Superb! Variety Club and Anton Marcus pulverise the opposition to win the Gr2 KRA Guineas
The Beaumont bullet is fast becoming a living legend amongst racegoers and he ran another terrific race to win the R500 000 Gr2 KRA Guineas run at Greyville last Saturday. Variety Club’s facile victory underlined his claims to South Africa’s premier miler title and, bureaucracy aside, the world is his oyster right now.
Selfish mixed feelings would have greeted the news that the connections of this terrifically talented chestnut are considering an international career for their champion. The racing public are desperately crying out for local heroes, not international mobile advertising bill-boards for our breeding industry. But as they say business is business and Christmas is Christmas. One can hardly blame the Joostes for chasing the glory and rewards that lie to the East and talk is of a tilt at the Hong Kong Mile in December.
Trainer Joey Ramsden deserves all of the accolades for plotting and planning Variety Club’s career to date. Two weeks earlier he had brought the chestnut out after a three month break following a second place in the Cape Derby, to win the Gr3 Winter Guineas in a canter at Kenilworth. He then put him on a float and trekked him 2000km to his East Coast satellite base to win on Saturday. Had the colt lost, he would have taken major stick for overdoing things. So he really must get all the credit, when the plan comes together as sweetly as it did.
The presence of Variety Club and Jackson chased any prospective passengers away and only eight runners lined up. The race itself was straightforward, but there may have been frowns in certain quarters when the other Jooste horse Unannounced went up to play the pacemaking sacrificial lamb. We make that observation as Unannounced is from the Charles Laird stable and inter-stable co-operation in races is a concept that can be questioned, despite the rights of and benefits to the common owner.
The strategy worked perfectly though, with Variety Club settling beautifully in third place. He was given his head by Anton Marcus at the 350m marker and even though Vodacom Durban July favourite Jackson ran on well, he had no chance with the well-supported 7-10 public choice.
Happy Days. Joey Ramsden trains Variety Club
The rest were left for dead. Gauteng Guineas winner Golden Chateau plodded into third 6,5 lengths off, while Astro News was a never threatening fourth. The highly vaunted Northern Emperor moved up dangerously on the rail, but his effort petered to less than nothing and he finished over 8 lengths back. Vaughan Marshall’s Northern Conquest was outclassed some 14 lengths behind, while the lamb, Unannounced, ran stone last after getting a roasting and going too fast.
The exciting aspect is that Variety Club still has his family jewels and his racing track record to date is probably a lot more impressive than many of the stallions that have taken up stud duties here. South Africa’s leading horse behaviouralist Malan du Toit travelled up to Durban and was giving credit by Ramsden in the post-race formalities. He plays a leading role in ensuring that boyish streaks and antics don’t distract the star from the task at hand.
The trainer also mentioned the team effort and said that he had been on the road for over two and a half weeks. He was referring here to the National Yearling Sale the final week of last month and also his Champions Day campaign with Bravura, which had ended less happily than this attempt.
Ingrid and Markus Jooste’s Variety Club is the personification of an astute buy at Vintage for R425 000. He has now won three different Guineas amongst his eight wins from his thirteen starts and run four places for career earnings of R 1920 000.He has won six Group races in total. That is a superb record and the only blot on his copybook was a fifth placed finish to Depardieu on very soft ground at Kenilworth in the Cape Nursery.
He was bred by Anton Shepherd’s Beaumont Stud and has fast become the best son of Forest Wildcat stallion Var. He is out of the Secret Prospector mare La Massine .
East or west, there is no question who is best. We wish the connections well as they chase that dream. They certainly have the trainer and the horsepower to carry it.
Result
SA Guineas (SAf-G2) (5/5)
Greyville, South Africa, May 5, R500.000, 1600m, turf, good, 1.34.23 (CR
1.32.77).
VARIETY CLUB (SAF), 58.0, ch c 3, Var – La Massine (SAF) by Secret
Prospector. Owner Mrs I and M J Jooste; breeder Beaumont Stud (SAF); trainer
J Ramsden; jockey A Marcus (R331.522)
Jackson (SAF), 58.0, b c 3, Dynasty (SAF) – Moonlit Prairie by Cozzene
Golden Chateau (AUS), 58.0, br c 3, Chateau Istana (GB) – Accent On Gold by
Deputy Minister
Margins: 2¼, 4¼, 1¾
Also ran: Astro News (SAF) 58.0, Northern Emperor (AUS) 58.0, Premium Wood
(SAF) 58.0, Northern Conquest (SAF) 58.0, Unannounced (AUS) 58.0
