Vaughan Marshall has had his trainer’s licence for 42 years and is widely regarded as a master of his trade, as well as a top-class horseman and astute judge of young horses.
He guided breed-shaper Captain Al in a 17-start career that brought 10 wins, including the Grade 1 Cape Guineas, before the son of Al Mufti embarked on a hugely successful ‘second career’ at stud which saw him crowned Champion Sire of the 2014-15 season and cement his status as a true South African legend.
Marshall is renowned for being a prolific trainer of two-year-olds, with Captain Al (the leading 2YO sire eight times) a rich and long-serving source of most of his stable’s juvenile talent – colt Always In Charge (2016 Gold Medallion); and daughters The Secret Is Out (2016 Alan Robertson) and All Is Secret (2012 Alan Robertson and Thekwini Stakes) were two-year-old Grade 1 winners trained by Marshall, who also saddled sons of Captain Al, Hill Fifty Four (2014) and One World (2020) to victory in the Grade 1 Cape Town Met.
The latter, a stable star during his Milnerton days, has made an impressive start to his new career at stud and has quickly set out to fill the void left by his sire’s passing in 2017. At Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Tuesday 18 June, One World equalled Captain Al’s freshman record of 22 first-season winners. Marshall, unsurprisingly, is a big believer in the exciting young sire and has backed him by acquiring several of his progeny at the sales – and with immediate success, too.
One World won the 2018 edition of the Grade 3 Langerman, a two-year-old race over 1500m, and is represented by three of his sons (all trained by Marshall) in this year’s renewal at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday 22 June.
Exciting One Stripe is his sire’s leading performer with two Grade 3 sprint victories to his name already, over 1100m and 1200m. However, this well-bred colt is likely to be even more effective over ground, being the son of a Silvano mare who won from 2200m to 2450m, over which she won the Listed Spook Express. With the step up to 1500m in Race 7 likely to unlock further improvement, it should pay to follow the progress of One Stripe, who is good value to land the Grade 3 prize which Marshall also won with Tap O’ Noth in 2017 before he went on to Grade 1 Cape Guineas glory the following season.
Stablemates All Out For Six, himself a son of One World, has improved to win back-to-back outings over 1400m and ought to acquit himself competitively over 1500m, although a bigger threat could be posed by another Marshall inmate in Talk To The Master.
If Captain Al’s first-season benchmark hasn’t been bettered already, Sahara Cat should provide her sire with a landmark win in the two-year-old fillies’ equivalent – the 1500m Listed Irridescence Stakes – in Race 2 under Richard Fourie.
She confirmed the promise of her debut second over 800m with consecutive 1000m wins and a subsequent 15-week layoff would have benefitted the young filly no end. She too is open to any amount of improvement racing around the turn for the first time.
Race 6 is the Non-Black Type Winter Mile and Justin Snaith-trained Rapidash will enjoy reverting to this distance. This Danon Platina gelding landed the biggest prize of his career, the R5-million Gold Rush, in his last 1600m appearance.
Marshall-trained Rafeef gelding Mojo Man has achieved all three of his career wins over 1000m with blinkers on. He was a fluent winner over the course and distance when refitted with blinkers on 21 May and a six-point penalty on his reappearance in Race 5 is unlikely to halt his momentum.
Clive Robinson
