Two South African horseracing and breeding power players were involved in the finish of the $100 000 Listed Violet Stakes at Monmouth Park in New Jersey, USA, on Saturday.
The Ridgemont’s Kieswetter and Drakenstein’s Rupert families are major players in our horseracing and the Monmouth feature thus held more than a passing interest for many of us.
Maman Joon beats the gutsy Beach Bomb (Drakenstein blue silks) with pacemaker Damaso in third (Pic – Monmouth Park Racecourse)
The diminutive Drakenstein bred and dual Gr1 winning Lancaster Bomber daughter Beach Bomb was having her first start since runner-up behind the top-class colt Green With Envy in the SplashOut Gr1 Cape Derby at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth in February and showed courage to run a well-beaten second for Maryland-based Graham Motion.
Beach Bomb was ridden by Jairo Renden. Motion also trains the Hollywood Syndicate -owned Isivunguvungu.
But it was the Ridgemont Kieswetter family’s Co Tipperary-based Barnane Stud who bred the winner Maman Joon, a daughter of Sea The Stars out the Norse Dancer Listed Pretty Polly Stakes winner Dorcas Lane, who is also dam of the useful Atty Persse and the Kieswetter’s first Royal Ascot winner in 2022, Candleford.
A direct descendant of legendary broodmare Horama, Dorcas Lane’s third dam is Irish Oaks winner Give Thanks.
Slow early fractions were not an issue for the odds-on fancy Maman Joon, with her late-running style this time as the Chad Brown-trainee unleashed a strong late kick to earn her first stakes victory with a 1¾- length score.
Maman Joon, who won her first two starts for Brown after being transferred to his barn this spring, was pace-compromised in a pair of Gr3 events her past two starts, though she turned in solid efforts in both.
The winning time for the mile and a sixteenth over a turf course listed as firm was 1:45.34.
“I wasn’t really worried about the slow fractions because she was kind of close this time,” said Luis Cabrera, who oversees Brown’s division at Monmouth Park. “She wasn’t too far back. So I knew as soon as he moved her outside she would be running. (Jockey Vince Cheminaud) moved a little earlier with her this time so it was perfect.”
Maman Joon, owned by Amo Racing USA, was second in the Gr3 Eatontown Stakes, beaten just three quarters of a length, before a fifth-place finish in her last start in the Gr3 Matchmaker Stakes. She was only 3¼ lengths back of stablemate and Gr1 winner Beaute Cachee that day.
Both of those graded stakes went in 1:15 for three-quarters of a mile as well.
“I feel very good for the filly,” said Cabrera. “She has her first stakes win and I knew she was capable of doing that so it’s a good feeling. She deserves this. She always tries.”
