International success
We all watched with bated breathe the race of Variety Club when he ran in the Hong Kong mile. He won this race from a bad draw against the best and was given the usual confident ride by Anton Marcus and he won by close to 4 lengths. This was his second International success as he had already won the Dubai mile!

The National Yearling Sales were an incredible success..... if one asks buyers they found it very difficult to buy yearlings as there was more money at the sales than expected! The average was up on last year and the median was 20% up. It was very strong middle market and the top stallions were in demand again.....Silvano, Dynasty,Captain Al, Western Winter,Trippi,Visionaire,Var,Fort Wood and Judpot all had yearlings make the R 1 million mark! We were delighted to be sent 18 yearlings to Ambleway to school and later go into trainers. Horses purchased were by top stallions Silvano,Dynasty(2),Captain Al(2),Trippi,Var, Fort Wood (2) and the sire of peoples racehorse and Triple Crown winner -Louis The King, Black Minnalouche(2),useful stallions Mogok, Argonaut,Toreodo, Windrush,Greys Inn and new stallions A P Answer and first season sire-Noordhoek Flyer.
Thank you to the people who had the confidence to send us a very impressive draft of babies!

The feature racing in the Gauteng area has been run and the KZN season has begun!
We have been successful in Gauteng when the Empress Club Stakes a Grade 1 race was won by the Champion 2 year old filly in SA.....ALONG CAME POLLY !She had travelled to the Cape and been placed in the Guineas there and was also placed in the Gauteng Guineas! She showed her rivals a clean pair of heels in this race coming from off the pace and she beat older horses and showed once again how good she is! She has been remarkably consistent having run 10 times –she has won both times in Grade 1 races! She has been placed many times in big races (6) and has amassed much more than paid for her at the National Sales and by Buffalo Bill! Well done to you all and to Gavin Van Zyl her current conditioner and Varsfontein Stud her breeders!
We were also happy to see another of our fillies run such a gutsy race in The Camelia Stakes Grade 2 over 1160 meters. TIGER QUEST was given a great ride by Pierre Strydom. She has also been consistent for her owner\breeders Larry Nestadt ,Bernard Kantor and the Bott family from Australia having had 12 starts for 5 wins and 5 placed runs. She must make her conditioner Dominique Zaki very proud as plenty of her runs have also been in features!

We were delighted with the performance of our home bred BARBOSA when he ran a cracking 2nd to Normanz in the listed In Full Flight Stakes over 1100. He is running so much better now that he is gelded. He is now being aimed at the Sprint day at Scottville.

The beginning of the KZN Season is the Drill Hall Stakes and Guineas day.....BEACH BEAUTY made everyone very happy by winning the Drill Hall Stakes a Grade 2 -her second time in a row! Her conditioner Dennis Drier and pilot Sean Cormack had had a dreadful week but this win helped soften the blow. Sean gave her a great ride taking her into a handy position and hitting the front early on, the race was soon over for this 6 year old mare as she came home alone! She has certainly made her current owners the Shank s Syndicate very proud of her having won 16 races.....4 at Grade 1 level,6 at grade 2 level and 1 at grade 3 level. She has amassed them over R4.6 million and continues to make her new owners at Drakenstein Stud very happy that she will stand there at stud in the future when she retires.

The Juveniles have found themselves finding some form in the Feature racing in KZN........
In the Godolphin Barb Stakes, Grade 3, BECKEDORF ran a great 2 nd where only his greenness beat him as he was slow away. He pulverised the field in his next start as a maiden for Erich Buhr his owner\ breeder and Dennis Drier his conditioner. He was bred by Erich at Clifton Stud and is by their new resident sire A P Answer

In the Strelitzia Stakes Grade 3, we were represented by 2 fillies that had won previously LITTLEBLACKNUMBER and WHAT ABOUT ME. Both ran great races finishing 2nd and 3rd for the Howells yard. The former was probably running short of her best distance and the latter had just won her maiden!

In the Umkomazi Stakes grade 2, a few weeks later the colt, EASY LOVER ran a game race to finish 4th for the Howells and Ian Van Schalkwyk. He had won his previous start easily and this was also his first attempt out of the maidens. It was a strong field for him and also being by Right Approach he is expected to go further.

Dennis Drier has always rated the filly BALKAN, and this fast daughter of Horse Chestnut certainly gave her rivals a galloping lesson! She won for her owners over 1000 meters by 6 lengths. Messers Naughty Govender, KP ,NS and Y Naidoo must have been ecstatic with her facile victory.

Duncan Howells must have been thrilled with the son of Lateral, GAMELOFT, winning so well for the team and his owner Edwin Foster. This colt looked like an early speedster and he certainly has proven the team correct winning his maiden over 1400 meters.

MISS DECEMBER, a fast daughter of Var, won her maiden race for Robin Bruss her Owner/Breeder and Roy Magner her conditioner. She is a full sister to the proven MISS OCTOBER and August Rush.

Other juveniles that have been placed in their debuts are MISS ARGENTINA, ALYSAS PRIZE, GENARALISSIMO and OBREGA. Watch these horses in their next few starts as they are expected to run well!

Ambleway graduates have fared well with doubles and 5 horses making the frame at the first meeting in the KZN season!

The first double was when KELIKOTE EXPRESS and ORANGE BLOSSOM scored. The former broke his maiden and the latter is a consistent filly by Miesque Approval who had won many races in the lucky colours of Ian van Schalkwyk for the Duncan Howells yard. She won beating into 4th place another graduate DANSEUSE.

The second double was at Clairwood when BECKEDORF and DARKNESS scored for the Drier team. The former is a juvenile which we have already discussed, and the latter is a son of Toreodor who has been really gutsy winning 3 from 4 starts for Knut Haug and Greg Blank .He beat another useful sprinter from the same yard CRESCENDO in the process!

The beginning of the big days in KZN was marked by Ambleway graduates winning 5 races.....GAMELOFT,VARIKATE,KELIKOTE EXPRESS,BEACH BEAUTY and MIESQUROK all won their respective races at the same meeting at Greyville!
We have already discussed the wins of BEACH BEAUTY and GAMELOFT in the feature and juvenile section.
VARIKATE ,the speedy daughter of Var raced handy throughout and won for Cape conditioner Justin Snaith and her owner\breeder Tom Mahony over 1000meters. KELIKOTE EXPRESS notched up his second win in a row for trainer Kom Naidoo and his owners Messers Nunan and Govender over a mile and MIESQUEROK scored her maiden victory for her new yard, the Howells , over 1200 meters. She won for her owner \breeder Doug Band in fine fashion. She was also bred at Clifton Stud
Congratulations to all of the connections of the successful horses!

SAN VINCENZO has scored twice in a row in Kimberley for his connections, and TARGET FIVE and TELL MY STAR have won again for their connections and MORPHEUS and HIGH STAKES have broken their maidens for their connections!

There is a long list of horses to follow that are sure to win soon....
CHILL,UMOYANA,LADY CARTER,POLE DANCE,DANSEUSE,FORMATION,GARY THE GREAT,BLACK BALLADEER,MURMERING SKY.PENNY FARE,SUMMERSIXTYNINE,TARA DAWN,ULTIMATE TIGER,SHES A STUNNER,ROMEO BRAVO,CHESTNUT CHARGER,D VASH, ETHYLENE CRESCENDO

That is all for now......enjoy your racing

Jane Trotter