Lights go on, and off, in Celestial City

Danie Toerien

Picture this: You pay R7-million for a horse. You wait two years before it finally makes its debut. And then it wins! But you don’t see it, because of loadshedding.

That’s exactly what happened to Henning Pretorius today when Celestial City finally made his debut over 1600m on the Turffontein Inside course.

Full-brother to Hawwaam and half-brother to Rainbow Bridge and Golden Ducat, Celestial City finally got into a starting stall after what seemed like forever – and then produced the goods the racing world expected.

“We had loadshedding, so the television was off,” said Pretorius after the race.

“We did try to watch the race on an app on my phone, but as fate would have it, the app went off just before the race.

“When the app eventually restarted, the race was over.

“The app worked perfectly until the moment Celestial City lined up to race, then it died. Can you believe it?

“The worst is that it came back on again just after the race!

“It’s terrible. I would have loved to have been there, but that’s how life sometimes work,” said a surprisingly subdued Pretorius.

“At least I watched the replay shortly afterwards, and the way he ran was very impressive. I am very pleased.”

Celestial City, now in the care of trainer Sean Tarry, produced a phenomenal final burst to beat a very decent field, making it look rather easy with Calvin Habib in the saddle.

“The way Celestial City won, coming from behind to make the victory look easy, was impressive,” said Pretorius.

“It is a great relief after such a long wait.

“I’m extremely pleased with what I saw – even though it was a replay - and I am extremely grateful for the work Sean has done in preparing this horse for his first run.”

A R7-million purchase at the 2020 National Yearling Sale, doubts about Celestial City’s ability had been increasing as time went by.

First sent to trainer Peter Muscutt, it was obvious that Celestial City had issues when he was later returned to Summerhill unraced.

Then in May this year, Pretorius decided that Tarry was the man to get the job done.

“You must know what I paid for him,” said Pretorius, “and I bought him purely on the belief in his dam, Halfway To Heaven.

“She did produce three champions by three different sires. So, I had the world of confidence in her.

“It has been a long wait, and there have been many insecurities along the way.

“But I gave the horse to Sean and told him in no uncertain terms that he must do what it takes.

“I made it abundantly clear that there’s no pressure on him, but that he must try his best to get Celestial City going, no matter how long it takes.

“Sean has done an exceptional job and I am very thankful for his efforts. He is the one who deserves all the credit.”