A CHANCE FOR POCKET POWER FANS TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES
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A CHANCE FOR POCKET POWER FANS TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES
16 years 3 days ago
www.sahracing.com
have kindly said that ABC members can enter their tributes to Pocket Power on this thread...
WIN A PIECE OF RACING HISTORY: A CHANCE FOR POCKET POWER FANS TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES
Racing fans have the chance to win a set of Pocket Power silks, signed by his owners, Marsh Shirtliff and Mr & Mrs Webber as well as trainer Mike Bass and Jockey Bernard Fayd'herbe. All you have to do is send in a tribute to the Horse of the Year, telling us how he has touched you as a fan or, indeed, share any other aspect of this great horse that you wish to. The best contribution, as judged by the SAHorseracing.com editorial team and the connections, will win the prize. The silks have been generously sponsored by ODDS ON - the maker of Pocket Power's silks and also the company responsible for making the silks of numerous champions over the years. To set the scene, Mark Anthony provides an overview of the champion's career.
Some talented 3-year-olds graced South Africa's racing stage during the 2005/06 season. Hunting Tower probably made the early running by winning the Dingaans and Gauteng Guineas and following up with a particularly impressive win in the SA Classic. In between those efforts, Express Way caught the eye with a stylish win in the Cape Guineas. Elusive Fort showed he had the class to go with his exceptional good looks as he annexed the SA Derby and Daily News 2200. Kapil's sensational victory in the KZN Guineas, when he made up a huge amount of ground down the short Greyville straight, was one of the performances of the season. And Eyeofthetiger landed the biggest prize of all, storming home in the Vodacom Durban July in what was surely the best weight-carrying performance by a 3-year-old in the country's premier race.
While the big names were doing battle during the KZN winter season, trainer Mike Bass
was quietly bringing along a promising son of Jet Master back in Cape Town. He hadn't shown enough yet to warrant a trip to Durban but the key to Bass's mastery of his profession is his infinite patience: he always gives his horses time and never rushes them into the fray unnecessarily. The horse in question was Pocket Power and he was destined to outdo every one of his contemporaries in terms of career achievement.
This is not to say that Pocket Power was anonymous during that winter. On the contrary, he certainly created a splash by winning the Winter Triple Crown in Cape Town, no mean feat with the races spanning distances from 1600m to 2400m. But while that was undoubtedly an impressive achievement, the fact that the fields were inevitably lacking in depth and the proven classic performers were campaigning in KZN meant that Pocket Power could not yet be hailed as a champion.
Rested for three months after completing the Triple Crown, Pocket Power reappeared as a 4-year-old during the Cape summer season. He warmed up in three sprints and was duly sent off favourite in the Queens Plate, where he got the better of Silver Mist (the talented but temperamental grey who had chased him home throughout the Triple Crown series) in an extremely tight finish. He then went to complete a prestigious double as he eased home by a length from Lion Tamer in the Cape's blue riband event, the J & B Met, after which he was given a rest.
Pocket Power made his way to KZN in May 2007 and was due to kickstart his campaign in the traditional pipe-opener for top horses, the Drill Hall Stakes. He had to be scratched on the eve of the race which meant that he went into the important Gold Challenge a few weeks later without the benefit of a prep run. Turning for home at the tail end of the field, he burned up the turf over the last furlong as he made up some 15 lengths but only just failed to catch Succesful Bidder, a high-class performer in his own right who was at the top of his game that season. He may not have won, but he made many fans with his tremendous finishing burst and gave notice that he was going to be a big runner in the big one - the July itself.
Pocket Power was not destined to win the July at his first attempt but he ran a great race in defeat. Shouldering 58kg and tackling a right-handed track for the first time, he was basically beaten a couple of noses into fourth place in a blanket finish. Hunting Tower, Buy And Sell and Jagged Ice edged him out but one need only consider that he was conceding 3kg and more to each of them, to realise what a superb race he had run. It could well be argued that his fourth place here was superior to his Gr 1 wins in Cape Town, where he had not been onerously weighted (indeed, he had been a handicapping certainty in the Met).
Somewhat bizarrely, a theory was floated that Pocket Power could not win away from his home turf - a ridiculous statement when one considers how close he had gone in his two Gr. 1 attempts in Durban.
It was back to Cape Town in a bid to emulate the mighty Politician and complete the Queens Plate - J&B Met double for the second consecutive year. He accomplished this with a minimum of fuss having earlier demonstrated his versatility by running an excellent second in the Merchants over 1200m.
Pocket Power's 2008 winter season started inauspiciously, as he was beaten into fourth in both the Drill Stakes and Gold Challenge (adding further fuel to the "can't win in KZN" theory) even though there were reasonable explanations for those efforts. He also found himself in a peculiar position: while his Queens Plate/Met "double-double" was an outstanding achievement, he could not yet be compared to Politician who had conceded lumps of weight in both his Met wins. In fairness the detractors had a point as the conditions of the modern Met had ensured he was absolutely slung in at the weights. Thus, while acknowledged as a top class racehorse, he still could not garner the universal acclaim reserved for the all-time greats of the turf. Happily, this was about to change and on 5 July 2008, Pocket Power played his part in one of the greatest finishes in the history of South African racing.
Genuine racing fans who were fortunate to witness his incredible deadheat with Dancer's Daughter will surely remember the occasion for the rest of the lives: the best male and female in the country duelling for supremacy in the biggest race of all; the unbearable suspense as the judge's verdict was awaited; and the roar from the crowd as the numbers were finally posted.
Although he had had to share the spoils, Pocket Power's doubters no longer had much of a leg to stand on: he was giving away 5kg to Dancer's Daughter and had conceded up to 8kg down the field. He joined the elite group of runners who had carried top weight to victory in the July and this victory, taken in conjunction with his achievements in the Cape, entitled him to considered one of the greats.
After the excitement of the July, the Champions Cup at the end of the season proved an anti-climax with Pocket Power having to settle for second (conceding 3.5kg) to the talented Buy And Sell (Dancer's Daughter was also there but blew her chances at the start and had to settle for fourth). He was only beaten a half-length, though and it was a more than respectable effort at the weights, especially after his gruelling effort in the July three weeks earlier.
All the talk at the start of the Cape summer season for 2008-09 centred around Pocket Power's bid to achieve the unthinkable - a hat-trick of wins in both the Queens Plate and J & B Met. It is now history that he achieved this feat, the Met victory coming after a tremendous stretch duel with Dancer's Daughter which only served to add lustre to the occasion. Seldom has such a buzz been seen on a racetrack and those that flocked to the track to see their hero were duly rewarded.
The bad news for Pocket Power's rivals is that he is looking better than ever at the age of 6. The infamous flat spot that he used to often hit in his races seems to be a thing of the past and he has been able to win racing much handier this season. His winter season warm-up was terrifying to behold - he loafed about just off the pace in a Pinnacle Plate over 1450m just over a week ago at Clairwood and quickened up effortlessly to dispose of the classy Our Giant over a trip that was supposed to be a shade on the sharp side.
For all his brilliance, Pocket Power is not necessarily the easiest of rides, given that he has traditionally needed to be held up and produced at just the right time. Bernard Fayd'herbe has done outstandingly well, often in high-pressure situations while Jeff Lloyd played a crucial role in completing the first Queens Plate/Met double.
The man who stands tallest of all in the Pocket Power saga is, of course, trainer Bass himself. A man of few words, who lets his horses do the talking with their performances on the track, Bass's feat in keeping Pocket Power going, despite not being the soundest of horses, is nothing short of stunning. When co- owner Marsh Shirtliff declared after the 2009 Met that Bass was the best trainer in South Africa, he had plenty of ammunition to back up that statement.
It's no surprise that Pocket Power is considered the horse to beat in this year's July but in a way, anything that he wins from here on is merely a bonus and will help to burnish his legend. The fact is that he has nothing left to prove and even if he never wins another race, his trio of Queens Plates and Mets, backed up by a July win under 58kg, will ensure that he goes down as one of the all-time greats of the South African turf.
Competition Rules
1. Winner will be judged for making the best overall comment about Pocket Power on any part of the SAHorseracing.COM website including in the comments section below this article.
2. There is no restriction on the length of comment or the number of comments by one subscriber and entry is free.
3. The competition starts on 3 June 2009 and ends at 23:59 on 21 July 2009. The winner will be announced on Champion's Cup Day, 25 July 2009, at Clairwood.
The silks have been generously sponsored by Fiona McLeod at Odds On - the maker of Pocket Power's silks. Contact number: 031 3125110
POCKET POWER RACE WINS
18-Apr-2006
NOVICE PLATE (MIXED)
07-May-2006
WINTER GUINEAS (Grade 3)
27-May-2006
WINTER CLASSIC (Grade 3)
17-Jun-2006
WINTER DERBY (Grade 3)
30-Dec-2006
QUEEN'S PLATE
27-Jan-2007
J&B MET (Grade 1)
25-Nov-2007
GREEN POINT STAKES (WFA) (Gr 2)
29-Dec-2007
QUEEN'S PLATE
26-Jan-2008
J&B MET (Grade 1)
05-Jul-2008
VODACOM DURBAN JULY (GRADE 1)
22-Nov-2008
OCEAN BASKET GREEN POINT ST (WFA) (Gr 2)
10-Jan-2009
L'ORMARINS QUEEN'S PLATE (WFA) (Grade 1)
31-Jan-2009
J&B MET (Grade 1)
24-May-2009
PINNACLE STAKES
WIN A PIECE OF RACING HISTORY: A CHANCE FOR POCKET POWER FANS TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES
Racing fans have the chance to win a set of Pocket Power silks, signed by his owners, Marsh Shirtliff and Mr & Mrs Webber as well as trainer Mike Bass and Jockey Bernard Fayd'herbe. All you have to do is send in a tribute to the Horse of the Year, telling us how he has touched you as a fan or, indeed, share any other aspect of this great horse that you wish to. The best contribution, as judged by the SAHorseracing.com editorial team and the connections, will win the prize. The silks have been generously sponsored by ODDS ON - the maker of Pocket Power's silks and also the company responsible for making the silks of numerous champions over the years. To set the scene, Mark Anthony provides an overview of the champion's career.
Some talented 3-year-olds graced South Africa's racing stage during the 2005/06 season. Hunting Tower probably made the early running by winning the Dingaans and Gauteng Guineas and following up with a particularly impressive win in the SA Classic. In between those efforts, Express Way caught the eye with a stylish win in the Cape Guineas. Elusive Fort showed he had the class to go with his exceptional good looks as he annexed the SA Derby and Daily News 2200. Kapil's sensational victory in the KZN Guineas, when he made up a huge amount of ground down the short Greyville straight, was one of the performances of the season. And Eyeofthetiger landed the biggest prize of all, storming home in the Vodacom Durban July in what was surely the best weight-carrying performance by a 3-year-old in the country's premier race.
While the big names were doing battle during the KZN winter season, trainer Mike Bass
was quietly bringing along a promising son of Jet Master back in Cape Town. He hadn't shown enough yet to warrant a trip to Durban but the key to Bass's mastery of his profession is his infinite patience: he always gives his horses time and never rushes them into the fray unnecessarily. The horse in question was Pocket Power and he was destined to outdo every one of his contemporaries in terms of career achievement.
This is not to say that Pocket Power was anonymous during that winter. On the contrary, he certainly created a splash by winning the Winter Triple Crown in Cape Town, no mean feat with the races spanning distances from 1600m to 2400m. But while that was undoubtedly an impressive achievement, the fact that the fields were inevitably lacking in depth and the proven classic performers were campaigning in KZN meant that Pocket Power could not yet be hailed as a champion.
Rested for three months after completing the Triple Crown, Pocket Power reappeared as a 4-year-old during the Cape summer season. He warmed up in three sprints and was duly sent off favourite in the Queens Plate, where he got the better of Silver Mist (the talented but temperamental grey who had chased him home throughout the Triple Crown series) in an extremely tight finish. He then went to complete a prestigious double as he eased home by a length from Lion Tamer in the Cape's blue riband event, the J & B Met, after which he was given a rest.
Pocket Power made his way to KZN in May 2007 and was due to kickstart his campaign in the traditional pipe-opener for top horses, the Drill Hall Stakes. He had to be scratched on the eve of the race which meant that he went into the important Gold Challenge a few weeks later without the benefit of a prep run. Turning for home at the tail end of the field, he burned up the turf over the last furlong as he made up some 15 lengths but only just failed to catch Succesful Bidder, a high-class performer in his own right who was at the top of his game that season. He may not have won, but he made many fans with his tremendous finishing burst and gave notice that he was going to be a big runner in the big one - the July itself.
Pocket Power was not destined to win the July at his first attempt but he ran a great race in defeat. Shouldering 58kg and tackling a right-handed track for the first time, he was basically beaten a couple of noses into fourth place in a blanket finish. Hunting Tower, Buy And Sell and Jagged Ice edged him out but one need only consider that he was conceding 3kg and more to each of them, to realise what a superb race he had run. It could well be argued that his fourth place here was superior to his Gr 1 wins in Cape Town, where he had not been onerously weighted (indeed, he had been a handicapping certainty in the Met).
Somewhat bizarrely, a theory was floated that Pocket Power could not win away from his home turf - a ridiculous statement when one considers how close he had gone in his two Gr. 1 attempts in Durban.
It was back to Cape Town in a bid to emulate the mighty Politician and complete the Queens Plate - J&B Met double for the second consecutive year. He accomplished this with a minimum of fuss having earlier demonstrated his versatility by running an excellent second in the Merchants over 1200m.
Pocket Power's 2008 winter season started inauspiciously, as he was beaten into fourth in both the Drill Stakes and Gold Challenge (adding further fuel to the "can't win in KZN" theory) even though there were reasonable explanations for those efforts. He also found himself in a peculiar position: while his Queens Plate/Met "double-double" was an outstanding achievement, he could not yet be compared to Politician who had conceded lumps of weight in both his Met wins. In fairness the detractors had a point as the conditions of the modern Met had ensured he was absolutely slung in at the weights. Thus, while acknowledged as a top class racehorse, he still could not garner the universal acclaim reserved for the all-time greats of the turf. Happily, this was about to change and on 5 July 2008, Pocket Power played his part in one of the greatest finishes in the history of South African racing.
Genuine racing fans who were fortunate to witness his incredible deadheat with Dancer's Daughter will surely remember the occasion for the rest of the lives: the best male and female in the country duelling for supremacy in the biggest race of all; the unbearable suspense as the judge's verdict was awaited; and the roar from the crowd as the numbers were finally posted.
Although he had had to share the spoils, Pocket Power's doubters no longer had much of a leg to stand on: he was giving away 5kg to Dancer's Daughter and had conceded up to 8kg down the field. He joined the elite group of runners who had carried top weight to victory in the July and this victory, taken in conjunction with his achievements in the Cape, entitled him to considered one of the greats.
After the excitement of the July, the Champions Cup at the end of the season proved an anti-climax with Pocket Power having to settle for second (conceding 3.5kg) to the talented Buy And Sell (Dancer's Daughter was also there but blew her chances at the start and had to settle for fourth). He was only beaten a half-length, though and it was a more than respectable effort at the weights, especially after his gruelling effort in the July three weeks earlier.
All the talk at the start of the Cape summer season for 2008-09 centred around Pocket Power's bid to achieve the unthinkable - a hat-trick of wins in both the Queens Plate and J & B Met. It is now history that he achieved this feat, the Met victory coming after a tremendous stretch duel with Dancer's Daughter which only served to add lustre to the occasion. Seldom has such a buzz been seen on a racetrack and those that flocked to the track to see their hero were duly rewarded.
The bad news for Pocket Power's rivals is that he is looking better than ever at the age of 6. The infamous flat spot that he used to often hit in his races seems to be a thing of the past and he has been able to win racing much handier this season. His winter season warm-up was terrifying to behold - he loafed about just off the pace in a Pinnacle Plate over 1450m just over a week ago at Clairwood and quickened up effortlessly to dispose of the classy Our Giant over a trip that was supposed to be a shade on the sharp side.
For all his brilliance, Pocket Power is not necessarily the easiest of rides, given that he has traditionally needed to be held up and produced at just the right time. Bernard Fayd'herbe has done outstandingly well, often in high-pressure situations while Jeff Lloyd played a crucial role in completing the first Queens Plate/Met double.
The man who stands tallest of all in the Pocket Power saga is, of course, trainer Bass himself. A man of few words, who lets his horses do the talking with their performances on the track, Bass's feat in keeping Pocket Power going, despite not being the soundest of horses, is nothing short of stunning. When co- owner Marsh Shirtliff declared after the 2009 Met that Bass was the best trainer in South Africa, he had plenty of ammunition to back up that statement.
It's no surprise that Pocket Power is considered the horse to beat in this year's July but in a way, anything that he wins from here on is merely a bonus and will help to burnish his legend. The fact is that he has nothing left to prove and even if he never wins another race, his trio of Queens Plates and Mets, backed up by a July win under 58kg, will ensure that he goes down as one of the all-time greats of the South African turf.
Competition Rules
1. Winner will be judged for making the best overall comment about Pocket Power on any part of the SAHorseracing.COM website including in the comments section below this article.
2. There is no restriction on the length of comment or the number of comments by one subscriber and entry is free.
3. The competition starts on 3 June 2009 and ends at 23:59 on 21 July 2009. The winner will be announced on Champion's Cup Day, 25 July 2009, at Clairwood.
The silks have been generously sponsored by Fiona McLeod at Odds On - the maker of Pocket Power's silks. Contact number: 031 3125110
POCKET POWER RACE WINS
18-Apr-2006
NOVICE PLATE (MIXED)
07-May-2006
WINTER GUINEAS (Grade 3)
27-May-2006
WINTER CLASSIC (Grade 3)
17-Jun-2006
WINTER DERBY (Grade 3)
30-Dec-2006
QUEEN'S PLATE
27-Jan-2007
J&B MET (Grade 1)
25-Nov-2007
GREEN POINT STAKES (WFA) (Gr 2)
29-Dec-2007
QUEEN'S PLATE
26-Jan-2008
J&B MET (Grade 1)
05-Jul-2008
VODACOM DURBAN JULY (GRADE 1)
22-Nov-2008
OCEAN BASKET GREEN POINT ST (WFA) (Gr 2)
10-Jan-2009
L'ORMARINS QUEEN'S PLATE (WFA) (Grade 1)
31-Jan-2009
J&B MET (Grade 1)
24-May-2009
PINNACLE STAKES
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- Posts: 43867
- Thanks: 3338
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- Dave Scott
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- Posts: 43867
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- Bob Brogan
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- Administrator
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- Posts: 82468
- Thanks: 6445
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- New Member
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- Bob Brogan
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- Posts: 82468
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