The Mike and Adam Azzie yard continued their dominance of the Listed Spring Spree Stakes today, registering their third win in this race in the last four runnings, and this time the victor, Bohica, could prove to be something special.

He was the first of two impressive winners on the day, the other being the St. John Gray-trained Dance Class, who recorded her sixth win on the trot.

It is not often a widely drawn horse wins with consummate ease after being carried out around the turn over 1200m to the extent that he had to be eased and switched inward. 

That is exactly what happened to Bohica today and he looked to be ominously out of his ground before they had turned for home.

However, national log-leading jockey S’manga Khumalo did not panic and was soon scything through the field like a hot knife through butter. 

Bohica, starting at odds of 7/4 and carrying 56kg off a 105 merit rating, beat Alramz by three-quarters of a length in effortless fashion and will be a force to be reckoned with this season.

He had been running over further but since dropped in trip to sprints he has been a revelation and this was his third easy win on the trot.

He joined last year’s dead-heater and #kznbred Angel’s Power and the 2017 winner Will Pays as Azzie winners of this race in the last four years.

Later, Dance Class comfortably won a 2600m Middle Stakes event and took one step closer to being genuinely compared with her three-parts relative Dancewiththedevil . 

The small but powerfully built daughter of Modus Vivendi once again displayed a tremendous turn of foot from midfield and won easing up by 1,25 lengths under regular pilot Sherman Brown.

Capetown Noir is now resident in Summerveld at the Scribante’s Piemonte Stud.

-www.goldcircle.co.za

The latter looked to the casual observer to be a useful handicapper halfway through her four-year-old season before beating a Grade 1 winner in a Graduation Plate and then proving that was no fluke by winning the Grade 3 Acacia Handicap, the Grade 1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes and the Grade 1 Laurie Jaffee Empress Club Stakes within a period of six weeks. 

She later won the Grade 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge and the Grade 1 Sansui Summer Cup.

Dance Class, who won over 2000m yesterday carrying 57,5kg off an 87 merit rating, has a long way to go to match those feats.

However, being a late maturer is not the only similarity she has to Dancewiththedevil.

Firstly, she is by the same sire, Modus Vivendi, and is out of the five-time winning Jam Alley mare Dance Alley, who is a half-sister to Dancewiththedevil.

She is not quite as classy as Dancewiththedevil was but like her she is not tall but is strong and has a tremendous turn of foot.

She took a while to get going from a handy position yesterday but once she hit top gear she passed her full-sister Jive Express and then fetched the topweight Heartstwings to win by a comfortable 1,50 lengths.

Gray said in the post race interview that her acceleration indeed reminded him of her famous three-parts relative and he concluded by saying she was not far off Dancewiththedevil’s class and would also be especially effective on the Turffontein Standside track. 

Gray won the first two races at the meeting with progeny of Bezrin. 

The first-timer colt After Hours, who is a half-brother to the three-time winner Grindelwald, started favourite in the first over 1200m and ran on well under Brown to win by 0,75 lengths.

The filly Feather The Nest, who is out of three-time winning Announce mare Nesting Call, ran on well in the second over 1200m and just held on under S’Manga Khumalo to convert odds of 5/1,having been backed in from 13/1.

Bezrin stands at Hadlow Stud for St John alongside Announce and produced multiple winners from distances of 1000m – 3200m.

Gray owns and bred all three of his winners, operating from Cathy and Jonathan Martin’s Hadlow Stud.

-extract goldcircle.co.za

Amongst KZN’s broodmare band for 2018 is #kznbred five-time Gr1 winner Dancewiththedevil at Cathy and Jonathan Martin’s Hadlow Stud, for owner-trainer and breeder St John Gray.

Having produced two Silvano’s previously, her first foal now a quality two year old growing out at Hadlow Stud, Dancewiththedevil is due to foal to Querari this season.

Dancewiththedevil was voted Equus Champion Older Female in 2011 and St John earned Equus Breeder Of The Year. She was also voted KZN Breeders Horse Of The Year on two occasions.

By Modus Vivendi, she has an interesting damline that includes Vodacom Durban July winner Do It Again, his Hong Kong based multiple winning half brother Horse Of Fortune, as well as Folk Dance and sire War Lord.

Retiring a 9-time winner and returned from the UK, she won R3,938,425 from age 3 to 5 over 1160 – 2000m, including the Horse Chestnut Stakes, Gr.1 on two occasions, Empress Club Stakes Gr1, Gold Challenge Gr1, Summer Cup Gr1, Acacia Handicap Gr3 and placed 5 times, second in the Joburg Spring F & M Challenge Gr3. 

Devil’s Peak, a chestnut juvenile full brother to five time-Gr1 winning Dancewiththedevil, won his second start for breeder / owner/ trainer St John Gray at the Vaal this afternoon.

Born and raised at Hadlow Stud which stands St John Gray’s Graystone Stud horses, including stallions Modus Vivendi, Announce and Bezrin, the chestnut colt won at the Vaal over 1400m by half a length. He finished two lengths off on debut over the same course and distance just a few weeks ago.  Interestingly, Cathy and Jonathan Martin’s Crusade, Gonnafly, finished a deadheat third in the same race behind Devil’s Peak.

His full sister Dancewiththedevil stands at Maine Chance for owner St John Gray. Her Silvano yearling is at Hadlow Stud growing out, and Dancewiththedevil is back in foal to the German-born Champion sire once again at Maine Chance.

Their Caesour dam Emperor’s Dance foaled a colt to Modus Vivendi for the 2016 season, and is now a weanling at Hadlow Stud. Emperor’s Dance is back in foal to Modus Vivendi for the season.

Dancewiththedevil was voted Equus Champion Older Filly/Mare in 2011 as well as KZN Breeders Award for Horse-Of-The-Year, twice in a row.

She had nine wins including six stakes wins – of which five of those are Gr1 status – as well as five places including a second in the Joburg Spring F & M Challenge Gr3, and placing in the L Jaffee Empress Club Stakes Gr1.
She has earned a total of R3, 903 425 in stakes from age three to five.

Her scintillating wins include the Sansui Summer Cup Gr1, Gold Challenge Gr1, Empress Club Stakes Gr1, Horse Chestnut Stakes Gr1 twice in a row, as well as the Acacia Handicap Grade 3.

Dancewiththedevil was exported to the UK and placed in the care of Roger Varian, but sadly an injury prevented her from achieving her South African form and St John brought her home.

Congratulations to St John Gray on an outstanding achievement!