Diminutive apprentice Callan Murray (pictured) has been making a name for himself since his move to the Highveld and he had a red letter day at Turffontein yesterday scoring on all three of his rides including the biggest win of his career, the Gr2 Victory Moon Stakes.
He sent 11-2 shot Deo Juvente for home shortly after hitting the home stretch and he piloted Geoff Woodruff’s runner to a comfortable victory to book the gelding’s place in the Sansui Summer Cup. Easy Lover made a belated effort to peg back the winner but was never going to get there. However, he finished ahead of emergency acceptor Platinum Jet and long-time leader Ahlaam who ran a cracking race from a deep draw.
Murray had earlier warmed-up winning the first two races on the card and he gave Deo Juvente the perfect ride. Mid-field from a wide draw he had the gelded son of Trippi poised to strike at the top of the straight.
With plenty of horse under him he went for home early and once in front was never in danger of defeat. The balance of the field were labouring a long way out and just how the form for the Summer Cup stacks up will be interesting.
Old salts will tell you that you judge a jockey’s talent by the races he shouldn’t have won but did. Apprentice Craig Zackey, along with Murray, comes out of his time at the end of January but he has already established himself as a rider with a cool head and heaps of talent. Yesterday he took a calculated gamble on the speedy Little Genie in the Gardenia Stakes (Listed) and won a race that had ‘cheek’ written all over it.
Although coming off a break, Carry On Alice looked to have more in her favour than against and in the final analysis it was Zackey’s enterprise that carried the day as only a head separated the two at the line.
Zackey took the field on from the break and was clear in a matter of strides. Over two furlongs out his mount was seemingly under pressure but the young apprentice kept her nose down and drove for the wire.
Anthony Delpech, replacement for S’Manga Khumalo who was injured in the preliminaries before the first race and replaced by Muzi Yeni in the International Challenge, looked to have timed his challenge on Carry On Alice to perfection as his filly pulled up along sides his rival but Little Genie fought resolutely and Carry On Alice never looked like getting past.
Since Dominic Zaki fitted the daughter of Judpot with blinkers and teamed her up with Zackey she is unbeaten in five starts although yesterday’s triumph could come at a price. She was rated 15 pounds inferior to Carry On Alice and is likely to be shunted up the handicap.
Dennis Drier broke his Cape drought when bottom weight Triptique defied the handicapper with a game win in the Cape Merchants to deny a game Tevez his third straight win in the Gr2 race.
Under sufferance in the handicap, first call lightweight rider for the Drier stable, Sean Veale, produced the gelding out of a packed field with a telling run to deny a charging Tevez the hat-trick.
Haley Turner, the UK’s most successful female jockey ever, rounded off her career with a final victory in the Racing. It’s A Rush Jockey’s International Challenge at Turffontein when getting up in the tightest of finishes to deny Grey Cheyne and Cassie O’Malley on the line in the second last race of the challenge. Turner announced her retirement from the saddle earlier this month and this was her last victory as a professional jockey.
Her win was in vain as the local riders had the luck of the draw as far as mounts went and ran out easy winners of the Challenge.
By Andrew Harrison
