Gold Circle have announced the revised dates for Champions Season 2020, delayed due to the implemented lockdown which is due to lift April 30, in the interest of South African’s safety to ‘break the curve’.

Usually run the week before the Vodacom Durban July, it remains in the format – to be held on Sunday 19 July and the Vodacom Durban July scheduled for the 25 July. The KZN Yearling Sale Million remains on VDJ day, along with the Garden Province, Golden Horseshoe, Golden Slipper, the 2200, Gold Vase and Thukela Handicap.

The Gold Cup, which usually heralds the end of the racing season and an important feature for the annual statistics, has been pushed back to 29 August. A number of Gr1 features will be prominent on that day, including the Champions Cup, Mercury Sprint, Premiers Champions Stakes and the Thekweni Stakes amongst others.

The KZN Breeders Race Day, always a major feature with owners and trainers and always very well supported with a packed Durban View Room consisting of breeders, owners and trainers – and will consist of 8 races including the Million Mile itself.

As of the last log published 10 March, there are 293 horses entered for the races 3yos old and up, with 2yo entries were due to be finalised at the end of April.

Amongst the horses entered are Spiritofthegroove, Chjimes, Wave, Railtrip, 2nd placed Gr1 SA Fillies Classic Marygold, Gr1 winner Camphoratus, Miss Marmalade (closely related to the Gr1 trio of brothers, Hawwaam, Rainbow Bridge and Golden Ducat), Just Cruised In, Prince Of Kahal, Just Chaos, Nexus, Ronnie’s Candy, Silent Crusade, and Gr1 winner Mississippi Burning.

The KZN Breeders Golf Day is provisionally booked for 14 July, whilst the KZN Yearling Sale is scheduled for 23 & 24 July. Sales vouchers for #kznbreds will be up for grabs at our Golf Day and Race Day – acquisitions using the vouchers include Gr1 placed Wave.

The full KZN Champions Season feature programme for 2020:

KZN Breeders proudly sponsored the first race on the card of the day to support the Coastal Horse Care Unit, based at Cato Ridge.

Pierre Jourdan (Parade Leader – Vin Fizz) sold for just R60,000 at the 2008 Emperors Palace Ready To Run Sale and retired with a bankroll of R4,598,175.

A nine-time winner, his career had been somewhat chequered due to soundness issues forcing long periods of rest. Most experts believed he had the world at his mercy when he won the Gr1 SA Classic in 2010 but he only won three more races. It has been said, however, that the gelding’s most gallant efforts came in defeat – in the 2450m Gr1 SA Derby in 2010 when he found the distance too far in heavy going and finished second to Irish Flame and in the 2011 Vodacom Durban July in which he got closest to winner Igugu – “a great run,” commented his trainer.

After that he won two races after that effort, including the 1600m Gr2 Charity Mile in 2011.

Imbongi was unsold at the 2006 Ready To Run Sale, a son of Russian Revival out of Garden Verse by Foveros,
was gelded after ‘throwing away’ the Emperor’s Palace Ready to Run Cup and the Dingaans due to coltishness. He then came back to win the Gr2 Gauteng Guineas, the Gr2 KZN Guineas and became the first 3YO to win the Gr2 Drill Hall in 40 years, beating the likes of Pocket Power, Bold Ellinore and Rebel King.

Having stamped himself the best 3YO in the country, international challenges beckoned. He won the John Bovington Memorial Criterion Stakes at Newmarket in 2009 and was the highest earner at the 2010 Dubai World Carnival, winning the Gr1 Zabeel Mile and earning the victor ludorum.

Christophe Soumillon got off one day and said “This horse is prepared to burst his lungs to win.” He doesn’t know when he’s beaten and doesn’t know there’s anything he can’t do. Everything he does, he does like a champion. Despite passing through the sale ring without a bid, he came back and showed the world that he was an unbelievable champion. He held his own and more.

Sheik Mohammed was so impressed with part racehorse owner Michael Fleischer’s dedication to Imbongi who wanted to keep him after retirement, that he paid for the horse’s return trip to South Africa and Imbongi had been at top show jumper Bill Johnson’s Ascot Equitation Centre until his retirement to Summerhill Stud very recently.

Images: Candiese Marnewick
Extracts from sportingpost.co.za and Summerhill.co.za

They say every cloud has a silver lining and while a storm has been silently brewing in the international Thoroughbred trade, it may offer hope to the beleaguered SA bloodstock industry.

For many years, Hong Kong has played an integral role in the Australian Thoroughbred industry, supporting their bloodstock sales, racing and simulcast programme, hosting Australian horses and riders at international race meetings, as well as repatriating Thoroughbreds to Australia at the end of their racing careers. However, a recent decision by Australia’s Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR) altering Hong Kong’s quarantine status to require a 180 day third country quarantine before allowing Hong Kong horses entry to Australia, is posing difficulties.

What It’s All About

Going back to 2009, the Hong Kong Jockey Club developed and built a centre for the equestrian events of the 2010 Asian Games, across the border in China, in the Conghua district of Guangzhou.

To allow the site to be used for the 2010 Asian Games, Conghua was established as an equine disease free zone, recognised by the EU Commission. There were pre-export quarantine requirements in the country of origin as well as post arrival quarantine and horses were subject to the same pre-export quarantine on their way out. During the Games, the site successfully hosted 95 horses from 16 different participating countries. All the horses travelled in through Hong Kong, travelled along the corridor to Conghua where they were based for the duration of the Games and then travelled back to exit from Hong Kong on their way out.

Hong Kong Expansion

Shortly after the Games, the Hong Kong Jockey Club embarked on a large scale project to turn the site into a full-scale training centre with a capacity for up to 1200 horses, allowing the HKJC to expand its operations and, more specifically, its horse population. Site development works commenced in 2011.

Although the physical distance between Hong Kong’s Sha Tin and the new Conghua facility is not vast, the fact that they are separated by an international border and that the only veterinary facilities are at the points of origin and destination, has meant that the HKJC has had to develop some pretty sophisticated horse transport solutions, including high tech transport protocols and quarantine facilities and even custom designing horse boxes for the journey.

Similarly to the South African model, the Hong Kong/China protocol operates on the concept of zones with an outer, inner and an inner core area. It is touted as being particularly secure as the outer zone (which covers over 2000 sq km) is completely free of any local horses. Within that zone, there is a 5km radius core area, also horse free, which also presents a physical barrier to prevent entry from any other animals and then there’s the Conghua facility itself. Significantly, when a horse is transported from Hong Kong to Conghua, there is no possibility of it coming into contact with any local horses whatsoever.

Unexpected Challenge

With the project well under way and the Conghua Training Centre (CTC) scheduled to open in late 2018, transport trials commenced in February 2016. Initial trials were conducted using retired racehorses and the first trial saw close collaboration between Hong Kong government officials as well as Mainland China authorities and horses travelling in government authority GPS monitored vehicles. There have been 6 successful subsequent trials since February 2016.

In March 2016, the Hong Kong authorities contacted the Australian chief veterinary officer to inform him of the trial and explain the process, as well as setting out the ultimate objective of realising regular movement between the two centres once Conghua is operational. However, in September 2017, the Australian government’s Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR) announced it would be altering the quarantine status of Hong Kong, due to the Jockey Club’s Conghua training centre in China becoming a part of the general Hong Kong bio environment. The change requires any horses travelling from Hong Kong to Australia to undergo a 180 days third country quarantine before being allowed access to Australia. This came into effect on 2 October 2017.

The reason for the suspension is that the Australian authorities want to carry out an assessment of the movement controls to satisfy themselves that they pose no risk to the Australian horse population. And until such time as an assessment can be carried out by them, the suspension remains in place and effectively excludes free travel of horses between Australia and Hong Kong and, by extension, mainland China.

Hong Kong ownership

As horse numbers are limited by the space available at Sha Tin, Hong Kong caps the number of ownership permits per year. In anticipation of the Conghua facility coming into operation later this year, the number of permits has risen from 330 in 2017 to 440 for the current season and as Conghua develops, that number is set to increase.

In order to buy a horse, a Jockey Club member needs to have a permit. Applications are made each year for the available permits and as demand always outstrips supply, a ballot is conducted to determine the allocations. Once in possession of a permit, the member may then go and buy a horse. The Hong Kong Jockey Club has a list of approved countries from which horses may be purchased and members may choose between buying unraced or raced horses.

Although purchasing and importing horses from Australia to Hong Kong is unaffected by the suspension, it does hamper raiding horses travelling between the two countries as well as repatriation of horses at the end of their careers, which, due to space constraints, in turn affects the acquisition of new bloodstock into Hong Kong.

Uniquely positioned

By happy coincidence, Hong Kong developed its interest in the South African market some three years ago, based on the quality and value of SA-bred horses. Of course, South Africa comes with its own basket of issues, thanks to African Horse Sickness and our export protocols, but the good news is that for the past few years, Hong Kong has been on board in assisting us in getting these ironed out.

Through his role as Vice-Chairman of the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA), HKJC CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges has promoted an organised approach in finding solutions to existing difficulties in international horse movement. With our African Horse Sickness issue and onerous export protocols, South Africa has been earmarked as one of the areas needing attention. Additionally, the International Horse Sports Confederation (IHSC) which is a collaborative grouping of the IFHA (racing) and the FEI (competitive sports body), makes an annual financial contribution to the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)’s equine programme. A large portion of this funding is allocated to research and luckily for South Africa, finding a solution for African Horse Sickness has been identified as an area that merits funding – which is very positive news in our fight against AHS.

If a viable export solution can be found, South Africa may be uniquely placed to step into the breach currently left by Australia.

Global Sprint Challenge

The Hong Kong / Australian movement suspension needs to be unravelled at Government level and dialogue is taking place to release the deadlock. However, the suspension currently remains in place and signs of strain are starting to show, as evidenced with the cancellation of this year’s Global Sprint Challenge Series.

The Global Sprint Challenge (GSC) series, inaugurated in 2005 to foster international competition between top sprinters from different international racing jurisdictions, includes Australian Group One races the Lightning Stakes in February and Darley Classic in November, and the Chairman’s Sprint Prize and Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin.

With four of the 10 races scheduled for either Australia or Hong Kong, this makes them off limits for horses from either jurisdiction, resulting in the suspension of the series for 2018.

Mounting pressure

In addition, Hong Kong Jockey Club officials chose not to attend this month’s Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale in Australia. This poses a significant loss to the Australian bloodstock industry as the HKJC spent more than HK$16 million (A$2.6 million) at the 2017 January sale and had an even bigger budget for this year.

Engelbrecht-Bresges is quoted as saying that the Club would assess whether to attend other Australian sales on a “month by month” basis. They may also consider withdrawing simulcast meetings from Australia, a rich source of revenue for Australian racing clubs. “We’ve regretfully taken this step and we are not trying to punish the Australian industry, but there was no clear pathway or timeline,” Engelbrecht-Bresges said.

The coin toss of circumstance is two sided and while one side poses a challenge, the other offers opportunity for those willing to grab it. If an export solution can be found, South Africa will be well positioned as an interesting, as well as an economical, alternative to Australia as a source of bloodstock.

As they say, watch this space.

-Robyn Louw / sportingpost.co.za

*KZN-breds in Hong Kong include Monsieur Mogok and Kahal gelding, Mighty Emperor, Eton Square and Vilakazi and Gr2 winner, Horse Of Fortune. 

KZN-bred Alareef, impeccably bred by Shadwell Stud, opened his winning account at Meydan for trainer Mike De Kock and his owner Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum. Mike De Kock had an incredible evening, producing three winners (as well as 2 seconds and a third on the evening) including the winner of the Gr2 Al Rashidiya, a race previously won with The Apache.

Alareef won four times in and placed a further five in South Africa for the Mike De Kock stable prior to export, and his Dubai record now stands with an additional win in the Al Forsan At Bab Al Shams Handicap over 1400m, and five previous places from seven starts there. State Law (by Invincible Spirit) and Stunned (by Shamardal) placed behind Alareef respectively, just over a length off.

The son of a stallion that sadly passed away prematurely – the former Summerhill resident Stronghold – Alareef has an incredible damline that breeder Bruce Le Roux has described “as something you cant just buy into, its a priceless pedigree.”

Alareef’s dam Modraj(GB) by Machiavellian stands at Spring Valley Stud on behalf of her owner Shadwell Stud, and saw her Just As Well colt sold to Team G Racing from the 2015 National Yearling Sale. He has since been named Just Cruised In.

Modraj currently has a foal at foot by Curved Ball, a son of the mighty Australian sire Fastnet Rock – himself a son of Danehill.

The third dam of Modraj is none other then Allegretta, the dam of Champion Race and broodmare, Urban Sea – who in turn has produced super sire Galileo, Sea The Stars, Black Sam Bellamy and My Typhoon.

Allegretta was mated to Nureyev to produce the dam of Modraj, Saleela.

Stronghold was a son of super sire Danehill, and has produced the likes of Paul Lafferty’s Double Clutch and Pat Lunn’s Supercede, as well as good racemare Fortitude, who recently took home victory again in the Vaal.

Stronghold, out of Mr Prospector mare Insinuate, left behind just two crops of foals before succumbing to colic and the discovery of an irreparable rupture on the operating table.

Stronghold was given the status of the leading Handicapper of 2007, taking home five wins including the Gr3 Supreme Stakes and Paradise Listed.

Congratulations to the winning connections of Alareef.

Peter Gibson of Racing South Africa has just reported that the Scott Bros-bred, Monsieur Mogok (Mogok ex Miss Madam by Dolpour) has just won in Hong Kong, a Class 4 over 1800m at Happy Valley under Douglas Whyte for owner, Robert Chung (pictured feeding Monsier Mogok carrots) and trainer Tony Millard, a son of the great Terence Millard.

Formerly the Scott Bros/Terence Millard combination proved a force to be reckoned with after winning several Durban July’s in the past with the likes of Devon Air and Illustrador.

Monsieur Mogok was exported in November 2013 after winning his only start in South Africa for trainer Tyrone Zackey.

Monsieur Mogok was a R30 000 purchase from Bloodstock South Africa’s 2012 National Two Year Old Sale by Tony Zackey.

Still an entire, Monsieur Mogok, has matured well and can improve further when conditions permit, in particular races over 1800m and further. He is bred on the same Mogok x Dolpour cross that produced The Apache, his dam a half-sister to The Eiger Sanction.

Mogok has had more international success than most stallions standing in South Africa, with Gr1 and Gr2 winners in Dubai and America with the likes of Gypsy’s Warning and The Apache.

His Gr1 winning son Orbison, who defeated Pocket Power in the Champions Cup, was sent to Dubai but sadly injury forced his return and he was unraced in the UAE.

Meteor Mike is a five time winner in Singapore whilst his full sister has won seven races at the best level in Kenya.

Mogok currently features in the Top 10 National Sires Log in sixth position, and produced Gr1 Equus Award winning Wild One.

Well done to the Hong Kong connections.

View the race replay.