Rain Man! Tshwaro Appie steers Soft Falling Rain to a Storm Bird win.
Mike De Kock has shown a brand of loyalty unique in horseracing. The champion trainer has stuck with a 21 year old newly qualified jockey on a big horse for a big owner. And he has had no reason to regret his decision.
The Winning Form sponsored jockey Tshwaro Appie only qualified on 10 January after an apprenticeship which saw him ride 65 winners, including ‘only two Group winners.’ That is in his own words! And Appie was the man in charge when Sheikh Hamdan’s extremely promising Soft Falling Rain won his first two career starts with emphatic ease. But we all know what the average trainer does after a young or relatively lowly rated rider has done their bit. They get jocked off in favour of an Anthony Delpech or Anton Marcus when the more glamorous and rewarding races get targeted.
But not De Kock. And while a qualifying apprentice could have won the Storm Bird on Soft Falling Rain, Appie did nothing wrong in spite of the undeniable pressure of riding a 1-5 shot in the heart of the exotic bets storm. And from one of the last few crops of his great sire, Soft Falling Rain will ensure that National Assembly leaves with a clap of thunder and bolt of lightening.
The speed triple feature bill livened up the Turffontein afternoon on Saturday with an icon of the South African stallion ranks playing a strategic part in the two listed features, while an emerging sire and a relative new-kid on the block sensation were celebrated in the second and third, respectively. Highlands Stud also bred both Listed race winners.
In Winning Form! Tshwaro Appie showed maturity in the saddle again.
National Assembly and Var have crossed paths on the track on many occasions via their offspring and both played their bit, together with Drakenstein’s Trippi, to make Saturday the entertaining spectacle that it turned out to be. Highlands Stud stallion National Assembly has now retired with a wonderful record. Both as a Gr1 winning producer of both sexes and as a sire of sire National Emblem. He reigned supreme for 15 seasons and has his final crop of yearlings on offer in 2012. He sired the unbeaten Soft Falling Rain to win the R135 000 Listed Storm Bird Stakes, while he was the dam sire of the Trippi debutante Franny who skated clear to win the Listed Ruffian Stakes. Both races were run over 1000m.
The Highlands Stud bred Soft Falling Rain has both the electrifying early speed and a set of gears that cast him in the mould of a top sprinter of the future. He is out of the Giant’s Causeway mare Gardener’s Delight and is well on the way to recouping his R350 000 yearling price tag.
Trainer Gavin Van Zyl was a brilliant jockey in his day, but the man who can speak any politician under the table is bucking the trend by proving to be an even better trainer than he ever was a jockey. He sent out the Highlands Stud bred Franny who made a winning Listed debut in the Ruffian Stakes to beat a few more experienced rivals. And the dogs were barking as owner Mrs Bridget Oppenheimer’s arrival on course had punters reaching for their ATM cards as the money poured on.
Fast Lady! Franny scores a Listed debut win for Trippi and Mrs Oppenheimer.
Anthony Delpech steered the promising filly to a smooth win ahead of Straight Set (what price a maiden race next time?!) and impressive debut winner Size Does Count. Franny cost just R275 000 and is out of National Assembly’s daughter, Scented Samantha who won her four races in the famed white and brown Beck silks.
The Var Syndicate generously sponsor the Var Speed Series, of which the third feature of the afternoon, the Var Gold Rush Sprint run over 1100m is the first leg. Sean Tarry sent out the fancied unbeaten Jet Master colt Skitt Skizzle who was all at sea and probably didn’t benefit from Robbie Fradd’s finest moment in the saddle, to edge into fourth place. The Tarry horse had won by a handsome ten lengths on debut and besides not going down with the same fluidity, he probably deserves another chance to use his enormous stride in less experienced company next time.
But the Midlands Thoroughbreds winner Legal Action registered his third win from thirteen starts for trainer Chris Erasmus in emphatic style. Jockey Marco Van Rensburg got the son of Second Empire to win well from the talented Midnight Serenade, from whom he was receiving a life changing 7,5 kilos.
The Var Speed Series is proving a winner and while there was no Var competing in this leg, Pippa Mickleburgh confirmed that the Var Syndicate were thrilled and were on track with their original aims of establishing a desirable series of Sprint Feature races which would eventually receive the industry acknowledgement of an upgrade to Listed and ultimately black-type status.
