OFF THE RECORD #12

Racing, Business, and Philanthropy:  Warne Rippon’s journey of Triumph and Resilience

PART II

The mighty Sun Classique

In the captivating second part of Warne Rippon's remarkable life and times, we cover the story of Sun Classique, within a series of events that embodies Warne’s ambition and perseverance, coupled with fate and destiny and not without good luck. Join us for this, and Part III next week, when we’ll uncover the pivotal moments that defined Warne's philanthropic journey, with Sun Classique’s injury central to the theme.

***

For a coherent narrative, let’s start where we left off in Part 1. Warne was finally on his legs with Allied Steelrode in 1996, the company was growing steadily and the year 2000 approached. His brother Greg, an estate agent, recommended a property investment for the businessman on the rise. Warne bought his first piece of land in the Eastern Cape in 1999, a small 800-hectare property at the source of the Kowie River not far from Grahamstown, his place of birth. The idea was to introduce some game to the property and then sell it at a later stage.

With some spare cash to indulge his passion for horses, Warne bought Wave Maiden, a filly by Counter Action, from breeder Lionel Cohen and Cocktail (Northern Guest), from Summerhill. While Cocktail only managed a few places, Wave Maiden won three races for trainer Kobus Roux. Warne was delighted, but eager for more.

On a trip to Cape Town in 2006, Warne received a race day invitation to trainer Mike Bass’ private suite at Kenilworth, arranged by Lionel. He recalled: “I had a few bets and got well tickled up. I said to Lionel, ‘I want a proper horse, a really good one. I want to win a big race!’ He replied immediately, ‘I’ve got one for you. This is a good filly, I promise. Her name is Sun Classique. She is by Japan’s champion sire, Fuji Kiseki. I bought her dam, in foal, in Australia. She is due to race soon.’ Lionel had valued the unraced Sun Classique at R500,000 and was willing to sell me half a share for R250,000. I said, ‘Are you mad, Lionel, how would I get that past my wife?’

“In fairness, Lionel offered me a deal. He said he’d keep his price at R250,000 until after her first run, which would give me a chance to see Sun Classique in action. We shook on it, and when the day came, I was quite intrigued. Sun Classique was entered for a Maiden Juvenile Plate over 1200m on 9 May 2006. Heinz Runge was booked for the ride, and Bass had his stable jockey Karl Neisius on her stablemate, Secure, the odds-on favourite

“I was on a hunting trip near De Aar in the Karoo that day with my son. We left our Springbok hunt to watch the race. Sun Classique drifted in the betting to 10-1, she got left at the pens and had lots of ground to make up halfway through the race. I thought for a while I’d be saving 250k. But she swept effortlessly through the field and won easily, Secure in second. We were suitably impressed. I paid for my share and this started a racing adventure that very few individuals have had the pleasure of being on.”

***

Sun Classique won her second start and then finished second to Royal Fantasy in the G1 Thekwini Stakes at Clairwood Park in her first run over 1600m. Following this, she beat Countess Corlia to win the Grade 3 Diana Stakes over 1400m at Kenilworth, proving her classic potential and versatility.

Mike Bass prepared Sun Classique for the Grade 1 Avontuur Estate Cape Fillies Guineas on 2 December 2006 and she was primed to the minute. But a week before the race Lionel received a call from Team Valor International’s Barry Irwin, who was enjoying a most successful spell with horses bought in South Africa. He offered US$1-million for Sun Classique and Lionel was keen to take the cash for a massive payday, as the Rand was at around 8-1 to the US Dollar at the time.

Warne told: “I was attending a steel trade show in Germany when Barry phoned me, trying to convince me to accept the offer. The American was assertive, a strong negotiator, but I’d had a few Pilseners and told him I’m staying in, not selling. I gave Barry some lip with the kind of beer-based bravado I’m sure Lionel would’ve found irrational and frankly stupid if he was there.

“So it was on to the Guineas, Jeff Lloyd got the ride and we were confident she’d win it, even from a 13-16 draw. Lionel and I were standing next to each other watching the runners at the start. Sun Classique had been backed from 2-1 to 12-10 favourite, the pressure was on. When they jumped, Sun Classique was three wide and battling to get cover in the back straight. She was up against it, with no way out, and as they turned for home Lloyd had her placed near the back, behind most rivals in the pack. There was only one thought in my mind – I’d tossed $1-million in the water!

“I glanced briefly at Lionel and I knew that he was thinking exactly the same thing. I started looking for the exit. I wanted to leave the track, disappear and never come back. But moments later I could hear some support for Sun Classique coming from her many supporters on the grandstand, that unique sound that builds gradually and is normally associated with a favourite starting to run at the leaders. When I looked up, Sun Classique was weaving her way through the field and race caller Rouvaun Smit boomed, ‘Here comes Sun Classique!’ which made my heart skip a few beats. Our filly burst through the middle of the field with a late charge and won going away from Festive Occasion. There are plenty of words to describe sheer joy, but is there a better word for, ‘relief’?"

Sun Classique wins the 2006 Cape Fillies Guineas

***

In 2007, Mike Bass planned Sun Classique’s route to the Grade 1 Vodacom Durban July via five Graded features. She was a touch unlucky when beaten into second in the Paddock Stakes on New Year’s Day, but won the Fancourt Majorca Stakes at Kenilworth on 27 January. Following two warm-up runs in Durban, she took the Woolavington Stakes, then over 2200m, under Bernard Fayd’Herbe.

Sun Classique went into the Durban July with high hopes, and Piere Strydom was engaged to ride her. She’d drawn 17/20, but outside draws have never been insurmountable in SA’s flagship race, and she was a course-and-distance winner. Warne remembers: “Seven is my lucky number and when I saw Sun Classique was number seven, I was even more confident. Plus, she was racing on the 7^th of July, 2007. Sadly, things didn’t go as planned. Sun Classique finished seventh to Hunting Tower and we were gutted.”

Lionel, not deterred, had big plans. He phoned Mike de Kock, who had taken Dubai by storm, and asked if he’d consider taking Sun Classique to the UAE to compete in the 2008 Dubai Carnival. Mike was not sure. He was worried that she may not be good enough for racing in the big desert league. Also, the costs and shipping logistics made this exercise prohibitive.

Warne recounts: “We asked Mike to watch her July video and he did. Mike Bass had instructed Striker Strydom to drop Sun Classique out from her wide draw and to run her through on the inside, but in the race she was bustled along, five wide and got a clod in her eye. I pester Piere about that ride, to this day. She returned with one eye closed, Despite her mishaps, she was beaten under three lengths. This got Mike’s attention.”

Sun Classique was shipped to Dubai in August 2007. Her arduous route went via Mauritius to Newmarket, UK, and she arrived in Dubai in early December. She went into training at Mike de Kock’s Grandstand Stables among established Dubai runners and her accomplished new stablemates, including Asiatic Boy, Irridescence, Oracle West, Lucky Find, Honour Devil and Royal Vintage.

Warne said: “My friend Andrew Poole and I flew out to Dubai for a meeting on 17 January 2007. This was a few weeks ahead of Sun Classique’s first run, which Mike had pencilled in as the Darley Cape Verdi Stakes over 1600m on 7 February. We didn’t know Mike from a bar of soap, we wanted to meet him and stable jockey Kevin Shea, check on the filly’s progress and go racing at Nad Al Sheba."

“We found Mike and his team at the stable’s horse treadmill, early one morning, and Sun Classique was running hard on it. I remember Kevin’s words to me that day. After we exchanged pleasantries and discussed Mike’s plans, he said, ‘Warne, we want to go bang, bang, bang with her. First the Cape Verdi, then the Ballanchine, then the Sheema Classic!’

“Bang, bang, bang! It stuck in my mind all day, every day and we flew over again on 7 February 2008 for the Cape Verdi. Sun Classique had drawn barrier one, the stable was confident of a good run and the Bass family came along too, a proud moment for Mike and Carol Bass. Kevin Shea said he didn’t know which tactics to employ in the race as Sun Classique had been plagued by bad draws for most of her career and didn’t seem to have a clearly apparent running style."

“Mike de Kock said, ‘Ask Mr. Bass for advice, he’ll know best’. Mike Bass replied, ‘Kevin, I’ve always wanted to see her handy from a good draw. Sit just behind the pacemaker and don’t wait too long. When you come into the straight, let her go rightaway, she’ll give you more!’. Kevin rode her that way, and she thumped Godolphin’s filly Many Colours by two-and-a-quarter lengths. We were over the moon and one of several good Dubai parties ensued.”

Next came the Balanchine Stakes over 1800m on 17 February with Warne trackside, again. He recalled several anxious moments, best explained by Kevin Shea himself.

Kevin Shea and Frankie Dettori before the Ballanchine

Shea said: “It was all systems go and we had Warne’s lucky Number 7 on Sun Classique’s saddle cloth, in Race 7. We’d heard that Many Colours had improved and that she was fancied to turn the tables on us. Sometimes, as a jockey, you sense things. It was apparent that the money was on Frankie Dettori and Many Colours, and I was looking at Frankie and the other jockeys at the start, trying to figure out what was brewing. I smelt a rat."

“Sun Classique broke well and we got into a handy position, fifth, on the rail, and travelling smoothly. Many Colours led the field for home and Sun Classique moved up to track her. My filly was in full stride and gaining fast when Mick Kinane, the wily old fox, appeared on our outside, riding Light Green. With Gower Song having moved into the rails position to my outside, Mick rode his filly to the inside and swiftly closed us in, which can be clearly seen on the head-on replay. There was no way out. I had to ease Sun Classique and switch her to the outside, around the front three. With her momentum broken, Sun Classique had four lengths to find with 150m to go. But she was good, so good it was scary. She found her stride again, knuckled down and reeled them in. Mick moved outwards on Light Green to intimidate us again but she flew by, got there to win by a neck. Mick and I exchanged a few words in the jockeys room, but he broke the tension by shouting for everyone to hear, “Jaysus, I almost brought this man down, his filly can’t lose the Sheema Classic!” Watch the exciting race replay here, amazing to see!

Commentator Terry Spargo crooned: “Oh brother, that was heart in your mouth stuff. They put her in a pocket, but she snatched victory from looming defeat!”

***

“Sun Classique’s Ballanchine win under 61kg must have been one of the greatest performances ever by a Thoroughbred. The way she fetched them after her setback so late in the race was just astonishing,” Warne opined. “We were ready for the $5-million Sheema Classic now. We gathered the supporting troops for Dubai World Cup week and the big night of Saturday, 29 March 2008."

"There are lavish functions and festivities in Dubai during every World Cup week, including the draw for the main race, midweek. On the Wednesday, at the draw ceremony, representatives of Sheikh Mohammed offered us $3-million for Sun Classique. They wanted her to race in the Sheikh’s silks. That was, again, a staggering amount of money in Rands, the same as the winner’s purse for the race itself. But we decided to stick with her. She’d come all this way for us, and we weren’t going to back out."

“I woke up before dawn on race day morning, a bundle of nerves. We were staying on the seventh floor of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. I decided to jog along the beach to the gym at the Burj Al Arab Hotel, where I fiddled around for a while and then went into the sauna, where I found the American jockey, Garett Gomes, sweating it up. He was wasting to get his weight down for his rides at the World Cup meeting. He said he had a chance on Spring House in the Sheema, but that he’d heard the South African filly was the one to beat. I didn’t tell him that I was her part-owner. It was good to hear that our rivals were wary of Sun Classique."

“There wasn’t a soul in sight when I took a jog back, the sun had just come up. I saw something small reflecting white, not too far away. When I got to the spot, there were three cards partly covered in beach sand, all number sevens! At that moment, my hair stood up. I took a picture with my Blackberry, left the cards as I found them and sprinted to the hotel. I told Wendy that the stars had aligned. There was no way Sun Classique would get beaten in the Sheema Classic!”

Nad Al Sheba racing executive Martin Talty told a reporter: “The Dubai World Cup is where thoroughbred racing turns full circle. These horses are racing in the footsteps of their ancestors.” This was the richest race day the world had seen. The Dubai World Cup alone was worth $6-million; the Sheema Classic $5-million, and 60,000 spectators turned up, many of them visitors from around the world in the latest high fashions, mixing with masses of locals.

“We were seated early for the 1pm start and the day rolled on quick. Mike de Kock and Johnny Murtagh struck in Race 3, winning the UAE Derby early with Honour Devil. Shea was second on Royal Vintage. The stable was hot. We, the connections of Sun Classique, were hotter. At 4pm we were already drenched in sweat walking down to the parade ring for the Sheema Classic, due for 16:40. The full field of 16 runners included Hong Kong’s superstar, Viva Pataca, Doctor Dino, winner of Belmont’s Man O’War Stakes, the German Champ Quijano and Godolphin’s Gravitas."

“We remained confident. As Kevin had remarked, Sun Classique was ‘scary good’, and here she was, well in at the weights, perfectly turned out and ready to race. Our stablemate Oracle West enjoying being up there with the pace-setters, and Kevin’s plan was to track Johnny Murtagh throughout the race for cover and some protection from intimidation by some of the world’s best race-riders, all keen to win. As they cantered down to the 2400m start, we remained in the ring to watch the race on the big screen and to see the last bit, close-up."

Shea, commenting on the race itself, recounted: “There were no incidents this time. Sun Classique was drawn at three, she broke well and, as expected, our big boy Oracle West got handy early. He raced into third, relaxed and strode out nicely behind Garret Gomez on Spring House, who set the clip ahead of West Wind. We were right behind Oracle West for most of the race and the rest of the field spread out almost in Indian file. Sun Classique was running beautifully in my hands. Before the home bend I could feel a rush coming on and I had to focus. She was strong, ready to pounce. I wanted to time our finishing run, and at the same time started counting dollars."

“This was surreal. I thought about Mike Bass saying before the Ballanchine, ‘Go early, she’ll give it to you’, and I decided to hit the accelerator on the turn, perhaps 300m too soon. Sun Classique changed gears like a fancy car, sailed past the leaders and quickened away. She didn’t feel any real pressure over the last 300m, but it was an especially long 300m. I could hear the whips cracking behind us. Darren Beadman was in full cry on Viva Pataca and others were shouting at their mounts to challenge us, but Sun Classique sensed it. She kicked again and with 75m to go the race was in the bag. I was dizzy with delight and punched the air. This felt like heaven on earth!”

Sun Classique (Shea) after the Classic, with Lionel and Caroline Cohen, Warne and Wendy Rippon.

In the parade ring, said Warne, there were tears as the connections jumped around wildly in celebration. “I was in a pool of sweat. This was high pressure, high stakes and I think the week’s partying culminated in this frenzy of near delirious excitement. We led Sun Classique into the winner’s box to loud applause and a hundred flashing cameras. Wendy and I stood shaking alongside Caroline Cohen, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Lionel was more composed. ‘I am so proud, so honoured,’ he told TV interviewer, Lydia Hislop."

“The night ended on a high note when Asiatic Boy finished second to Curlin in the Dubai World Cup and South Africa was the talk of the track. Nad Al Sheba turned into one big party playground and there were South Africans everywhere, including former jockey Johnny Panas in a memorable, bright green suit. We all ended up in Zinc night club at the Crown Plaza Hotel in downtown Dubai, where there was a South African DJ and they cordoned off the VIP area of the club for the winning connections, guests and racing media."

“We partied until the first rays of sun became visible over the desert. Literally. Sun Classique, the little horse born in Africa and originally passed unsold through the ring at R60,000, had just taken her earnings to the dollar equivalent of near R30-million. The world was our oyster!”

Don’t miss Part III, next week!