Top US trainer waxes lyrical about SA’s ‘tough’ horses.
“South African horses by nature are very tough.” This high praise for thoroughbreds born on the southern tip comes from Graham Motion, a prominent trainer in the US, after an impressive win by his new recruit Isivunguvungu at the weekend.
Isivunguvungu is, of course, a South African and he and compatriot Beach Bomb are proving to be great ambassadors in the States for a relative backwater of international racing.
They’ve certainly won over Motion, who is becoming the go-to guy for South African owners seeking to race in America as relaxed export protocols open the world to their horses.
Enthusing about Isivunguvungu, Motion added: “They’ve just lifted some of those [quarantine] restrictions. I think we are going to see a lot more [South African horses] – especially after the performance of this horse.”
This week it was revealed that a third local star would soon be joining Motion’s Maryland-based stable – none other than champion filly Gimme A Nother.
Sevens wins
Owned by Jessica and Steven Jell’s Mauritzfontein Stud, the four-year-old is currently in quarantine ahead of flying out on Saturday – first to Europe as part of a large consignment of horses, then on to the US.
Gimme A Nother was an ante-post favourite for the 2024 Hollywoodbets Durban July but was withdrawn by her former trainer Mike de Kock when it was decided her future lay abroad.
The daughter of stallion Gimmethegreenlight, out of brilliant race mare Nother Russia, has won all seven of her starts to date, with two Grade 1s in the haul, and will obviously be very valuable at stud – more so in the States where the thoroughbred market is multiples bigger than back home.
However, her first assignment abroad will be on the racetrack, with thoughts of getting her into the prestigious Breeders’ Cup meeting in California in early November – though that does seem optimistic given the time frame.
Motion already has Breeders’ Cup races as targets for both Isivunguvungu and Beach Bomb – owned by Hollywood Syndicate and Gaynor Rupert’s Drakenstein Stud respectively. Last year’s Equus Horse of the Year Princess Calla – now owned by Americans – is also in the Breeders’ Cup reckoning.
Meanwhile, De Kock has suggested this year’s Horse of the Year, Dave The King, is a possible candidate for the 2025 Dubai Carnival and the QEII in Hong Kong. He told Turf Talk such a foreign raid would be “difficult” but was “definitely an ambition”.
More immediate plans for Dave The King involve the Allied Steelrode Charity Mile at Turffontein in late October and the L’Ormarins King’s Plate at Kenilworth in early January – with Joburg’s Betway Summer Cup a possibility in between.
