JULY FEVER………starting now in June

  It has come around again and it is certainly a very exciting time for race goers as the feature racing is happening locally in KZN and overseas at Ascot……  

The July Handicap betting has changed faces so many times with various horses being nominated and then scratched! We had plenty of graduates nominated for the biggest and the richest race on the calendar…BEACH BEAUTY, JACKSON, BULSARA, THUNDER DANCE and LOVE STRUCK. Quite a few of them have opted to compete in other races and JET EXPLORER was added to the field, with JET EXPLORER and LOVESTRUCK still in the final field. We have a very live chance with JET EXPLORER who made his way into the field by winning the Grade 2 Betting World 1900 metres at Greyville in easy fashion. He won this race by over 2 lengths for his owner breeders Pat and Henry Devine and his conditioner Justin Snaith. He is now quite fancied in the big race.   As the Champion's Season in Kwazulu Natal reaches its climax with the Vodacom Durban July so has the racing overseas really kicked into gear in Europe and North America. We have seen all three legs of the American Triple Crown, the English 2000 Guineas and Derby, and now Royal Ascot. Though the English Derby was disappointing in seeing unbeaten champion Dawn Approach disintegrate, the winner made for another serious pedigree update for Top 10 stallion Tiger Ridge and young stallion Mambo in Seattle. The winner of the Epsom Derby, appropriately named Ruler of the World, has the same grand-dam as Tiger Ridge, who is in turn the great-granddam of Mambo in Seattle. This family, all descendants of Lassie Dear, is one of the world's strongest families, also including champions AP Indy, Duke of Marmalade and Lemon Drop Kid.   Royal Ascot is such a special week of racing it is hard to pick a highlight, but this year's must have been between Dawn Approach's comeback in the St James Palace Stakes (G1) after his complete self-destruction in the Epsom Derby, The Queen's win in the Ascot Gold Cup (G1), Shea Shea's brilliant and unlucky second place finish in the King's Stand Stakes (G1), but perhaps most of all the victory for Lady Cecil only 10 days after her famous husband and trainer Sir Henry Cecil died of cancer. Sir Henry was Champion British trainer on 10 occasions and has trained more Royal Ascot winners than anyone in history, making him an all-time great. Above all his achievements, however, in reading tributes made to him he appears to have been someone who was loved by his peers, employees and the racing public at large and he is a huge loss to racing.   Though this year's Triple Crown didn't see a winner, there was some consistency in form, particularly in the final leg, the Belmont Stakes, when the winners of the Kentucky Derby (Orb) and Preakness (Oxbow) finished 3rd and 2nd respectively. The winner, Palace Malice, being the first Grade 1 winner of dual Horse of the Year, Curlin, a horse who earned in excess of $10million on the race track! Perhaps the greatest excitement in USA racing recently has been the return of America's best 3 older horses - Wise Dan, Point of Entry and Fort Larned - all making returns with Grade 1 victories this year. Breeders' Cup Classic G1 winner Fort Larned must have sent chills of fear down the backs of all other American owned horses when he came out last week and crushed a Grade 1 field in the Stephen Foster Handicap and now looks an exciting prospect to defend his Breeders' Cup crown.               Ambleway graduates have fared well in feature races over shorter distances where BEACH BEAUTY got to within a length of the star miler Variety Club in the grade 1 Gold Challenge and is now heading for the Garden Province over the same distance on July Day against her own sex. BULSARA ran another honest race over a mile to come 2nd in the Cup Trial Grade 3. He was another of the Silvano progeny who flew the flag for the successful stallion that day!    

Turning to the Speed Day at Scottsville at the end of May where all the major sprinters compete in the races we again had two placed runners….ALONG CAME POLLY ran a cracking 2nd for her new connections in the Allan Robertson Grade 1 and franked her earlier 2nd, and WILD TYPE ran a gutsy 2nd in the Golden Horse Sprint Grade 1. Var had an exceptional day having sired Contodor and Via Africa and certainly proved his dominance over the sprint distances.  

  In PE the gallant son of Montjeu, GOLDEN PARACHUTE ran 3rd in the listed Glenair Trophy for his team of connections. The other stayer who was placed for the Bass yard on the Rising Sons day at Clairwood was SHIMMERING JET who ran 3rd in the Queen Palm Stakes a listed race over 2500 metres. Congratulations to all-so many placed runs in all the features!   Ambleway graduates have won there fair share of non feature races too including TIGER QUEST, IMPERIAL FABERGE, KALAAM, VIDEO GAMES, VERROCHIO and OWLS DO CRY. TIGER QUEST franked her feature second in the SA Nursery when she won over 1000 meters for Larry Nestadt, Bernard Kantor and the Bott family in Australia where she was bred. Congratulations to you all who own and bred this filly and I believe Dom Zaki is now putting her away for a while as he knows she can run!  

Also in Gauteng, St John Gray earned a victory with his homebred VIDEO GAMES. She is by Jam Alley and is out of the dam SUMMIT SEEKER. She won again well over 1800 meters! The horse VERROCHIO, who was bought back by Sean Tarry for new owners Greg Blank, Larry Nestadt and himself, proved the confidence he showed in buying him back by winning easily over the distance of 2000 meters. So did KALAAM win for Stan Ferreira and Roland Bouwer over the sprint distance of 1200 meters with her full sister EASTERN GREETINGS running 4th for the same team! These full sisters were bred by Mike Benson and Di Turner of Kjell Foundation!

  IMPERIAL FABERGE and OWLS DO CRY won for the Drier yard. The filly, IMPERIAL FABERGE, won her debut race for Lee Scribante and Eric Stephenson. Well done to you two for her easy win and to Bruce le Roux who bred her. OWLS DO CRY won his race in a hands-and-heels ride by Aaron his workrider in the Workriders Plate. Congrats to all of his happy owners Doug Band, Bruce Campbell the Trotters, Brian Burgess and Thomi De Charmoy and Litchfied Stud who bred this son of Victory Moon.    

In Kimberley 2 horses showed their mettle by loving the track and winning again…..ROMAN LEGION won again for Vernon Rugg and CODE RED notched up his 5th win over 1400 meters! Both of these horses were bred at Highlands Stud and prepared at Ambleway for the ready to run sale for them.    

There is a list of placed horses that deserve following……VARIKATE, BARBOSA, THE IT GIRL, TULLYNALLY  MURMERING SKY, TRESHOLD, PANAMA MAN, HALLOWED, SPORTS HERO, FORMATION, TELL MY STAR, EASTERN GREETING, ROYAL OVERTURE, TRANSCENDENT, MALKIA, PUNTE DEL ESTE, QUICK DELIVERY, KISS AND TELL, ORANGE BLOSSOM, OPENING SALVO, AIR PATROL, TARGET FIVE, TAKE  OFF , TARA DAWN and BADGER FRIENDLY              

  There are a number of Sales on at the end of June including the Mike Holmes Sale at Greyville on Thursday 27th and the beginning of July the KZN- TBA Sale. Ambleway is taking 2 yearlings to the KZN Sale at The Sun Coast Casino on 4th and 5th July. A flashy chestnut son of Elusive Fort, HARD RAIN, and a muscular daughter of Lake Conistan, ACROSS  THE LAKE.  Do have a look at these two yearlings as they are well grown and very affordable. Ambleway is also able to take home any babies purchased at this sale to grow out and school as required. I will be at the sale so please contact me. 

We have received quite a few special horses from the track to rest: LINK MAN, MISS OCTOBER and SHE' S A STUNNER have all come here to spell having raced successfully .They are now having a break from their training routines. We also have received quite a few yearlings to school including a colt by Var, a colt by Kildonan - both of these came from the Premier Sales in Cape Town and had gone back to farms to rest. A filly by Antonious Pious which we are preparing for the Ready To Run sale later in the year. Some older horse have come to be schooled as well including another progeny of Kildonan, and a gelding by Kahal. A son of Carpocrates also has joined us and is in work with the older horses on the track. Two new weanlings also fill the paddock with a daughter of Bankable and a son of Mullins Bay joining our other babies. We have two geldings here by Trippi and Victory Moon, that are in work, being prepared for Mauritius and The Mike Holmes sale.  

The Ambleway website ( www.ambleway.co.za) is up and running and you can also find us on Facebook! Please view it as it is a good way of communicating what is happening here at the farm.  

Enjoy this special time of the year in KZN   Kind Regards   Jane Trotter