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Irish Flame lives up to his reputation
David Thiselton
The ruling Vodacom Durban July favourite, Irish Flame, started at odds of 1-5 for the Grade 2 Gold Circle Derby over 2 400m at Clairwood on Saturday, didn’t disappoint his followers. Jumping from a good draw under Kevin Shea, he was perfectly placed on the rail a few lengths off them in the running.
He picked them up gradually in the straight, overtaking his stable companion Happy Valley late on and going on to win by a length. The Mike Azzie-trained Service Ace ran on late for third, five lengths behind Happy Valley.
The first three home were drawn in the first three barrier positions.
The Geoff Woodruff-trained Cracker Jack ran fourth, while the de Kock-trained Safwan faded late into fifth having set a good gallop that helped his stable companions. Owner Larry Nestadt was on course to represent his partners Bernard Kantor, Gary Barber and Percy von Mollendorff. Irish Flame, by Dynasty and bred by Millennium Stud, has now won two Grade 1s and a Grade 2 in his last three starts. There was a shock in the first of the features, the Grade 2 Gold Circle Oaks over 2 400m, when the least fancied of the de Kock-trained foursome, Sweetie Pie, won under Muzi Yeni at odds of 28-1. The Clairwood 2 400m is particularly difficult for widely drawn horses with the first bend being very sharp and Sweetie Pie benefitted from being drawn in pole.
De Kock’s other three, Here To Win (13-2), Flirtation (11-2) and Equiparada (5-1) ran second, third and fifth respectively, with Here To Win having being well drawn and Flirtation and Equiparada having had to contend with very wide draws.
The pace quickened into a good gallop at the 1 700m mark and Yeni had Sweetie Pie well positioned in midfield on the rail. A dream gap opened in the straight and it was just a matter of time before she got there. The James Goodman-trained Be Careful ran a cracker for fourth. Sweetie Pie, owned by her breeder Mary Slack’s Wilgebosdrift Stud together with Fazenda Mondesir Unternational, was not put on any sale as a youngster as she had a dipped back. It was not surprising she too to the distance so well as she is by the stamina influential sire, Fort Wood, and is from the same family as Happy Valley, second in yesterday's Derby.

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