Just in a race all of his own!

Marauding Horde was in a race of his own twice, in Saturday’s Listed TAB Hawwaam Handicap over 1800m. First, he cruised along at the back of the field as if on a Sunday picnic, allowing lesser thoroughbreds to take the stress up front for most of the journey. Later, he stormed up casually and put the race to bed, winning, unextended, by 4.25-lengths, which could have been more had pilot Marco van Rensburg so desired.

Marauding Horde is owned by one of South African horseracing’s most powerful owner partnerships, who celebrated their first joint feature success at Turffontein on Saturday when the Vercingetorix colt stamped his promise with this smooth victory in the R200 000 contest.

Laurence Wernars with Mike de Kock and Listed Hawwaam trophy.

The Sporting Post congratulated the owners and reported: “The winner is owned in a power partnership of Laurence and Jarryd Wernars, Gaynor Rupert’s Drakenstein Stud, Pieter Graaff’s Lammerskraal Stud, the Kieswetter family’s Ridgemont, Mary Slack’s Wilgerbosdrift, and Hollywood’s Devin Heffer.”

The 2000m contest, known previously as the Derby Trial, was run for the first time in honour of former Mike de Kock champion and present day Wilgerbosdrift sire Hawwaam, who was South Africa’s Champion 3yo of 2018-2019 and won 10 of his 13 starts, including five victories at Gr level.

On Saturday the stars aligned as Mike de Kock saddled the first winner of the rebranded race when the clearly promising colt sprouted wings at the 300m to win going away at 33-10.

The handsome athlete beat the Fanie Bronkhorst challenger George Handel by 4,25 lengths in a time of 125,57 secs. This was substantially faster than the fairer sex equivalent a half hour earlier.

Mike de Kock said the winner was a standout at the sales, and an athletic specimen that could go a long way.

Bred by Maine Chance, Marauding Horde is a son of Vercingetorix (Silvano) out of the feature winner producing Indigo Magic mare My Lady Bluff. He was A R750 000 National Yearling Sale graduate.

The meeting also saw a welcome return to the winner’s box for Arun Chadha and Warne Rippon’s Shoemaker, who had a decent draw for the first time in, like, ever, and duly won Race 9 over 1800m under Ryan Munger.

Shoemaker, well overdue.