HORSE RACING AT ITS BEST

They say that change is as good as a holiday! Well I have just had both and wow am I re-inspired on my return! We have just come back from a two- week visit to the USA where we spent most of the time in the real horse country of Kentucky with our son James. He is busy working there on Darley, and other farms, while he completes his six months in the USA on the Darley Flying Start Programme. We had our eyes made wide open as to the beautiful country- side especially made for horses with rolling grasslands divided up into neat, well-maintained paddocks. There are about 200 farms there and we had a taste of them by visiting Claiborne, Gainsway, Three Chimneys, Coolmore (Ashford Stud) and both Darley Studs - Gainsborough and Jonibell. Each farm was equally impressive being well-maintained and having gardens to die for! We were fortunate to have as guides Dan Rosenberg, who had managed Three Chimneys for over 30 years, and our son James, who both knew all the farms and horses.

We had a sentimental visit to Claiborne as it is the farm where two of my favourite stars stood and were later buried - Secretariat and Nijinsky! Gainsway has always been a special place for me to see as it is owned by one of our big supporters, the late Mr Graham Beck. Our visits to the other farms were also great as we saw many awesome big name stallions there: Giants Causeway, Thunder Gulch, Tapit, Arch, Dynaformer, Fusaichi Pegasus, Medaglio D'Oro, and Street Cry to name a few. Most of these stallions were familiar to me by reputation and as we had schooled some of their progeny at Ambleway in the past. It was great to see the real deal! At Gainsborough we were introduced to a familiar top race mare from South Africa - Crimson Palace and her Street Cry colt. Awesome indeed!

Apart from seeing the farms and stallions we were also fortunate in attending both The Oaks and Derby days at Churchill Downs. Quite a spectacle to behold with crowds of over 160 000 and atmosphere electrifying! The track is a lot tighter than ours are and is made for plenty of excitement as one sees the horses turn round the bend and into the straight - there was little time from the bend to the finish line so you had to be awake to find your fancied horse! We were really well looked-after at the races and everyone was very friendly. A great day, much like our July and Met days, but bigger crowds! It was made even more memorable when the Derby was won by the well-known international owner, Barry Irwin and his Team Valour Syndicate who also races here is SA. Animal Kingdom, the winner with his devastating turn of foot certainly is a horse to be followed in the remainder of the Triple Crown races.

As you will appreciate, the whole Kentucky experience was extraordinarily memorable.

While we were away I was thrilled to see that plenty of our graduates had competed in feature races and held their own well!

KZN GUINEAS for Fillies Grade 2 - BEACH BEAUTY won this mile event coming with her usual brilliant burst of speed to give her enthusiastic owners and trainer Dennis Drier another feature! This daughter of Dynasty is really amazing, being the only daughter of her sire to notch up a classic win.

KZN GUINEAS for Colts Grade 2 - PHANTOM FIGHTER was considered an outsider in the same race for colts, however delighted his connections to run on well for 3rd spot. It must have given conditioned Dennis Drier moments of feeling of déjà vu as both these horses had won their previous feature at the same meeting!

SOUTH AFRICAN OAKS GRADE 2 - MAR LODGE ran on gamely for 4th place over this longer trip of 2400 metres and Robbie Sage can now look forward to her competing again over longer distances for Mrs Oppenheimer.

STRELITZIA STAKES GRADE 3 - COMPTESSE DU BOIS was highly fancied in this sprint for juveniles boasting great Cape form. She ran 3rd for her owners Barry Irwin and Anant Singh. Conditioner Neil Bruss has always thought highly of her and she will win again soon!

ZIMBABWE DERBY - MINA SALAAM had already won the first two legs of the Triple Crown but did not to stay the 2400 metres of this race. She finished a gutsy 3rd to complete her successful visit to Zimbabwe. She now returns to SA to take part in the line up for the Emerald Cup on the sand. Her sire Medaglio D'Oro was a dirt star so she should revel for Robin Bruss in this event.

CASTLE TANKARD - GRACIE JONES ran a creditable 3rd in this open stayer's race. Competing for black type in this Grade 1 race, she is now well on her way to improve her stud value for Robin Bruss.

GORDON RICHARD STAKES GRADE 3 - KINGS GAMBIT won his first race since competing in the UK. He has previously been placed six times and this son of Silvano was ridden confidently by Jamie Shaw to victory. He was the Equus Award winner as a three year-old in SA when he won the Derby and Classic of his year!

Congratulations to the connections of all these successful horses. At the Sprint Day at Scottsville we have two graduates lining up for prizes - COMPTESSE DU BOIS takes on other juvenile fillies in the Allan Robertson and TWO TONE takes on the best sprinters in the country in the Golden Spur - both Grade 1 events! We wish their connections the best of luck!

Apart from feature success our graduates have been competing successfully in other races. In particular our Ready To Run graduates have been successful with IRISH MAID winning her debut and LADY ESPERENZA also winning. TRANSCENDENT and LADY ROONEY were placed in their respective debuts - so follow them.

Mrs Oppenheimer has had a purple patch with her graduates from Ambleway where SWAN NECK and BAY LEAF have won well for Gavin Van Zyl, and ART WISH was successful for Robbie Sage. TWO TONE ran a good prep for the Golden Spur for Michael Azzie. Robbie Sage also won with a son of Var that we sent him - OSCAVAR! Congratulations to you all!

Pat and Henry Devine have again had some luck with their own progeny of Champion Stallion Jet Master where JET DOT COM has come to light and won his last two starts for Lucky Houdelakis. This full brother to SA star international sprinter JJ The Jet Plane was disappointing and now has made up for his slow start on the track to win over a sprint and a mile. SKY CAPERS moved to Port Elizabeth to Justin Snaith and won her debut for him having previously been placed in Cape Town with Mike Bass. Well done to you all and I hope this is the start of some luck for you on the track with your own runners!

St John Gray has been in the limelight in Gauteng with his winning big races and currently being nominated for owner and breeder awards there on the Highveld. His outstanding mare Dancewiththedevil must also stand a big chance of being successful in her categories where she was nominated. We wish him luck with these prestigious awards . Meanwhile his three- year old crop racing is slowly coming to light with success for HEADS UP winning and COME WITH ME ran placed in her debut. Another trainer on the Reef to be successful with our graduates was Stan Ferreira who won again with KALAAM for Roland Bouwer

In KwaZulu-Natal Michael Roberts has hit a good patch with winners schooled here MIKES CHOICE, SILVER HEATH and ALLOCATION winning for their connections. Craig Eudey has also recently come to light with many winners including NATIONAL NITE MARE, STREAKER, and HIGHWAYMANS GOLD. Dennis Drier has also been successful with a big strong filly MEGASTAR and Duncan Howells was again in the winner's enclosure with DANCE TO THE STARS, a daughter of Galileo for owner breeder Des Scott.

The juvenile crop is also coming to light now with PSALTERY notching up a facile victory over 1400 metres. Conditioner Neil Bruss must have been chuffed with her run and also with CHANGE OFTHE GUARD who ran a cracking second in his debut. Dennis Drier was thrilled with the eye catching runs of his juveniles HALLOWED and KRUGER RANDS. Stan Ferreira was also thrilled with the debut of REIGNING RUBY who ran on for 3rd in her debut. Follow these babies in their next starts.

We went to the National Sale in April and were delighted to receive 17 babies to grow out and later school for training. Dennis Drier had a great sale purchasing 17 yearlings, his best sale to date, of which 14 were sent here to Ambleway. He was under bidder on some of the top priced Jet Master yearlings and he still came home with a super two specimens by this stallion! Knute Haug, a newcomer to this yard, gave him plenty of mettle to bid for top horses and these two individuals, among others, were well selected and purchased by Dennis. Dennis also acquired babies by other top sire Captain Al (2), good sires National Emblem (1), Strike Smartly (2), Jallad, Windrush, Kahal, Black Minnaloushe, Miesque Approval and by the "new kid on the block" Toreador! Ashawees is also a new stallion that he supported.

A new team of buyers bought horses by stallions that have been successful both on the track and at stud on the International scene - Trippi, Victory Moon and Greys Inn. These babies are to be raced later in Abbudabi. We were also sent two horses by the currently popular sire at Wilgebosdrift - Right Approach. A big thank you to all of our loyal supporters who sent us babies to prepare for training.

The overall stats of the sale show the average prices to be slightly down on last year but horses from this sale had been put on the Cape Summer Sale and another 200 had been added to the National Sale that would not normally have been there. The results of the two National sales - The Cape Summer Sale and the Germiston National Sale, however, were encouraging showing an increase of the average price going up to R380 in 2011 compared with R326 of 2010.

There are plenty of horses to follow from Ambleway that have been in the money in their last few starts: TYLERS TALENT, HAIL THE DUKE, WOLF ON THE FOLD, FRONT RUNNER, JOLLY JET, MEDICIAN WOOD, GOLDEN PARACHUTE, WATCH THE SUNSET, RULESOFENGAGEMENT, DAUNTLESS DELANCE, TAMARILLO, MOON RAIDER, WILD TYPE, MALKIA, FESTIVAL SPIRIT, DIVINE RIGHT, LA NEGRITA, SHIMMERING JET, STELLAR SEASON, STREAKER, ON GOLDEN POND, MR GIGILO, STREET CRED, NATIONAL HUNT.

We will next be involved selling horses after the July Gallops at Greyville on Thursday, 23 June. We are taking four Jet Master two-year olds to that sale that are in light work and are ready to go into training: a strong and flashy colt out of young mare Matchless Maiden (from the family of Cowdray Park), a big scopy daughter out of the Mistral Dancer mare Rocking and Raving (from the top family of Oaks winner Rootin Tootin including LOVE IS IN THE AIR), an athletic filly out of Al Mufti mare Jezebels Wings;she comes from the top family of Hot Masala, etc. Finally a daughter out of the maiden mare Gauvadilla. This is also from the well-known family of Red Badge, Ravishing, Geordoba, etc. Do have a look at these at Ambleway before the sale - you may just get lucky!!!!

Enjoy the feature racing in KZN! See you at the races.

JANE TROTTER