Unbeaten Zenyatta won her 17th consecutive race Sunday in the Grade I Vanity Handicap at Hollywood Park. As usual she made her move late and mowed them down despite carrying lots more weight than any of the competitors.
Owner Jerry Moss said: “She’s sort of in a class by herself, which we always thought, of course, she was anyway. Eleven Grade Is, that’s quite an accomplishment.”
She has now eclipsed the performances of legendary runners like Cigar and Citation.
Polar Moon, pre-race favorite, faded out of contention in a MR 96 handicap at Turffontein. Many thought he’d win. He was a popular banker in the pick 6.
The second favorite Master Blaster held on for 3rd but it was 20-1 shot Zorba’s Tale that shocked punters and the rough result in the next race contributed to the big pick 6 payout.
But Polar Moon will be back. He is still a young 3 year old colt.
Big City Life beat Pocket Power into 3rd the weekend in the Gold Challenge. Long-time leader Blue Tiger a dangerous front runner ran second. Pocket Power stayed on for 3rd. One of the pre-race favorites Mother Russia ran no kind of race and trailed off last. She was coming off a rest and reportedly sweated up badly before the race.
Now that he has won again Big City Life’s price is sure going to shorten ahead of the July Handicap. At 7 years Pocket Power is probably begin to feel it now.
Noordhoek Flyer is out of the July much to the disappointment of many punters. He enjoyed favoritism but that is now irrelevant. According to his jockey Neisius he had nothing to come in his last race a week ago thus confirming that anything 2000m and beyond is a bridge too far for him.
The US dollar ad UK pound convert very nicely so for pennies to the dollar and pound international players can take part in local racing including the pick 6 which has a carryforward of about R800 000 tomorrow at Scottsville where all the sprint racing is happening.
This is a useful way of playing in the pick six without breaking the bank balance by virtue of the conversion plus in South Africa runners by the same trainer are counted as one runner and one can take a fractional bet.
If you want more info just email me.
My favorite runner for tomorrow at Scottsville is Tuscan Sky in Race 6. He comes up against the De Kock runner Kavanagh, a horse that won a Grade 2 in its first ever run! But these are 2 year old colts so from day to day they are developing.
Johny Geroudis who also rode the might Horse Chestnut says of Kavanagh: “He feels as good as Horse Chestnut”. High praise indeed but only time will tell. Tuscan Sky and Kavanagh for a 1-2 for me in that race.
In the main race JJ the Jet Plane is all the rage. Warm White nights went off the boil in yielding going in his last run. JJ is traveling through the night for the big race. How well that works is anyone’s guess. Will he be stiff from standing for hours on end? Will he be tired on the day?
My fancy in that race is Tropical Empire; top weight short of his best distance but that may be precisely where some value lies. He absolutely flies at the death so expect him to come from behind and run into the money maybe even win. Warm White Nights, Imperial Gesture and Jamaican Dream will all be blazing away early, possibly setting up the race for the deep closing types like Tropical Empire.
The following article courtesy of the TAB:
“Saturday’s big Golden Horse Casino Sprint Raceday at Scottsville Racecourse is looming large in the minds of Champions Season enthusiasts and it augurs well for the Clairwood-base trainers whose horses appear to thrive at this training centre at this time of the year. Charles Laird sends out the Grade 1 winning sprinter, Warm White Night, in the Golden Horse Casino Sprint over 1200m.
Warm White Nights (pictured above in his white socks, courtesy of
Nkosi Nhlope of Gold Circle) disappointed in his last start when sent out as odds-on favourite in the Computaform Sprint over 1000m at Turffontein, finishing last.
The going was very soft on that occasion, but Laird, who was asked yesterday whether this had been the reason for the run, could not offer an explanation.
“He is doing fine. We gave him his final grass gallop last week at Clairwood. He has won at Scottsville before so knows the track.”
A line can probably be drawn through the long-striding son of Western Winter’s Computaform Sprint run and he should be a leading contender having won the Gold Reef Resorts Medallion over course and distance as a juvenile two years ago.
Another Laird horse who can have a line drawn through her last start is the Australian-bred two-year-old Street Cry filly, Hollywoodboulevard, who runs in the Allan Robertson.
“She also ran in the mud on Champions Day,” said Laird. “Anton (Marcus) said she was changing legs throughout. She is normally a very nice moving filly.”
Hollywoodboulevard beat a weak field by seven lengths on debut after being backed into 1-4.
Laird said it was always difficult to judge the two-year-olds until they had run against each other, but added that his two-year-old Jet Master colt, Sports Coach, who won by 9,25 lengths on debut in slightly soft going, was doing very well.
He rated him better than his other Medallion contender, The Assayer, at this stage and said the latter would be better when going over seven furlongs to a mile.
He said tongue-in-cheek that he would be “very excited” if Pagan Dance, a three-time winner from five starts, ran fourth in the strong Grade 1 SA Fillies Sprint.
He added, “Gibraltar Blue and Val De Ra are both exceptional. The way Gibraltar Blue won the Guineas coming from draw 14 she looks something special. Val De Ra has done nothing wrong and has hardly come off the bit.” Anton Marcus has ridden Gibraltar Blue in both her South African starts to date and felt she would be fine over the shorter trip.
Laird also runs Imperial Gesture in the Golden Horse and said, “It will be too sharp, but there is nothing else for him to run in.”
In a brilliant display of come from behind racing Lizard’s Desire put one over Gloria de Campeo in the $3 million Singapore Cup. Gloria de Campeo had beaten Lizard’s Desire previously in the world’s richest race, the Dubai Wolrd Cup. This was his first International Grade I win.
South African Mike De Kock is already a legend in racing and he added to his growing fame worldwide as a trainer of champions.
South African jockey said: “My horse quickened up so easily that I knew it was just the two of us. Gloria De Campeao doesn’t lay down the towel easily but my horse flew today and deserved his win.
“Full credit to the Mike de Kock racing team, especially Stephen and Ming. They’ve had this horse ready for Dubai and Hong Kong – and it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Lizard’s Desire’s work on Wednesday was phenomenal and that his sprint-up on Friday was at (world-class sprinter) Rocket Man’s pace.”
One of the next publishing goals is to create hardcover books of South African racing legends.
I remember growing up as a kid playing a game called TOTOPOLY in the 70s.
The name’s Mazarin, Sea cottage and In Full Flight rolled off our tongues and we trained champion horses in our little world!
The only book out there at the moment I think is about Horse Chestnut. There should be more about Flaming Rock, Empress Club, Spanish Galliard, Yard Arm, Ilha da Vittoria, Victory Moon, Pocket Power and other champions to inspire and create the legacies of these champions in print! Some of these like Empress Club and Victory Moon competed and won overseas including the legendary Horse Chestnut.
What about international greats like Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Man o’ War, Cigar, Citation, Sea the Stars, Sea-Bird, Brigadier Gerard, Zenyatta? There are of course others.
The pounding of hoofs reverberate around courses worldwide, hoofs flail, jockeys strain, and champion racehorses stretch towards the winning line and glory…and perhaps immortality!
It is hard to find words to describe this monster mare. When she won the Breeder’s Cup and they all thought she was dead and buried she came from the clouds and destroyed the males.
Like all true champions she has a devastating turn of foot that just mows them down. We’re all waiting to see what she does next up.
I recall a mare in South Africa that won Africa’s richest race the Gomma Gomma Challenge. Her name was Ilha De Vittoria who loved running off the pace. Seeing that grey mare eating up the ground after turning for last and winning on the post is the stuff of legends.
Then we had another mare called Empress Club who also raced in the US before she retired and had a blistering finish.
These wonder mares all seem to have that nitrous-oxide button!
Go Zenyatta you good thing. Go!
Inscribe you name in the annals of racing history!
