St John Gray Takes Gr1 Castle Tankard The St John Gray bred, owned and trained KZN-bred Yer-Maan, with Quinton Riddle up, won the Gr1 $50 000 Castle Tankard run over 2000m at Borrowdale Park on Saturday, writes Sheldene Chant. The 53rd edition of Africa’s oldest sponsored horserace produced a thriller with the Gauteng based owner-trainer St John Gray winning with the lesser fancied of his coupling. Lucky Sam ran second and was followed by another SA raider in Alyson Wright’s KZN based Warcraft, with Rock The Country in fourth. Yer-Maan, by Jam Alley (AUS) is out of a Jallad mare and was bred by Graystone Stud, with a winning margin was 1.25 lengths. The talented Yer-Maan proved to be ideally course and distance suited and showed no ill effects after a five month layoff. He hadn’t run since finishing tailed off in unsuitable soft going in the Gr 2 Victory Moon Stakes at Turffontein last November. Yer-Maan’s next goal could be the $40 000 OK Grand Challenge to be run at Borrowdale over 1800m on 6 June. Jam Alley was imported from Australia, owned and trained by St John Gray, he had five wins over a distance of 1400 - 1800m from the age of 3 - 5, with eight places and earning himself R1 028,325 in stakes. In his first four starts he won three times, including the Gr1 South African Classic over 1800m and placing in the Gauteng Guineas over 1600m. He also ran a place in the Gr1 Summer Cup over 2000m. His sire, Peintre Celebre (Nureyev - Peinture Bleue by Alydar) was European Champion Three Year Old, and won five of his seven starts, including the fastest time in Group 1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. His other wins included Gr1 Gran Prix de Paris and Prix du Jockey Club, and he was given an impressive Timeform Rating of 137. Jam Alley, who resides at Cathy and Jonathan Martin's Hadlow Stud for St John Gray, is the first son of Peintre Celebre to stand in South Africa. Jam Alley's dam, Lyphard Street (Lyphard - Hotel Street by Alleged), placed in the UK and produced five foals and four winners. This is the damline of sires such as Perfect Parade (by Alleged), Regal And Royal (by Vaguely Noble), Dowsing (by Riverman), 3-time Grade 1 winner Stravinsky (by Nureyev) and Verglas (by Highest Honor). A handsome chestnut with a beautiful blaze down his face and a very kind temperament, Jam Alley stands 16.1. St John Gray continues unbelievable success as a breeder/owner/trainer, not a feat achieved by many. His most recent success story to date is five-time Gr1 winning Dancewiththedevil, currently in foal to Silvano. Well done to St John Gray and Hadlow Stud. - extract sportingpost.co.za