Legend of Richard grows with Arthur’s Derby

Various attributes go into making a champion jockey, but one wouldn’t normally put research among them.

But South African champ Richard Fourie has been hitting the books and analysing data as he plots a defence of the title he won in record-breaking style last season.

Fourie landed four winners at the weekend’s Champions Day meeting at Turffontein, keeping him in a neck-and-neck duel with Gavin Lerena and Craig Zackey at the top of the 2024/25 jockeys’ log. One of those winners came with an interesting story from renowned stallion manager John Freeman.

Freeman tells of how Fourie popped into his office in August last year wanting to know more about the pedigree of a colt called Legend Of Arthur.

“He wanted to know if he had the stamina to win a race like the SA Derby because he had been riding work and liked what he saw. I was impressed because I can’t remember when last a jockey did that sort of research with me,” says Freeman.

“We ran all the tests and I said I had no doubt the colt had the stamina to do the trip.”

Fourie duly secured the ride on Sean Tarry-trained Legend of Arthur in the 2450m TAB SA Derby – and duly secured the victory, one of his quartet on Saturday.

“This champ thinks and plans ahead and does his homework. That’s why he is a champ… keep researching Richie,” commented Freeman.

Lancaster Bomber’s offspring

The veteran pedigree guru went on talk about the early death of Legend Of Arthur’s father, Lancaster Bomber.

It wasn’t only the Derby winner who underlined this untimely loss to the local thoroughbred industry.

Hours earlier, Lancaster Bomber’s five-year-old daughter Beach Bomb won the Grade 3 Orchid Stakes in the US – her second stakes win in that country and an indication that she has settled well with new trainer Graham Motion, who will no doubt be planning bigger things for owner Gaynor Rupert of Drakenstein.

Legend Of Arthur is the fifth Grade 1 winner for Lancaster Bomber, who died in 2021 leaving just two crops of offspring. Those crops have proven to be exceptional gallopers, with Cape Met champion and current Durban July ante-post favourite Eight On Eighteen among them.

Another of Fourie’s winners at the weekend, Fire Attack, is a fairly close relative of Legend of Arthur. They share an illustrious grandfather.

Fire Attack won the 2000m Grade 1 HKJC World Pool Champions Challenge to give some consolation to a breeding community lamenting the loss of Lancaster Bomber.

Fire Attack, trained by Alec Laird, beat a classy field of his elders to claim a prominent place in a strong generation of three-year-olds. His dad is Fire Away, whose sire War Front also fathered Lancaster Bomber.

Claiborne Stud

Both Fire Away and Lancaster Bomber were born at the legendary Claiborne Stud in the US – where War Front is principal stallion among an esteemed dozen.

Claiborne is where Seabiscuit and Secretariat were born and raised and which has stood famous stallions such as Nasrullah, Buckpasser and Danzig. The latter, a name that resounds throughout the racing world, fathered War Front.

Another of Fire Away’s progeny making recent headlines has been Confederate, winner of the Grade 1 SA Classic who looks likely to bump heads in the near future with all of Legend Of Arthur, Eight On Eighteen
and Fire Attack.

Richard Fourie is a likely candidate to ride all these horses, so he might need to do some more research before deciding which one to go for.

Legend Of Arthur’s official merit rating was raised to 117 from 109 for winning the Derby. The handicappers raised Fire Attack’s MR to 126 from 116.

Legend Of Arthur’s ante-post Hollywoodbets Durban July odds have tumbled from an opening 33-1 to 9-1, but Fire Attack remains little changed at around 14-1.