MONEY, INCENTIVES, AND BOOSTS FOR RACING!    

There have been so many changes that have been occurring to improve racing….as the title suggests money increases, incentives and boosts for racing and breeding.  

We have been directly involved with one of the boosts for breeding in KZN, having looked after IRISH FLAME (pictured) for the past few weeks assisting him let down from racing with Mike de Kock to now going to stud here in KZN. We have been very honoured to have him at Ambleway as he was such a gentleman and a pleasure to work with. Apart from a great nature he has plenty of scope and I really do hope that he gets the support he deserves here in KZN. Tawny Syndicate have decided to renew their breeding support in KZN, and apart from IRISH FLAME going to stud here, they are also relocating their proven and successful stallion Toreodor. Toreodor is consistently in the top 20 on the National Sires log having sired LINK MAN, the Equus Champion Two Year Old of his year, among others!   As a Grade 1 producing son of Danehill the value of Toreodor for KZN is indisputable. He is recognised in the sale ring as his yearlings achieve an average price of R150 000, and as a G1 producing sire he will fill a gap in KZN, as he tends to produce horses with precocity and speed. IRISH FLAME on the other hand is a staying type who is a son of Dynasty, and was himself the South African Horse of the Year at the end of his three year old career, just like his sire! He was a dual Grade 1 winner in South Africa winning both The Daily News and the SA Derby (by a margin of 10 lengths!). As a result he started favourite for the July that year and finished 2nd to his stable companion Bold Silvano. He then went abroad to race and won a race in the UK breaking the track record at the same time!

  Both of these horses will stand at Bush Hill Stud alongside KZN Champion sire Kahal! Good luck to Warick and Karin Render who will have the pleasure of looking after them both.  

Ambleway has been able to care for and helped let down the current stallion RAVISHING before he started stud duties at Summerhill. Another stallion who is doing well at stud is GREYS INN who spent time here - he is the sire of the 3 year old King of Pain who is highly rated in the Cape.  

Apart from KZN breeding support, there has also been an announcement by Gold Circle of Stakes increases, notably the Vodacom July, where the increased total stake is to be R3.5 million. A huge mark up from the old stake! There are also huge incentives being given by Cape Thoroughbred Sales. They have announced stakes and trainer incentives before their Cape Sale Book 2. The CT Challenge Series is offered for graduates only from this sale and the stakes of R2.5 million are added to races in each centre for the following 3 years amassing a total of R7.5 million. They are also offering a trainers challenge of R1 million as a bonus to the winning trainer! All of these are huge incentives for buyers at this sale at the end of March.   The sale is on 23rd and 24th March and Ambleway is able to take yearlings purchased from this sale and grow them out until they are mature enough to school for training. Please contact me on my cell 082 800 40 48 if we can be of any assistance to you. We will unfortunately not be able to be in Cape Town at this sale.  

Wilgebosdrift Stud, owned by Mary Slack, is offering sponsorship for the three year old fillies Triple Tiara - the Guineas, Classic and Oaks all run at Turffontein in March and April. It really adds as an attraction for good fillies to compete in this race series as there is a bonus for winning all three legs of R1 million. The racing and breeding of better fillies who will retire is part of the reaching for excellence in the broodmare band in this country. Igugu is the only winner to date and we hope for more fillies to follow suite!          

The Michael Holmes Sale at Shongweni was also successful for us as the horses that we prepared for Scott brothers sold for their expected value with the top price of R52 000 being reached for a daughter of Miesque Approval x Timeless Tune. The horses from Mayfair Spectaculars assisted the prices too with a son of Captain Al being the sales topper and we were delighted for them that the son of Windrush x Fly To The Star, Wind Power, amassed R350 000 and was sold in absentia. Most of the horses that we assisted to sell were sold for over R40 000. Quite a good result for all.  

Black Caviar made history by retaining her unbeaten record of 23 consecutive wins. She is also one of the few horses to have won the same Grade 1 race on three consecutive occasions. She won the G1 Lightning stakes and stands among  the names of Pocket Power, Makybe Diva, Kingston Town, Goldikova and Kelso (who won the Jockey Club Gold Cup G1 over 3200m five years in a row!). Another stayer to achieve a similar amazing feat was Yeats who won the Gold Cup at Ascot four times. In comparison sprinters, like Black Caviar, don't seem to last or stick around as long on the track. She is a remarkable mare!  

The Black Caviar story in Australia currently has an added dimension to it with the success of her half-brother All Too Hard. This colt won Australia's premier guineas, the Caulfield Guineas G1 and has since gone on to also capture the CF Orr Stakes G1 and the Futurity Stakes G1 - both against older horses. It makes you wonder what an incredible mare the dam, Helsinge, is and also what value this colt now has before going to stud!  

We have been represented by graduates in the feature races in Gauteng with some making the frame. FORMATION ran handy and was second in the Grade 3 Acacia Handicap for the St John Gray team. KALAAM ran a good 4th in the listed Bauhinia Handicap .This daughter of Kahal has been consistent for Roland Bouwer and Stan Ferreira. Well done to Mike Benson and Di Turner for breeding her!  

At the races Ambleway has continued to have winners… we started off with a treble at Scottsville when TARA DAWN, MAJESTIC EMBLEM and ORANGE BLOSSOM all won. TARAS DAWN was having her debut run and won well over 1200 for Knut Haug and the Drier team. She is another daughter of Windrush who will make her mark as a mare. MAJESTIC EMBLEM has been knocking on the door over 1000 meters for the Cassell Family Trust and this son of National Emblem won a good race for Michael Roberts. The filly ORANGE BLOSSOM has been carefully placed by Duncan Howells for owner Ian van Scalkwyk and she won her 3rd race for them over a mile. This daughter of Miesque's Approval was bred by Bruce le Roux in KZN! Well done to all……  

The Drier team won with three other Ambleway graduates - NORDIC LASS, THE FLYING MACHINE and SO YOU THINK. NORDIC LASS was ridden again by apprentice R. Munger and won again for him - his first 2 wins! This daughter of Kahal is doing well for her team of owners Gill Drier, Tim Keating, Ferdi Dippenaar, Dave Abery, Gary Harris and Miles Dally. The son of Street Sense, THE FLYING MACHINE, was gelded and the change made all the difference to his running and he won well over 1200 for the Estate of the late Andrew Papageorgio. SO YOU THINK, another progeny of Kahal won for enthusiastic owners Messrs Lee and Dino Scribante and Eric Stephenson. This name SO YOU THINK is well known in Australian and International circles, and I hope that he continues to be a fun and successful horse to own.   A special filly to us was TRENDY BABE. She won over 1400 for Gavin Van Zyl and to all who knew her called her "the Lion Heart filly". She is out of Brocco Babe and was sent to Ambleway by her owners Larry Nestadt and Bernard Kantor to grow out and be prepared for training. She came from Australia and was bred on the Bott's farm there. It really is a small world as our son James was on the Darley Flying Start course with Adrian Bott who now works for leading trainer Gai Waterhouse in Australia. All who knew her will remember her as having the white patch on her side…so unusual! She is the half sister to the useful Roccos Luck who is proving to be a useful stayer in Gauteng.  

Mrs Oppenheimer sent us a draft of horses to school by her ill fated stallion Strike Smartly… Well, 3 have won in their respective provinces. TWO TONE won for Michael Azzie, FORESTATION won for Robbie Sage and MUCHO GOLD won for Gavin Smith! Congratulations to these horses who are now a mature age!  

In PE, IRON GRAY and KISS AND TELL have both won. IRON GRAY has really found his form their having now won 4 races for trainer Wiese. This son of Western Winter was bred by Robin Bruss and was initially owned by Tawny Syndicate and was sent here for a rest as he was not performing well. Now his luck has changed and he is doing so well in PE!   KISS AND TELL is owned and bred by Pat and Henry Devine and she was trained by Mike Bass before Justin Snaith was successful with this win. She is a daughter of Spectrum and will make a nice broodmare for them. (I see that Mike Bass has opened up a yard in PE now too!)   In Gauteng, the filly EASTERN GREETING won over 1200 meters. She is also by Kahal and is a full sister to the useful KALAAM. Well done to all of her connections Stan Ferreira her trainer, Roland Bouwer her owner and Kjell Foundation who bred her.   In Kimberley we were successful with the Brazilian horse ZEZINHO BELO for conditioner Miller. He won over 1200, and this son of Blade Prospect was sold from Ambleway some years back.   There is a list of horses that have been placed that should win soon, including:  

LAMORNA, EGYPTIAN, OWLS DO CRY, DANSEUSE, SHIMMERING JET, SHARK ATTACK, TULLYNALLY, NICETY, NINJA WARRIOR, BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS, TURKISHDELIGHT,  WIND AT YOUR BACK, THE SHARK, CODE RED, DIVIDE N RULE, PENNY FARE, TRANSCENDENT, DYNAMIC STAR AND TELL MY STAR.  

That is all the news for now.  

Enjoy your racing.        

Jane Trotter