Champion Juvenile! In A Rush looks world-class.
“I will be up on cloud nine for the next few weeks if you are looking for me!”. The ecstatic words of longstanding hobby breeder and owner Mike Louw are a wonderful advert for the undeniable rush and thrill provided by being associated with good racehorses.
And Friday 15 July at a sunny Fairview Racecourse will go down in Mike’s fifty year long racing career as a red-letter day and one of those defining moments in life where all the pieces of the puzzle fall neatly into place.
The former General Manager of the now long defunct Cape Turf Club owns this afternoon’s Champion Juvenile Cup winner In A Rush in partnership with his longstanding friend and horse transport magnate Peter Choice,as well as Lionel Adams, Ken Patson, Hennie & Johan Gerber ( a father & son team) as well as trainer Gavin Smith. An ecstatic Louw said after the race that his belief in the two year old’s dam had been vindicated: “ I am not being an after-the-race merchant. I really believed Sweet Whisper would produce something really special. And here he is. Peter and myself owned her together and bred from her. She was trained by Izak Cronje and won five races during her turf career. She sadly died while foaling last season at the age of eighteen. Words escape me right now,” he said emotionally.
Besides having to endure the protracted battle over the final stages of the prestigious race, the thrilled connections had to ride the emotional roller-coaster of an objection by Glen Hatt, the jockey of the second placed Variety Club. The Langerman winner had joined In A Rush on the outside at about the 250m marker and there is no question that there was an element of contact on more than one occasion. But Joey Ramsden won the EP Derby in the same silks on an objection and lightning doesn’t strike twice in racing. Well not often anyway! And one never doubted that the Gavin Smith star always had the measure of Ramsden’s Var colt. The form shows that In A Rush will make his presence felt in the Cape or KZN next season and he looks every inch the next best thing to come out of these parts after Bold Silvano.
A good choice. Owner and breeder Peter Choice was at Fairview today.
His courageously brilliant win in this afternoon’s R200 000 Gr 3 Champion Juvenile Cup also put the lid on the pressure cooker of doubt, if it ever really existed, as to who will wear the sought-after mantle of the Eastern Cape Champion Juvenile colt for the season which ends in two weeks. The son of Windrush can run like hell and added the Group 3 feature to his two Listed wins in the Dahlia Plate and the East Cape Nursery. He is undefeated over 1200m and has now won five races from seven starts, accumulating R360 000 in earnings in the process. Apparently he is not for sale, either!
The jockey honours on the day were a bit of an anti-climax with Anton Marcus crying off sick and Piere Strydom having to ride some ordinary horses. Delpech and Richard Fourie shared riding honours with a double each, but it was promising Apprentice Anthony Andrews who got punters off to an unhappy start in the first race. He drove the first of Grant Paddock’s winners, the unfancied 40-1 shot Hinotori , through to catch the favourite Harry Hall close home. Brandon Morgenrood, deputising for the indisposed Anton Marcus, looked all over a winner on the Corne Spies horse, but was no match for the outsider. The winner was yet another two year old to win in open company and is a R45 000 son of Mogok out of the Western Winter mare, Winter Bloom. Andrews loses his claim on his next winning ride and is a balanced rider who hails from the Sorrento Andrews clan down Paarl way.
Grant Paddock is enjoying a rich vein of form and he followed up the shock first race winner, when saddling Tijgerbeech to win the third and the confidently supported two year old Gulf King in the jackpot opener. Gulf King defied the logic of good and bad draws, by sticking to his 1 draw in the eighteen horse field and winning very readily. He had run a six length fourth to In A Rush in the Dahlia Plate in mid-May and that was certainly good enough to win here. It was not commentator Bumpie Schoeman’s best race-call as he missed the Paddock runner, only picking up the Lecture gelding with five meters to go! Schoeman recovered very well though and who would really want to do a job where people only notice when a mistake is made?
Future star. Apprentice Anthony Andrews rode the first winner.
The trip down to Port Elizabeth was not a waste of time for Anthony Delpech who celebrated a pleasing Gavin Smith double on the day. While In A Rush’s Group 3 win later on in the day would have given him much pleasure, the Silvano filly Spondulics was an easier earned riding fee in the second race, a Maiden Juvenile Plate for fillies over 1200m. The Maine Chance – bred filly has been knocking hard and won well here at her fifth start. She was a R130 000 National Sale graduate and is out of the very good Our Casey’s Boy racemare, Secret To Success.
A lifelong share for just R16 000 in Danzig stallion Bezrin, which sounds like a bargain, was advertised recently in the Sporting Post, and his flag-bearer Celtic Fire just gets better and stronger with age. Now rising five, the Golden Acres-bred gelding pays out more often than any ATM machine and his courageous win in the Pinnacle Stakes, under his regular rider Karis Teetan, made it eleven wins from twenty-four starts. He made light of his 62 kgs to beat the Wiese gelding American Man and the old warrior Surfin’ USA, who raised his game for Piere Strydom.
Sipping a Gin & Tonic. Justin Snaith had a good day.
Justin Snaith is the scourge of the PE trainers as he cleans up week after week with his highly successful satellite yard run by Tara Garrett, and he clinched yet another feature win with the smart Drakenstein Stud-owned and bred State Blue running out an emphatic winner of the second feature. She ran on strongly late on the outside in the Listed East Cape Breeders Stakes and gave her illustrious opponents no chance. Replacement rider Glen Hatt rode a well –judged race and the daughter of National Assembly has been a perennial bridesmaid. This win was just reward for her consistency and was the second leg of the Snaith double. The first leg was won by yet another Drakenstein Stud product, and the long-striding Gin And Tonic appeared to enjoy the Fairview track as he won the Maiden 1800m under a hands and heels ride by Richard Fourie. He will win a few more at this centre on this performance, although the second-placed Detective Barnaby is no star.
They have been through a quiet spell of late but the Mitch Wiese and Christopher Gregorowski combination closed the day with yet another winner for sire Silvano. Inca’s Sprit was always within striking distance and she drew clear to win the MR 65 Handicap for fillies and mares over 1800m, showing the benefit of race fitness and a good draw. The favourite Plaisir De Fete had nothing to come late in the race to finish a tame fifth, while the much talked about Annwyn finished a disappointing tenth. Tipsters shouldn’t tip on emotion!
