Say Nothing! Anton Marcus gets All Is Secret up to win the Gr2 Choice Carriers Championship. Butterfly Girl (blue cap) ran a smart second
Leading stallion Captain Al made it three winners in the race in six years when the outstanding grey All Is Secret cast aside any doubts over her fitness with contempt, when running out a smooth winner of the R200 000 Gr2 Choice Carriers Championship run over 1400m at Kenilworth on Saturday.
Vaughan Marshall’s grey Equus champion returned from her last outing when winning the Gr1 Thekwini Stakes on Super Saturday at the end of last season and showed that there is no substitute for pure class and ability. And has she trained on!
SA Champion Jockey Anton Marcus rode the odds-on winner on what was a quiet afternoon at the office by his own high standards.
The R750 000 Gr1 Avontuur Estate Cape Fillies Guineas, to be run at the same venue over 200m further on Saturday 8 December, is shaping into a potential race of the season at this stage, with some truly exciting fillies emerging.
Mike De Kock’s Kahal Festival Of Fire, who won the Starling Stakes up North recently, springs to mind as one example and we hope that this showing would not have scared the Gauteng challenge off. De Kock doesn’t enjoy racing for seconds.
Odds On
The fact that All Is Secret had not run for 105 days had no bearing on punter’s nerves as she was well supported into the red.
Bad For Best
Champion Ride.Anton Marcus rode All Is Secret
Thirteen 3yo fillies went to post and there was the predictable scramble and early jostle for position as Girl’s Best Friend visibly ruined her chances by jumping slowly from her wide draw.
Butterfly Girl, Sunset Girl, Murmering Sky and Earth’s Orbit exchanged early debate on the leadership role and it was eventually Muzi Yeni who asserted himself and took Earth’s Orbit up to show the way.
The Captain Al filly led Jet Aglow and Butterfly Girl, with Sunset Girl and the fancied All Is Secret about five lengths back.
Into the stretch Earth’s Orbit and Butterfly Girl looked dangerous with Jet Aglow angling wide for her run as All Is Secret appeared momentarily to be labouring. But Marcus got vigorous at around the 350m marker and got serious.
Bernard Fayd’Herbe’s body language must have sent alarm bells ringing for his colleagues who could see him, as the heavyweight jockey punched the Bass’s Butterfly Girl to the line and powered into the final 200m.
All Smiles. Vaughan Marshall trained the winner
But the Marcus Magic was working on the highest rated filly in the race and All Is Secret eventually found her stride to sweep ahead and win going away by 1,25 lengths in a time of 87,64 secs.
Follow Them
It should pay to follow all of the first six fillies home, with just over three lengths covering the sextet.
Bernard Fayd’Herbe declared a half kilo over on the Mike Bass-trained Butterfly Girl who held the Jet Master flag high and was prominent throughout. She stayed on really well for second to finish just ahead of Earth’s Orbit and Intimateconnection.
Glen Kotzen’s Jet Aglow was not disgraced in fifth, while Girl’s Best Friend ran on stoutly after her diabolical start to run sixth and just 3,10 lengths off All Is Secret. Riaan Van Reenen’s daughter of Trippi is one to be with over a mile next time out.
Multiple Gr1
The BBP Syndicate-bred winner is, as we have already noted with pride, by Captain Al out of the top-class six-time winning Goldkeeper mare Secret Of Victoria. She went through the National Yearling Sale ring as an R800 000 purchase.
She has run 6 times for 4 wins, which incidentally includes 2 Gr1’s, and 1 place for gross stake earnings of R832 989.
We have followed the fortunes of another champion in Princess Victoria, who won this race last year and went on to do exciting things.
With a measure of good fortune, Vaughan Marshall’s All Is Secret looks like she could be headed in much the same direction.
Result:
Fillies Championship (SAf-G2) (11/10)
Kenilworth, South Africa, November 10, R200.000, 1400m, turf, good, 1.27.64
(CR 1.24.00).
ALL IS SECRET (SAF), 58.0, gr f 3, Captain Al (SAF) – Secret Of Victoria
(SAF) by Goldkeeper (USA). Owner MJ Jooste and GM Miller; breeder BBP
Syndicate (SAF); trainer VH Marshall; jockey A Marcus (132.609)
Butterfly Girl (SAF), 58.0, b f 3, Jet Master (SAF) – Fire Tread (SAF) by
All Fired Up (USA)
Earth’s Orbit (SAF), 58.0, b f 3, Captain Al (SAF) – Venturesome (SAF) by
Rakeen (USA)
Margins: 1¼, nose, sh hd
Also ran: Intimateconnection (SAF) 58.0, Jet Aglow (SAF) 58.0, Girl’s Best
Friend (SAF) 58.0, Sunset Girl (SAF) 58.0, Count To Ten (SAF) 58.0, Run Like
Hell (SAF) 58.0, Countess Of Rhynie (SAF) 58.0, Murmering Sky (SAF) 58.0,
Princess Salme (SAF) 58.0, Trip Poker (SAF) 58.0
