Ra Ra Turffontein
What a great weekend’s racing! The Dahlia Plate (powered by Die Son) the East Cape Derby (powered by Recall Security) in PE, the fillies and colts KRA Guineas at Greyville a nice full card at Turffontein.
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Another Rush
And there was action and drama aplenty. Being stuck at the office on Friday, I managed to persuade a nearby bar to cross over to the racing channel for me for the Dahlia Plate just before 3pm. It was a real Fairview race – a big field of fractious horses and of course the requisite false start, during which two of the favourites were withdrawn. After fielding a few questions from curious staff and fellow patrons, by the time the horses were all safely loaded the second time round, the entire bar was on the edge of their seats! Despite what must have been a boggy course and conceding weight all round, In A Rush romped home by the best part of 5 lengths. Congratulations to all the connections – I mentioned this colt after his win in the EC Guineas and he surely must be a big talent for the future.
The Joey Ramsden – Glen Hatt team always merit respect when they come raiding and lived up to their credentials when Vengence carried the Jooste silks home to victory in the East Cape Derby.
It is nice to see one of our popular dailies getting behind local racing and I was pleased to note that Die Son actually tipped both In A Rush and Vengence to run well, so their racing correspondent obviously knows his onions.
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Greyville Guineas
Joey Ramsden and the Jooste colours caught the spotlight again in the KRA Guineas, but for all the wrong reasons this time when Ridethebreeze caused a major incident by ducking across the track. Bernard Fayd’Herbe piloted the imposing Solo Traveller to victory and fortunately most of the horses caught up in the melee escaped unscathed, but Link Man has pulled up lame. Best wishes to Mike de Kock and the team that the striking grey son of Toreador makes a speedy recovery.
While all this high drama was happening around the country I found myself at Turffontein. Yes, you heard me. I seemed to be the only fish swimming upstream as when I rang ahead to say I was popping in, everyone seemed to be heading in the opposite direction! While it would make for more interesting reading to say that I was flying in the face of convention for some clever ulterior motive, the truth is a little more pedestrian – the SO had some work up in Joburg and I went along for a jolly. Ah well, so much for being windswept and interesting!
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Racing RA Style!
After a few navigational errors we arrived just after the horses had cantered down for the first. I have not spent a great deal of time in Johannesburg and admit to having a healthy amount of respect for the place, so our unplanned detour didn’t do a huge amount to put me at ease. Having done quite well with the GPS, the blessed thing went on strike at the worst possible moment and we found ourselves meandering around a rather scruffy-looking neighbourhood. I was just protesting that there couldn’t possibly be a racecourse in the middle of all this when the green walls appeared as if by magic and it seemed we had indeed arrived.
I enjoy driving into Phumelela courses as there always seems to be a cheery sign saying ‘Welcome’ and Turffontein was no different. Used to the rather long ‘run in’ from the Kenilworth car park, I’d come prepared and wearing flat shoes, but was pleasantly surprised to find a parking spot pleasingly close to the stands. My phone rang en route through the gate and when I said I was at Turffontein my friend responded with ‘Awful place, isn’t it?’. Well no, actually. I loved the dramatic backdrop of the Johannesburg skyline (although the rubbish dump to the left is admittedly slightly less appealing) and I thought there were some really fun and interesting touches.
The main grandstand is big and imposing, but is laid out to maximise your view and involvement in what’s going on. The parade ring, winner’s enclosure and presentation areas are all conveniently laid out right in front of the stands and the 1000m mark is within easy view. I loved the white walls and royal crest on the old Owners and Trainers stand and the older parts of the building had a cosy and charming feel. I loved the old parade ring and was surprised by how few people bothered to take the short walk up there. It is attractively landscaped with nice, shady trees for the horses. It has a quiet and tranquil atmosphere and you can get much closer to the horses there than in the stand side ring.
From the old ring, the horses and jockeys walk down the chute beneath the building and down to the new parade ring. Seeing their silhouettes as they disappeared through the other end of the chute they looked very much like gladiators heading out to do battle.
I loved the ground level food kiosks with their distinctly Gauteng flavour offering pap & wors and a dedicated van for mielie treats. We also passed what looked to be a little restaurant area that seemed to be frequented by the grooms and it was nice to know they had somewhere warm to watch the racing.
I popped my head into the Furious room, but absolutely fell in love with the designated smoker’s bar across the way. The old silks and racing memorabilia were just fantastic and the prospect of a dedicated ‘racing bar’ is almost enough to convert me to cigarettes!
The super efficient Angie Basel and her team took us under their wing and treated us to a day’s racing RA style. The food was wonderful, the service attentive and efficient and we felt most thoroughly looked after from start to finish. I believe the RA offer new members a tour of the racecourse buildings as well as a trip down to the starting stalls and other areas one does not normally get to see, which I think is a fantastic initiative and one a lot of race goers and punters would enjoy.
Our party had just got settled in and we were taking shifts getting lunch and laying bets. When we returned to the table and discussed the form, we all roundly agreed that Dominic Zaki’s Deliver The Power looked a good thing for the 2nd race, only to discover that none of us had backed it. Of course it duly ran home lonely under a great ride from Anton Marcus.
There was a fair bit of spirit and quite a few people shouting their horses home, which made for a great atmosphere and the same went for the ground floor level. In fact, we had a thoroughly lovely day all in all, so my very sincere thanks to Angie and her wonderful team.
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Galloping Around?
For those of you who are a little perplexed by the new look Gallop website, the Gold Circle web guru informs me that they are in the process of an upgrade. However, the old site is still accessible by going to the home page and clicking on the Access Old Race Form link in the top right hand corner.
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Make Your Mark
Wednesday is of course local elections day. While it is looking to be an exciting race down in Cape Town, I am even more excited that it coincides with a day’s racing, so once my constitutional duties are done, I hope to see you all at Kenilworth!
