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This Jack is No Flash ~ Ashleigh Hughes

From the minute Kangaroo Jack walked out of the barn for the photoshoot, we could see he was all class. The icy, gale force winds disturbed nothing more than his forelock, as he posed serenely next to his trainer Gary Alexander. “It’s his temperament which makes him such a good racehorse,” says Gary, as he stands next to the 4yo bay son of Maine Chance Farm’s stallion Querari. ‘KJ’, as Kangaroo Jack is affectionately known around the Alexander barns, is owned by Mrs Joyce Wallace, whose late husband is listed as his breeder, and he is the first horse trained by Gary, for the Wallace family. His dam is the 5 time winning bay mare, Rainbow Flag (by Model Man), who was bred by Swynford Paddocks, but also owned and raced by the Wallace family.

 

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Kangaroo Jack made a rather inauspicious debut in July 2015, down the Turffontein Standside straight, where he finished 6th, just 5.30 lengths behind the winner. But this would be the only time he has finished further back than 1st or 2nd, in all the rest of his eight starts. Gary is nonplussed by the run, and says, “I never push my babies early on. I like to give them a chance to find their confidence in races. He was quite green in that first start, and looking back, he probably needed the run.”

Exactly two months later, he lived up to the promise he had shown in his work back at home, and found the Winner’s Box in just his second attempt, but this time over 1200m on the Turffontein Inside track. Gary decided to try Kangaroo Jack over a 1450m in his next start, and he finished a gallant 2nd to Dakiwe, who is, coincidentally, a full brother to another Alexander stable star, Champagne Haze (as well as a half-brother to another former stable star, Pierre Jourdan). Kangaroo Jack followed that win up, with another two second places, over 1450m and then 1600m.

But in March 2016, he was entered into a 1200m on the Turffontein Inside course, and he cruised home by 3.75 lengths under Anton Marcus, as his regular jockey Andrew Fortune, was on a short suspension from race riding. Gary was not surprised by the ease with which he won, “I think, at the moment KJ is most effective over 1200m, but Andrew thinks he will go further, and will be competitive over 1400m to 1600m as well, and I tend to agree with him.” They were both vindicated in their thinking, when Kangaroo Jack won next time out, emphatically over 1450m, but this time he carried 64.5kg! (It’s been hard to verify, but I think this may be the heaviest weight ever carried to victory by a South African racehorse, in the modern era!)

That gutsy victory was enough to convince Gary to take a chance, and enter Kangaroo Jack into the R400 000 Grade 2 Post Merchants over 1200m, at Greyville Racecourse, in June 2016, in the height of the KZN Champions Season. He drew very wide, which is not ideal on the tight Durban turf track, and he had to settle near the back of the field early on in the race. He was close to last as they turned to home, but he burst through the pack under Craig Zackey (who was deputising for Andrew Fortune, as he had to carry 54kg), and won unchallenged, and gearing down. It was a win full of merit, as he beat a field of some of South Africa’s most highly rated sprinters, including Red Ray, who won the 1200m Grade 1 Mercury Sprint, in his next start!

Gary tells us more about that race, “His exceptional temperament is what helped him win that night. It was the first time he had ever travelled in a float to a race. It was his first race away from his home course Turffontein.” He arrived at Greyville relaxed and calm, after the 7 hour float journey. Gary continues, “It was also KJ’s first race under lights, so he had a lot of new experiences to deal with. But none of that worried him that night. My brother Dean saddled him at Greyville, and he said he was a pleasure to saddle, even in a strange new place.”

Gary Alexander and Kangaroo Jack

Gary Alexander and Kangaroo Jack

On 3 September Kangaroo Jack lined up for the R250 000 Grade 3 Spring Spree Sprint over 1200m on the Turffontein Inside course. He was coming off an 11 week rest, following his successful raid to Durban. He carried top weight of 61kg, and Gary says he wasn’t even fully fit, “I was using the race to bring his fitness on.” Andrew Fortune placed him beautifully on the rail, in 3rd position around the turn, and coming into the short straight, he was waiting to pounce. But it didn’t all go his way – the false rail was only a couple of metres deep, and he found himself trapped behind two horses, with no clear path to make his run. But the typically unfazed Fortune could feel what he had underneath him, and the moment he saw a flash of daylight between those two horses, he aimed for the gap and burst through to win going, away. That was Kangaroo Jack’s fourth win in a row, and second stakes win.

You just can’t help but be a little impressed by Kangaroo Jack’s tenacity and talent; he’s the ‘full package’ as far as racehorses are concerned. Gary describes him variously as “Athletic, well balanced, and a natural galloper. He moves well and he settles easily in a race, which makes things easy for the jockey.” This is why he feels that Kangaroo Jack’s latest merit rating of 113 won’t be too much of an issue. The only other 4yo, in South Africa, who has a higher rating, is the public darling and Triple Crown victor, Abashiri, who is rated at 117. “We will stick to the Weight For Age and Conditions races for now, and avoid the handicaps, so he won’t always have to carry top weight. We’ll probably be running him in the WFA Gr2 Joburg Spring Challenge over 1450m here at Turffontein, on 8th October. Depending on his performance there, we will decide which route to take race wise, whether to keep him over the sprint distances, or to go further.”

Kangaroo Jack’s half-sister, a filly by Lateral called Sha-Boom Sha-Boom is now also in the care of the Alexander team. She is not quite as forward as her illustrious older brother, but she will improve as she races more and matures. She’s only raced twice, and in her second start over 1450m she ran up a close 5th place, finishing 2.25 lengths behind the winner. “She’s still maturing, and will win her races,” Gary tells me.

Gary is a versatile trainer, and has had Gr1 winners from 1000m to 3200m, but he has trained some very talented sprinters in the past. Tommy Hotspur, Ruby Clipper, Palace Man, Chief Editor, Flintlock, South Country, Rebel Knight and Arabian Mist were all multiple winners at the highest level. Does Gary train them any differently to the rest of his string? “Not really – I like to treat each horse as an individual. I look at their body weight and temperament, and go from there. Nothing is set in stone.”

Kangaroo Jack really is an impressive fellow in the flesh – you can’t help but to be a little in awe of his raw talent and nearly faultless conformation. I think we are in for a treat with his upcoming races, and he is definitely a horse to follow!

 

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Sunrise Sessions at Turffontein ~ Ashleigh Hughes

Earlier this year, a new urban craze really caught the South African public’s attention. People were raving all over social media about this new exciting, concept, called “Secret Sunrise”. Even Carte Blanche did an insert about it, and that is when you know something is a really big deal. The people who are attending these Secret Sunrises, are waking up before dawn, in all the major metropoles, to go to a group session of dancing and stretching. Most people actually just end up expressing themselves in whichever way they want to, all the while listening to the same music, on Bluetooth headphones. A few people even get dressed up in their favourite super hero costumes, to let off a bit of steam. The venue of the event is only announced 24 hours before it happens, which is how they came to the “secret” part of the name, which has become the new buzzword in 2016.

 

I must admit though, personally I scoffed quite a bit at the whole idea, thinking to myself: “Whatever will these hipsters think of next? Here I have been waking up and watching the sunrise every single day, since 1993, and now all of a sudden it’s trendy to wake up to watch it? Well that is when the whole idea literally just blindsided me – I needed to let “outsiders” get a glimpse into my own secret sunrises!

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What I really wanted to do was share a little of the magic we racing folk experience, every morning, with a few curious people. But I was rather conservative in my estimate – I guessed that no more than about 15 people would respond to my open invitation, to the inaugural Turffontein Sunrise Sessions on 18 June 2016. I mean, here I was asking people to wake up in the middle of Winter, to drive to the middle of the city, to come and watch the racehorses doing their early morning training sessions, against a magnificent Highveld sunrise. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that over 70 people, most of whom had never even set foot on a racecourse, would eventually come and join an early morning tour of Turffontein!

There were a whole array of different people in attendance – many had zero horseracing exposure, or horse experience of any kind. Some folk came in groups from various livery yards – all curious to see how we do things in a racing yard, and some of their stable staff even joined them! We even had a party of ladies from the Magaliesburg area, who hired a bus to bring them halfway across the province. (They concluded that they were quite keen to form a syndicate and buy a horse to race one day!) The two youngest attendees were two pony mad 6yo girls, who were absolutely besotted with the racehorses, and they asked so many questions, all very relevant I might add! (There are two new horseracing fans right there!) I was truly touched, and rather inspired, by the open mindedness and genuine curiosity of everyone there, and I spent quite a bit of time dispelling all the urban myths about horseracing, which have been perpetuated on social media, in spite of tons of evidence showing it all to be untrue. But most of the morning saw me explaining the intimate workings of a racing yard, and in return, I was regaled by many tales of retired racehorses, which have gone on to be rather superb in their post racing careers. It is so wonderful to hear how the ex-racehorse, or OTTB (Off Track ThoroughBred), is regaining popularity as a sport horse again, in South Africa.

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Our Sunrise Session started with everyone gathering in the main carpark next to the grandstand, and once everyone had assembled, I explained the rules and safety recommendations to all – the horses come FIRST, no matter what, which was well respected by everyone. With such a large group of people standing next to the tracks though, we soon realised that some of the horses were a little scared to approach us, so we backed away immediately, to watch from a less intimidating distance. But in the end, we were able to stand right next to the training tracks, to watch the training gallops take photos and generally gaze in pure wonderment at the horses on the tracks. It was a fast work morning, which meant we got to see a lot of sprint ups of paired up horses, galloping past at a “three quarter pace”, which equates to approximately three quarters of the speed that horses run actual races at. Most trainers don’t allow their horses to go faster, while training on the sand tracks. It was quite something seeing the sheer delight on everyone’s faces as the horses thundered past – not many of them had ever seen a horse go so fast, so close up. There were many questions about the training techniques and track surfaces, and most were surprised at how heavy the sand on the training tracks is, and how thick the grass is, on the turf racecourse tracks themselves.

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After watching the work outs, everyone came on a tour of the Turffontein grandstand. On race days the Parade Ring, Winner’s Circle and saddling up enclosures are all out of bounds to the public, so this early morning session provided us with a superb opportunity to go “behind the scenes”. A whole new discussion was started on how horses are saddled up on race days, how owners choose their silks, and of course how old the apprentice jockeys really are!

Later on, we went back to the stable yard, for everyone to interact directly with the horses, and to have that very important cup of steaming hot coffee, and of course delicious muffins. We discussed the feeding regime, training programs, and basic stable management routines. Everyone was quite surprised at how friendly all the horses were, which was in direct contradiction to what they had expected, and anything they had heard before. We went through all the equipment we use on a daily basis, and when the youngsters were given a pair of racing whips to have a look at, the one young girl cantered off on her imaginary racehorse, and gave herself a couple of backhanders with the padded whip. She suddenly called out from across the yard: “Hey Dad, this riding crop doesn’t hurt at all!” We all had a bit of a giggle at that.

 

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In the end, the Turffontein Sunrise Session turned out to be a lot less “hipster” and a lot more “equine adventure”, and there was definitely no secret about the venue. But the secret of our sunrises, I believe, lies in the magic which we experience every day on the training tracks. It’s not something you can explain adequately, to non-racing folk – it needs to be experienced, first hand. It was truly rewarding to see how much everyone appreciated the experience.

 

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The feedback from this event has been immensely good, and so we will be holding more Sunrise Sessions at Turffontein Racecourse during September and October, on Saturday mornings. The numbers will be limited though, so book now to secure your spot. If you would like to experience a little bit of our magic at sunrise, and are based in, or near, Johannesburg, please email us at: loveracingsaf@gmail.com