Reef Of Gold

Stay All Day! Jeppe’s Reef and Robbie Fradd power clear to win the Gr1 Gold Cup

Trainer Mike Bass ended his Champions Season campaign on a high when the Jallad gelding Jeppe’s Reef stayed on strongly to win the R1,25 million Gr1 Gold Cup at Greyville on Saturday. Robbie Fradd rode a superb race in a contest where, by his own admission, everything went his way.

Bass has had a quiet season in KZN and has lacked the firepower of years gone by. That is a cyclical reality of any top training establishment and he will take the prized Gr1 win with both hands.

Bass in fact saddled two runners, with their more fancied one time Durban July candidate River Crossing disappointing and finishing 4.45 lengths behind in eleventh position.

Fradd showed his vast experience and expertise in the saddle by capitalising on the conditions as things went Jeppe’s Reef’s way.

We have to go back 21 years to Fradd’s first and only other Gold Cup win. That was on the Home Guard gelding Floating Casino for trainer Vaughan Marshall, who won our premier staying race with the assistance of a tailwind back in August 1992.

The 2013 renewal was run at a brisk gallop early with Wagner showing the way from Masai Warrior with eventual winner Jeppe’s Reef loping along in third.

Nooresh Juglall tested his brake pads at the 1200m marker as he slowed Wagner up dramatically and the concertino effect had a few jockeys startling awake, with Brandon Lerena showing initiative by taking Shogunnar around his field. He ended up running a not disgraced sixth.

Into the home run the field fanned out with Wagner keeping rolling as Masai Warrior, Shogunnar and the beautiful grey Knight To Remember charged through and looking dangerous.

But the veteran Fradd had his eye on the prize and he pushed Jeppe’s Reef forward to catch Masai Warrior, with Canterbury Tale flying late down the outside from an impossible position.

Jeppe’s Reef won by 1,25 lengths in a time of 204,32 secs.This is some six seconds outside Aquanaut’s longstanding course record.

Mike Azzie’s Masai Warrior maintained his solid form profile by staying on for second.

Raymond Danielson may have thought that the finish was down the Clairwood straight, as he brought Canterbury Tale from somewhere down the South Coast to run a cracking third.

Going For The Gold. The victorious winning team

Knight To Remember had every chance but did not go on with his effort and had to be content with fourth.

The Noordhoek visitor Paddy O’Reilly ran on well for fifth, and but for his soundness issues would surely have won many more than his current tally of just four wins.

The field was reduced to 18 runners this year with the withdrawal of Taipan and E Jet, and it is sobering to reflect that none of our better rated stayers had a say in the finish at the end of the day.

None of our current leading sires featured  either with the top two place producers ,Jallad and Wolfhound, no longer in operation. Greys Inn and The Sheik sired the third and fourth placed runners .

The handicapper may no doubt claim some credit for the fact that only 7,80 lengths separated the first to last finisher.  That’s hardly bad after two miles of fun and games. The weak favourite, Gold Vase winner Kolkata, never got a shout in and finished thirteenth, albeit only 4,80 lengths off the winner.

Robbie Fradd, who is currently third on the SA jockey log, said that the race had worked out well but he was a little worried down the back stretch as they eased up in front.

“Hell he was always going so well though. He was pulling my arms out of the sockets at the halfway point and we turned for home behind Seal. I won on him down in Cape Town. He is a real soldier and stays all day,” he said.

In response to a question from Deez Dayanand, trainer Mike Bass said that he hadn’t had the strength in his string this season.

“I actually haven’t spent much time here. Robbie (Fayd’herbe) has done a great job though. It is always difficult to win a Gr1 race and I’m really happy for Gaynor Rupert and her team at Drakenstein” he said.

In typically modest fashion Bass added that he thought that Jeppe’s Reef had won as he was the ‘right type of horse.’

“He is beautifully sound and has enjoyed the season and enjoyed his racing. If ever he had his chance to win this race, it was this year. He was always travelling beautifully and Robbie(Fradd) rode a perfect race,” he said.

Enjoying his biggest career success, Jeppe’s Reef was bred by Drakenstein Stud, in whose silks he races.

He is by Jallad out of the high-class staying mare Studio Fifty Four, by Badger  Land. The six-time winner was trained by the late Mike Airey in her racing days and won the Gr2 Gold Circle Oaks run over 2400m in 2004.

Jeppe’s Reef is a winner of 6 of his 37 races with 15 places for stake earnings of R1 223 120.

.

.