Living up to a name. Made Of Steel and MJ Byleveld win fourth.
The grandstand jockeys who punted Made Of Steel would have been cursing MJ Byleveld about 200m from home in the first leg of the Pick 6 at Kenilworth on 9 July. The Avontuur sponsored jockey went hell for leather early on and looked beaten close home. But between him and the Kabool colt they somehow conjured up a unique win.
Jockeys take a lot of stick from sofa loafer punters and connections who are very often not qualified to pass any critical opinion as to the competency of the ride and talk from dented dream zones and empty pockets. We have all done it. Criticising timing, pace and placement and MJ Byleveld looked to be headed down suicide alley as he skated a few lengths clear at a frenetic pace on the 3-1 Vaughan Marshall-trained two year old in open company. Our criticism was justified about 250m out as the consistent De La Rey cruised past with Aldo Domeyer seemingly sitting with a double handful. In one of those rare bizarre race moments, Byleveld gathered his beaten mount and got him to rally spectacularly and to come again to move past De La Rey. Was it a great ride and brilliant effort by Made Of Steel, or is De La Rey just a moderate brass? Either way, it looked good and the formlines will give us the answers in time.
Man of steel. MJ Byleveld back amongst the winners.
The fourth race winning Byleveld – Mashall- Silvano combination started the day on a high by winning the first. The Blue Bulls supporter has not had his happiest of seasons in the saddle with freak injuries plaguing his every move, but he used his brave front-running antics to get Kuja home in a close finish. She is a half –sister to the brilliantly fast Villandry, and one would feel that she could only get better in the summer months.
An increasing trend in a lot of training yards is the evidence of the trainer himself holding more shares in horses than he ever did in previous years. This is largely as a result of pure economic s and very often prospective owners just wanting the trainer to show his personal confidence by coming into the partnership. Two of the keenest eyed horseman in brothers Glen and Garth Puller found the speedy daughter of Woodman stallion Mellifont for just R10 000 at the Vintage Sale and she won the second race, a Maiden Juvenile Plate for fillies over 1200m in good style. She runs in the Puller partnership and was having her third start here.
The Gr2 Gold Vase last Saturday at Greyville and a humble Maiden Plate at Kenilworth this afternoon. Trainer Carl Burger grabs every winner with both hands and his Cheveley Stud bred Chrisaldon looks above average. The daughter of Silvano has had six runs in three months, which hopefully has now earned her a rest! But she has been a model of consistency and built on her excellent last effort against the boys, when sweeping away to pulverize the opposition by many lengths in the Maiden Juvenile Plate for fillies over 1200m. In a nice touch, Burger dedicated the win to a friend Brian Maxwell who has terminal camcer. Australian Bill Henderson and Braam Van Huysteen own the filly who was recording the Burger yard’s tenth winner of the season . Wide-awake jockey Brandon Morgenrood said afterwards that he had found a tractor line and had followed it in the quest for better going.
Powerful Cape owner Hassen Adams has built himself an interesting broodmare band, and it was yet another Captain Al filly that came up in his silks to win the sixth race. Emmajo took on some proven male speedsters in the MR 96 Handicap over 1000m , but they had no chance as she bolted through late after speed demon Isidingo had done his usual blitz break in front. Apprentice Teague Gould tried to give Isidingo a breather about 300m, but he is not getting younger and he fell away 200m out. Joey Ramsden’s Howdoyoulikemenow was outpaced early but flew late under a vigorous Glen Hatt to get within a half length of the winner.
Really old fashioned! Hospitality back to his best.
The Equus nominees were published on Friday and the stayer of the year award category reflects a decided lack of depth and substance. The 2400m Pinnacle Stakes underlined this thought with eight well-tried pretenders going to post. The Mike Stewart –trained Hospitality was bounced out by Bernard Fayd’Herbe and never headed to win the race easily. He was not competitive in his out of province raids last season and he beat little of note here. He certainly stays though and this was his seventh win from 31 starts.
Trainer Andries Steyn is not scared to run his horses, and the four year old filly Last Flight came back to the races just ten days after an energy sapping win in the mud over 1600m at Durbanville, to get away with the same tactics in the MR 78 Handicap for fillies and mares over 1800m. It was a cavalier performace over this trip from a ten draw and while she beat nothing of note, she is in the form of her life and should be followed. Joey Ramsden’s Whipper filly Right And Ready was fancied but once again arrived on the scene after the race, and her 15 draw could not have helped her cause.
