Proudly SA at the 2014 Dubai Wold Cup
Putting the Team back in Racing
It has been a tremendous weekend for racing. We had the Olympics of Horse Racing at the Mount Olympus of racetracks in Dubai and boy did our horses and our people do us proud. I was lucky enough to catch up with a few of the connections before, during and after World Cup Weekend, but for anyone I missed, or haven’t got round to yet, well well done. Racing can often feel like an individual endeavour and it’s not often that we get the opportunity to pull together, but Meydan provided a rare opportunity to do just that. While it was still every man for himself out on the track, it was also South Africa against the world. And we kicked butt !! We are so proud of you all.
Perhaps most importantly of all, it gave us a veritable sledgehammer with which to smash home the quality of our horses and the utter insanity of our export protocols. For those who have missed it, please read Simon Burgess’s excellent Open Letter To The World’s Thoroughbred Industry Power Brokers and then pass it along to everyone you know.
Karis Teetan & Tony Millard
While the Dubai revellers were nursing hangovers on Sunday morning, our Mexican Wave of racing excellence moved along to Hong Kong. He may not have been born on our soil, but Karis Teetan feels very much part of the South African racing tapestry, so it would be remiss of me not to mention that ‘our’ Mauritian Magician rode a treble at Sha Tin for the second weekend running on Sunday, chalking up wins for another South African son along the way in Tony Millard– well done guys !
Going for the Triple
Back here at home the weekend racing was no less exciting with us advancing through to the second legs of the Triple Crown and Tiara at Turffontein and a bumper 8 stakes races on one jam-packed card. Although the cleverly named Athina (Fort Wood out of The Heiress by Rich Man’s Gold) dashed hopes for a successor to Igugu and Cherry On The Top, it was nevertheless a fitting result, both for series sponsor Wilgerbosdrift as well as for ever popular Highveld trainer, Joe Soma, not forgetting a masterclass in tactics and timing by Kevin Shea.
However (and without taking anything away from any of the other runners, riders and connections – Majmu, Isphan, Orator’s Daughter, Yorker, Trip Tease and Seal), after the SA Classic, all eyes are now firmly focussed on Louis The King. South Africa admittedly doesn’t go as ‘Triple Crown Crazy’ as the USA, but the prospect of a second winner is an intriguing one nonetheless. Particularly with a rather large and tasty R2 million carrot on offer.
Geoff Woodruff
Geoff Woodruff has previously collected two of the three Triple Crown legs with Badger’s Drift in 2001, but quite a few horses have grabbed two out of three over the years. There was Surveyor for David Ferraris in 2003, Greys Inn for Maestro de Kock in 2004, Hunting Tower for Charles Laird in 2006, Kings Gambit for Lance Wiid in 2008 and Pierre Jourdan threatened for Gary Alexander in 2010. However no-one has been able to match Horse Chestnut’s 1999 campaign. Yet.
Could this be the year?
This year’s contender is all the sweeter as Louis The King comes with one of those wonderful stories where luck and good fortune seem to have starring roles, putting it firmly within the realms of ‘that could have been me!’
First there’s his sire. There is no doubt Silvano is a tough act to follow in anyone’s book, but neighbour Black Minnaloushe seems particularly hard done by. I joined in the chorus congratulating Maine Chance on “Blackie’s” promising young colt at the recent CTS sale and was met with a rather exasperated John Slade. “Every time he produces a decent runner people say ‘Well done, Black Minnaloushe is back.’ What rubbish – he’s never gone anywhere. To hear it told, that horse has had more comebacks than Lazarus!” he grumped and then shrugged his shoulders at the vagaries of fashion. In the smoke and mirrors of the horse business where everything comes with a sugar coating and a shiny veneer, good old fashioned honesty is something of a rare bird, and it makes John one of my favourite racing characters.
Louis The King storms clear in the Guineas
But back to Louis. His dam line is a similar story. Firmly rooted in fertile English racing soil, the solid foundations are very evident, but the vein of black type had been running a little thin. Pamushana had only 2 career starts under the care of Clinton Binda before retiring to the paddock. She was sold at auction in 2010 in foal to Black Minnaloushe and caught the canny eye of Philip Kahan, who decided to give her a chance at R20k. She duly thanked him by way of a bay colt, that would in his turn be offered at auction on the Sun Coast Casino sale in KZN. Geoff Woodruff relates “Philip Kahan must take all the credit really. I was going to the sale to meet someone, not to buy. Philip caught me in passing and asked me to take a look at a Black Minnaloushe colt of his. He said he’d had no bids and would be happy to accept the reserve price. I went and had a look, liked what I saw and said ‘send him up.’ When the colt arrived, we sent him to Sharon Patterson. I sent Tiaan to have a look at him, he liked him and that was that really.”
It is the first time I’ve had the opportunity to talk to Mr Tiaan van der Vyver. He is quietly and thoughtfully spoken and tells me that his association with racing stretches as far back as 1983. He’s had ‘quite a few’ horses over the years with the likes of Buddy Maroun, David Ferraris and Spike Lerena. In particular, he had some luck with a horse called Without A Doubt with Anne Upton which took him all the way to Classic Flag’s Durban July in 1988. He still has a few horses with Spike and some with Alec Laird and a few are owned in partnership, but on the whole he prefers to own his horses outright.
An early pic of Louis The King
How did he come to join the Woodruff stable? “I was looking at the top stables and who else is there to choose but him? And really, they welcomed us with open arms. Geoff phoned me and said ‘I have this little horse, would you be interested?’ He was stabled with Sharon Patterson. They gave me the price and I said yes. “This horse is named after my son Louis. It’s actually his horse and registered in his name so that’s why we called him Louis The King. We also have a Trippi colt that’s still out on the farm and he’s called The Trip Master. After Without A Doubt, we believe in those three word names – it seems to bring a little luck.”
Geoff takes up the story again and says that Louis has always been a pleasure to have in the barn. “He’s really one of the easiest horses, and one of the easiest colts especially, that I’ve ever had to deal with. He’s the epitome of a laid back horse. He’s come out of the race chilled, all his joints were cool, his feet were cool. Easy as pie. Philip (Kahan) breeds a very sound horse and Louis is no exception.”
Will he see out the trip?
Geoff chuckles and then says “If you just went on his pedigree, you’d say he won’t stay. There’s one horse in his pedigree that went 2000 and that was a 1 time winner! I’m going purely on what Robbie says and what the horse is showing me at home. He really is so straightforward and easy and he doesn’t go until you say go. He just freewheels along at the back until you ask. He really is just so straightforward. Big race days are nice to talk about and celebrate afterwards, but on the day it’s stressful for everyone. But it’s lovely the support you receive from people. After the Classic, I looked on my phone and I had 20 messages just saying good luck. There were some people I don’t even know and it’s just so nice. I try and make time on a Sunday to get back to everyone, because I’m not sure whether people realise, but it really means a great deal.”
But what about a rider, now that Robbie is going to Australia? “We will miss him like mad. He’s such a good guy to work with, he’s there through thick and thin and gives you all the feedback and help you need. But he’s coming back for Derby Day and will probably be here for a week or so beforehand to reacquaint himself with everything. We’ll obviously just see how it goes. After the Derby he’ll need a bit of a break and then we’ll look at the Daily News. There’s really only one route, because the merit rating takes them that high, so in actual fact you have to go that route. Then we’ll see where we are come July time. He’s pretty high in the ratings already and if he had to win another race or two, he’d likely be lumbered with some of the top weights which means it won’t be a proposition. But it’s not hard and fast and we’ll see closer to if we’re in a position to be competitive.”
Team Louis
I ask Mr van der Vyver how the nerves are holding up. “It’s just tremendous to have a horse of this nature and he’s shown us a lot of fun. It was a little nerve-wracking last Saturday, but we are looking forward to the last leg obviously. Robbie will definitely be back. We’ve had a chat and he’ll be back in time to work the horse beforehand. One thing I have to say about Geoff Woodruff and this comes from the heart – he is a real professional. I just want to express sincere thanks and appreciation to Geoff, Tim, Manie, Carol, and the whole team. Saturday was a great feat for all of us and hopefully our final hurdle will be as successful as the others and the Woodruff Flag will be in the high winds forever!”
