Captain of All Rules Sprinters in SAf
Description:
Talented 4-year-old Captain of All showed his class in no uncertain terms when defying top weight to land the Tsogo Sun Sprint (SAf-I) at Scottsville May 23.
Captain of All had proven his affinity for the Scottsville 1,200 meters (about six furlongs) previously with a victory in the 2013 Tsogo Sun Medallion (SAf-I) and was duly backed a 7-2 chance for Saturday's R1 million sprint.
Longshot Flyfirstclass was first to show, ahead of eventual runner-up Bichette, with the winner tucked in just behind. The order stayed the same until there was 300 meters left to go, when Captain of All was given his head by jockey Sean Cormack.
Captain of All, despite his top weight of 132 pounds, ran on strongly to pick up the second group I win of his career by 1 1/4 lengths from 11-1 shot Gulf Storm, with rank outsider Sheik's Braashee finishing third at 33-1.
The winner stopped the clock in a time of 1:09.17 and took his tally to six wins from just 11 outings. Bred by the Riverton Stud, Captain Al was a bargain buy at the 2012 Klawervlei Farm sale—he has now won more than R1.7 million in stakes, and, with a lucrative stud career on the cards, is likely to reward his owners still further.
In winning Saturday, Captain of All also provided trainer Dennis Drier and owners Markus and Ingrid Jooste with their second group I win on the day—the connections teamed up earlier to land the Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion earlier on the card with impressive 2-year-old Seventh Plain.
Remarkably, Captain of All became the fourth consecutive winner of the Tsogo Sun Sprint (formerly known as the Gilbeys Stakes) for his owners. The Joostes had previously won the race with Normanz (2014), Contador (2013) and Delago Deluxe (2012).
He also gave jockey Sean Cormack his 10 group I win at the Scottsville track.
Among three other group I races on the card, Seventh Plain's win was the fourth in the Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion for Drier.
A son of former Gold Medallion winner Seventh Rock (also sire of 2014 Medallion winner Guiness), Seventh Plain was bred by Klawervlei Stud. The colt took his tally to three wins from just four outings (Seventh Plain having previously landed the group III Godolphin Barb Stakes) to confirm himself as one of the leaders of his generation.
Klawervlei, South Africa's champion breeder last season, is also the breeder of Carry On Alice—an impressive winner of the City Of Pietermaritzburg Fillies Sprint on the same card.
Trained by South Africa's champion trainer-elect Sean Tarry, Carry On Alice turned the tables on runner up Alboran Sea, with that filly having defeated Carry On Alice previously in both the Cape Flying Championship and Computaform Sprint (both SAf-I).
Now a five-time winner, the SA Nursery (SAf-I) winner Carry On Alice (owned in part by her breeders along with Chris Van Niekerk and Dr. Warner) was given a superb ride by South Africa's reigning champion jockey S'Manga Khumalo. She is a daughter of six-time champion juvenile sire Captain Al, whose daughter Captain's Gal won this race back in 2010.
The final group I contest on Saturday's card was the Allan Robertson Championship, which was won by the Mike de Kock-trained Entisaar. The Australian-bred daughter of More Than Ready came with a sustained late run to prevail by a length over the well bred Princess Royal, with the winner's stablemate, and race favorite, Shaama, a well-beaten seventh.
Entisaar, who races in Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum's silks, has now won three of four races, including the SA Fillies Nursery (SAf-II) last time out, and she looks a leading contender for honors as the South Africa's champion 2-year-old filly of 2014-15.