“When I first moved to NY and I was totally broke, sometimes I would buy Vogue instead of dinner. I just felt it fed me more.” – Carrie Bradshaw
Quality does not just happen. It is hard to describe, but for me there is a mystical alchemy of skill and God given ability, tempered with the right amount of hard work and dedication that defines true quality. It is this rare and ephemeral element that hallmarks great works of art or music and elevates them from being merely good, to something truly beautiful. Interestingly, beauty is not always based on perfection and it sometimes takes an unexpected imperfection to render something unique. However, true beauty has the power to uplift, inspire and somehow feed the soul and it is this ‘soul food’ that makes it so highly desirable.
August institutions the world over are filled with fabulous works of art and a visit to the Louvre or Musée d’Orsay constitutes a pilgrimage for people seeking culture and enlightenment. An understanding of fine art, classical music or good wine teaches one an appreciation of the finer things in life. However, beauty is a very personal thing and some people find it in unexpected and unorthodox places. For me it is most comprehensively expressed when it comes with a long nose, delicately sculpted ears, a sleek shiny coat and lustrous tail set on just so.
Tom Dorrance once said ‘you are not working on your horse, you are working on yourself’. Riding and horse ownership have always been a noble pursuit. Horses do not subscribe to human wishes, desires or timetables and there are no better teachers of patience, resilience, humility and did I mention patience?! Proximity to horses gifts one with a sense of grace and privilege that is hard to match anywhere else and a chance to get up close and personal with the exceptional class of horses on display last Saturday is the best kind of gift of all.
The day dawned bright and sunny and Kenilworth looked very smart festooned with the green and white Avontuur livery. There was a wonderful selection of Avontuur wines available for sampling in the parade ring and I can highly recommend the Method Cap Classique ‘house bubbly’ ! So with the sun on my back and a glass of sparkles in hand, I sat back to enjoy the day’s racing.
Workrider’s races are always hard to call, but M Mjokwa opened the card with an emphatic victory on Miss Beluga, leading Quenquen past the post by 3.25 lengths.
Race 2, the Var Juvenile Plate, was the first 2 YO race of the season and closely contested with the first four past the post finishing within a length of one another. However, the honours went to Harold Crawford’s Topsy Turvy with Andrew Fortune in the irons (I believe Andrew is basing himself back in the Cape again and it is nice to have Manne back in town!).
In the Dominion Royale Maiden Plate, the Right Approach colt Cypress Point romped home by 3.25 lengths for Dean Kannemeyer and will be one to watch over the coming season. My best wishes to young Mr Quale who took a tumble from Campbell in the 3rd – glad to hear you’re none the worse for wear.
Il Saggiatore maintained his unbeaten record in the 4thrace of the day, the Equifeeds Allowance Plate. He has shown real versatility, winning at 3 different tracks, over 3 different distances and must be an exciting prospect for his connections.
I was particularly looking forward to race 5. I’d enjoyed seeing Life of Pi seal victory for South Africa in the last leg of the International Jockey Challenge and was looking forward to getting another glimpse of this handsome son of Pivotal. He looked a picture in the parade, but the honours went to Mr Elley’s very glamorous Earl of Litchfield in closely contested finish.
However, my big ‘date’ for the day was with Warm White Night. I’ve been admiring press photographs of this handsome colt for some time and was looking forward to seeing how he’d taken to life in the Cape. Not only is he a looker, but I believe he’s a real gent too. Although the honours went to the impeccably turned out Wethreekings in a flying finish, Warm White Night did not disgrace himself in 4th place and I feel he may just be easing himself comfortably into the Cape lifestyle.
The parade ring for race 6 was a sea of blue and silver with no less than 4 runners heading out in the famous Adams colours. However, the gutsy Covenant put in a determined drive for the line to take the honours in the Tony Taberer Southern Cross Stakes in style. This filly is a true credit to her owner / breeders, Varsfontein Stud and a feather in the cap for South African racing – her dam (Secret Pact) is a full sister to London News, who is not only the producer of 2 previous fantastic fillies, but also the granddam of this year’s Gr2 Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf winner, Pluck.
By 5 o’clock the atmosphere was heating up for the Fillies Guineas and I had to jostle for a seat on the parade ring stands. If the Snaith stable has multiple runners, it has become my habit to look out for Cyprian Mkhondwana, as his appearance in the parade ring is always an early warning sign! However, there was no need to consult the race card to identify Ebony Flyer. Her sheer size and star quality made her the stand out candidate by a mile. To say ‘wow’ is insufficient, but there truly aren’t enough superlatives to do this filly justice. Suffice to say that she is an extraordinarily imposing and classy individual. There were individuals spanning (at least !) 3 different generations on my bench seat and to a woman, we all stared with open-mouthed awe.
Igugu was a little late into the parade ring and contrasted quite starkly against her big black rival, but showed that her reputation is richly deserved on the canter down – my goodness that horse has a length of stride. The race promised to be a showdown between these magnificent fillies and they sure delivered, drawing nearly 7 lengths clear of the field as they passed the post. Congrats to all the connections as well as a belated happy birthday to Justin Snaith ! What an extraordinary privilege to have seen these two great fillies do battle. I don’t know how much longer we’ll be able to enjoy them on home soil, but I commend anyone with the opportunity to go and see these magnificent dames of the turf while you still can.
The last race on the card was the Minelli Maiden Plate and M J Byleveld rode another impeccably turned out Vaughan Marshall runner, Mateus to a 4 length victory. I particularly enjoyed the Tabgold photo of the finish which shows Mateus crossing the line in splendid isolation !
Well, with the charming ladies at the tasting booth packing up the bubbles and the sun sinking down over the mountain, I headed home to reflect on a fantastic day’s racing.
