SA invasion welcome at Ascot

England has repelled some serious invasions but the now-annual ar­rival of numerous South Africans in Surrey in the first week of June sees these raid­ers welcomed with open arms.

In their ninth year of sponsor­ship of the Epsom Derby, Investec – one of SA’s most successful com­panies – has taken the world’s most famous race to a different level.

“They (Epsom) never envis­aged what we could bring to this race – in the year that we first got involved the crowd was 37,000 and now it’s around 140,000,” enthused Investec chief Bernard Kantor as he looked out over the packed Epsom Downs.

Of course the whole idea of the sponsorship is to increase the business of the company and no-one present at the South of Eng­land track was left in any doubt that they got their message across.

Another progressive move for the meeting this year was the takeover of the famous “Hill” by Steinhoff-owned retail store Poundland. “I think it has proved a success this afternoon, but we plan to implement some changes and make it better next year,” said Steinhoff boss Markus Jooste.

For many years South Africa’s leading owner, Jooste made no se­cret of the thrill of having a horse run in the Derby in his famous green and yellow colours.

His new partnership with Cool­more also saw him represented by fancied Aidan O’Brien runner Cliffs Of Moher and Ryan Moore’s mount looked the likely winner until collared late by 40-1 stable­mate Wings Of Eagles.

But it was the performance of Douglas Macarthur – the horse running in Jooste’s colours – which will remain the overriding memory of the 2017 Derby. To see the colt at the head of affairs for so long was simply a great sight and – just for a moment 400m out – one wondered whether jockey Colm O’Donoghue might pull off a fa­mous victory.

It wasn’t to be as the early exer­tions on Douglas Macarthur took their toll and it was left to Wings Of Eagles, Cliffs Of Moher and Cracksman to fill the minor plac­ings. It was the Coolmore team – minus Markus this time – which secured the huge winning cheque of £931,537.

We were left in no doubt that Douglas Macarthur is a seri­ous racehorse and there is a real chance of the son of Galileo end­ing up at stud in South Africa.

“That may be the route he even­tually takes, but first I would like him to win a big race here – we have no doubt he has the ability,” said Jooste.

For bookies all over the planet the result couldn’t have been bet­ter, if they’d been allowed to write the script themselves.

“Unlikely to be a major factor and his ante-post price looks an accurate reflection of his chance” was one UK racing publication’s assessment of Wings Of Eagles, a French-bred son of former Derby winner Pour Moi.

Hefty bets on Cliffs Of Moher, Cracksman, Eminent and Permi­an were all confined to the bin and – given his impressive win in the Dante Stakes at York – the most disappointing of this quartet was Permian.

Frankie Dettori is one of In­vestec’s 2017 ambassadors along with actress Emilia Fox (Silent Witness), who sadly I never saw, and the livewire Italian gave the two-day festival a great start by winning the Oaks on John Gos­den’s filly Enable.

While the once-a-year punter put his or her money down on Frankie’s mount Cracksman in the Derby, the world’s best-known jockey had warned beforehand that the colt “has yet to prove he’s anywhere near Golden Horn (win­ner in 2015).”

Astonishingly, this was a sixth Derby win for Aidan O’Brien and it’s wonderful for the media that he’s so accessible and willing to give his opinion on his horses right up to minutes before the “off”.

And – on the subject of media – it was another sterling perfor­mance by Tellytrack in cover­ing the meeting for SA viewers. Directing the production for the ninth time, Dieter Wohlberg’s ex­pertise ensures there are no hic­cups or any shortage of big names to interview, including our own racing legend Muis Roberts, win­ner of the 1992 UK championship.

Wohlberg was also the school­master this year as Tellytrack’s forward-thinking boss Rob Scott rewarded three employees for their good work with a trip to this famous race – Brandon Bailey, who looks to have what it takes to be a commentator, Neo Ditlopo and Ewald Nienaber. They are sure to be relating the experience to their friends for a long time.

Wohlberg commented: “While they’re here as a result of their work at Tellytrack, this is very much an educational visit for the three of them to see what happens here racing wise and whether it can be implemented back home.”