Mrs Var. Pippa Mickleburgh was all smiles after her stallion's great day.

Avontuur stallion Var hogged the limelight and enjoyed the rare distinction of siring the winners of four races on the Durbanville card on 22 October. A reflection of this top stallion’s versatility is the fact that the winners were achieved from distances of 1000m to 1500m and both sexes were equally represented.

Former jockey Andrew Fortune was also in the spotlight on the low-key maiden programme. The attention he received was for all the wrong reasons though , after what looked like a rather unprofessionally casual ride on Plattner Racing’s Winter Dynasty in the sixth race.

A son of Forest Wildcat once described by Frankie Dettori as the ‘fastest horse’ he has ever  ridden, Var has proven time and again that he can produce the goods. Currently standing at eighth position on the Sires log by stakes earned, he has had up to 35% less runners than the top five earners and looks set for his best ever finish this season.

His most impressive winner of the afternoon was the well perfomed August Rush’s full sister Miss October, who was never headed in winning the fourth race over 1000m. She won easing up by a country mile and it was great to see much-travelled trainer Neil Bruss-who also trained August Rush- back in the winner’s enclosure after a short absence and relocation from KZN.

Mike Stewart’s Vardashian was another horse to show blistering speed and the full brother to Varushka won the second race over 1200m with ease. The very next race was won by Joey Ramsden’s consistent gelding Victor Ivo, who once again showed the toe to run his rivals off their feet over the 1200m sprint.

Avontuur General Manager Pippa Mickleburgh bred the fourth Var winner when Eric Sands’ Heritage Wood showed her appreciation for the 1500m trip.Out of the one-time winning Fort Wood mare, Fine Wood, she showed that Var gets them to settle well and she stalked the battling Faithful Olga all the way around before showing a nice turn of foot to skip clear. Andrew Fortune continued the trend of his miserable afternoon by getting boxed on the rail on the fancied Dance For Gold. She eventually ran third.

Wheel Of Fortune. Jockey Andrew Fortune didn't make many friends.

Fortune is one of the most accomplished riders around but his passive and almost nonchalant seat on a horse are bound to incur the wrath of punters and the Stipes when things don’t go as planned. And his worst nightmare was realised courtesy of a driving and determined ride by Richard Fourie, who got the well supported Jet Burst to fly from a hopeless position late in the sixth race.

The formless Olympic Winter cut out a suicide pace up-front  as Fortune had Winter Dynasty a few lengths off and out wide. The pacemaker with the strange action was the first horse down in the home straight as Winter Dynasty cruised to the head of affairs and looked all over a winner. The final 50m of the race turned into a horrifying eternity for Fortune as the high-riding Fourie got stuck into Jet Burst, who squeezed through a tight gap on the rail, and deservedly got him up to win by a whisker. The winner was one of eight Snaith winners on the weekend and was bred by La Plaisance Stud. He is out of the brilliant Danehill sprinter First Burst and looks like a horse with plenty of upward potential. Both colts carried the Plattner silks, so Fortune’s poor judgement was not a disaster for the owner.

But those punters who backed the Govender Dynasty colt will feel aggrieved that their money was done in cold blood through jockey error. It is also inexcusable that a rider of Fortune’s vast experience be allowed to bring the game into disrepute in this manner without a serious penalty. He has gotten away with it more times than he hasn’t- but he now needs to be brought to book. Ironically Fortune has struck up a great relationship with the Plattner Racing Team in recent months and it will be interesting to see whether  he has jeopardised that burgeoning partnership.