Haute Couture wins a stirring Grade 1 duel!

Saturday’s R1.75-million Grade 1 Gold Medallion over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville will go down as one of the highlights of the 2025/2026 season. It delivered everything racing fans and the stable could have hoped for – a stirring duel between two potential star colts, a first Grade 1 triumph for the Murugasa family, a fourth Grade 1 success for the Mike and Mathew de Kock training partnership, and the 145th Grade 1 winner to race under the De Kock banner.

Jayson and Preshalin Murugasa’s Haute Couture took on this season’s outstanding two-year-old, Rich Man’s World – already proven after a runaway Grade 3 victory and arriving with a towering reputation – and defeated him fair and square in what developed into a thrilling match race over the final 350 metres.

On the day, the difference between the pair was Haute Couture’s calm and sensible demeanour – a display that belied his limited racetrack experience.

Most who witnessed his riveting debut victory in a Maiden Juvenile Plate on 10 May, when he exploded from the gates and showed electric early speed, expected Haute Couture to skip clear and force his highly regarded rival to do the chasing. Instead, the opposite unfolded.

Rich Man’s World, perhaps a touch too keen in the opening 200m, pulled his way to the front at the 700m mark. A striking side-on angle in the race replay shows the pair already bouncing clear of their rivals before the halfway stage – both colts stretching out with fluent, long-striding actions and, to the naked eye, with little to choose between them.

Haute Couture drew level with 350m to run; and Callan Murray had him first off the bit at the 300m-mark – a moment when Rich Man’s World appeared to have more in hand. But Richard Fourie had to shake his mount up immediately in response, because Haute Couture was building up fast and the duel was on.

Haute Couture edged ahead 50m from the wire, and ran through strongly to win by 0.30-lengths from the gallant runner-up.

By his reaction, this win meant more to ‘Cool Callan’ than any of his previous 13 Grade 1 wins. Not only did he win a sensational battle with a champion jockey on a formidable rival, but his timing and jockeyship broke a major-race drought for the Murugasa family.

Callan said: “When Richard’s horse was a bit keen I was happy to take a seat off him. The track is rock hard, it suited speedy horses. But Haute Couture is very tractable and that’s going to help him a lot in future. He is not a difficult horse. I could switch him off and turn him on whenever I needed to. He put them to bed. I am very chuffed for the Murugasa family, and well done to our whole training team, from top to bottom.”

Mat thanked trainer Vaughan Marshall for his sportsmanship. “Mr Marshall was the first to congratulate us after the race, a true gentleman. Today we saw two fantastic horses that I hope are going to clash many more times to come.”

Matt suggested that next season’s Grade 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas will be considered as a long-term target for Haute Couture and said: “He’s got his Grade 1 now. He is a young and still immature horse. We’d rather give him the time off.”

Matt added: “His first run was with Maidens only two weeks ago and this run was with stars. Callan tracked Richard nicely. It was Haute Couture’s first run at Scottsville and he had to travel here from Jo’burg on Friday. He had to overcome a lot, which is a credit to his mind. He made our team who worked so hard, very proud.”

Mike described the Murugasas as being “loyal, with hearts of lions”, and said this was a big moment for the stable. He said he was immensely proud of seeing how Mat is maturing in the game.

Preshalin Murugasa said: “A big thank you to Mike and Mathew and all the boys. They sent me a message to say, ‘make sure you are here’, and we appreciate it. This is a pinnacle for us, and the first of many!”

Jayson Murugasa, who was beginning to think his first Grade 1 would continue to evade him, enthused: “I was guided by De Kock Racing to buy Haute Couture, and I liked him. This is it, we’ve got it, and now the floodgates will open.”

Haute Couture is by Ridgemont’s super stallion Rafeef (on whom Callan Murray won the Grade 1 2017 Computaform Sprint) out of the one-time winning Var mare, Isle de France (from the family of Ilha Da Vittoria) and was bred by Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritfontein.

The winner was a R2-million buy for Preshalin Murugasa off the Bloodstock SA National Yearling Sale. He is is now unbeaten in two starts and took his stakes earnings to R1 113 302.