No stopping Captain Lars – SA’s galloping ambassador
Mike Moon
Don’t bother about big names in big races, the South African thoroughbred breeding industry currently gets its best advertising from a fairly humble horse running in run-of-the-mill races in the UK.
Captain Lars, a son of former SA champion sire Captain Al, got some attention early in 2018 when he won at the age of eight. But then he slipped a bit beneath the radar.
A win at Lingfield under jockey Edward Greatrex on Saturday brought this amazing racehorse to the fore again.
It was his 11th victory of the 2018 calendar year. Yes, you read that correctly.
And it was his 23rd career victory from 88 starts – a record that stretches all the way back to his debut on 1 May 2012 at Scottsville in Maritzburg, when he ran third.
He won a couple of races at the old Clairwood track in Durban (that’s how old he is) before landing the Listed Drum Star Handicap over 1700m at Turffontein and joining trainer Mike de Kock’s string in Dubai for the 2015 season.
He clearly didn’t fancy the desert and, after two poor runs, was sold off and shipped to new stables in the UK. He didn’t take to that either, running miserably and being moved on to another trainer, Michael Bell, who got him motivated enough to win twice over 1600m.
On to yet another trainer, Derek Shaw, and money rolled in from an occasional win and regular places. But it was when he went – via a £7,000 claiming race – to youthful conditioner Archie Watson that young Captain Lars truly came into his own.
Racking up win after win in sprints, he narrowly missed out on being crowned Britain’s allweather track champion of the 2017/2018 season – following which he simply continued on his winning ways.
Saturday’s Lingfield success was his fourth win since the beginning of September and the way he ran his 10 younger rivals off their feet in a 1000m sprint suggested he still has plenty of zest for racing and will be galloping on after he turns 10.
Watson’s website makes special mention of the stable favourite and says winning smaller races in the way this fellow does is very special to the team.
Captain Lars was bred at Klawervlei Stud out of the Polar Falcon mare Polar Charge, a runner-up in the 2000 Grade 1 Oaks d’Italia (Italian Oaks).
Polar Charge is a three-parts sister to outstanding sire Pivotal (by Polar Falcon), who was represented by his 28th individual Group 1 winner this year when his son Lightning Spear captured the Qatar Sussex Stakes.
Captain Lars is a full brother to Klipdrif Stud’s new sire for 2018, Always In Charge.