How the late Mike Rattray and Henry Devine would have relished this past weekend’s racing action!
How so? Well, there’s the small matter of the Rattray-owned Golden Ducat’s jaw-dropping return to action in the Gr3 Cape Mile at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth after an injury-enforced absence of eighteen months.
Now six, the dual Gr1 winner looked a picture and ran out of his skin to finish third. Let’s hope he pulled up sound and that he will grace us with his presence during the Cape summer season.
Golden Ducat produced a terrific return run (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Victory went to champion Jet Dark, who showed in his seasonal debut that there is no substitute for class with a bold effort, one which will no doubt have sent a shiver down the spines of those looking to re-oppose him in the L’Ormarins King’s Plate and the Met.
Physically, the son of Trippi has matured into a grand specimen who fills the eye, with much of his broodmare sire Jet Master about him.
Golden Ducat likewise, is out of a mare by Jet Master, a horse the late Henry and wife Pat owned and campaigned with great success on the track.
Jet Master – the mighty!
A giant in size, character and ability, the champion subsequently became the most successful South African-bred stallion of the modern era.
By the way, he stamped his authority on the mile race in no uncertain terms as the broodmare sire of fourth-placed Rascallion as well, and it was only runner-up Silver Operator who denied him a clean sweep.
If that was not enough, the Cape Mile was just part of a banner weekend for the late great champion, which saw him rack up a fine treble as a broodmare sire.
Baratheon (Jabu Jacobs0 won the Woolavington with a powerful end-to-end display (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
In the preceding Listed Woolavington Stakes, Baratheon streaked clear of his rivals to give trainer Piet Botha a first stakes success.
The son of Jackson has as his dam Jet Master’s daughter Pure Class, a stakes-placed own sister to Gr1 winner Little Miss Magic.
Jet Master’s stakes treble was rounded out twenty-four hours later when Litigation swept to victory in the Gr3 Victory Moon at Turffontein, in the process bursting the bubble of Gr1 Hollywoodbets Durban July winner Sparkling Water, who was sent off the favourite to repeat her success of twelve months ago.
Litigation scored a career peak victory on Sunday (Pic – JC Photos)
Alas, she could only manage third, as she was collared late by stable companion East Coast, who is on a sharp upward trajectory and looks a sure-fire future stakes winner for his young sire The United States.
As for Litigation, the Sean Tarry-trained four-year-old first came to prominence with a facile victory in last season’s Listed Derby Trial at the Johannesburg track and is out of the Jet Master mare Jeter, an own sister to Gr3 winner Off The Mark and Gr1 Gold Medallion runner-up Sports Coach.
What odds he will return in three weeks time for the rich Gr1 Betway Summer Cup, a race the Tarry stable has won on five previous occasions, most recently with Flying Carpet twelve months ago. Mind you, the honour roll for Turffontein’s showpiece race already shows two previous winners sired by Jet Master, so first success as a broodmare sire would not be out of place.
Yorker wins the 2013 Sansui Summer Cup
The 2013 running saw champion Yorker defeat Master Sabina in a thrilling Jet Master one-two finish, while the latter subsequently scored back-to-back victories in 2015 and 2016. Incidentally, like their sire, both were trained by Geoff Woodruff.
Few superlatives remain to describe the mighty stallion, whose influence as a broodmare sire shows no signs of slowing.
Suffice to say, he also featured as the damsire of three more winners over the weekend. Almas Tower scored at Fairview, while Shanta’s Pride and Passage Of Power captured the first two races at Hollywoodbets Greyville. As an interesting aside, both Almas Tower and Shanta’s Pride were sired by William Longsword.
