The Grey's Day! All Is Secret (Anton Marcus) powers clear to win the Gr1 Allan Robertson Championship.
Punters may not have swallowed it, but the Captain Al flyer All Is Secret showed that there was more than a sliver of truth that her homework was better than that of her her stablemate Valdivia. The grey confirmed that secret in no uncertain terms when grabbing the limelight in the R500 000 Gr1 Allan Robertson Championship run over 1200m on Saturday.
For all the fighting talk in the build-up, All Is Secret with our champion jockey Anton Marcus in the saddle was still allowed to start at a generous 75-20, while the money came for her unbeaten stablemate Valdivia(13-10) and the Van Zyl runner, Franny(7-2). The three dominated the finish.
The favourite Valdivia broke very keenly from her inside draw but was eased back as Richard Fourie took the free-striding Franny out to lead from the grey All Is Secret who was right in the firing line. The Gr2 SA Fillies Nursery winner King’s Temptress was all at sea in the early stages already and was under a vigorous ride and off the bit very early on.
At the 400m marker Franny continued to roll as Marcus sent All Is Secret, who was right up with the crucial speed, on her way to grab first run on her stablemate Valdivia, who looked to be under a measure of pressure on the rail.
In the final stages the gallant Franny looked like she may give the grey something to think about,but Superman had everything under control and All Is Secret strode off to hold her to 1,25 lengths. Valdivia, who had looked to be going out the back-door, was switched late and she clung on gamely to a two length third as the longshot Counter Ridge flew through.
Anton Marcus. A confident ride on the Marshall flyer.
Franny ran a cracker in second place, but Valdivia’s supporters would not have been over the moon. MJ Byleveld did stick to her rails run for most of the journey and it is significant that the moment he switched her off that strip, she showed a kick. And maybe Byleveld’s concession in midweek that he was on the wrong one of the Marshall coupling, played a psychological role. That defeatist talk didn’t scare her backers away though.
The disappointment of the race was the shock Gr2 SA Fillies Nursery winner King’s Temptress. She was always under pressure and fizzled to nothing, finishing seventh 9,10 lengths off the winner. She had beaten Franny by 3 lengths at Turffontein at the end of April, and finished over 8 lengths behind her here. That turnaround is in the nature of juvenile form, but the jury is out. Talk of big money offers for her being resisted by the connections have done the rounds. Is King’s Temptress a one-hit wonder? Time will tell.
The BBP Syndicate bred All Is Secret is an R800 000 National Sale graduate and she thus qualified for the Bloodstock South Africa added bonus of R100 000.
All Is Secret races in the interests of Garth Miller and Markus Jooste. Miller is a member of the syndicate who own the winner’s dam, the trojan Goldkeeper racemare Secret Of Victoria, who spends her maternal days in the Klawervlei paddocks. This is a powerful family as the winner’s granddam is Mystic Spring, the Irish-bred Royal Academy mare, who produced the ill-fated 2005 Equus Champion 3yo Rabiya.
The multiple Group-winning Secret Of Victoria, who was incidentally also trained by Vaughan Marshall in her racing career, ran second in this race to the brilliant Spies flyer, Rock Opera, in 2005. She has one previous foal to race to date in the Dynasty gelding Dynasty’s Secret. And to show that this is not a game of pressing buttons and warranties, that three year old remains a rather moderate maiden after eleven runs.
The dominance of stallions Captain Al, Var and Trippi in the juvenile races this season continues, and while Captain Al won this round, we are bound to hear plenty still from Franny and Valdivia.
Trainer Vaughan Marshall also continued his dream season in no uncertain terms.
All Is Secret is a winner of two races and one place from her three starts and she has earned stakes of R387 880.
She is unlikely to stop here!
Result:
Allan Robertson Fillies Ch’ship (SAf-G1) (5/26)
Scottsville, South Africa, May 26, R500.000, 1200m, turf, good, 1.10.26 (CR
1.07.00).
ALL IS SECRET (SAF), 58.0, gr f 2, Captain Al (SAF) – Secret Of Victoria
(SAF) by Goldkeeper. Owner M J Jooste and G M Miller; breeder BBP Syndicate
(SAF); trainer VH Marshall; jockey A Marcus (R312.500)
Franny (SAF), 58.0, b f 2, Trippi – Scented Samantha (SAF) by National
Assembly (CAN)
Valdivia (SAF), 58.0, ch f 2, Var – River Divine (USA) by Irish River
Margins: 1¼, ¾, nk
Also ran: Counter Ridge (SAF) 58.0, Al Kindi (SAF) 58.0, Rebel Queen (SAF)
58.0, King’s Temptress (SAF) 58.0, Sea Shadow (SAF) 58.0, Trip To Eden (SAF)
58.0
