Paul Lafferty – must have been disappointed
The weekend saw the running of Johannesburg’s Summer Cup and all the fabulous racing that went along with it. There were some funny results along the way. I am sure Paul Lafferty was disappointed to get beaten in the Dingaans and it will be interesting to see if he still comes to the Western Cape with his star 3 yo. We will just have to wait and see.
The Summer Cup was won in facile fashion by Louis the King and he won with considerable authority. He certainly looks Gauteng’s most superior horse in training. Sadly our own contender, Disco Al, was beaten a long way from home. While it is extremely easy to blame the altitude, I would like to think that the altitude only gets to a horse about 500m from home and we were already beaten 1000m from home.
His run has left us all scratching our heads and spending the usual fortune on vet’s fees trying to find a decent explanation for the poor run. The good news is that he has pulled up sound.
This weekend’s Fillies Guineas sees the mighty Mike de Kock bring down two extremely good horses: one that ran on Saturday and one that looks to be the stable elect. The question is: Is Saturday’s runner the pacemaker?
It looks a fascinating contest and I cannot wait for Saturday. Both our entries, Grey Light and Cold As Ice, are doing very well. They galloped nicely last weekend at Kenilworth and are having a nice easy week leading into the race while poor Mike’s fillies have to make the journey down from Gauteng. However, having been lucky enough to stable many of his horses over the years, 19 times out of 20 they travel well and get off the float like absolute lions. I have no doubt his Saturday runners will be exactly the same.
Gr1 Allan Robertson winner Alboran Sea
I am very much looking forward to the Southern Cross Stakes where Alboran Sea runs. I remember her as a yearling in Australia. She was beautiful then and while not having seen her in the flesh and only on the television, I am sure she is far more beautiful now having won numerous stakes races. She was absolutely awesome last time out and I have no reason to believe she will not be again on the weekend.
There is also an interesting sprint race on the card in the Southeaster Sprint. There do not appear to be any real sprint stars around and I am hoping our old Happy Forever can maybe put his best bar-shoed hoof forward on the day.
It is our first meeting on the new course and is a totally (no matter what people might think or say) different track to that of the old course and certainly a much tougher test. We have been having some rather peculiar racing of late. With a tail wind and the Kenilworth old course and the short run in, horses have been skipping clear. Those coming from off the pace have found it tough to catch the winner. As I speak this morning, the good old Cape Doctor is out in full force and blowing wildly away.
The incredible hulk? Craig Carey
It is so windy that Table Mountain is totally obscured (and that is not just because I have Ridgemont Stud’s manager, Craig Carey, standing bang in front of me). Even peaking around him, the mountain is nowhere to be seen. (Thankfully, I think it is one of the few things the ANC has not yet managed to steal or sell). So look out for a different style of racing in the Cape.
It is a whole new ball game and I am very much looking forward to it.
It is not often I have a chance to watch Winning Ways. However, I was channel surfing last night and caught an interesting piece on local jockey Keanen Steyn.
Now Keanen was the jockey who won Mother Russia’s first race and he has always come round and supported us and ridden a huge amount of work. He is very stylish and strong in a finish and a light weight and for the life of me I cannot understand why he does not do better in this country and ride more winners. He has style and strength and most importantly, he has a smashing attitude. He really is a lovely lad. I cannot think of a nicer young man.
From a personal point of view, I feel guilty for not having given him more chances. But having said that, I am extremely happy to see him making a huge success in India and riding plenty of winners. He has the ability and he certainly has the attitude to go with it and I wish him well in his venture with his new stable.
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