Picture: Getty Images
It’s not often a jockey says “sky’s the limit” about a six-year-old gelding who has already had 16 starts.
But that’s what American rider Manny Franco said of South Africa’s Equus Champion Sprinter Isivunguvungu after he’d steered the bay to victory in the Da Hoss Stakes in Virginia at the weekend.
It was Isivunguvungu’s debut in the US after his export in March – in a batch of 11 SA-bred thoroughbreds that heralded a new overseas path for local horses.
Franco also described the son of What A Winter as “a cool horse” – high praise from a man who rode some smart performers on the day as he chalked up seven wins on the 12-race card at Colonial Downs racecourse.
The win put Isivunguvungu – still racing in the yellow and purple silks of KwaZulu-Natal’s champion owner Hollywood Syndicate – into serious reckoning for a starting place in the Breeders Cup Turf Sprint at America’s premier race meeting in early November.
“I can’t say enough about what a good effort this was today,” winning trainer Graham Motion said after the race.
“He’s a very special horse. He has a big following in South Africa. I’m so happy for those guys, who put a lot in to get him here today. Super happy for the Hollywood Syndicate. Manny gave him a great ride and he’s a lovely horse.”
Isivunguvungu beat Nothing Better by a neck in the $150,000 1100m sprint, on firm turf around a left-hand turn in 1:02.58.
After they got bumped at the start, Franco positioned his mount on the rail, just off the early leaders, before pushing him into a two-length lead in the straight and holding off a challenge in the final strides.
The victory follows a commendable second place by the four-year-old SA-bred filly Beach Bomb in her US debut the previous weekend.
Beach Bomb, owned by Drakenstein Stud and also saddled by Motion, is already qualified for the Breeders’ Cup Fillies & Mares Turf thanks to her win in the Cartier Paddock Stakes at Kenilworth in Cape Town in January.
Motion said Isivunguvungu might need another run to ensure a slot in the Breeders’ Cup.
“We have to decide if we are going to run him again; we have to decide if he is going to be able to get in the Breeders’ Cup, which is what we’d really like to do.
“There’s a fine line now with this guy. I think he’s done enough fitness-wise to get there without another race, so we’ll just decide.”
The Breeders’ Cup meeting – dubbed a “world championships” by the Americans – will be at Del Mar racecourse in California on Friday and Saturday, 1 and 2 November.
Isivunguvungu, whose name means “storm” in isiXhosa, was bred at the Narrow Creek Stud near Wolseley in Western Cape. He has now won seven races – including two Grade 1s – and placed six times.
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