Eight On Eighteen reigns supreme in Champions Cup
Erik Dubois and Buffalo Storm Cody also claim G1 races in final S.A. feature meeting
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Eight On Eighteen (Richard Fourie) landing the spoils in the Grade 1 HKJC Champions Cup (1,800m) at Greyville on July 26.
PHOTO: CANDIESE LENFERNA
DURBAN – Eight On Eighteen, off the boil for much of the season, showed he was back to his best after putting a high-class field to bed in the 1.5 million rand (S$115,000) Grade 1 HKJC Champions Cup (1,800m) at a packed Greyville on July 26.
It was a masterful training feat by Justin Snaith, who, although having earmarked this race a long way out for last season’s three-year-old champion, was still on tenterhooks after the son of Lancaster Bomber’s below-par performance in the Grade 1 Gold Challenge (1,600m) on June 6.
However, his horses turned just before the Grade 1 Durban July (2,200m), with Note To Self winning that feature and Eight On Eighteen also turning the corner.
There was some drama at the start. See It Again (Keagan de Melo), who does not seem to favour Greyville, gave the starter’s assistants a hard time at the stalls. But, once the six-year-old gelding was loaded, he jumped with relish.
Dave The King (Lyle Hewitson), the 2024 Champions Cup winner, was quickly out to make the running ahead of Legal Counsel (Callan Murray) with all the fancied runners handily placed.
Crossing the subway, there were plenty in with chances, but Snaith’s runners went wide for a clear run at the wire.
Eight On Eighteen (Richard Fourie, $24) quickened up past them all in commanding fashion while being chased by stablemate See It Again. They finished in that order, separated by a length on the wire.
Both the winner and runner-up carried owner Nic Jonsson’s silks.
Fourie said he was always confident of the four-time Grade 1 winner’s chances, just as when he won aboard Snaith’s other galloper, Note To Self, in the Grade 1 Durban July (2,200m) on July 4.
“I galloped Note To Self and I said I’ll win the (Durban) July. And when I came back, I said to the whole Snaith team and everyone that was there you will need a crowbar to get me off this horse (Eight On Eighteen),” he said.
“He’s back and it felt like goosebump stuff. In the race today, the gates opened and he was so relaxed. I got a little bit worried before we straightened up, but I just tightened the bit in his mouth and he was ready and waiting.
“He quickened past them really well and saw the lights and carried on like he’s a youngster. He put them to bed with a phenomenal turn of foot.”
It took Louis Goosen 35 years to win his first Grade 1 contest, but the Summerveld trainer was always confident that his gelding Erik Dubois ($88) had it in him.
In a tight battle to the line, Erik Dubois – a two-year-old son of Erik The Red – finally got the better of Kazenoyoni in the Grade 1 Champion Stakes (1,600m), with former South African champion jockey Hewitson celebrating at his first meeting back from Hong Kong on home soil.
Kazenoyoni (Muzi Yeni) was always up with the pace set by Vibe Check (Sean Veale), but the Duncan Howells-trained colt’s early exertions saw him run out of puff.
Hewitson got a dream split through the middle of the chasing pack before grinding down Kazenoyoni, with the rest of the field well beaten.
“There was a lot of confidence from everyone associated with this horse and I probably needed a little more confidence. But, when I worked him on the day, he filled me with a bit of belief and he showed it today,” said Hewitson.
“He’s a lovely horse and I still don’t know what his distance is. He could get faster and stronger and come back in trip but he showed resilience today. It was a good win.”
Said Goosen: “We aimed at this race, which is the beautiful part. It’s fantastic to be here on a day like this. We don’t get many chances but we got one today.
“When he got off the float, I said this horse has tightened up. He’s been soft and I’ve never got to the bottom of him. Everything was to peak and today was the day.”
Trained by Tony Peter and ridden by Gavin Lerena, Buffalo Storm Cody ($19) defended his Grade 1 Mercury Sprint (1,200m) crown in emphatic fashion to confirm his status as the highest-rated horse in South Africa.
It was the Buffalo Bill Cody four-year-old’s second Grade 1 victory of the season, after winning the Computaform Sprint (1,000m) at Turffontein on April 4.
Fairview raider and the Kelly Mitchley-trained Marchland ($17) took out the Grade 2 Douglas Whyte Stakes (1,600m), which was known as the Thekwini Stakes in previous years. GOLD CIRCLE
