The Betway Gr3 Victory Moon Stakes which was run over 1800m at Turffontein on Monday paid homage to Victory Moon, the exceptional racehorse who, alongside the legendary Ipi Tombe, reignited South Africa’s presence on the international racing stage in 2003.
The incomparable Victory Moon (Pic – 4Racing)
He was instrumental in establishing Mike de Kock’s formidable stable in Dubai, which quickly evolved into a launching pad for the trainer’s remarkable success across the globe.
Victory Moon’s story is marked by much joy, triumph and a poignant ending—reflecting the bittersweet fate shared by many equine champions throughout history.
Born on 29 October 1999 at Geoff and Katherine Winshaw’s Litchfield Stud near Robertson, Victory Moon was a somewhat late arrival, though this had no impact on his development. He was a well-sized bay foal by Al Mufti out of Dancing Flower (Dancing Champ).
By the time he was consigned to the Cape Equimark Sale in 2001, he had grown into a big colt with plenty of attitude.
De Kock recalled: “Bernard Kantor had asked us to look at a filly in the Litchfield barn. Victory Moon wasn’t on our shortlist, but while we were at Litchfield, Jehan Malherbe suggested we should look at Victory Moon too. He was impressive. Eventually we were left with a choice between him and an Al Mufti colt from another stud farm, and we picked the right one.”
Dean Maroun and his brother Grant had made the trip from Johannesburg with De Kock, and Grant told: “At the time I thought our family as getting out of racing, but we sure got back in! We bought three colts. There was a lot to like about Domino Man, who was an automatic choice. Then there was Hidalgo and Victory Moon, who was imposing. We bought him for R200,000.”
De Kock joked: “In essence, if it wasn’t for Bernard Kantor sending us to Litchfield (he liked me in those days and asked me to look at his horses), we might not have come across the beast that was Victory Moon.”
Dean Maroun formed the MAD Syndicate, and shares were sold to a number of friends and business associates. The shareholders in Victory Moon were Dean, Grant, Guy and John Maroun, JJ van der Linden, Mike de Kock, Kevin Bakos, Kevan Hunter and Seth Luntz. The syndicate’s silks were white, with a purple maltese cross and a purple cap.
Victory Moon canters down for the Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot (Pic – 4Racing)
Victory Moon was given time to mature. After being schooled at Randjesfontein, he joined De Kock’s satellite base at Summerveld for the winter of 2002. He only raced once, as a late two-year-old, winning his Maiden Juvenile debut by 0.25-lengths over 1200m at Scottsville.
At the time, Mike de Kock had received an opportunity to train in Dubai after a meeting with Emirates Racing authorities arranged by Derrick Wiid from Phumelela Gaming and Leisure and he noted: “I’d been harassed by the Jockey Club of South Africa for several years with allegations of doping. I was deeply motivated to prove that I was legit, by training overseas. Also, I’d won the National Championship a few times, but it wasn’t worth much in financial terms. All of this influenced my decision to set up camp in Dubai.”
De Kock initially had only three SA contenders for his venture into the Dubai desert – 2002 Durban July winner, Ipi Tombe, Mary Slack’s imported filly Best Chris and Cecil Treger’s stayer Kelly.
Victory Moon’s participation hinged on the outcome of a shareholders’ vote. Members of the MAD Syndicate gathered to debate whether they would incur the cost of the flight and high stabling fees, and whether the colt was good enough to warrant this investment in his prospects.
Grant Maroun said: “We were swayed by the fact that Victory Moon was a sound horse and that Mike felt he had the ability to compete on foreign soil.” The vote was close, it went down to the wire, but after the meeting Victory Moon’s berth on the chartered flight was booked by Brain Roux of BBR Bloodstock Shipping.
De Kock had earmarked the Group 3 UAE 2000 Guineas at the Dubai Racing Carnival, scheduled for 13 February 2003. Having travelled halfway around the world before settling in at Nad Al Sheba’s international barn, Victory Moon stepped out in a preparatory sprint over 1200m on the dirt track at Jebel Ali.
Mike engaged Irishman Wayne Smith for the ride, and he brought the colt home under a driving ride to win by a short-head.
This was a modest USD20,000 contest at Dubai’s second-choice circuit, but aside from the merits of winning a dash on an unknown track, and on dirt, it gave De Kock and his team a measure of confidence that they were going the right way. The stable was quickly off the mark, and that was a confidence builder.
Victory Moon’s route to the Guineas went via one more warm-up run, the Al Nahklee over 1700m on dirt, where he won by nine lengths under top weight of 59kg. The big bay was improving with every run and growing in stature. The racing fraternity in Dubai was starting to take notice, but not many expected him to win his third successive start in the desert.
Victory Moon took on a field of useful contenders in the UAE 2000 Guineas, worth the equivalent of USD$150,000, and disposed of two popular Godolphin runners, Western Diplomat and Bourbonnais. He won gamely in the hands of his now regular jock, Wayne Smith.
Godolphin’s trainer, Saeed bin Suroor, stepped out the redoubtable outfit’s UAE Derby hopeful, Inamorato, a US-bred who had won his Maiden at Hollywood Park in the United States and landed in the UAE with a big reputation.
Wound up for the race, Inamorato dealt Victory Moon his first career defeat in the Al Bastikiya over 1800m on 8 March, 2003, coming home six lengths clear of the SA-bred in the hands of Frankie Dettori.
However, De Kock had left something in the tank for Victory Moon’s ultimate target, the Group 2 UAE Derby. In the weeks leading to Dubai World Cup Day, Victory Moon came into his own in exercise gallops, impressing all and sundry, including the international media contingent who had gathered in advance for the UAE’s annual racing highlight on Saturday, 29 March.
The word was out. Victory Moon was seen as a realistic Derby danger to Inamorato and Songlark, another emerging ace from Bin Suroor’s barn. Godolphin’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, keen to ensure that the prestigious trophy stayed in Dubai, offered a staggering $US2-million for Victory Moon in the week prior to the race.
Victory Moon at stud (Pic – 4Racing)
De Kock and the MAD Syndicate were blown away. This gargantuan offer was equivalent to near R18-million and presented a chance for all the partners to cash in, handsomely. The offer was reduced to $US1-million following a routine, pre-sale veterinary inspection, and it was reported that Victory Moon had a chip in his hind fetlock.
“We rejected the second offer, because Victory Moon had not presented any issues of this kind before and was sound as a bell. The syndicate members were disappointed at getting so close to a big payday only to see the deal fall through, but we decided to take our chances in the Derby. Victory Moon had shown me that he had the mettle to be competitive,” De Kock said.
When the big night finally arrived, a contingent of South African and Zimbabwean supporters rolled into Dubai, including the owners of Ipi Tombe, members of the MAD Syndicate and a few representatives from the racing media. Racing in Dubai for the first time was a strange and almost surreal experience for most, and what ensued was the stuff dreams are made of.
Victory Moon lined up in the 2000m dirt race alongside 13 other promising three-year-olds and he was priced up third favourite at 7-1 by international bookmakers, with Inamorato (4-5) and the Argentine raider Peasant (13-2) topping the boards.
There were near 35,000 people on course, with the Victory Moon fan club scattered from positions near the rail to the parade ring to the grandstand and the international village. Godolphin’s massive supporter base – droves of UAE citizens – cheered and clapped for the Sheik’s equine representatives, drowning out the spirited encouragement for the South African runner.
The Brazilian runner, Baccarat, went out to set the clip from Parhelion, Songlark and Seattle Fitz, with Victory Moon fifth and Inamorato just behind him. The De Kock runner appeared to be travelling well, but lost his position in the back straight and dropped to seventh as jockey Wayne Smith tried to stay out of the kickback.
Turning for home, Victory Moon had six or seven lengths to find. Hearts were pounding, visions of disappointment and despair threatened to take hold.
Just then, Smith made a bold move. He switched Victory Moon to the outside for a clear run, gave him a few reminders and pushed him into the firing line, where Songlark had taken over and looked the likely winner.
But the big son of Al Mufti grabbed the bit, lengthened his stride and ranged up to the Godolphin runner. In the kind of moment champions are made, Victory Moon took on Songlark and headed him with 100m to run.
The final seconds were breathtaking. Victory Moon crossed the line half a length ahead of his rival. Around Nad Al Sheba, pandemonium broke loose as ecstatic South Africans, almost punch-drunk from this unexpected surge of exhilaration, scrambled toward the winner’s enclosure. Some even vaulted security fences to join the victorious procession.
This was a monumental South African triumph, broadcast to audiences worldwide.
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