for a few months and are at the early stages of their preparation. But as we saw last year, plenty of news started coming from the respective stables towards year-end.

Mark Bass, representing Bass Racing, said: “We have a ticket but nothing in contention just yet. There are a few to step out still, so we’ll see how it goes. Captain Arrow (Captain Of All) won his first race last Sunday over 1000m. We have a well-bred filly Nordic Quest (Querari) and Winter Rainfall (What A Winter). We’ll see if they can stay, otherwise we’ll be sellers.”

Rikesh Sewgoolam, who had an unplaced runner in Time Fo Orchids in Gold Rush I, has stuck to his guns with another ticket in Gold Rush II. He said: “I don’t have a horse that qualifies. It’s still early days, I’ll be looking for a runner closer to race time.” David Abery has similar plans for his participation and Klawervlei’s John Koster will be eying developments over the next few months before he makes his move.

Trainer Paul Lafferty reports good progress from Laurence Wernars’ R220,000 sales buy Question Of Faith, a colt by Erupt who finished second on his 1000m debut in a Juvenile Plate. “He’s a beautiful, scopy horse,” said Lafferty.

Ian Levitan’s IL Racing (Levitan, Dominic and John Paul Peter, and Antony Lang) secured their berth after the Premier Sale following excellent runs by their purchase, Leaving Las Vegas (Rafeef), the winner of the G3 Pretty Polly Stakes over 1100m. “Our jockey Dennis Schwarz believes she will come into her own over a mile. Trainer Tony Peter holds her in high regard so we may look at a race for her on Durban July day. The long-term objective is the Gold Rush,” said Levitan.

The most interesting news thus far comes from the race sponsors, World Sports Betting, whose spokesman Hilton Hasson revealed: “We went over budget for our pick of the 2022 sale, a Pomodoro filly out of Trophy Wife. Eric Sands did the bidding and he went pale after R450,000. He had a ding-dong battle with Sean Tarry and had to go up a notch for the auctioneer a few times. Eventually Sean backed off at R695,000 and Eric got the bid at R700,000. It was quite a riveting experience. The best is, we took a flyer and named her DoubleYouEssBee (for WSB), and expected the NHA to turn it down, but they passed it at registration and we’ve got the passport. She’s doing well, looks promising. Eric will step her out in a sprint soon.”

The Gold Rush II Prospectors are:

1. World Sports Betting

2. Ridgemont South Africa

3. Bass Racing Stables

4. Klawervlei Stud

5. Rikesh Sewgoolam

6. Jayson Murugasa

7. Capstone 335 (Pty) Ltd

8. David Abery

9. Suzette & Basie Viljoen

10. I L Racing (Ian Levitan)

11. Mano Pandaram

12. Laurence Wernars

13.

14.

15.

16.

The happy winning connections of Mrs Geriatrix are from left to right: Peter Blyth, Bernadette Breton, Natalie Turner, Jackie Sparke, Kate Pattison, Sean Tarry, Richard Fourie, Shandre Hoffman, Joanne Gardner and Garth Towell (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)

Clifton Stud’s 25 Year Wait Ends In Spectacular Fashion

Sporting Post

Good things come to those who wait. Clifton Stud’s Peter and Jenny Blyth, the breeders of Gr1 Allan Robertson Championship victress Mrs Geriatrix, will wholeheartedly agree with that.

The diminutive daughter of Vercingetorix added her name to an impressive roll of honour with her sparkling victory in the revered 1200m dash, her third at stakes level, on Saturday.

Still unbeaten, the filly’s Gr1 success came on the back of wins in the Listed Ruffian Stakes and Gr2 SA Fillies Nursery.

“She is our second Gr1 winner,” Peter remarked. “We’ve waited a long time for this.”

That’s 25 years, to be exact, the first being Clifton-bred Classic Flag, who all the way back in 1998 won the (then) Gr1 Rothmans July in course record time. Classic Flag was named ARCSA Champion Three-year-old Male and ARCSA Horse Of The Year for the season.

Mrs Geriatrix initiated an unprecedented Gr1 hat-trick on the day for the Sean Tarry stable, and as Peter recalls: “I sold her to Sean out of the ring. I had a reserve of R200,000 on her, but she was led out unsold. As he had shown interest in her, I approached him afterwards and he eventually bought her. When you think that Vercingetorix averaged over R600,000, she was one of his cheapest lots on the sale!”

And what a shrewd buy she has turned out to be for her team of lady owners, Natalie Turner’s the Magical Lady Syndicate.

The Hollywoodbets Scottsville paddock was awash in pink as they led in their filly, with a proud Peter in tow.

“It’s wonderful to see such enthusiasm,” he remarked, “This is what racing needs.”

Mrs Geriatrix is out of homebred Kahal mare Velvet Glove, who according to Peter, was no great shakes on the track.

As he explains: “I decided to breed from her purely because she is an own sister to Prince Of Kahal, a dual Gr2 winner of nine races. She was too slow to get out of her own way, amazing, considering how good her brother was!”

“Mrs Geriatrix looks like her dam, who is also quite small. She is her second foal, the first one, the three-year-old Iron Fist, placed in his only two starts to date for the Peter stable. I sold her Act Of War yearling to Jane Thomas at the Nationals this year. Velvet Glove didn’t have a foal last year, but she is due to Master Of My Fate in September.”

Peter bred both Velvet Glove and Prince Of Kahal from the Model Man mare Vogue, a daughter of Jubilee Handicap winner Thousand Nights, by Foveros.

Remarkably, Vogue too, had her moment in the sun at this Hollywoodbets Scottsville meeting.

Back in 2000, she earned coveted Gr1 black type when second in the Gr1 SA Fillies Sprint for David Ferraris.

At the time, her half-brother Highland Night was a dual winner of the Gr1 Gold Cup.

An already fine pedigree would be further embellished as Thousand Nights subsequently produced a second Gr1 winner, the Western Winter colt Warm White Night, who went one better than his half-sister by claiming the Gr1 Gold Medallion at this meeting in 2008.

He was in fact his dam’s fourth stakes winner and had been preceded by the dual stakes winner Night Watch, a full brother to Highland Night who also ran third in the Gr1 Gold Challenge, and Prince Asad, a dual Gr2 winner by Al Mufti.

Peter elaborated: “After running second in the Fillies Sprint, Vogue suffered a foot injury in her next start and that was the end of her racing career. She came to me when I was still at Lothair and her owner had sent her to his Queen’s Plate winner Divine Force, which I stood at the time.”

“When Vogue’s owner decided to get out of the game, she already had three foals by Divine Force. I really wanted her and after a lot of deliberation, I made him an offer for all his stock, a parcel of 26 horses made up of mares, weanlings and yearlings. She was the plum and I agreed to the deal, basically to get her, although there were two or three other mares worth having. She was a liver chestnut who wasn’t overly big, but was strong and stood over ground.”

That purchase set Peter back financially.

But his decision to send Vogue to Fort Wood proved a touch of genius. He probably recouped his investment when the resultant colt went under the hammer at the National Yearling Sale and fetched a hefty R2,2 million.

Named Fort Vogue and trained by Mike Bass, he won the Gr2 Peninsula Handicap and Gr3 Schweppes 2200.

“He was sent to Dubai but sadly, dropped dead before he could race,” Peter added ruefully.

Interestingly, Vogue ran second in the SA Fillies Sprint on the same day Jet Master won the Gr1 Golden Spur for the second year running. Little did they know that they would meet up in the breeding shed some years later, the result of that mating a filly named Whatalady.

Peter sold her to the Wernars for R600 000 at the Nationals just as Fort Vogue was strutting his stuff on the track and she too, proved she could run. Trained by the late Stanley Ferreira, she became Vogue’s second stakes winners with a cosy victory in the Gr3 Acacia Handicap.

“Unfortunately, she went wrong after winning the Acacia. Lawrence Wernars told me she had so much talent, she could have gone right to the top.”

Prince Of Kahal, who rounded out Vogue’s stakes winning trio, proved to be Vogue’s last foal.

“She died of colic and despite the best efforts by more than one vet, they couldn’t pull her through.”

Thankfully, Peter still has two daughters amongst his broodmare band in Velvet Glove and her half-sister Fashion Talk, who in contrast to her sister, was talented enough to win three races, but has yet to emulate her sibling as a broodmare. Such is breeding!

“To think we’ve had to wait this long for a second Gr1 winner, that’s how hard this game is,” Peter added. “Days like this is what keeps us going,” concluded Peter.

The Twin Spires at Churchill Downs (Coady Photography).

Ray Paulick: Why Is It So Hard To Learn From The Past?

Ray Paulick (The Paulick Report)

You’d think the Thoroughbred industry would have learned something from the death of 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro, who suffered what would ultimately be a fatal injury in the opening stages of that year’s Preakness Stakes.

Or the 2008 death of Eight Belles, who was euthanized on the racetrack with two broken legs after finishing second in the Kentucky Derby.

Or the winter of 2011-’12 when 21 horses died at Aqueduct over a 3 1/2-month period.

Or the Southern California winter of 2019 when 29 horses lost their lives at Santa Anita.

In each case, good-faith efforts were made to get a better understanding of why horses suffer catastrophic injuries – sometimes at an alarming rate. And with that understanding came recommended changes to make racing a safer sport for horses and riders.

The high-profile injury to Barbaro, and the extraordinary efforts to save him, helped lead to a much-needed gathering of experts for the inaugural Welfare and Safety of the Racehorse Summit, organized by the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation. Many good recommendations have come out of that regularly scheduled event, but scientists and veterinarians can’t make or change policy.

From the death of Eight Belles and in cooperation with Welfare and Safety Summit leaders came the Equine Injury Database, managed by The Jockey Club. For the first time, the United States racing industry would collect and analyze racing statistics, including fatalities, giving it benchmark figures and an apparatus to search for data-driven solutions.

From the Aqueduct spike in fatalities came a governor-directed New York Task Force on Racehorse Health and Safety to study each incident, look for commonalities, and make recommendations for changes to regulatory and track officials.

And from the Santa Anita deaths, at the urging of Gov. Gavin Newsom, came the most stringent safety measures undertaken in North American racing, developed by track owner Belinda Stronach’s management team and the California Horse Racing Board with the cooperation of horsemen. Those policies had a dramatic impact: Santa Anita went from 20 racing fatalities in 2019 to a low of four in 2022, according to Equine Injury Database statistics.

Now we have Churchill Downs, at the most high-profile moment in the racing year, dealing with the same problem.

Churchill management’s short-term solution, while making no sense from a practical standpoint but brilliant from a public relations perspective, was to move racing 130 miles west from the Louisville home of the Kentucky Derby to Ellis Park. Out of sight, out of mind.

But it’s almost as if Churchill Downs management and its horsemen, along with the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission, were unaware of some of the risk factors identified by the Equine Injury Database, the recommendations from the New York Task Force, or the policies put in place in California. Kentucky racing has progressed in many ways, including safety enhancements, but it didn’t go as far as it could have.

Perhaps Kentucky horsemen and its regulators (which overlap considerably) feel there is a protective wall around the Bluegrass State, that such problems with equine fatalities and the public outcry that follow can’t happen here. After all, Kentucky is the Thoroughbred capital of the world. If that’s what they thought, however, they were wrong.

Instead of proactively looking to make its racing as safe as anywhere in the country, by taking from what is working elsewhere, Kentucky racing – and the sport in general – is now dealing with the wreckage of a public relations disaster. And make no mistake, there is a cumulative effect on the general public that builds from one spike in racing fatalities to another.

In the immediate aftermath of 12 deaths in a short period of time around the Kentucky Derby, the track’s parent company announced the Churchill Downs racing office would now have performance standards required to enter a race – something that should have been done years ago – and that it would stop incentivizing horsemen to run no-hope horses to pad field size. It’s a start, but there’s more to be done.

The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority was created to deal with this subject on a national basis, but there has to be a spirit of cooperation among all the parties –racetrack owners, horsemen, and state regulatory agencies – for this to work. Everyone has to buy in to the reforms. Making the sport as safe as possible will require a team effort, and it’s not easy to do that when more than a dozen state horsemen’s organizations, the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, several racetracks and racing commissions have filed lawsuits in federal court in hopes of putting HISA out of business.

Kentucky’s horse culture does not immunize itself from mainstream media scrutiny, which Churchill Downs and its horsemen have now learned can spread like wildfire.

Other states could be next in the firing line. If it can happen in Kentucky, it can happy anywhere. Don’t repeat the mistakes from the past. Learn from them.

That’s my view from the eighth pole.

Gareth van Zyl’s treble at Hollywoodbets Scottsville today (Wednesday) too him to 60 wins for the season (Candiese Lenferna Photography).

Van Zyl Treble, De Melo Double

Gareth van Zyl had a treble at Hollywoodbets Scottsville today and Keagan de Melo had a double.

Van Zyl goes to 60 wins for the season at a strike rate of 17.65%.

Van Zyl, who is the reigning KZN Champion trainer, has won 48 of his 60 this season in KZN and that puts him nine wins behind the championship leader Garth Puller.

De Melo goes to 251 wins for the season at a strike rate of 20.03%.

He is 36 wins clear of second-placed Richard Fourie on the national log.

Pictured here is the best son of the mare in question.

Today’s Question

Which South African broodmare of the year in the 1960s produced two horses of exceptional quality plus three other stakes winners, and in all had 11 winners of 97 races from a total of 13 foals, and appears in the pedigree of American Triple Crown winner Justify?

Question answer at the bottom of the newsletter

Vaal Classic Fields, Thursday

Ethane, broodmare of the year for 1968, with Archie Dell.

ANSWER TO TODAY’S QUESTION

ETHANE (1947-1968)

Jay August

Ethane Br.m Mehrali – Ethyl by Clustine

We marveled recently at the mare Halfway to Heaven with her first three foals producing the exceptional Rainbow Bridge and Hawwaam, and the dual Gr 1 winner Golden Ducat, but some seven decades ago came Ethane, as potent a broodmare as there has ever been in South Africa. She produced two horses of exceptional quality in Hawaii and William Penn, two brilliant stakes winning fillies in Ethylwood and Entrance, and another Stakes winning colt Enchanter.

Her potency remains to this day in South Africa as she is the fifth dam on the maternal side of Legal Eagle through her daughter Entrance. Internationally her legacy has been given new life with 2018 American Triple Crown hero Justify carrying two strains of her son Hawaii.

Ethane produced 13 foals (6 fillies and 7 colts) from 1953 to 1968, of which all got to the racecourse, and 11 were winners of a total of 97 races. While Halfway to Heaven was prominent from the start this was not so with Ethane. She was barren on first covering and two of her first three foals were non winners although the second hinted at the future and won 9 races (but no Stakes races).

Her legacy grew with her first union with the stallion Netherwood in 1955. Together they produced six foals, three colts and three fillies, all were winners, winning 45 races, and the Stakes winners William Penn, Ethylwood and Entrance.

She left the best for last though and her first of two unions with Utrillo II produced the exceptional Hawaii, her best foal, a horse who lays claim to be the very best to have raced in South Africa. He was also the American Champion Grass Horse of 1969, having won 6 of his 10 starts in the US in that year.

Before leaving for the US he had won 15 of 18 races in South Africa, with two of his losses coming in efforts against his older half-brother William Penn. As a sire Hawaii is the only South African horse to have sired an English Derby winner and he was the damsire of Hennessey, the sire of Johannesburg who in turn sired the short lived Scat Daddy, who got the US Triple Crown hero Justify.

William Penn raced from two to eleven years of age, winning 16 races. He raced for 9 seasons against some of the best including, Sea Cottage, Renounce, Java Head, his half brother Hawaii, Peter Beware, Home Guard, and In Full Flight. William Penn would prove infertile as a stallion and would return to racing after a brief stint at stud in 1969.

Ethane’s foals in order were (Stakes winners in bold):

Virtue (1953) f by Fair Judgement

Just Spirit (1954) c by Fair Judgement – 9 wins

War Sprite (1955) f by Battle Hymn

ETHYLWOOD (1956) f by Netherwood – 8 wins (1 Stakes)

Courtella (1957) c by Netherwood – 9 wins

Enrapture (1958) f by Netherwood – 2 wins

ENTRANCE (1959) f by Netherwood – 9 wins (2 Stakes)

Bardahl (1960) c by Netherwood – 1 win

WILLIAM PENN (1961) c by Netherwood – 16 wins (11 Stakes)

ENCHANTER (1962) c by Joy II – 11 wins (2 Stakes)

Heaven Sent (1963) f by Joy II – 5 wins

HAWAII (1964) c by Utrillo II – 21 wins (17 Stakes)

Malabu (1968) c by Utrillo II – 6 wins

Ethane’s sire Mehrali (1939) by Mahmoud out of Una by Tetratema, won six races and placed 15 times during the war years (1941-1945) in England. He is one of only two horses to have ever beaten Sun Chariot (8 wins in 9 starts and English Fillies Triple Crown winner) when this great filly failed to put in her normal effort and was beaten into third by Ujiji and Mehrali on her three-year-old debut.

Ethane’s dam ETHYL (1936) by Clustine out of Armond by Lomond, was bred by Mr Allan Robertson at his Stormfontein Stud. She won 13 races including the 1938 South African Nursery Plate and apart from Ethane also produced Onward (by Battle Hymn) which won 15 races. Ethane managed only one win in her short racing career.

Ethane was South African broodmare of the Year for 1967. The following short write-up appeared in the March, 1968, South African Racehorse.

“The South African Racehorse Trophy for the Broodmare of the Year has been awarded to the Platbery Stud’s twenty-year-old mare ETHANE, the property of Mr A.L. Dell. Ethane, a winner of one race, was mated in 1952 when she was baren to Fair Judgement. In the ensuing twelve seasons she dropped a foal in each season, and eleven of those won 58 races of R102,114 in total stakes earned to 31 July 1967, including the feature winners Ethylwood, Entrance, William Penn and Hawaii.”

Ethane’s dam, Ethyl, won thirteen races including the South African Nursery and in the top division, and produced eight winners of forty-one races of R31,274, including Onward, Sabine, and the very successful broodmare Ethane.

Ethyl was bred by Mr A.L. Robertson who imported her dam Armond (Lomond – Arcola by Sir Vista) who produced seven winners of sixty races ofR16,274 in net winning stakes, including Illuminant who won the Merchants’ Handicap at Turffontein in 1945. Gasoline established a successful branch of th family and is the ancestress of feature race winners Gaskell, Fair Deal and Feudist.”

Unfortunately this great story ended on a rather sad note and Ethane died October 3, 1968, five days after giving birth to Hawaii’s full brother Malabu. Her obituary appeared in the March, 1969, South African Racehorse.

“During the year the broodmare Ethane died at the height of her fame with her two sons, William Penn and Hawaii, firmly established as the best in the country. Ethane was descended from the imported mare Arrmond (1919). Armond made no mark on the turf but was well bred. Her sire, Lomond, won the New Stakes at Ascot and a couple of decent races the following year, and won again at Ascot as a four-year-old.

He got many winners, of whom the best known was King’s Idler, a popular handicapper who won the Newbury Summer Cup twice in succession. Her dam, Arcola, was by Sir Visto, a Derby winner out of Ebba, who was a full sister to the Two Thousand Guineas and Derby winner Ladas. In addition to this, Ebba was a half-sister to two mares who are known world-wide as gems of the stud book; these were Chelandry and Gas.

The close presence of these foundation mares in Armond’s pedigree was pretty heady stuff for any breeder and Mr Allan Robertson bought for around £300. Armond not only bred 7 winners of 60 races, but she herself became a foundation mare through three daughters, Ethyl, Gasoline and Kerosene, from each of which descend feature race winners of the present day. The most important and the best racehorse was Ethyl. She was very speedy and very game, but highly strung and excitable. She was sold to Mr Archie Dell for £250, a wonderful bargain.

Turf Talk Newsletter – 7 June, 2023