Silver Mountain – I was there
With all the who-ha over Jarred Samuel and the general discussion about health and safety, the Cape Fillies Guineas weekend slipped under the radar somewhat.
The Cape Fillies Guineas is one of my favourite race days on the calendar. There’s good racing, without the spectacle and rent-a-crowd that usually goes with the bigger, flagship days as Pippa and the Avontuur team took pains to keep the day elegant and ensure that the hospitality didn’t overtake the horse, so to speak.
Just As Well
Over the years, it’s attracted the genuine enthusiast and with it being a classic and an important race for the stud book, it’s one of the few days that the breeders really seem to support in numbers, so one is guaranteed to see a few far flung favourites lurking under the parade ring trees. It was particularly fun to see the Le Roux’s from Spring Valley with their wonderful filly, Well In Flight – what a feather in the cap of their resident stallion, Just As Well, to have a Fillies Guineas contender from his very first crop.
The Fillies Guineas is also always quietly supported by the top trainers, jockeys and horses from all around the country. Even though it’s a Group 1 – and a pretty serious one at that – the Fillies Guineas has always somehow maintained a gentle air and with very little of the big race razzmatazz, one gets a chance to chat to people in a (relatively!) low key environment. Somehow it manages to be serious racing without the serious pressure.
With all of this, the Cape Fillies Guineas has always signalled the beginning of the end of the year for me. With fabulous fillies and lots of favourite people it’s always felt like a bit of a pre-Christmas Christmas gathering, old school style – where people actually come together to enjoy one another’s company, rather than to see and be seen.
Anyway, with 2015 being the first time the race was run without Avontuur, and the first time that World Sports Betting were at the reins, I was interested to see how it all went and whether World Sports Betting would continue the tradition, or try and put their stamp on the day in a different way.
How did it go?
The Avontuur atmosphere was definitely no longer there, and with a rather motley crew of craft stalls scattered about under the bluegums and that rather odd wind-tunnel / money box thing on the winner’s podium, my lovely genteel, nostalgic day was most definitely no longer.
But at least the racing delivered. The card was a wonderful selection of high quality horse flesh and it was a treat to get an early season private view of some of the stars that will feature over the next few months. S’manga Khumalo always brightens up any card he rides on and there were the usual broad smiles and deft winners that one has come to expect from ‘Bling’.
The first few races afforded enough time to grab some lunch and do a quick recce before the serious racing got under way, but when it did, it was fasten your seatbelt stuff.
Top class racing
Captain Alfredo
The Southeaster Sprint delivered a cracking finish and with less than 3 lengths covering the first 5 home, it was racing at its very best and the underrated Grant Behr showed that when he’s given the chances, he’s a force to be reckoned with, getting Captain Alfredo home half a length from Ernie. Congratulations to all the connections.
The Southern Cross Stakes was another cracking line-up of riders, trainers and top class horseflesh from all across the country, and with the first 9 horses finishing within 3 lengths of one another, it was another heart stopper, but Smanga Khumalo showed why he’s worth every cent of his riding fee, making sure he got it right where it mattered most and getting Carry On Alice across the line in the nick of time. Consummate timing and execution and a joy to watch. Her performance was also a timeous one with boss Chris van Niekerk’s Cape Premier Sale lurking around the corner.
Silver Mountain – class of her own
The tension dialled up a notch for the main race and it has to be said that it is a privilege to stand in the parade ring just to appraise a field of that quality. Of course, in the end Silver Mountain made them all look like they were standing still – no mean feat in that company – and the way she accelerated past the post was one of those goosebump moments you will remember for years to come and be proud to say “I was there.” She is a very special filly indeed and if things keep going her way, is going to be the absolute darling of the Cape summer season. It goes without saying that she comes at a particularly appropriate time for the Bass stable and after Mr Bass’s recent health scare, makes it all the more special to see them back in the big race winner’s enclosure. I suspect they will need to consider a new plaque to join Pocket Power’s one at the entrance to their barn soon! Add in the final ingredient of popular young jockey Aldo Domeyer, who has such strong ties with the Bass’s and more importantly, has partnered Silver Mountain throughout her career and this is the sort of horse and story that you couldn’t make up if you tried. I hope our promoters sit up and take note – this is the sort of horse that gets people to come racing.
Piere Strydom is always a banker on a big race day and brought the oddly named, but beautifully bred Qing home with aplomb in the penultimate race of the day. Our technical staff handled their equipment malfunction exceptionally well in the last and far too soon another Fillies Guineas day was done and dusted and consigned to the notebooks for another year.
Post script
I’d come home and relayed the day’s events to the S.O. and lamented the loss of Avontuur as the sponsor, while consoling myself with the prospect of the brightest racing star we’ve had on the horizon for many a season. Of course, I’d forgotten that Pippa always has an ace up her sleeve.
I’ve said before that there’s just something about a parcel that brightens your day. Even if it’s a mail order item or a spare part for a gadget, a bulky package in your mailbox somehow brings a frisson of excitement and just gives your day a little lift. Someone who actually drives up to your door, and presents you with a large brightly coloured box – well, that’s a whole new level altogether. But that’s exactly what the Avontuur team had done.
Oratorio’s first SA crop debuts at the 2016 Cape Premier Yearling Sale
While there was no Avontuur Fillies Guineas day this year, Pippa and her magic elves had put together little gift boxes including some Oratorio wine, a gorgeous plum coloured Oratorio cap, along with information on their CTS Premier Sale draft and an invitation to pop by and view them in the New Year. Now that’s smart marketing! Full marks to the team from top to bottom – and extra kudos for the particularly charming delivery man.
And suddenly I did have my little pre-Christmas Christmas treat again. And with a star filly to go at the top of the tree, I have a feeling it’s going to be a good festive season ahead.
