Indian Brave

The Apache

Same-stable “Exactas” were the order of the afternoon at Greyville on Sunday. Little more than half-an-hour after Sean Tarry sent out the first two finishers to the Canon Gold Cup, Gavin van Zyl pulled off the same trick when The Apache and Bulsara occupied the first two places in the Champions Cup over 1800m, writes MATTHEW LIPS.

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It took an objection by the runner-up’s jockey to be overruled for that order of finish to stand, but the Van Zyl one-two was never under any threat one way or the other.
Transferred from its traditional Clairwood home and now staged at Greyville for the first time, the Champions Cup is a conditions race but it had a wide open look about it and the betting market could easily have been confused with something from a handicap. Dancewiththedevil had run a mile below her best in the Gr1 Garden Province Stakes on the same course four weeks earlier and almost certainly needs a track with a stiffer run-in, but the softer going on Sunday looked to be to her advantage and she went off as a weak favourite at around 9/2 despite conceding weight all round and being drawn very wide. The Apache was the second choice of the market, but stable companion Bulsara was allowed to go off as a 13/1 outsider despite appearing to have an excellent chance at the weights.

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Castlethorpe was another who looked to have good claims at the weights, but he blew his chances by losing some three lengths at the break. Captain’s Secret was the initial leader, but it wasn’t long before his stable companion Blue Tiger went on to set a very ordinary pace, with Captain’s Secret settling into second ahead of Buy And Sell, Solo Traveller, and Brown Penny. As always, The Apache and Dancewiththedevil were well off the early pace, with Castlethorpe last of all courtesy of his Sunday afternoon nap inside the starting gates.

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Captain’s Secret was always weakening before the turn for home, and not long thereafter Blue Tiger also began to drop away. Buy And Sell came forward to lead coming to the final 200m and it briefly looked as if the veteran might pick up a Gr1 success on the eve literally of his official eighth birthday, but then came the Van Zyl onslaught. The Apache had quickened well from off the pace to lead inside the last 200m, with Bulsara running on strongly on his outside. The Apache was inclined to shift to his right and took Bulsara off a straight course for a handful of strides, but Raymond Danielson more-or-less got The Apache straightened out and ran on a little too well for Bulsara, beating his stablemate by about half-a-length.

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Super Storm stayed on steadily from towards the rear of the 16 runner field and finished third ahead of Buy And Sell, but for the second time in as many course appearances Dancewiththedevil simply never got going at all and was no threat at any stage. Castlethorpe battled to find a clear run in the straight and all things considered did well to be beaten not much more than four lengths by the winner, but neither Il Saggiatore nor Sage Throne (the duo who’d fought out the controversial finish to the previous month’s Gr2 Gold Circle Derby) was ever seen with a chance.
Bulsara’s rider Donavan Mansour lodged an objection against The Apache on the grounds of interference in the latter stages, but The Apache always appeared to have his year-older stable companion’s measure and the protest was unsurprisingly overruled. It was worth a try, though, for we’ve seen objections lodged for a whole lot less.

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The Apache has given himself every right to collect the Equus Award for champion-three-year-old male after this, his second Gr1 win of the season after his victory in the Gr1 Daily News 2000. He also won the Gr2 Dingaans last November just for good measure. The three-year-old was slated for export to Hong Kong after the Dingaans and was five days away from leaving these shores when an outbreak of African Horse Sickness in the Western Cape led to exports being suspended. The colt has gone from strength to strength since and put up arguably his career best effort with this most recent success.

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“It’s an absolute dream,” noted Gavin van Zyl afterwards, adding that the race came at the end of what has been an excellent season for his stable. The former jockey is certainly making a big splash in his current profession, and while the list of good jockeys who haven’t really made the switch to training successfully is a lengthy one, G H van Zyl is not one name that you will find on it.
The Apache was an extremely profitable R80 000 purchase from the 2009 National Two Year Old Sale and he comes as a very timely advertisement for that sale, which will be held this year on 12th, 13th, and 14th August in Gauteng. A son of the unraced Storm Cat horse and very good young sire Mogok, The Apache is the fourth foal and third winner produced from Dolpour mare Apache Rose, who won four races over 1600m. Owned by Hong Kong resident Winston Chow, The Apache has won five times from ten starts for stakes of R1 679 250 and can continue to thrive as a four-year-old.