APRIL 2010 NEWSLETTER

LIZARD'S DESIRE produced the most electrifying run to the line in this year's Dubai World Cup, over 2000 metres. He came from the back of the field to weave his way through runners and on the line it looked like he had got up in time. Sadly the line came one stride too short as soon after the line Kevin Shea had his head in front. I am sure that the whole of South Africa was screaming him home as it was one of the most exciting races we have watched for a long time!

Well done to Mike de Kock and his team who have really got the best out of this horse. In South Africa he was one of the better three-year olds in his crop having won the Port Elizabeth Derby and then ran a good third to Dan De Lago in the KwaZulu-Natal Derby. He was purchased by Mike after that and then sent to Ambleway to rest and to be prepared for quarantine before going to Dubai. The rest is history as in Dubai he won his first two starts in facile fashion, and then ran close up in the Maktoum Challenge. This son of Lizzard Island has certainly done his country proud!

LIZARD'S DESIRE now becomes the second richest racehorse ever bred in South Africa (Jay Peg is the richest), having amassed a total stakes of R15 million!

In South Africa the Gauteng feature season is coming to its peak and Ambleway has been represented in top races by many graduates. We are proud of two of Mrs. Oppenheimer's horses, bred at Mauritzfontein, that have featured in the big ones. BULSARA a son of Silvano ran a cracking second to Pierre Jourdan in the South African Classic, a Gr1 over 1800m. This horse had just been gelded and Gavin van Zyl, his conditioner, commented on the difference in his concentration that day when he found plenty at the finish and was full of running at the end. He is going to miss the Derby and be aimed at the Daily News 2000 at Greyville. This race looks ideal for him and we wish them well!

DRAWBRIDGE ran a creditable third in the South African Derby Trial over 2000m. He was still a little green but enjoyed more ground and the long straight. Robbie Sage, his conditioner, was delighted that this horse seems to be finally finding his feet over the right distance and feels the horse will improve as he was still a little dumb on the day. He is well-bred by Fort Wood out of the good race mare, Daphne Donnelly. Watch him in his next race - probably the Derby on Champions Day!

Feature racing is starting to build up in the KwaZulu-Natal season with several races being staged here. The King's Cup, a Gr3, for older horses was run over 1600m at Greyville and two of our graduates found plenty at the finish: THANDOLWANI ran second, followed by a close third with SPEED FOR GOLD. These two horses were involved in a blanket finish, only being separated on the line by heads in the first three. Craig Eudey and Dennis Drier, their respective conditioners, can look forward to placing them in the features during the forthcoming season as they were both really full of running at the end of their race.

At Scottsville this last week we saw feature races for two- and three-year olds. We were thrilled to see two of our three-year olds feature in the colts and fillies races. In the Byerley Turk, a Gr2, for three-year old colts over 1400m CLEARLY SILVER ran on well to be involved in the finish and come home third. This smart son of Silvano has had four wins out of five starts and this was the first time conditioner Dennis Drier tested him over a distance further than he has run before. He certainly seemed to run on well indicating that he might well get the Guineas trip in the future in KwaZulu-Natal.

In the Umkomazi Stakes, a Gr3, for three-year old fillies, AIR POCKET a daughter of champion stallion Jet Master finished well to take third spot. It was great for Michael Roberts, her conditioner, as her owner from England - Ron Huggins - was out in South Africa and was able to watch the filly compete. Well done to you all!

Robin Bruss must have been thrilled with his daughter of Smarty Jones, GRACY JONES who won her second start. She was placed in her debut over a sprint and then when shown the track the second time of asking over 1400m she waltzed in for her conditioner Geoff Woodruff. This is a big filly out of a very good race mare, Circle of Life who is bred to go further and I am sure she is destined for better things as she matures. We will follow her progress with interest and congratulations to you, Robin, her breeder and owner who race her with the Bennelong Blood Stock Group!

JET DOT COM surprised all in his third start at the Vaal. This scopy colt is a full brother to sprint sensation, JJ The Jet Plane. He is different from his brother in that he showed conditioner Lucky Houdelakis he would likely stay. He was unfancied over 1400 metres and came home full of running. Pat and Henry Devine own and bred this colt and were delighted with his win as they have had a quiet few months at the races. Congratulations to you both - and hopefully another rising star by your champion stallion Jet Master!

Two of our draft from the 2009 Ready To Run Sale have already graced the turf in Cape Town and been successful - IN LIKE FLYNN won her debut over 1200m in facile fashion and WOLF ON THE FOLD ran a promising fourth. IN LIKE FLYNN (previous name at sale, COLIN'S GIFT) was chosen by the panel at her Summerhill gallops for her superb action. In her debut she was not strongly fancied (12-1) and came home to win easily by three and a quarter lengths. She gave her conditioner Joey Ramsden a sign of more to come! WOLF ON THE FOLD also ran over 1200m and conditioner, Brett Crawford, was delighted with his run as he showed plenty of cheek to finish close up fourth. He feels he will need further so this was a good start to his career. Congratulations to purchaser, Ian Longmore - may he bring you plenty of success! Both these horses were bred at Highlands Farm - congratulations to Mike Sharkey and his team!

Ambleway had some exciting race meetings with a treble and two doubles at a meeting. The treble came when MARQUIS, SOPHISTICATED SUZY and HER PREROGATIVE won. The doubles were with LAMORNA and NORSE SKY, and then TARRAGON and CASHEW NUT. Michael Roberts was rewarded for his patience with MARQUIS the daughter of Australian sire Right Wing. This filly has been plagued with problems and it was great to see her shed her maiden over 1200m. Michael's wife, Verna, races this filly with her owner/breeders from Australia, Mr L Piper. At the next meeting another filly by Var, LAMORNA had also been nursed back to racing after surgery and she won a great race for her owner Sydney Cassell. She had raced in top company as a juvenile and shown plenty of speed and she certainly has come back to show her true ability now.

Another good win came a week later with the Toreador filly TARRAGON. This filly won her debut in fine style by five and a quarter lengths for owner/breeder Phillip Kahan and new race owner, Mr Govender - congratulations to all of you. It was great for you to be rewarded for your patience as this filly certainly can run. Well done to Michael who has had success with these three fillies - and all your patience has paid off!

Dennis Drier has sounded a warning with the runs of some of his graduates from Ambleway and SOPHISTICATED SUZY is certainly one of them. She came back after a rest and won her maiden in facile fashion. She is a daughter of Dynasty and is well-related, being a half sister to the Guineas winner, On Her Toes. Well done to Mr and Mrs. Beck her owner/breeders. NORSE SKY had been plagued with problems as a young horse and now seems to be well over his hurdles and he finished with a devastating run in his race to win very easily at Greyville. With new stable jockey Alec Forbes riding an incredible race he went on to win by four and a quarter lengths. Well done to all his owners from the "French Connection"!

Dennis was thrilled to see the gutsy daughter of Mogok, SAHARA be rewarded again when she won a good race over 1400m. She has been lumping big weights and has consistently been placed for some time so she certainly deserved to get her head in the front for Messrs Blank, Burke, Gooderson and breeder Robin Scott.

NATIONAL EMPEROR, the son of National Assembly, is also owned and bred by popular racing personality, Greg Blank. He certainly showed his mettle again by winning over 1200m in facile fashion. He has come back from a rest and has hacked up both of his two races to win very easily and certainly looks like a horse to be watched over sprint distances. He has now won three races for his owners, Messrs Gooderson, Rob, Kay and Darrell Yutar and Darrell's dad. Well done to all of you!

Gavin van Zyl has had a purple patch with horses from Mrs. Oppenheimer. He has recently had three winners from Ambleway graduates alone. Apart from CASHEW NUT, SCENT OF MONEY, WILD TYPE also won in Gauteng. CASHEW NUT started her career with back to back victories over sprints, and then was feature-placed. Her conditioner felt she was scopy so put her over ground and she did not relish this trip as expected. When placed over sprints again she ran placed in a small feature, and then won again over 1200m. Congratulations to you both! In the same race she beat two other useful Ambleway graduates: STREET CRED and RISE AGAIN.

Mrs. Oppenheimer recently won with two of the sons of her ill-fated stallion Strike Smartly in Gauteng. SCENT OF MONEY out of the useful mare Caron won his maiden over 1000m. He was also brought back to sprinting and WILD TYPE was successful over 1400m and he won in fine fashion. He is out of a Fort Wood mare and this cross with Strike Smartly and Fort Wood certainly seems to be working for the stud and it is such a pity that Strike Smartly has passed on.

Another very exciting win for us was that of HER PEROGATIVE. She was bought for a group called Moodley's Racing Team, Strini Moodley and Ganas Moodley, and they race this filly with Garth Puller. We were delighted to see her come out and ran a very good debut and then she won leading from start to finish. They were concerned about her being too keen and luckily they had a top jockey aboard, Felix Coetzee, who allowed her to stride along, gave her a breather and then sent her off again and she stayed at the front to win very convincingly over 1600m. Well done to you guys and we really hope that the rest of your horses start to feature soon. HER PEROGATIVE was bought from Ambleway as was FRENCH MISS - both of whom were bred at Scott Bros. We really wish this team the best of luck with their new venture!

In KwaZulu-Natal we were also successful with a horse bred by Chris Saunders. TAKE OVER TARGET by the lesser known sire, Copper Belt, came and won again for the team over 1200m. Conditioner Tony Rivalland must have been very happy with him and he won for Mrs. Kock, Teller, Havemann, Rochman and Mr Chris Sanders.

We have not had many juveniles in KwaZulu-Natal grace the track this season. However, we were delighted to see one of our juveniles LINK MAN run a very good second in his debut. He is by a new sire Toreador and certainly looks like he is showing plenty of promise and plenty of speed. Well done to Dennis Drier his conditioner and I am sure he get to into the winning box in his next few races.

There have been plenty of horses that have been placed that deserve watching: MOON RAIDER, RAKHEE, YOUNG EMPIRE, KANEVARO, SNUGGLER, LA NEGRITA, CANDID GIRL, SOLO FLIGHT, ALIMONY, THE GIANT, CANDY TUFT, ASIAN AFFAIR, CHIFFON, EMPEROR RISING, VILAYET, PRO REGINA, ROYAL UNION, VLADIMIR, STRING OF STARS, TURF QUEEN, STREET CRED, RISE AGAIN, SWAN NECK, MISS DU BOIS, LUNAR LANDSCAPE, KIDD KANDY, DORIAN GREY, DAUNTLESS DELANCE, MOON RAIDER, ARCTIC BEAR, BET ON BLUE, SHARKS BAY, SWINGING JET, STARS IN MY EYES and HARBOUR LIGHT. Watch these as I am sure they will feature soon!

During May Rodney and I are going to be travelling overseas to France from May 5 to about May 18. During that time the horses will be looked after by my new, most able assistant Colinda and she will be here and will be able to show you your horses if you need her. Please contact her on her cell number 072 919 2219.

The next sale is the Big One - the National Sale at Germiston from Friday April 23, to Monday April 26. The catalogue looks really strong with lots of good pedigrees and individuals to match. We visited Scott Bros. draught in KwaZulu-Natal last weekend and they were full of quality and if this is anything to go by it looks like it is going to be a very strong sale. Hopefully with the overseas interest produced by Mike de Kock and Herman Brown, we will be supported by overseas buyers and which will increase interest as well. We will be at the sale to assist buyers to chose and thereafter to school horses and prepare them for training.

See you there! 

JANE TROTTER