Unbeaten! Charles Laird leads Unannounced in after that strange start.
The unhilarious comical debacle at the start of the seventh race at Clairwood on 25 August was only eclipsed by the poor service show that followed immediately thereafter. We probably cannot anticipate any remedial action from anybody involved either as we have been down this road so many times before.
For reasons known only to himself, the Starter pressed the release button with the Alastair Gordon-trained Lord London’s ample bum still protruding out of the back of the gates. Why a false start was not called is the next piece of the puzzle. But there’s more.
Fair enough. Mistakes happen. Lord London was correctly declared a non-runner. But why and how did this happen? Would you want to work as a handler at the start in KZN with a starter that doesn’t see the obvious? Maybe with R10 million free accident and life cover. Maybe, just maybe.
Durban-based Commentator Craig Peters is not known as ‘Eagle Eye’ because he owns a white Labrador. And he called the incident as it happened. But even he was doubting himself as the field passed the post, such was the lunacy and ridiculousness of it. Shaheen Shaw in The Tellytrack studio confirmed it too. But that is where the problem started.
Right now we know more about what is happening in Tripoli than what happened at the start of that Clairwood seventh race. We are still waiting for a confirmation of events and even Shaw had to make the announcement after gleaning the scratching confirmation of Lord London from the website. That was twenty minutes after the trick was performed by the KZN Starter.
The questions are numerous. Why did he do it and how did the system fail? Where was the information and announcement from the track? Where was the Duty Manager? Where were the Stipendiary Stewards? What about the stupid 5% deduction lumbered on the backers of Lord London, who mostly probably didn’t even know he was running in the first instance? What about the loss of tote turnover as a result of refunds? After the Reptillian incident at Durbanville last week, nothing has changed, and frankly nothing is likely to ever change. One also feels for owners Des Scott and Bruce Armstrong who may have taken the afternoon off from their busy schedules and also have to pay keep for another few weeks. Who cares, though?
Charles Laird would have heaved a sigh of relief as his unbeaten Snitzel colt Unannounced skated home after the delayed start . Laird had up to then watched two of his very fancied horses run below-par races. And that is putting it kindly as far as Ransom Of Choice in the fourth goes. The son of Stratum was being worked at around the early part of the turn already by Felix Coetzee in this very ordinary looking Novice Plate and the Jooste horse fell away to less than nothing in the straight. If this was his run, he is both overrated and overpriced, and they might as well truck him off to the Shaun Miller yard in Kimberley. But let’s wait and see what excuses the Stipes Report will proffer.
Smiles and Good Buys! Garth Puller and connections lead Shahruhk in.
Legendary former multiple SA champion jockey Garth Puller has never officially retired from the saddle. It is unbelievably already close to six years ago that he quietly had his last career ride at Kenilworth in Cape Town, the scene of some of his greatest triumphs. The date was 27 December 2005 and he also rode his last ever winner that day. He bowed out after a final ride on a sprinter called Glory Bound but did win his penultimate ride in a lowly maiden race on a horse called While U Whistle for Ricky Maingard. Puller now trains as an Assistant to his brother Glen out of Clairwood and has taken to training racehorses like a fish to water. The total horseman turned out the King Of Kings colt Shahruhk to win the opener for his loyal patron, Butch Fitzgerald. The race was never in doubt and winning jockey Felix Coetzee said he had ‘it won 600m out.’ The colt is out of the three-time winning Restructure mare Miss Andrea, who was trained by Alastair Gordon at Summerveld. Bred by Warwick and Karen Render at Bush Hill Stud, who are big Puller supporters, he cost just R10 000 off the farm and as this was just his third start, he looks the type who could well train on. He certainly owes his connections nothing!
On the flipside of the cheapie coin, the R350 000 Western Winter gelding Big Winter Chill gave Charles Laird the first of his two winners. This handsome and quite flashy Western Winter Lammerskraal-bred gelding won the Maiden Plate over 1450m under Delpech with something in hand at his second start. Sean Veale and Yogas Govender have forged a winning partnership and the backed Sydney’s Girl came away from her field to win the fifth race, an MR 74 Handicap over a mile, with ease. The fancied Bay Leaf ran stone last while the Laird filly Talente plodded into a never threatening fourth place. Derryl Daniels and Alec Laird threw the cat amongst the exotic bet pigeons when Stella Mia won the sixth race at 12-1. The six year old Labeeb mare still has a zest for racing and won her fourth race beating the ever game Miss Filly. Lineal Factor and Crimson Glow were both fancied but ran downfield.
On the up! Royal Tribe took the final race in his stride.
Felix Coetzee rode the final leg of his treble and also completed the second leg of a smart double for trainer Ivan Moore in the final race. Moore, who really has fallen with his proverbial in the butter with the well-deserved support of international owner Fred Crabbia, sent out two smart and upwardly mobile former Allan Greeff three year olds in the MR 78 Handicap over 1200m and showing plenty of pace, Royal Tribe toyed with the opposition. The extraordinarily good –looking Lecture gelding is Listed Race placed and was bred by Ascot Stud. He cost R500 000 as a two year old and looks like he could go through the divisions in KwaZulu-Natal.
Now let’s start a collection to buy the East Coast Starter a Labrador and a snazzy white cane.
