Hawwaam, smartly out of the blocks

It didn’t take Wilgerbosdrift’s promising stallion Hawwaam (Silvano) long to get off the mark as a sire. His foals have been in demand at various auctions, and early indications are that he is a stallion with a grand future.

Hawwaam first runner, a filly, has placed twice from as many runs in the Cape; His second runner, the two-year-old colt Read All About It, impressed with an excellent debut win over 1000m at Turffontein on Sunday, running exactly as Mike predicted in his preview.:”Read All About it has classic speed. He will be in touch early and finish it off nicely, he is forward and mature.”

Mike’s confidence reflected in the betting, with Read All About it holding firm at 33-20 behind the well-fancied Bingo (11-10). Read All About It raced with his expected professional attitude, pushed into the race from a few lengths off the pace and then running on strongly to take the race by the scruff of the neck.

“I rode Read All Abot It in work on Thursday and his action alone gave me confidence,” said jockey Muzi Yeni. He was a bit nervous at the start, thanks to the starter for helping, and he ran a nice race with no pressure.”

Mike said: “It’s a proud moment. It’s not hard to be a fan of Hawwaam. He was a very serious racehorse. He won five Grade 1’s, but I still feel I could’ve gotten more from him. He was not the easiest horse to train but not the most difficult either. His progeny have the same fire in their bellies and that’s good to see.”

Read All About It was bred by Ridgemont/Highlands out of the mare Piccadilly Miss, by London News. She races for Ridgemont’s Syndicate (Nominee Craig Kieswetter) in partnership with Devin Heffer of Hollywood Racing.

Mike said: “Julia Kieswetter and the Ridgemont team are doing a great job. It’s not guesswork. They take calculated decisions in terms of genetically testing them and sending the precocious ones into training early. I’ve enjoyed working with them, a professional bunch.”

Mike thanked Craig Kieswetter for urging him to postpone his retirement with a “tempting” list of horses, offered several months ago. “It’s always special working with well-bred horses and a good team.”