The BSA 2-year-old Sale in Joburg was the main thoroughbred event in SA this weekend, and with Cape racing postponed till Wednesday due to rainy conditions, there was only domestic action at Fairview and Greyville.
The best rating at the latter venue was recorded by Maquette (speed score 92) who managed to double up on her Scottsville victory a week ago, heavily punted over the 1000m sprint course. Duncan Howell’s well-campaigned mare was ridden by claim 4kg apprentice, Kobeli Lihaba.
Such a quick turnaround is rare these days – most horses have their starts spaced out weeks, sometimes even months apart to give them plenty of time to recover from the rigors of competition.
In contrast, old timers were familiar with hardy horses that raced often, as trainers in those days had no qualms about sending fit and healthy thoroughbreds back with little break between runs.
Here’s a quirky tale from the archives. A famous and, it must be said, highly controversial trainer in New York in the 80’s, Oscar Barrera would not hesitate to claim horses and return them to action as soon as possible – sometimes the following day! His methods were not subtle at all – often these horses would be heavily bet and move up dramatically on their previous days form to win immediately after he’d claimed them.
At one point, 50% of the horses he claimed won within two starts, often at big prices. It didn’t take long for savvy New York horseplayers to cotton on to the Barrera claim- and- win angle. They weren’t concerned if it was horsemanship or chemistry that prompted these extraordinary results but would zealously drive down the odds of his entries – so long as they kept on winning.
The two most notable performances at Fairview on Friday came from Bush Tracker and Prince of Fire. They both hit figures of 98. The former achieved it over a mid-distance from Cherry Ano (s/s 97) whilst Prince of Fire got a perfect rail- trimming, stalk and pounce trip to narrowly stave off popular favourite, Cliff Top in Leg One of the 1200m sprint, Poly Challenge.