One Stripe underlines his superiority

There was once a master plan to get One Stripe qualified for a shot at big money in the Big Cap sales race at Kenilworth in March 2025.

After the colt’s splendid win in the Grade 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas at the weekend the connections will surely be expanding their ambitions for what is probably the country’s best male three-year-old thoroughbred.

Veteran trainer Vaughan Marshall did not mention destinations on the roadmap following Saturday’s triumph, simply murmuring: “He’s a great horse and we go on from here and let’s hope we pick up another Grade 1 for Rikesh.”

That fortunate gent is Rikesh Sewgoolam, who owns One Stripe. The 50-year-old Maritzburg lawyer was in Australia, so couldn’t be there to lead his pride and joy into the Kenilworth winner’s circle.

Sewgoolam serves on the National Horseracing Authority board and has in recent years become one of the most active and successful individuals in the racing game. His orange and dark blue silks are ubiquitous in all racing centres – from the stables of Marshall in Western Cape, Alyson Wright in KwaZulu-Natal and Johan Janse van Vuuren on the Highveld – and his tally of winners is growing rapidly.

Background of One Stripe

One Stripe is the heavily underscored name in the string and the story of his acquisition is interesting.

Bred by Drakenstein Stud from the farm’s current boom stallion One World – a sometime Cape Town Met winner – and the mare Silver Stripe, a daughter of former champion sire Silvano, One Stripe was spotted and bought by racing polymath Grant Knowles. Considering the pedigree, the price of R100,000 at the BSA August Two Year Old Sale was a bargain.

Knowles sold the youngster on to Sewgoolam, with the plan being to pinhook him at the 2023 Cape Ready To Run Sale – possibly for a tidy profit and definitely to qualify him for the Big Cap and its purse of R5-million.

Marshall, who Sewgoolam describes as “a mentor and father figure”, declared One Stripe’s pre-sale breeze-up gallop as the best he’d ever seen. Sewgoolam resolved to buy back the colt, but ran into fierce opposition in the bidding, and eventually had to go to R1.4-million to keep his own horse.

There was little time for buyer’s remorse as One Stripe reeled off three wins from four starts as a juvenile.

After his fourth victory – in November’s Grade 2 Cape Punters Cup for three-year-olds – Marshall said the colt was all his many previous champion gallopers rolled into one.

The horse, under a cool ride from Gavin Lerena, responded to the compliment by delivering Marshall his sixth Cape Guineas on Saturday.

Lerena opined: “He’s going to keep improving; his acceleration is fantastic.”