From Second Choice To First Lady
The brilliant career of Harry’s Charm
Above: Michael Azzie with Harry's Charm (image: supplied)
In addition to the Springboks' historic first World Cup Victory, 1995 was memorable for the fiery red filly that blazed across our turf that season - her name was Harry's Charm.
PART 1:
At the 1993 National Yearling Sale, Michael Azzie signed for two fillies. The stable’s top pick was Chase The Light (by Golden Thatch out of Flying Snowdrop), knocked down for R260,000 to owners Rodney Thorpe, Roger Zeeman and Anthony Beck. On a quiet tip from Highlands Farm, Azzie also secured Harry’s Charm (by Harry Hotspur out of Enchanting) for R120,000, for the same partnership of owners. Expectations were highest for Chase The Light, but it was Harry’s Charm who dazzled on the track and etched her name as a legend.
Azzie recalled: “We bought many yearlings from the Beck family’s Highlands in those days. I had a good relationship with Reggie Knight, the stud manager. We were thrilled with our acquisition of Chase The Light, but Reggie came over and suggested we take another look at Harry’s Charm — a filly with similarly attractive features we’d initially sidelined because she had a slight roach back. That’s a conformational fault where the spine arches upward over the loin, just behind the saddle, which can restrict flexibility and shorten a horse’s stride, often limiting racing performance.”
Both fillies proved precocious. They came to hand quickly once they entered training. When Azzie was putting them through their paces, it was Chase The Light who initially caught the eye. “She played with Harry’s Charm in their home gallops,” Azzie recalled. “We pencilled them both in for a Maiden Juvenile Plate over 1000m at Newmarket on Thursday, 22 December 1994.”
The stable and owners were eager to have a good punt on Chase The Light. On what she was showing at the track, she looked a cut above, the kind of “Christmas gift” every racing yard enjoys of unwrapping at the peak of the holiday season.
But about 10 days before the race, Harry’s Charm began to turn the corner. In their final piece of fast work, she closed the gap on Chase The Light more than ever before. Azzie recalled: “We had Japhta, a light-weight work rider, on Chase The Light, while Harry’s Charm was partnered by her regular rider Boetie Willy, who was several kilograms heavier than Japhta. That told us Harry’s Charm wasn’t as inferior to Chase The Light as we’d first thought.
“I was a little concerned,” Azzie admitted, “because I’d told the owners we were ready to have a strike with Chase The Light first time out, and I’d personally planned to have R20,000 on her to win. But I decided to follow my initial sentiments and my mind was more at ease. We booked Rhys van Wyk for Harry’s Charm, while champion jockey Jeff Lloyd was declared for Chase The Light.”
On race day, Chase The Light opened favourite at 7-10 and quickly shortened to 6-10 after Azzie and others placed their bets. Harry’s Charm, meanwhile, drifted from an opening call of 5-2 all the way out to 10-1.
Azzie said: “My bet was on and we were confident everything was in place for Chase The Light, who cantered down beautifully. Harry’s Charm, as we’d come to know, was quite fiery and full of herself, but she also strode to the start with purpose. My wife Sharon remarked, ‘They both look so well. I’m going to take a swinger on the pair.’ She hurried down to a tote window and put R1,000 on the Swinger.”
But the race didn’t unfold as expected. Chase The Light set a steady pace, racing comfortably under Lloyd, with Harry’s Charm right at the back of a 20-horse field. But coming into the last 200m, Harry’s Charm just stormed up from literally nowhere and won by two lengths. Azzie was stunned at what had just transpired. “It was bewildering, but at the same time, I admired the way she did it. She won with no fuss at all.”
Above: Rhys van Wyk with Harry's Charm (image: Nick Lourens/Facebook)
Rhys van Wyk shrugged his shoulders, just as surprised as anyone. Van Wyk said earlier this week: “I remember that race very well because it was one of only two times I ever rode Harry’s Charm. She was one of the best fillies I’d ever sat on. We were stone last for a long way, I saw Jeff way out front on Chase The Light, cruising along. I didn’t as much as flex my elbows, but she just took off and ran past them all, it felt effortless.” Owners Thorpe and Zeeman laughed the sprint off in gentlemanly fashion, remarking, “That’s juvenile racing!”
Sharon’s instinct, however, had proved golden. With Chase The Light a clear second, her R1,000 Swinger ticket clicked. The return was a handsome R25 for every Rand invested — a total payout of R25,000, more than softening the sting of the loss on Chase The Light. Azzie quipped, “I got a hiding on my strike bet, but we still had R5,000 to spare.” More importantly, Harry’s Charm had announced herself as a filly of real substance, one who deserved a prominent place in the stable’s forward plans.
Harry’s Charm’s debut triumph marked the beginning of a remarkable journey. From that day on, she quickly developed a reputation for her tenacity and blazing speed. In the weeks that followed, Harry’s Charm reeled off victories with commanding ease, climbing the ranks and attracting the attention of both punters and rivals. Her fiery nature, once a concern, had become part of her competitive armour.
Harry’s Charm won seven of her first eight starts, following her first win with a 7,25-length success in a Juvenile Plate over 1200m at Turffontein on 4 March 1995, in the hands of Piere Strydom.
She returned to the same course and distance two weeks later for the Grade 1 SA Nursery, then a single contest for colts and fillies, but a race in which the colts usually dominated. Harry’s Charm went into the race as the even-money favourite, with Strydom booked to ride. Before the Nursery, Azzie enjoyed some banter with Terence Sarakis, owner of the promising colt and second favourite, Cape Hunt (by Bush Telegraph), a facile debut winner and already stakes-placed for trainer Danie Burger.
“We’re going to kick your filly’s backside,” Sarakis declared. Azzie fired back with a public wager: “Terence, if Harry’s Charm doesn’t beat you by at least six lengths, I’ll donate my 7% of the stake money to a charity of your choice. And I’ll add a bonus on top. If she does, I’d expect to see your owners’ stake.”
Harry’s Charm dominated from the jump, but Azzie’s nerves kicked in as they hit the final 100m. “She must have been eight or nine lengths clear when Strydom started easing her down towards the line. I could see her lead shrinking and was silently urging her to keep stretching, just to make sure I won my bet with Cape Hunt’s owner.”
Thankfully, the post came in time. Harry’s Charm still had 6.75 lengths to spare over Cape Hunt, and she’d stopped the clock in a blistering 66.26 seconds.” It was a performance that underlined her brilliance and stamped her as one of the most exciting juveniles in the country — a filly destined for much bigger stages. “I never heard from Terence again,” Azzie said.
Above: Harry’s Charm wins the Grade 1 SA Nursery (image: HF Kenney)
Harry’s Charm was, as expected, all the rage for her next start, the Grade 1 Smirnoff Plate (now the Gold Medallion) on 20 May 1995. Backed from even money into 6-10 favourite against the colts, she was widely tipped to confirm her status as the best juvenile in training. But the script was torn up when she suffered a shock defeat at the hands of outsider Gold Flier (Golden Thatch), who scored at 12-1.
Azzie believed Harry’s Charm was nowhere near her best that day. “This was her first trip to Pietermaritzburg. She travelled in a berth with a few other runners on the Thursday night and only arrived on the Friday afternoon. She spiked a temperature, refused to eat, and just wasn’t herself. Normally she was like a lion in her stable. She’d shove everyone out of the way and flatten her manger. But that weekend she was flat. She stood sulking with her head in the corner of the stable. We took her defeat on the chin.”
Azzie suspected that Harry’s Charm simply hadn’t taken kindly to travelling with other horses from Randjesfontein to Scottsville, so for her next assignment — the Grade 1 Allan Robertson Fillies Futurity over 1200m on Sunday, 25 June 1995 — he booked her a float all to herself.
This time, his biggest concern wasn’t the filly, but rather getting himself and his owners to the course in decent shape. “We all went to the 1995 Rugby World Cup Final at Ellis Park on the eve of the race, and you can imagine what happened after the Springboks beat the All Blacks. Celebrations of note erupted. At some point, early the next morning, I managed to start my Microbus. Sharon and I collected Roger and Rodney, and we all headed for Pietermaritzburg. We scraped into a B&B, shaved, showered, and got to the track just in time. Harry’s Charm had travelled perfectly this time. She ate up, looked relaxed, and went out to win unchallenged by four lengths.”
Harry’s Charm ended the 1994/5 season with a 4.25-length win in the Listed Jack Patience Futurity over 1200m at the Vaal on 18 July 1995, and was named Champion Two-Year-OId Filly at the ARCSA Awards Ceremony in August 1995. The stable gave her a well-deserved rest into 1996, with assaults on several big prizes planned for her.
END OF PART 1
Next week: Facts and anecdotes from Harry’s Charm’s later career