Dennis Drier had a disappointing season last term, despite being crowned KZN Champion trainer for the 8th time this millennium, but is currently in the middle of a purple patch.
By the close of play on Sunday he had won thirteen races this season at a strike rate of 24,53%, which is the top strike rate in the top 20 trainers on the national log and second only to Ashley Fortune’s 25% in the top 30.
He said during the SA Champions Season earlier this year, “I have the strongest string of two-year-olds I have ever had” and this bold statement is now proving accurate as a number of these now three-year-old horses have not only won but won well.
He confirmed the concentration of his strength this season would be among the three-year-olds and has already earmarked some of them for his annual Cape Town campaign.
Dennis Drier (Nkosi Hlophe)
He believed his two best three-year-old fillies were Golden Chance by Dynasty and In The Stars by Master Of My Fate.
It is not surprising Drier had the Steven and Jessica Jell-owned Golden Chance sent to him as she is a three-parts sister to the great Drier-trained Dynasty filly Beach Beauty. Golden Chance showed a lot of speed when winning by seven lengths over 1200m at Scottsville on debut in a good time of 69,69 seconds, but her pedigree suggests she is a classic prospect. Her Goldkeeper dam Free Gold’s two wins were over 1400m and 1800m, while Beach Beauty had plenty of speed but was at her best over a mile and stayed 2000m. Beach Beauty was famous for her terrific turn of foot. Golden Chance was bred by James Armitage, the nephew of Beach Beauty’s late breeder Trevor Armitage.
Some had begun to ask questions of Master Of My Fate, whose first crop’s fortunes had tailed off a bit after the fine start they had made. However, Drier had not lost faith and his sentiments were vindicated when In The Stars won in fine style on debut at Scottsville. In her barrier trial at Greyville she lost about 50 metres and at Scottsville the official stipendiary report said she lost three lengths and “thereafter was slow into stride.” However, she was soon on the tail of the others. In the last 400m, with still about five lengths to make up, she showed a fine turn of foot and burst through to win easing up by three-quarters of a length.
Drier mentioned Star In The Sky as one of his best staying three-year-old fillies. She is by Silvano out of the Listed-winning Galileo mare Dance To The Stars. She won her maiden by six lengths full of running when stepped up to 1900m on the Greyville poly on Sunday and Drier described her as “above average.”
Golden Chance was bought for R400,000 at the National Yearling Sales, while In The Stars is a Varsfontein home-bred, so neither qualifies for either of the CTS half-a-million dollar races.
One of Drier’s promising males who does qualify for the lucrative CTS sales races is the R500,000 Pathfork gelding Priceless Ruler, who won his only start over 1200m last June. He is a half-brother to Grade 1 second-placed sprinter Snowdon and is duly a strongly built horse who showed fine finishing speed.
Drier mentioned Driven Force, a gelding by Sail From Seattle, as another to keep an eye on.
He described Hardcore, the speedily-bred Silvano gelding who provided him with his 2000th career win, as a “nice little horse”.
However, there are plenty of others who will likely come to the party, including Blackburn Roc, who won easily last Wednesday, and the like of Goliath Heron and Fransisco.
By David Thiselton
