Gold Circle Pty (Ltd)

Today's Racing :

Snaith’s young stars dominate

David Thiselton
Justin Snaith made it known during the summer that he had a powerful string of two-year-olds and went someway to proving it yesterday when scoring a one-two with the colt Sky Link and gelding Arctic Captain in the Listed Betting World Somerset 1200. Snaith failed to make it a feature double with subsequent 11-10 shot Country Girl in the Betting World Perfect Promise Sprint for two-year-old fillies, also over 1 200m. The Vaughan Marshall-trained Madrisa stayed on well to beat the Joey Ramsden-trained Ce Loire with Country Girl in third.
However, he did have a fine day overall, landing a four-timer and filling the first two places in two separate races. In the Somerset a race review was held as Sky Link under Gerrit Schlechter hung out continually in the latter stages.
However, he was full of running and it is unlikely the horse he carried out and who had to be snatched up on the line, the pacemaker from the Marshall yard, Brilliant Cut, would have been able to better him. Sky Link is an Australian-bred by Hussonet and is owned by Larry Nestadt and Bernard Kantor.
Snaith said that whilst he would have only three horses staying in Durban for the KZN Champions Season, Sparkling Gem, Dance With Al and Maureen de Lago, he would look at the features on Gold Cup and Vodacom Durban July day and consider putting a float together to raid, especially for his powerful two-year-olds.
In the Perfect Promise Sprint Marshall’s Madrisa led from start to finish under Craig du Plooy to provide stallion Grey Eminence with his first stakes success. Grey Eminence’s progeny are characterised by their precocious speed and can never be ignored in two-year-old races.
Madrisa is owned by BRG Finlayson, PRC Freestone, Aubrey Jacobs and AC Rhodes. She was bred by the Gary Player Stud.
Hennenman raceday
The Turffontein meeting was dedicated to the memory of the Hennenman Airplane crash victims on the 22nd anniversary of the disaster.
Geoff Basel, who lost his son Keith in the accident, made his annual colourful speech and revealed that a man he regarded as a legend in the game, racecourse presenter and journalist Dave Mollet, would be honoured henceforth by the Hennenman Trust Fund as “Sir Dave Mollet”. Mollet has always excelled in capturing the poignancy of Hennenman day and in sharing the memories of victims’ loved ones with the racing public. The main race, a Pinnacle Plate event over 1 600m, saw the flying Sean Tarry yard scoring with Regal Ransom, ridden by Piere Strydom, with a new recruit for the Gavin van Zyl yard, Bouquet-Garni, finishing second. The race marked the comeback of Tarry’s Summer Cup hero, Aslan, and he ran a respectable race to finish fourth. Mike de Kock’s Irish Flame, regarded by some as having Grade 1 three-year-old potential, ran a fair race to be only four lengths back in what was likely a preparation for the forthcoming KZN Champions Season. De Kock’s Braggadacio, starting 14-10 favourite, faded late to finish unplaced.
The other feature, the Listed Spook Express Handicap, was won by the in form Chris Erasmus yard with Sheikitupbaby, who was ridden by Guillermo Figueroa. She provided The Sheik with his first stakes win and is owned by PE Scheepers and was bred by Riverton Stud.
Earlier, in Hong Kong, Sweet Sanette, formerly trained by Roy Magner for Wally Brits, won her third race from five starts since being exported from Kenilworth Quarantine Station last June, blitzing the 1000m Sha Tin straight course in just over 56 seconds.To date she has earned over HK$2 million for new owners Robert Chung and partners, who are also long standing patrons of Magner. She looks on track to line up in the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s International Races held in December. Sweet Sanette was bred by Highlands Stud and is by Jallad out of the National Assembly mare, Scented Samantha, whose Spectrum yearling colt will be offered for sale at this year’s National Yearling Sale later this month.

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