Sands of Time – November 1995

1 – 7 November

Global Warming

The 4 November Germiston November Handicap looked a walkover for National Emblem. However, there is no such thing as a racing certainty and in the event, Stuart Pettigrew’s front-running Golden Globe caused a 40/1 upset. Rene Bonham got his charge over smartly from his wide draw and simply led from start to finish to beat favourite National Emblem home by 0.75 lengths.

Lion King

There was some consolation for the National Emblem connections Charles Laird and co-owner Coly Fram in the day’s supporting feature, when Lion Prince captured the Germiston November Consolation Handicap by 2 lengths.

The HRA handicappers would have been delighted with the two ‘November’ results. The decision to eliminate Cowabunga from the chief event and allow Golden Globe a run looked a trifle odd given that Cowabunga had thumped Pettigrew’s gelding at Gosforth Park two weeks earlier, but their judgement proved to be spot on. Furthermore, nobody was arguing that Lion Prince (unplaced in that same race won by Cowabunga from Golden Globe) should have been in the November Handicap proper. A neat escape for Roger Smith and his handicapping team, who invariably have to bring out the bullet-proof vests every year at November Handicap time.

Free Flo

Down in Cape Town, Flobayou appeared on track to repeat his 1994 feat of winning all three principal sprints of the Cape summer, by winning the Cape Merchants. Guineas winner Bushmanland was strongly favoured to upset Eric Sands’ sprint champion, however, on the day it was Bold Thatch who proved the biggest danger. Meeting Flobayou on 3.5 kgs better terms for a 3.5 length beating in the Mercury Sprint at Clairwood Park in August, it was not surprising that he made much more of a race of it this time. In the end, though, the sheer class of Flobayou conquered all. As always, Eric Sands’ champion was tucked in a few lengths back as Bold Thatch disputed the early pace with Midnight Run and Dachmar. Flobayou began to lengthen his stride coming to the last 200m, with Bushmanland chasing hard from behind, but Bold Thatch was hanging tough on the lead. Still, once Flobayou found top gear, there wasn’t a thing that Bold Thatch could do about it. The favourite went on by without too much persuasion from jockey Karl Neisius, and had almost one length to spare over Bold Thatch at the finish.

Botanique by a Whisker

The two most popular horses in Mauritius this season fought out a ding-dong battle at one of the last racemeetings on the island this year. Botanique prevailed by the narrowest of margins over Le Turbo, to win his first local ‘classic’ in the Duke of York Cup (wfa) over a mile. The two challengers finished over 4 lengths ahead of the third horse Cape Saffron, who had Gaelic Find in his wake. The other finishers were 4 and more lengths further back.

Guillermo Figueroa had a dream day, riding three winners, which may well have sealed the jockey championship for 1995.

The meeting was sponsored by SAA, IGN, TBA, TBA Sales, Michel Nairac Bloodstock and the Equine Group. There were more South African racing and breeding dignitaries than you’ll find at a major South African racemeeting: Jockey Club chairman Ward, Durban Turf Club chairman Stiebel, Laurence Allem of the TBA, Graham Hawkins of TBA Sales, Peter Youell of Equine, and agent Michel Nairac.

Doriemus Double

The 1995 Melbourne Cup, run on soft going on 7 November, was a Cup double for New Zealand runner Doriemus, who had won the Caulfield Cup a few weeks earlier. Notin’ Leica Dane (AUS) and Irish challenger (and previous winner) Vintage Crop finished second and third.

 

8 – 14 November

Cape Summer Hots Up

The Cape summer season gets into full swing later this month, and it’s worth noting that several changes have been made in comparison with previous years.

Local authorities are intent on selling the Milnerton track, and this season could well be the Milnerton’s last. Because of the state of the track, Milnerton has been temporarily relegated to a mid-week venue only. The course will stage no more than Gr3 and Listed events.

For the first time the Gr1 Argus Guineas will be run around the Kenilworth new course, where there is less emphasis on the draw, but a much greater demand on stamina – a distinct disadvantage to sprint/miler winners of the past, and a boon to horses that like to come from behind. On previous occasions when Milnerton was out-of-order the Kenilworth old track was used, because it was regarded as closer resembling the sharp Milnerton near bend (which is, of course, rubbish).

From its new mid-January time slot, the Cape Guineas sets off a feast of top-class racing. On consecutive Saturdays racegoers will be treated to the Guineas, Paddock Stakes and the Cape Flying Championship. This concept has proved its success in KwaZulu-Natal , where three Gr1 races are held on Smirnoff, Gilbeys and Rothmans July day.

Gauteng Gives Guineas Cold Shoulder

Gauteng trainers are conspicuous by their absence from the list of nominations for the Cape Fillies Guineas. Somewhat idiotically listed as only a Gr2 race, this first leg of the official Fillies Triple Crown usually attracts a host of up-country entries. Reason is the “free nomination if you do it now” offer, which in the past made everyone with anything worthwhile enter their charges. This year not even Harry’s Charm or Ahmatir can be found amongst the entries. Which shows that you can take a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Clearly, the Fillies Triple Crown concept is a lame duck and should be forthwith dispensed with. There are limits to accepting apathy, even from Gauteng trainers. The ONLY entry from those quarters is Millard trained Royal Prophecy!

Nominations have been listed grouped by sire, to give breeders some added interest.

Best represented are Al Mufti (Roberto – Lassie Dear by Buckpasser) with four entries, Model Man (Elliodor – Top Model by Filipepi), Raise A Man (Raise A Native – Delta Sol by Delta Judge) and Secret Prospector (Mr Prospector – Secret Asset by Graustark) with three entries each.

Remarkable (but following world trends) is the strong representation of the Raise A Native and Northern Dancer sire lines, which account for over half of the 51 entries with 15 fillies each.

All Too True

Kenilworth has always been a happy hunting ground for Eli’s Truth and the six-year-old made a triumphant homecoming when he won the Gr2 Computaform Stakes over 1600m on Saturday, 11 November.

This Weight For Age event was run on the Kenilworth ‘old’ course and it was there that Eli’s Truth won the relocated Cape Guineas of his year before going on to win the Derby on the ‘new course’ later that season.

Saturday’s race marked the gelding’s first start of the Cape summer and he was considered to be something of an outsider in a strong field. Last year’s Computaform Stakes winner Western Rocket had caught the eye in two prep races since returning from Natal and was sent out favourite to complete a double, with Counter Action, La Fabulous and Zimbabwe’s superstar Stay Alert all adding plenty of spice to the first big middle distance test of the Cape season.

The race went nothing like the way the script said it should. Western Rocket could only run on late to finish fourth, Counter Action and Stay Alert were never in the hunt at all. La Fabulous ran on stoutly to fill second place, but Eli’s Truth had the prize won almost a furlong from home. The Computaform Stakes was run at a good pace, with Penderel Moon showing the way to Midnight Run while both Western Rocket and Counter Action settled in a good eight to ten lengths back. The leaders cried enough soon after the turn, and half way down the straight Eli’s Truth blasted his way into a clear lead. Jockey Glen Hatt had timed his challenge to perfection, and Eli’s Truth had one length to spare over the charging La Fabulous at the wire. Hard Warrior caused the biggest surprise of the race by finishing third, a far cry from his solid but unspectacular form in winter season top division handicaps.

It goes without saying that Eli’s Truth will be back at Kenilworth for the Queen’s Plate this summer, and probably for the J&B Met as well. Maybe it takes a brave man to laugh off the son of ‘lucky packet’ stallion Eli’s Star anytime he races at the picture postcard venue in the southern suburbs of Cape Town , but whether Saturday’s form will stand up in the bigger races to follow is something we must seriously question.

Clearly, the Computaform Stakes was little more than a stepping stone to bigger things for most of its key runners, and Counter Action at least wasn’t helped by a draw so wide that he started halfway across the Cape Flats. As far as Western Rocket was concerned, while accepting that he hasn’t sparkled since he won the Cape Derby back in February, there was one crucial difference between the Computaform Stakes of 1995 and that of twelve months ago. In 1994 the race was run on the new course at Kenilworth, with its 200m longer run-in, and James Lightheart’s gelding would probably have finished much closer on Saturday if he had enjoyed the same luxury this time.

We can only reserve judgement on Stay Alert, although a much better performance may well be forthcoming from the pride of Harare in future as he was making his south African debut after a 20 week layoff. Connections of La Fabulous will be looking forward to the J&B Met with a degree of optimism, however. The rather convoluted formula used to frame the weights for the jewel in Kenilworth’s crown may well mean that La Fabulous, as the non-winner of a Graded race in his life, will be better handicapped than most come January 27th. Given that the former Port Elizabethan has always been close to the best of his powerful age group you may be doing yourself a favour if you can find a bookmaker to lay a handsome price about La Fabulous for the J&B Met. Still, let’s not forget who actually won the Computaform Stakes.

Eli’s Truth has been something of a forgotten figure on the national racing stage. He hasn’t been the easiest of horses to keep sound, and his elimination from the 1994 Rothmans July raised more than a few eyebrows, but his record of nine wins from 30 starts for earnings of R844 665 is proof of his durability and of the skills of both his original trainer Peter Kannemeyer and his current mentor David Payne.

15 – 21

New Horse Sickness Quarantine Area

Proposals will be tabled with the European Community this week to make South African horses eligible for entry into Europe. To date, fears about outbreaks of horse sickness have prevented entry of South African horses to many countries. The proposals are for all horses (including showjumpers, eventers, donkeys and zebras), and are of great importance if South Africa is to be successful in its bid for the 2004 Olympics.

The new quarantine area will have strict regulations for horses entering and leaving. The proposed (mostly urban) area spans about 90 square kilometres, and runs (roughly) from the Milnerton racecourse to Kenilworth racecourse. The quarantine area is bordered mainly by motorways, to give clear boundaries.

Although the area at first appears to be a peculiar choice, there is method in the madness. The proposed quarantine area will be relatively easy to police, and it will have the 1000 or so horses in it which are required for it to qualify as a proper quarantine area. It also is in the required close proximity to airport and harbour facilities.

The quarantine area is situated inside a much larger control area of almost 10,000 square kilometres. The latter runs from Vredenburg in the north to Gordon’s Bay in the south, and is cut off from the rest of the country by the natural barrier of the Hottentots Holland mountain range. There should be no fear of windborne midges (which carry the disease) crossing this natural barrier.

It is anticipated that once the European Community gives the green light, controls can be in place within two years. A new quarantine station is planned for Kenilworth racecourse, which would give horses for import and export the opportunity to be exercised relatively freely while in quarantine for the required period (could be up to 90 days).

Further details about structure and control will be finalised once the EC has given its ruling. Other countries in the world have in the pats followed the lead given by the EC, which is why the first approval is the most important one. The proposal is initiated by Prof. Alan Guthrie and his team at Onderstepoort.

SA Horses at Tattersalls December Sales

Exported thanks to a Swiss loophole in European horse import regulations (much to the chagrin of the EC of which Switzerland is not a member), Swynford fillies Grey Angel and Kundalini left South Africa some time ago.

Both of them are now offered at the annual Tattersall December Sale in England, and it will be revealing to see what kind of interest they attract. The December Sale catalogue is a huge and well-known one worldwide, with a majority of mares in foal, and a selection of potential stallions.

Grey Angel is consigned by the English Barton Stud, and in foal to Night Shift, a son of Northern Dancer from the female line of La Voyageuse and l’Enjoleur. Night Shift sired Gr1 Irish Guineas and Champion Stakes winner In The Groove.

Kundalini will enter the ring as a horse in training, under the banner of the French stable of John Hammond. The mare is from the female family of Roland Gardens, which has a high profile in the UK.

Gauteng Stakes Up

Raceclubs on the Highveld increase stakes by an average 14% across the board. This widens the gap between Gauteng and the other major centres even further. The new stakes make you seriously wonder why anyone would still want to have horses in training in the Cape – where an A-division is worth as much as a Graduation in Gauteng, and just about half of what is paid for a top division up north!

The new stakes are effective from 1 January 1996

 

Class	Gauteng	K-Natal	W-Cape
Top division	72,000
A-division		50,000	38,000
Middle division	55,000
B-division		40,000	31,000
Bottom division	45,000
C-division		32,500	27,000

 

(or shown as index figures, taking the Cape Maiden Plate as index 100)

 

Class	Gauteng	K-Natal	W-Cape
Top division	400
A-division		278	211
Middle division	305
B-division		22	172
C-division		181	150
Maiden	172	122	100
Novice	189	139	111
Graduation	211	153	128

 

A Different League

In a two horse race, back the second favourite. There are those punters who follow that policy and, while this isn’t the time or the place to debate its merits (and who decides what is a two horse race anyway?), that reasoning would have paid off handsomely if applied to the Western Province Fillies Championship at Kenilworth on Saturday, 18 November.

There seemed precious little to choose between Dance Every Dance and League Title in this 1400m event for three-year-old females.

The two had met once before, in the J.B. McIntosh Fillies classic over the same distance at Greyville in July, where League Title finished second to Ahmatir and Dance Every Dance after being left with far too much ground to make up. Reports of a sensational home gallop put up by Dance Every Dance helped to elevate Mike Airey’s charge to the top of the betting boards, with League Title a popular second favourite and only Diana Stakes winner Final Claim expected to put up the slightest opposition.

Racing sometimes does follow the script – but not this time. The expected ‘match’ never materialised after Dance Every Dance met with some interference halfway round the turn and seemed perhaps to lose interest in the proceedings.

League Title had a simple enough job after that, but she still had to beat 14 other decent rivals. That, she did in style. Tony Furness’ filly had been some five lengths back as Plastic Lady showed She’s A Treat and Miss Doreet the way into the short straight, but League Title quickly began to improve her position. She stormed past She’s A Treat racing into the last 200m, and drew clear to beat Geoff Woodruff’s runner by two lengths. Dacha and Miss Doreet shared third place, but Final Claim failed to quicken after being nicely poised for a challenge turning for home and had her limitations as a classic prospect exposed even if she did have a wide draw to overcome.

 

22 – 28 November

Just Reward For Lando

South Africa’s Michael Roberts made history when partnering Lando, a 5yo German-bred, to victory in the Japan Cup on 26 November. The Japan Cup, an invitation race, carries a stake of $3,8 million, making it one of the richest races in the world and the 1995 running attracted a record crowd of 180,000 at Tokyo racecourse.

Lando (Acetenango – Laurea) is now the biggest money winner in European history, the winner of most Gr1 races, and also the fastest horse over the European championship trip of 12 furlongs. Lando’s time was just 3/5 of a second outside of Secretariat’s incredible Belmont time.

ARCSA Not Alone

ARCSA, which prides itself in using the points system pioneered by the British Cartier Horse of the Year awards for the South African equivalents, has something to think about.

For last week in Britain the 1995 Cartier Horse of the Year award went to Breeders Cup winner Ridgewood Pearl, and not to Lammtarra. The latter is unbeaten, and the winner of three of Europe’s most prestigious Gr1 races: the Derby, the King George and the Arc – a triple last achieved by Mill Reef in the ‘Seventies. Believe it or not, Ridgewood Pearl accumulated 25 points against Lammtarra’s 16 in the final standings for the award.

Will ARCSA take the point?

Figueroa The Champion

The Mauritian season ended with a bang for Guillermo Figueroa, who rode a fantastic treble on the final day to put his first jockey championship beyond doubt. The first of his wins came in the feature race aboard Hot Guard, who held off Charltear and Domino Principle. Figueroa carried 2 kilos overweight and won at 13-1! He scored the hattrick by taking the next two events as well, on Jump The Queue (5-1) and Very Fast (11-4 favourite).

Figueroa finished his first Mauritian riding adventure on a handsome 25 wins, five ahead of runner-up Jackman. Botanique collected the Horse of the Year title (which is awarded strictly on points here).

Here Is The News!

London News faced the first major test of his fledgling career in the Gr2 Jensen Electronics Dingaans on 25 November, and announced his arrival into the big time with trumpets blaring and pennants flying. Alec Laird’s colt faced some testing opposition in this 1600m event at Turffontein, not least from the multiple Stakes winners Irish Ranger and What A Prospect. Nor had London News ever raced on the softish going which he encountered this time. All of which had as much impact on him as a whisper in a hurricane. London News had notched up three impressive victories from as many starts since trying 1600m, doing more than enough to convince his growing band of supporters that the sequence would extend to four after the Dingaans. How right they were. Doug Whyte had London News covered up in midfield as Sails Of Silk set the pace from Contact Sport, with Irish Ranger about six lengths back and What A Prospect and doubtful stayer Ashtontown near the back. Olympic Lord briefly took over from Sails Of Silk racing into the last 600m, but London News soon took care of that. He made rapid progress down the inside to take command inside the last 300m, and that was the last anybody saw of him.

Cato Court made a valiant attempt to turn the Dingaans into something at least resembling a race, but he was completely overwhelmed as London News cruised to a 5.75 length victory. Dancing Lord and Ashtontown ran on nicely to fill the places, with the latter at least confirming that he is indeed more than just a sprinter. What A Prospect was baulked for a run when making steady progress in the straight and probably should have finished considerably better than fifth, but Irish Ranger failed to quicken when asked for an effort. At the end of the day, however, you’d have more luck trying to discuss nuclear physics with your cat than convincing anybody that London News wasn’t a worthy winner in his first attempt at Feature race glory.

Oh So Easy!

The unfortunate – and premature – retirement of Special Preview may have removed whatever opposition there was to Flobayou in the sprinting department. It has always been our view, and it will forever remain so, that Special Preview was essentially a sprinter, and a superb one at that. We will never know, but with Flobayou the issue is cut-and-dried. The five-year-old has no peers when racing in a straight line, and Saturday, 25 November’s WPOTA Diadem Stakes at Kenilworth saw him as dominant as ever.

The Weight For Age conditions of the Diadem Stakes meant that Flobayou had to suffer some unspeakable disaster to not capture the R64,500 first prize, and the bookmakers predictably took no chances. Eric Sands’ gelding was sent out 3/10 favourite, and he proved full value for it. As usual, jockey Karl Neisius was prepared to bide his time and had Flobayou racing third of the seven runners as Prospectors Strike set a good paceclear of Bold Thatch. Prospectors Strike really tried to take the bull by the horns, and was still so far in front approaching the last 200m that we began to wonder if he hadn’t just maybe pulled a stunt to rival the Great Train Robbery.

Needless to say, all such fears were groundless. Flobayou accelerated in his normal dazzling manner once Neisius let him go, and he simply shot away in the final 100m to win by 3.75 lengths. The early effort took its toll on Prospectors Strike anyway, and he faded into fourth as first outsider Jewel Of Asia and then Bushmanland stormed past to fill the places.

Flobayou was winning the Diadem Stakes for a second year in succession, and he has already this season repeated his success of last year in the Merchants Stakes. The third and last of the summer’s premier sprints, the Cape Flying Championship in January, looks to be his for the taking. Victory there would complete Flobayou’s second clean sweep of Cape Town’s premier sprints for, as we already know full well, he won the whole lot of them last season as well.

Cape Thrives on Moons and Planets

Everybody wasted so much time debating whether Gold Flier or What A Prospect was the best juvenile colt in training last season that just about every other possible contender was swept under the carpet. Chances are, not many ‘experts’ would have known Planetary Music if he’s crashed through the roof of any Press box outside of Cape Town. Twelve months earlier, of course, the same thing could have been said of Shepherd’s Moon.

Now a gelding, the son of defunct sire Foulaad was rested after a way-below-par effort in early August and returned to post an impressive victory in the Durbanville Country Fair Stakes over 1400m at Kenilworth on Wednesday.

Last season’s Clairwood Park Juvenile Futurity winner High Raiser and the promising American Voyager were amongst the eight rivals who took on Planetary Music in this three-year-olds event, but he was more than a match for them all. The early pace set by Picker Of Roses was slow, and Planetary Music pulled his way into second place on the turn after being restrained near the back early on. HE quickly took over once into the straight, and kept going strongly under Freddie Macaskill to hold off High Raiser by 1.25 lengths. Hot favourite American Voyager found this level of opposition too strong, and underlined his limitations as a Guineas prospect by finishing third despite receiving 2.5 kgs from the winner and 3.5 kgs from the runner-up.

Planetary Music is no doubt being readied for the Cape Guineas at Kenilworth in January, and he may well be the Western Cape’s best hope of a hometown victory.

 

29 November – 5 December

Opening the Door To Imports

Racehorse owners and breeders received a welcome Christmas present when the stringent import criteria were lifted in their entirety. From now, any horse except a gelding may be imported into South Africa for racing or breeding purposes. This makes a welcome change from years gone by, when the restrictions on imported bloodstock were so rigid that barely the cream of the world’s thoroughbred output was eligible for importation. This is a clear step in the right direction, for the ultimate aim with the eventual lifting of the African Horse Sickness is to allow for a virtually uninterrupted flow of horses into and out of South Africa. The booming economies of the Pacific Rim nations in particular will provide South African breeders with a much needed outlet for their product and you cannot hope for a thriving export market while stringently clamping down on imports.

Aldora Takes The Cake

Final statistics for the Mauritius season, which finished last week, show a clean sweep for Guy Landon’s Aldora Stud. The farm bred Mauritian Horse of the Year Botanique, course record holder at the local Champs de Mars track. Botanique has hardly set a foot wrong in his two seasons on the island.

Aldora stallions All Fired Up and Secret Prospector lead the stallion log for the season, ahead of Del Sarto and Foveros. Between them, the progeny of All Fired Up and Secret Prospector won just about 10% of all races held during the 1995 season, and collected 9% of all stakes as well.

In Full Flight

Hip, hip hooray – Piere Strydom is back in town after a successful three month stint in Hong Kong! He teamed up with Flying Promise in the Allen Snijman Stakes, and turned the 2000m Weight For Age event into a procession. Admittedly, the turn-out for this R75,000 race was disappointing. Only six pitched up to take on Flying Promise, with Festive Forever and her former stable companion Waitara (racing for the first time in eight months) amounting to the only real opposition.

Flying Promise was always a prohibitive odds-on favourite to post the most lucrative success of his career and did it in style, having only to be pointed in the right direction to beat fellow Graham Beck colour-bearer Festive Forever by 2.25 lengths.

IGN – “Shades of Gold” Triple

IGN, together with relevant raceclubs, put up for grabs a R1 million bonus for the horse that manages to win all three legs of the IGN Shades OF Gold Triple.

The Triple consists of the R250,000 IGN Gold Plate at Kenilworth in January, the R500,000 IGN Gold Cup at Greyville in August, and the R750,000 IGN Gold Bowl at Turffontein in October or November.

That adds to total stakes of R1,5 million, plus a R1 million bonus. However, with all three races being handicaps, the most deserving stayer in the country is unlikely to win, for the horse that wins one, or maybe two, legs is bound to be penalised for the other leg(s). Clearly, a better built-in guarantee not to have to pay the R1 million bonus would be hard to design!

Tommy Hotshot!

Home Guard’s South African record of eleven consecutive wins has stood for so long that it has become one of the sport’s most frequently quoted statistics. However, the pressure to keep his name in the history books has mounted with every visit that Tommy Hotspur has made to the racecourse, and the heat was turned up a little more in the Joseph Dorfman Memorial at Gosforth Park on 2 December.

Tommy Hotspur made his first start in Stakes company when he lined up for the Joseph Dorfman Memorial Handicap, aiming to take his tally to eight-out-of-eight. Tommy jumped out in front, and was never headed. Piere Strydom did take a slightly different approach, and held Tommy Hotspur together instead of just letting him blast off at a million miles an hour. That left a little something in the tank for the final stages, and Gary Alexander’s gelding had no trouble at all shaking off a challenge from Basic Instinct to win by 3.25 lengths. Such is the speed of the horse that he was just 0.2 seconds outside Treasure Cove’s course record, and he might just have broken it had Strydom really let rip.

Time For Action

Kenilworth’s 1800m Gr2 Premium Stakes brought back together eight of the sixteen who had lined up for the Computaform Stakes, run over a 200m shorter distance three weeks earlier. Amongst them was Computaform Stakes winner Eli’s Truth, a horse whose record at Kenilworth (which includes victories in both the Cape Guineas and Derby of three seasons ago) speaks for itself.

Eli’s Truth came so close to adding the Premium Stakes to his bag of Kenilworth trophies that to the naked eye it seemed as if he might well have emerged on top after a thriller of a finish which pitted him against his younger rivals Counter Action and La Fabulous. The camera, though, gave the verdict to Counter Action, a horse with the ability on his day to beat almost anything.

The smashing son of Complete Warrior had been arguably the biggest flop of the Computaform Stakes, where he played up badly at the start and wound up five lengths behind Eli’s Truth in ninth place. In the Premium Stakes, however, Mike Bass’s colt was right back on song. Eli’s Truth and La Fabulous looked set to dispute the finish when they swept past pacemaker Conquest Glory coming to the last 300m, with Western Rocket again not quickening when it mattered most. Counter Action, though, accelerated smartly from a few lengths off the pace and set out in hot pursuit from inside the final furlong. He got to grips with Eli’s Truth and La Fabulous in the dying strides, and snatched the narrowest of victories. Eli’s Truth shaded La Fabulous for second, with Phantom Fun fourth to ensure that four-year-olds filled three of the places.

Badge Of Courage

National Emblem, whatever else he might be (and he’s plenty!) is one of the most determined horses under pressure that you will find anywhere and the pride of Gauteng needed to dig right down to the bottom of his considerable reserves when making his Cape debut in an A Division 1400m at Kenilworth on Saturday, 2 December

To his legion of followers this represented a fairly straight-forward task for the son of National Assembly, and he was always quoted at odds on. Having Michael Roberts, fresh from a stunning victory in the Japan Cup, in the saddle only made National Emblem an even hotter favourite. Muis did the job all right, but had the princely margin of a short head to spare over runner-up Centenarian at the post. This wasn’t the fairly routine victory that many expected to see, but National Emblem was up against a powerful field by non-Feature race standards. He was conceding 5.5 kgs to Centenarian, a talented sprinter who had finished little more than two lengths behind Flobayou in the Merchants Stakes last time out. Also in the field were 1400m specialist Eldoriza, last season’s leading three-year-old Amberpondo, and Computaform Stakes third Hard Warrior. Not a bad line-up for a top division race, even with the Cape season in full cry. Michael Roberts has been engaged to ride the chestnut throughout his Cape campaign.