Dupont – Another Stakes winner and a great Weekend Racing
Cape Breeders’ Stallion Auction
WEEKEND RACING
Last Saturday – 3 feature races and 3 winners for our stallions and 5 others stakes placed, including an Olympic Dual Stakes quartet – all 4 places – that’s as good as it can get. If I was a serious gambler I suppose Saturday at Kenilworth should have been the day I would have made a killing. Captain Al won both the Olympic Duel and the Fillies Nursery, Dupont won the Colt Nursery, Dynasty 2nd in the Colts Nursery and Count Dubois won the 3rd in Johannesburg – but wait it was even better than that.
Ever loyal to the product I can’t help expressing my support by taking a bet, heck that’s what racing is all about isn’t it? We all have to invest in the tote, albeit in a modest way. Mine is always just enough to make me want to shout home my choice. I enjoy taking quartets, trifecta’s and swingers. That way I can cover my interests when we have a link to more than just one runner in the race – often this blind loyalty is well rewarded, as well rewarded as my level of investment allows. But at least I have a “system”. The big thrill comes when the sires in our portfolio do as well as they did last weekend. It might have been even better if the Durban meeting had not been rained out because we had a few really big chances in two Guineas fields – but at least we get to revisit those races again this weekend – weather permitting.
CAPTAIN AL
The Terrence Millard Olympic Duel Stakes (L) always looked like a shoe-in for Captain Al – he had 6 in the field of 20 runners and took 1st, 2nd and 4th – third place went to the Badger’s Drift filly Peonie Princess. The winner was never in doubt. Hassen Adams’ talented Captain Al filly, Fragrant Al, (Justin Snaith and Felix Coetzee once again) won by 1.5l conceding 6.5kgs to Captain’s Emblem (yep – another Captain Al filly) with a Badger’s Drift filly in 3rd and Yogus Govender trained Kwitizina (Captain Al) 4th. Captain Al is the leading sire on the main stallion log and we hope that he might be heading for Champion honours. It’s a hard fought contest and one of the most interesting we have ever seen.
Fragrant Al (Captain Al) wins the Terrence Millard Olympic Duel Stakes (L)
The Betting World Fillies Nursery Gr3 field was always headed by the 3/10 Ramsden trainer favourite Trinity House. This compact daughter of Captain Al had won her 3 previous starts so impressively that Joey went on record as saying that she is “as good as anything I have ever trained” – she duly obliged beating a solid field. Glen Hatt had made her the best bet on the cards on the morning Tellytrack round-up giving us all a superb Pick 6 and PA banker. Trinity House’s 4 from 4 makes a super contribution to Captain Al’s position at the top of the 2yo Sire’s Log.
Trinity House (Captain Al) wins the Betting World Fillies Nursery (Gr3)
DUPONT & DYNASTY
Our own interest in the Colts Nursery centred around Amber Palace, the maturing son of Dynasty, whom we race with Jack Mitchell and Etienne Braun in the Snaith yard and Depardieu the smart Kannemeyer trained Dupont colt we bought from Normandy Stud at the Yearling Sales last year. There is an interesting story behind these two. Being a son of Dynasty we resolved to be happy with a good showing from Amber Palace as he should stay a lot further and was to be beaten here for pure speed. The son of Dupont was bought to fill an order for Pat Shaw in Singapore and was sent to Dean for pre-quarantine. The Kannemeyer yard always reported well of the colt so it was disappointing for us to learn that he failed a blood test for export and had to miss the flight. He won his first start very easily and then jumped into the Gr3 Somerset Plate to meet the smart Australian More than Ready colt Givemethegreenlight who had won his 2 previous starts. He got left a few lengths at the start to finish 2nd by a half-length flying from the tail of the field and came into Saturday’s Gr3 full of promise. The result was highly predictable – he beat the Dynasty colt giving us a much enjoyed exacta. Dean Kannemeyer told me after the race that he was aiming the colt at the Cape Guineas. Mark this spot – an interesting time for all connected.
Depardieu (Dupont) wins the Betting World Cape Nursery (Gr3)
Dynasty has had an incredible run of late. The front page of the Sporting Post Last weekend noted that he had 8 winners in the 9 days prior to that issue going to print. Since then he has had 3 more and Saturdays Gr3 2nd. So that’s 11 winners in 15 days. He is joint leading sire of 3yos by % SW (13%) and also 3rd leading sire of 3yo’s by AEPR and may add to this statistic on lucky Friday the 13th when Dennis Drier sends Beach Beauty to the Gr2 KRA Fillies Guineas and Justin Snaith sends Run For It to the richer colts version. Both of these Dynasty runners go into their respective races with highly credible form.
Depardieu hails from Dupont’s 3rd crop – the sire has only 63 runners racing having started his career in KZN late in the season with very little support. He has 38 runners that have won or placed (60%) and 3 stakes winners (12% stakes winners/winners). His progeny have won a stakes race in each of the last 3 months:- Highveld speed merchant Magico won the Gr3 Tommy Hotspur for Paul Peters on 15th February, Lady Magpie won the Gr3 King’s Cup beating the colts for Alistair Gordon on 22nd March and Depardieu became his first two year old stakes winner last Saturday in the Gr3 Betting World Cape Nursery. The Nursery first prize catapulted Dupont 23 rungs up the 2yo sire ladder. Veronica Foulkes’ stakes win strike rate is phenomenal. Depardieu joins an admirable and growing list of recent stakes winners including champion Mother Russia, Gr1 winner Captain’s Gal, Gr1 winner Bravura, multiple Gr1 placed Rushing Wind etc. Veronica told me that she is delighted with Dupont’s continuing success and hopes that Depardieu might emulate the success of the half-brother to his dam – Horse of the Year – Winter Solstice, also a Normandy graduate.
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CAPE BREEDERS’ STALLION AUCTION
The secretary of the Cape Breeders club recently announced that their annual auction of services will take place on Thursday the 9th of June at Bloemendal Restaurant in Durbanville. Anyone who is on the waiting list for services to the stallions in our portfolio that are fully booked, this is a must. The bookings to Captain Al, Dynasty and Trippi were closed a long time ago and those who remain on the list and anyone else who wants to get access has one last chance of getting a service while supporting the Cape Breeders’ charities at this auction. Please let us know if you want more information or e-mail [email protected]. We have donated services to all of our stallions to Cape Breeders’ again this year.
