By Ada van der Bent
It is exactly 100 years since the filly Desert Born won the first running of the race we know today as the SplashOut Cape Derby Gr 1. Then named the Western Province Derby, it was contested over the true classic Derby distance of 2400m and carried a stake of £600, at the time the richest race in South Africa.
Renamed the Cape of Good Hope Derby in 1946, victory went to Feltos, who sprouted wings from a hopeless position in the straight to get up on the post. The result was a stunning triumph for the mighty Birch Bros, who were responsible for breeding the first four across the line. Trained by the great Syd Garrett and ridden by Stanley Amos, Feltos entered the Derby off a half-length victory in the Met.
In 1947, Garret and Amos made it back-to-back Derby wins with Menlo and also had the honour of receiving the King’s Cup trophy from King George, who, together with the Royal entourage, attended arguably the most famous Derby meeting.
Over the years, the Derby has been won by some extraordinary gallopers and its illustrious honour roll boasts the names of legends such as Colorado King, Sea Cottage, Mazarin, Politician and Bold Tropic. Since 1976, the race has been run over 2000m and those who have added their names to that exalted list include champions Dynasty, Jay Peg, Rabiya, Capetown Noir and Legislate.
That the SplashOut Cape Derby serves as a springboard to further Gr 1 success goes without saying with many of its winners subsequently embellishing their reputations not just in the country’s premier events, but also on the world stage.
Colorado King, who famously nabbed the filly Majorca on the line in 1963, was exported to American, where he raced with huge success, winning the Gr 1 Hollywood Gold Cup in a time which equalled the then world record for nine furlongs.
Another to race in the US was 1964 Derby winner Top Gallant, whose half-brother, the immortal Sea Cottage, won the classic in 1966.
Both were bred by the Birch Bros, as was Bold Tropic, a winner of the 1979 Derby by the widest margin ever recorded (8,5 lengths), and he too, was subsequently sold for a record price to the US where he continued on his winning ways.
More recently, 2007 winner Jay Peg was exported to race in Dubai and Singapore where he clinched three Gr1 races, breaking the track record in the Gr 1 Dubai Duty Free. He returned to South Africa as the highest rated and highest earning horse ever bred in South Africa.
A number of Cape Derby winners have also gone on to enjoy stallion careers and none have been more successful than 2003 winner Dynasty. The son of Fort Wood went on to win the Durban July from draw 20 and was named both Horse of the Year and Champion 3YO Colt. He has stamped his authority on the Cape Derby as the sire of four winners in the space of six years: Jackson (2012), Legislate (2014), It’s My Turn (2016) and Eyes Wide Open (2018).
Strange as it may seem, very few fillies have worn the Derby crown. Windlass emulated Desert Storm to win the 1930 Cape Derby, but it took another 21 years before Green Lass claimed the trophy in 1951. In modern times, only two exceptional fillies have managed that feat.
The Terrance Millard-trained champion Taima Bluff ripped through the 1980 season by defeating high-class colts Highborn Harry and Quarrytown in the Cape Derby having already won the Gr1 Paddock Stakes. An own sister to Horse of the Year Tecla Bluff, she would go on to add both the Gr 1 Natal Oaks and Gr 2 Natal Oaks.
She was followed almost 20 years later by the Oppenheimer homebred Dog Wood, who lowered the colours of future Gr1 winner Young Rake in 1999. She was the first of three Cape Derby winners trained by Mike de Kock who, like Millard before him, has never been averse to letting a talented filly tackle male rivals. Sadly, the Derby was the final start of her all too brief career and this dual Gr 1 winner (she also won the Paddock Stakes) was retired to stud later in the season as the Equus Champion 3YO Filly.
That was 25 years ago, since which there have been no female winners, although the now US-based Beach Bomb came close last year when running second to Green With Envy, with future Gr 1 Durban July winner Oriental Charm back in third.
Rich in history and boasting a storied past, it is entirely fitting that this time-honoured classic brings down the curtain on the Cape summer season.
