Br.h Brown Ronald – Redbreast by William Rufus)
“He ended the season by running second to Oriel in the Durban July Handicap giving the winner no less than thirty-six pounds, making this the finest performance by a South African bred three-year-old in the country’s principal race.” – Allan Robertson (Some Giants of the South African Turf).
Red Ronald deserves more recognition than he has hitherto received. He raced through three seasons, 1922/23 to 1924/25, winning 9 (4 seconds) of his 15 starts. His last season at four included only two runs, both unplaced, before he retired due to unsoundness.
At age two and three, he was never further back than second in 13 starts. His nine wins included the then South African version of the Triple Crown (Benoni Guineas, SA Derby and Benoni St Leger), the Johannesburg (Spring) Merchants’, as well as second in the 1924 Durban July. He also won the wfa Champion Stakes, the South African Nursery and the African Breeders Stakes.
He won from 800m to 2900m and although no Horse of the Year accolades were awarded at that time, he was much the most successful horse of 1923/24 and the best two and three-year-old of his generation.
Red Ronald made his debut at Kenilworth in his only start in Cape Town on November 4, 1922, where he bested his field by 10 lengths. His next start on the Rand at Auckland Park in a Nursery, a month later, was an 8-length romp before he easily despatched the best juveniles on the Rand when landing the South African Nursery Plate.
He reappeared four months later but in the interim Cerberus had appeared as a formidable challenger and was installed as favourite in Red Ronald’s next two starts. So much more fancied was he that jockey Strydom who had ridden Red Ronald to victory in his previous two Rand appearances switched allegiance.
Red Ronald beat him in both but found one better in the first race when finishing second to the filly Princess Alice in the Gosforth Park Two-Year-Old Plate (conceding her 12lb), with Cerberus fourth.
He redeemed this loss, his first, when trouncing the field in the HB Christian Memorial giving the second horse 34lb. Once again Cerberus was beaten, third and 5.5 lengths behind.
In his last start at two he faced another formidable challenger, Python, the winner of five of his 10 starts and in receipt of 17lb. Bookmakers were now more weary of the growing reputation of Red Ronald and he went off as favourite at 5/4, but could not defy top weight and Python completed his sixth win in the African Breeders Plate. Princess Alice his better in the Gosforth Park race was unplaced.
His sophomore year started with a second in a pipe opener Top Division Handicap over 1000m. He was not fancied at all and went off at 7/1. There followed five consecutive wins in which he was favourite in all, starting with the Johannesburg (Spring) Merchants’ in which he beat champion mare, eight-year-old Flush of Dawn by 2 lengths in receipt of 22lb.
Wins followed in the Benoni Guineas, South African Derby and Champion Stakes, the latter again defeating Flush of Dawn at weight-for-age terms. His time for the mile of the Benoni Guineas – 1 min 39s – was a record at the time and was only bested nine years later by Joan who completed the race in 1 min 38.2s.
The five-streak sequence was completed with an easy win in the Benoni St Leger over 2900m, against only 2 opponents and in a race that turned into a crawl. His last start at three was four months later in the 1924 Durban “July”.
He went off at the very generous odds of 9/1, the bookmakers once again placing doubt on his ability to carry 124lb, only 4lb less than top-weight and older Fabaris. The remainder of the field received from 23lb to 40lb. Favouritism went to the talented but unsound five-year-old Oriel who had had only one unplaced start in the preceding 12 months.
Red Ronald was overly keen at the start which he delayed by barging the wire. At the off he lay handy in third but could not deal with Oriel who settled the contest early in the straight shooting clear and staying ahead of the pack to the line. Red Ronald won the race for second conceding Oriel 36lb (16.4kg) and beating the third by 1.5 lengths.
The romance of Oriel’s win has always overshadowed the stellar effort of Red Ronald, for the winner had been off his feed for five days before the race, had battled continual lameness in what was described as muscular rheumatism, and had had only one unplaced start in the preceding year. His participation let alone his winning were always in doubt.
To underline the magnitude of Red Ronald’s performance, consider that he is the only three-year-old in the history of the “July” to carry as much as 124lb (56.4kgs) and finish within the first two places. The race itself was also the second fastest “July” over the Greyville 2000m to that time, falling just 0.20s outside the record set in 1915 when three-year-old Winnipeg won with 96lb – 43.6kgs.
In the pre-modern era (1897 to 1945) 3 three-year-olds besides Red Ronald carried 124lb or more – Devona (1898: 130lb – 3rd), Dignitary (1923: 129lb – unplaced), Lenin (1941: 134lb – 5th), with the latter handicapped with the highest weight burden ever imposed on a three-year-old.
In the modern era (1946 onwards) only 3 three-year-olds have carried 124lb or more – Abashiri (2016: 130lb – 13th), Jackson (2012: 126lb – 17th) and Nagaina Hall (1955: 125lb – 14th). Two horses in the modern era have carried 56kgs (123lb) to a first 2 spot – Irish Flame (2010: 2nd) and Legislate (2014: 1st).
Also consider Allan Robertson thoughts, written in 1954, on the effort expended by Red Ronald – “I have often wondered why second season horses seldom run well in this race and think trainer Ted Shaw’s reason is the best. This race run on a turning course over ten and a half furlongs is run at a very fast pace from start to finish with little chance of a breather. This necessitates perfect fitness to see it out and Shaw maintains that a three-year-old South African-bred horse cannot take the hard preparation necessary for this race.”
Red Ronald was a small horse standing just 15.1 hands. The weight carrying effort in the “July” uncovered unsoundness. He started a month later in the Gold Cup in which he carried top weight but broke down and finished unplaced for the first time. His owner had intended to send him to England to race there but those plans were now undone.
Unsoundness plagued his return to the track, but he reappeared on New Year’s Day 1925 in the Champion Stakes at Turffontein, finishing last of five. He was then retired to stud where he stood at his owners Whittington Stud in Kromdraai, Standerton. He was a failure at stud leaving nothing of note.
As an age group champion in the period before 1946, he stands with Lenin and Dignitary as the best. Those two were probably a few pounds better than Red Ronald and their bigger weight burdens in the “July” are the handicapper’s evidence of that, but the difference is at most perhaps two or three lengths, or about 5lb.
Unlike those two who completed a further two seasons of racing with heavy weights in handicaps, and with much success, Red Ronald never managed an older campaign. As a result, he is today largely forgotten when the great horses of the past are discussed.
Red Ronald was owned and bred by Arthur Forbes at his Whittington Stud. Forbes ran the first milk wagon round in Port Elizabeth. He was offered at the April 1922 Yearling Sales in Johannesburg (the forerunner to today’s National Yearling Sales) but did not draw a high enough bid and Arthur Forbes bought him back for 375 gns. He was trained by C Brigden.
His sire BROWN RONALD (1912: Dark Ronald – Flying Agnes by Matchmaker) won 4 races in England and none of his 11 starts in South Africa. He won at Newmarket so was certainly just below top-class. He led the South African Sires List in 1923-24 and was in the top 3 on six occasions from 1923/24 to 1932/33.
Amongst his other winners were Narrow Gauge who won the 1925 and 1926 Clairwood Winter Handicap, was second in the 1924 Metropolitan Handicap, and second in the 1925 and 1926 “July”: War Office who won the 1927 Clairwood Winter Handicap; Historian who won the 1930 SA Derby and the 1931 Clairwood Winter Handicap; Kivitje who won the 1929 SA Nursery Plate; and Legacy who won the 1932 “July” and was third in the 1933 version.
His dam REDBREAST (1916: William Rufus – Dhulochan by Childwick) produced only one winner in Red Ronald.
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The South African Racehorse 
I always enjoy reading about the lesser popular names which performed under extraordinary circumstances. BTW my grandfathers horse Dawn Wind ‘s dam sire was Brown Ronald; she won the 1932 African Breeders Plate. Thanks again Jay.
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