Underdogs show their strength
GOOD PERFORMANCE: JUXTAPOSE WINS SA OAKS TO GIVE FERREIRA SECOND SUCCESSIVE G1 VICTORY
Talktothestars runs second in Computaform Sprint for Coenie de Beer.
Today take your hats off to two less well-known trainers who were in the supporting cast for Saturday’s outstanding meeting at Turffontein. They are Stanley Ferreira, who won the Wilgerbosdrift SA Oaks with Juxtapose, and Coenie de Beer who pocketed the R200,000 runners-up cheque in the World Sports Betting Computaform Sprint.
Stanley likes to race out of Kelvin’s bar at Turffontein and - one hour before the Oaks - he said: “I think both of mine (Juxtapose and Bondiblu) have chances - there’s little to choose between them at home.”
What transpired is that Bondiblu made much of the running before Chase Maujean pounced on Juxtapose and quickly put the race to bed.
Stanley has been involved in racing for four decades and his career has had more ups and downs than a malaria patient’s temperature chart. He was granted a licence in 1978 and in the 1994/95 season sent out the most winners with 160 successes.
A few years later he threw in the towel and moved to Tzaneen but his words in a previous interview were to ring true for the talented horseman. “Once in your blood, the game of horseracing never leaves.”
There were dark times in his life and one of the guys who came to his rescue was lawyer Mannie Witz.
In 2009, his long-time friend Roland Bouwer, owner of Juxtapose, persuaded him to start training and he kicked off with three owners and 10 horses. This season Stanley’s stable has been firing on all cylinders, but victory in any graded race is special and on Saturday Juxtapose showed her SA Fillies Classic win was no fluke.
Stanley’s owners base can only expand and for two reasons. He tells it like it is and his openness - in a sport with too many secrets - is quite simply refreshing.
Coenie de Beer is another nononsense guy and what the Vaal trainer has achieved with fouryear-old Talktothestars this term is nothing short of remarkable.
In March, he saddled Talktothestars for the Grade 2 Senor Santa Sprint and the son of Overlord took top honours in the hands of Brandon Lerena.
Interviewed after the race, Coenie was asked if he’d fancied his horse.
“Yes, of course. Nobody tipped him, but most of the tipsters I’ve ever met don’t even own their own cars and have you ever seen one of them buy a round of drinks?”
He went on to explain how he’d acquired his talented sprinter.
“I offered Robin Scott R50,000 after the horse wasn’t sold at the National Two-Year-Old Sale. But he was in a bad mood and turned me down.”
“Anyway, a few months later we did a package deal and Talktothestars was included in it.”
Coenie likes to take a Quartet - we’ve caught a few together - but he’ll have been well aware his gelding was up against it taking on Carry On Alice in Saturday’s Computaform Sprint.
The formbook proved accurate with Sean Tarry’s filly showing her class to notch her eighth win - I rated only Cloth Of Cloud’s win in the SA Nursery as the more stunning performance on the day.
Nevertheless, Coenie’s cheap buy ran a cracker in the hands of Anthony Delpech and - to prove media guys and gals aren’t cheapcharlies - I’ll be buying him a drink when we next meet!