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Burning the Turf

Media Release - Tuesday July 17
There might have been 6000 kilometres between them but it was another successful weekend for the progeny of Turffontein, with Mandela Effect (pictured)winning at Caulfield and two-year-old Bold Thruster saluting Singapore.

TurffonteinBred by Tasmanian Mandy Gunn and trained by Scott Brunton, Mandela Effect had been one of the Tasmania's most progressive horses over the past year, winning three times and running four seconds from eight starts before heading to Melbourne.

Local odds assessors gave the three-year-old, which had drawn the outside gate little hope and he started at odds of $21.

Jockey Dean Holland elected to drop him back to the tail of the field and with 600m to travel those odds looked conservative.

However, once Holland asked him to go forward approaching the turn, Mandela Effect showed sharp acceleration to loop the field and despite racing a little greenly in the straight, drew away to win comfortably.
Mandela Effect, which was sold at the 2016 Tasmanian yearling sale for $18,000, is from a winning West Quest half-sister to former smart Tasmanian sprinter Royal Work and is from the family of AJC Sires' Produce Stakes winner Mighty Manitou.

It was ever so nearly a running double for Turffontein, with the Patrick Payne trained Widgee Turf failing by just a nose to claim another victory over the same track and trip that he won the G3 Victoria Hcp earlier in the year.

A win would have made Widgee Turf the most successful horse in Victoria for the season but he now looks set to finish equal top on six wins.

On Sunday in Singapore, Payne enjoyed success as the breeder of the Shane Baertschiger trained Turffontein two-year-old Bold Thruster, which gave his rivals a galloping lesson at just his second race start.
Payne bred Bold Thruster from winning Elusive City mare Aelia Capitolina, which was sold at the recent Great Southern Sale for just $1,200.

Bold Thruster's second and third dams Snaabelle and Inchedony, were both smart race mares winning to listed level.

Coincidentally the third dams of Bold Thruster and Mandela Effect are both daughters of a former Euroa based stallion, Galway Bay.

After running fifth at his debut on the Polytrack, Bold Thruster seemingly relished getting onto the grass surface at Kranji and after going straight to the front over 1200m, never gave his rivals a look in, before drawing right away to win most impressively by 6 1/4 lengths.

Turffontein will stand the 2018 season at Blue Gum Farm at a fee of $8,800
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