De Kock lands J&B Met with gallant Igugu

Report: South Africa, Saturday 

Kenilworth: J&B Met (Grade 1) 1m2f, turf, 3yo+

HORSE of the Year Igugu (Mike de Kock/Anthony Delpech) showed guts and courage to justify massive market support in front of a huge crowd at Kenilworth in Cape Town on Saturday.

So much had gone wrong with her in the past four weeks that De Kock had seriously considered pulling her out on Tuesday, and even in the race almost everything went wrong.

First the Durban July winner missed a few days' work with a respiratory infection that meant she could not take part in her intended prep race three weeks ago.

Then, much to her trainer's annoyance, Igugu had to be housed in the quarantine station at Kenilworth racecourse owing to African Horse Sickness restrictions, which have also prevented her going to the Dubai Carnival.

Things weren't much better in the race. Igugu was slowly away, caught wide and struck into - yet the 17-20 shot still got up in the shadow of the post to beat 18-1 chance Bravura by less than half a length. Gimmethegreenlight was three-quarters of a length away in third.

Delpech said: "This wasn't the Igugu who won the Durban July. She came out sluggish and in the early part of the race she was cut into. When we got to 150 metres out I thought I might run second.

"Then in the last 50 metres, they began to come back to me and she really came to herself. It just shows you that a true champion will do it."

This was De Kock's third Met win and his 87th Group 1 success. It was also, as he explained, one of the most difficult he has ever achieved.

"Igugu showed today why she is a champion," said the trainer. "I was considering taking her out but she worked so well on Tuesday that I said 'put her in the van'.

"She then travelled 18 hours to get here and she had to stay in the course quarantine station from dawn to dusk. Even today we had to take her out at 10am.

"She wasn't at her best and she was probably only 90 per cent.We expected her to be in front from the start but she was sluggish. To win was amazing and I am humbled by her performance. It just shows you the guts, heart and courage that she has. I am proud of her and of everybody who has anything to do with her."

South Africa's champion trainer is anxious to take her overseas and she would have been long gone had it not been for the export ban imposed as a result of last year's outbreak of African Horse Sickness.

He said: "We will take her back to Johannesburg and we will then be hoping to hear about the protocols. However, if it turns out that we can't get her out of the country, we will go for the Durban July again."

Anton Marcus had no excuses for Bravura. "I could feel somebody was going to get to me," he said.

Bernard Fayd'Herbe on fourth-placed Run For It reckoned he was unlucky not to win.

He said: "I was hampered by Karl Neisius's mount Super Storm at a crucial stage and but for that I think I would have won."

Run For It (third 12 months ago) is trained by Justin Snaith, who also saddled the third Gimmethegreenlight.

He said: "I'm over the moon with both of them but hats off to Igugu. What she had to go through was shocking and unfair. That she won is unbelievable. She did the impossible."