Gone In A Flash

Don't Blink! A low-flying Shea Shea and Piere Strydom winging their way to Gr1 Computaform Sprint glory

The gates flashed open and Shea Shea was gone. But definitely not forgotten. Trainer Geoff Woodruff won his fourth Gr1 Computaform Sprint this century when his National Emblem gelding won the R1 million clash of the speed demons in sensational style at Turffontein on Saturday.  

The highly anticipated match race between the Cape challenger What A Winter and the flying Var star mare Val De Ra never materialised as Piere Strydom had the National Emblem gelding out of the stalls like a scalded cat. His eight highly rated opponents really never had a chance after that.

Able Labels

We are all guilty at some time or the other of typecasting our trainers with various tags. Perceptions are a dangerous figment of the imagination but it is probably fair to say that  Mike De Kock trains the Group winners. Joey Ramsden is a master of the staying ranks.  Dean Kannemeyer finds the classic winners. Sean Tarry is a sand specialist.  Geoff Woodruff on the other hand is one of the fortunate men who fall somewhere in between. And while he has some way to go before reaching the level of the late Buddy Maroun when it comes to producing top-class sprinters, he gave his reputation a fillip when he won the Gr1 Computaform Sprint for the fourth time on Saturday.

Many of those starry-eyed bidders for the good-looking well-bred colts at the National Yearling Sales this past weekend would have been purchasing the next Jet Master or Captain Al in their wildest dreams, much like the Devines and the late Manny Dos Santos did all those years ago. And Shea Shea’s seasoned owner partnership of Brian Joffe and Myrom Berzack were harbouring their own aspirations of paddock glory as they refused to authorise the unkindest cut for fourteen runs for their four year old who had won six, including a Gr1 race, despite life’s great male distraction.

Kind Cut

Gelding has however worked the magic  for the very fast Shea Shea,who we believe is named after a grandson in the owner’s family. His two runs after the chop and a three month break have resulted in two very good wins and while he has won up to 1450m, he is an outstanding Gr1 sprinter.

Saturday’s win was Shea Shea’s second Gr1 win of his career, having won the Gr1 Golden Horse Casino Sprint at Scottsvile in May last year. He started at 15-4 and Piere Strydom really just kept him balanced as Winking Jack and Mannequin snapped at his heels. Shea Shea just kept galloping though, to win by 2,25 lengths and record a smart time of 56,50 seconds into a fair headwind.

Paul Peter’s Magico showed some life after a quiet spell, when he flashed up late for second at a hefty 75-1. What A Winter appears to be a much better horse in Cape Town and he plodded on for  third place 3,75 lengths off the winner. Dom Zaki’s Deliver The Power was going for his sixth win on the trot, but found this company a trifle tough and he sneaked into fourth.

Winning rider Piere Strydom said he was surprised to find himself in front so easily and confirmed that he had enjoyed an incident free smooth ride. The tactics used by Strydom were not necessarily exactly that envisaged by trainer Geoff Woodruff, but strategy is best measured by results rather than aesthetics.

Great Pity

While What A Winter no doubt failed to live up to his connection’s expectations, the real disappointments of the race were the flying filly Val De Ra and JJ The Jet Plane who finished tailed off together. While the official Stipes Report confirms that JJ The Jet Plane was examined by the Vet afterwards and nothing obvious was detected, Val De Ra was handed a mandatory 90 day suspension after suffering an official Epistaxis – in other words she bled. She was also not striding out on the off-fore. This is a major blow for a champion with overseas racing aspirations and who had not tasted defeat in her six starts since running third in the 2010 SA Fillies Sprint.

Trainer Geoff Woodruff admitted that he had selected Shea Shea as a prospective miler but that he wasn’t complaining about his charge’s ultimate career preferences. Shea Shea was bred by Klawervlei Stud and is by National Emblem out of the Jallad mare Yankee Clipper, who won five races for Joey Ramsden.  He is a R550 000 National Sale graduate.

He has won eight of his sixteen starts for stake earnings of R1 575 000.

Star Bound

In the heat of the post-race moment trainer Geoff Woodruff suggested that Shea Shea works like a bomb on the dirt and is good enough to compete with the best overseas. A big statement? Let’s see, but we will monitor this revitalised gelding’s future with interest.

In the short-term, he look s headed for the Gr1 Golden Horse Sprint at Scottsville at end May. With his performance curve on the up and his best days ahead of him still, he looks just about ready to land that prestigious double.

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