Andrew Harrison

SA Derby runner-up Salani Kahle drifted alarmingly in the betting for the Tote For The Win B Stakes that headed the card at Hollywoodbets Scottsville yesterday and the drift proved prophetic as he battled into fourth behind market rival Master Du Rouvray.

Mark Dixon’s gelding was looking for a third win on the bounce but as Dixon alluded to post race, Master de Rouvray was up ten pounds in the handicap and taking on stronger opposition so he could not be over confident of his horses chances.

Former champion jockey Keagan de Melo is in fourth place on the National log in spite of giving his rivals four months start and if things continue in this vein he will no doubt be contesting for another championship next season.

Sean Veale had no hesitation in taking Salani Kahle to the front and the son of Master Of My Fate simply floated along in the lead with a huge stride but De Melo keeping a close eye in second.

In the run for home, the 14-week break from the Derby caught up with Salani Kahle and although he stayed on, Master Du Rouvray always had his measure and going on to win comfortably. Uzwano came with a telling late run for second with Serpentine Fire edging Salani Kahle for the shallow end of the purse.

This was De Melo’s fourth win aboard the gelding who has come into his own as a late four-year-old.

Former head boy of the South African Jockey Academy, you will not meet a more polite person than Siphesihle Hlengwa. Garth Puller has taken him under his wing since coming out of his time and he will not get a better mentor. Known by most at Summerveld as ‘Spare’, he gave Anatoly the perfect ride in the first but it was not all easy going as the colt was always looking to hang in but Spare still managed to hold him off Trip To Venus and eventually win rather comfortably with favourite Putthelightsout having every chance in third.

There was plenty of opposition in the market for Glen Kotzen’s filly Christmas Rose in the second with both Soho Celebrity and Blenheim Palace attracting support, but come the race it was no race as Chad Little had the run of the race. Christmas Rose quickened up smartly to hold off both market rivals comfortably.

The first leg of the PA always looked to be a match race between Tiger Cody and Lenoxx as indicated by the betting and so it proved. Kom Naidoo made no secret that he was chasing the R100k Bloodstock South Africa bonus and Keagan de Melo delivered, bouncing Tiger Cody out of the gate with Lenoxx slightly slow tucking in behind. The pair pulled clear of the field but Lenoxx was not able to get onto terms with Tiger Cody and was a half-length behind at the line with stable companions Arkadin and African Ruby some way back in the minor money.

Paddy Kruyer, longtime assistant to the legendary Terrance Millard, arrived in KZN with high hopes for Ten Penny who has unfortunately injured a tendon. However, travelling companion Charlie Bucket paid some consolation with a smart win in the first leg of the Pick 6. The gelding is obviously something of a handful and raced in earmuffs and a compression mask to keep a lid on him, but all the planning looked to have gone pear-shaped as he was tardy out of the gate. Rachel Venniker was forced to look for the rails at the tail end of the field as Hadrian’s Wall set a searching gallop which was possibly in Charlie Bucket’s favour. Last in the straight and some way back, Charlie Bucket picked up his gallop as the pace took its toll on the opposition and he swept past to win comfortably.

Next up Venniker rode a similar race aboard Doug Campbell’s charge Peeping Tom to record a quick double. She was content to sit well off the pace along with Fire Force as two-year-old Action Thriller set a reasonably gallop. Taking the shortest way home up the inside of the field, Peeping Tom quickly reeled in the opposition to win comfortably ahead of a fast-finishing Fire Force and Mickaelle Michel, the girls finishing one-two.

Ricky Maingard is having a terrific run with the handful of horses that he brought up from the Cape for the winter season but favourite Tunguska came up just short as High Queue got the better of him in a tight finish to the seventh. Wengesai Masawi has been turning out the winners from his Ashburton base and Gavin Lerena provided the expertise from the saddle as he got High Queue to respond to his urgings and get up on the line.

The finish of the eighth was the proverbial cavalry charge with the big field spread across the track over the final furlong with the win up for grabs. The two Glen Kotzen runners Cassandra and Let It Roll were leading contenders inside the last 50 m before apprentice Damyan Pillay ran them all out of it as he slipped Gareth van Zyl’s runner Vencedor up of their inside to snatch victory with Red Coral arriving late for fourth.

Once a trainer gets a reputation for fixing up the lame, lazy and not so fast, it can count against you. The late Anne Upton lamented that her reputation of sorting out difficult horses saw her yard often filled with hospital cases. Gary Rich has done wonders with average horses and the gelding Yannakis, who had plenty of problems early in his career and was once on the list for PE has come good. Yannakis has teamed up with apprentice Divesh Ramkhalawon for the combinations third win on the bounce and the gelding showed pace throughout to close off the meeting in style.