Nother Russia wins the 2017 Ipi Tombe Challenge
They say if you want something done, ask a busy person. It’s always fun ringing Mike de Kock. Not only does he run one of the most powerful racing strings in South Africa, with serious racing interests both locally and abroad, as well as the myriad other responsibilities and volumes of experience that go with being one of the best of his profession, he always makes for interesting conversation. And despite being constantly run off his feet, he is always enormously generous with his time.
The current subject of my curiosity is the little chestnut dynamo known as Nother Russia, the only foal ever produced by that crack race filly, Mother Russia, who blew us all away with her grit and determination from 2008 to 2011. As a fun fact, Mother Russia raced in the interests of Mary Slack, while her daughter races in the interests of Mary’s daughter, Jessica.
Mother Russia
Joey Ramsden with Mother Russia
Mike trained Mother Russia, but explains that it was only from the end of her 3yo career onwards. “We bought her from Joey Ramsden. To be honest, when she came on the market, I didn’t believe it to be true. When Joey phoned and said the filly was going to be sold, I said it’s impossible, no-one sells a filly like that. Joey said, ‘Trust me, I’m tipping you a winner.”
Star fillies don’t come cheap, so Mike went to long-standing patron, Mary Slack. “It was a lot of money at the time, but I told Mary that in my opinion the filly should not be on the market. I said don’t question it, let’s just put our heads down and buy her.” Mary, who not only has an eye for a good filly, but a healthy sense of adventure, phoned back five minutes later and said OK.
“It was tough on Joey to lose the horse,” continues Mike, “but he said if he had to lose her to anyone, he’d rather lose it to us and for that we’ll be eternally grateful to him. She gave us a helluva lot of pleasure.”
Mother Russia wins the 2011 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate
Mother Russia was Equus Champion Older Filly in 2010 and ended her career with 13 wins (including the Gr1 Empress Club Stakes, the Gr1 Paddock Stakes, the Gr1 Majorca Stakes and the Gr1 Queen’s Plate) and an enormous haul of places in top company. From 27 starts, she only finished out of the money twice.
Mary retired Mother Russia to her Wilgerbosdrift Stud in Piketberg and mated her to their enigmatic resident stallion Tiger Ridge, she produced Nother Russia in 2012.
Tough start
The little white faced filly didn’t get the easiest of starts. Shortly after foaling, her dam contracted post foaling biliary and had to be taken to hospital for treatment. Her milk dried up and the whole experience affected her ability to mother the foal, so Nother Russia was raised by a foster mare. Despite the traumatic start, being out of such a special mare Nother Russia was very precious cargo indeed and with all the extra attention, grew up a friendly little soul and was soon the farm favourite.
Nother Russia as a yearling
Nother Russia joined the Wilgerbosdrift National Yearling Sale draft in 2014, where she was led through the ring as lot 462 and purchased by Mike de Kock. Asked what made her catch his eye at the sales, Mike is characteristically frank, “Her mother, to be honest. She was an OK looking yearling, but she wasn’t wow and I think the fact she sold for R550k probably tells the story, given her pedigree. Mother Russia had actually passed away and Jehan Malherbe and myself advised against selling the filly, but I think Mary felt she wanted to offer her best yearlings for sale.”
Fortunately all’s well that ends well, as he’d bought her on behalf of Jessica Slack – unbeknown to her mother at the time!
It Takes A Village
Team Nother Russia (photo: JC Photos)
Like all good stories, the journey hasn’t been straightforward. Mike remembers, “She always had a bit of character, but I always like fillies with a little bit of fire in them. Once we started her with the gates we could see we were going to have a problem. We were losing the battle at home, so I got Malan du Toit out and for the first few races he was there all the time.”
In addition to the De Kock team and her groom Nkosi, another rock solid part of the Nother Russia team is jockey Craig Zackey who is more than a little smitten with the filly and has partnered her in all of her starts – and most of her work, by the sounds of it!
Craig Zackey has stuck with her through thick and thin (photo: JC Photos)
When you mention her name, he immediately breaks out into a shy smile. “There’s always been something about her. Right from the start I begged Mathew to let me work with her. I said I’ll do all the work on her, I’ll put her in the pens, I’ll come on a Sunday just to work with her. A lot of the jocks thought she was no good and that she was mad in the gates, but maybe it was knowing her mother, I don’t know. Before I went to the Academy I saw her mother win and she was one of my favourites, so I didn’t care whether the filly was good or not, I just wanted to ride her.”
Mike continues, “I felt it important that whoever rode her, stayed with her. With some of those horses that are quirky in the gates, if you keep chopping and changing, they can get a reputation. The jocks tell the others that the horse is dilly and they end up getting preconceived ideas. I feel if you’ve got one jockey working with the horse, you’ll win more than you’ll lose.”
“I believe the fact that we’ve had Craig on all the time has been important for her mental state and has helped with the gates. I know he waxes on, but he really does like the filly and I like that. They have a real affinity, which I think works well.”
Hard work rewarded
A thriller in the Premier’s Champions Challenge (photo: JC Photos)
The hard work paid off. Nother Russia made her track debut in January 2016 and notched two good seconds before reeling off two wins in a row. After a good long break, she won the first start of her 4yo career and then notched two more places before stepping up to feature company to win the Gr3 Acacia Handicap in March this year. If there had been any doubts about her ability, she put them firmly to bed with a 1.5 length victory in the Gr1 Empress Club Stakes in April and closed off the season with a cracking run in the Gr1 Premier’s Champions Challenge in May, producing a thrilling three-way finish with Deo Juvente and Dual Horse Of The Year, Legal Eagle.
After a well-deserved rest, Nother Russia started her 5yo season posting back to back wins at Turffontein in November and then made her way to Cape Town for the summer season.
Racing people
Given the filly’s pedigree and her track record, it’s a real credit to Jessica Slack – and the great good fortune of racing fans – that Nother Russia has not been whisked off to stud.
Accomplished – Jessica Slack-Jell (photo: Michael Price)
Mike concurs. “First and foremost, Mary and Jessica are racing people. Their breeding gives them great satisfaction, but I believe their greatest satisfaction comes from racing and being competitive. I think we all learned an important lesson with Ilha Da Vitoria racing until she was 5. She was under achieving at three and four and then at five she just matured.”
“Also, both Mary and Jessica are accomplished horsewomen in their own right, which makes my job easier because they understand and care for their horses which not all horse owners necessarily do,” he says with feeling. “They love giving their horses a rest and as soon as I say this wants a bit of time or a rest, the truck is there in five minutes. They’re always happy to have their horses home to feed them carrots and so on, but it’s done wonders for all their horses and I think the key is that they are both horse people who understand the physiological challenges horses go through to compete at the highest level.”
He is also quick to compliment the farm staff, who do an excellent job of ensuring the horses are refreshed both mentally and physically and return to him in good nick.
Family Ties
Mike De Kock – proud of producing good fillies (photo: hamishNIVENPhotography)
“I take great pride in retiring fillies to stud that breed well. With fillies I’ve trained, I want to buy their progeny and I’m always the first to look and buy what they’ve produced. One thing for me as a trainer is a sense of pride in training the progeny of fillies I’ve retired to stud that are happy and breeding well. I pride myself in that. Mother Russia must have been some broodmare,” he muses. “Her only foal to get to the races is a Gr1 winner. Thank goodness Jessica really liked the filly from day one and bought her.”
Asked what she’s like to work with, Mike says, “She’s very gritty and tough. That’s definitely the genes coming through – Mother Russia was one of the toughest fillies I’ve ever seen or dealt with and she was also a superior athlete – she’s definitely carried that through to her daughter.”
Is it easier training horses from families he knows well? “You’ll often see when training progeny of fillies and mares – and even stallions – they’ll do things and you’ll immediately say ‘the mother used to do that’. They are connected at the end of the day, so there are always similarities with the parents and progeny. I think that’s why I enjoy training the progeny. I like to relate back to the parents or the siblings for that matter. I’ve always been one that goes back to the stallion or buys from the families that have been good to me. Maybe I’ve been lucky, but maybe I’ve also got a slight advantage in knowing the strengths and weaknesses.”
Nother Russia is the only filly entered for the Gr1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate on 6 January 2018 and should she run, stands to emulate her famous dam’s victory back in 2011. However, Mike is quick to point out that Nother Russia is currently entered for the Paddock Stakes as well. “At this stage we’re probably leaning towards that, but we’ll watch the scratchings and see what happens as the fields cut up.”
