Punters got off to a favourable start at Greyville yesterday with the Louis Goosen-trained Little Winter ridden to victory by Eric Ngwane. The daughter of What a Winter travelled wide coming into the straight but managed a convincing victory, finishing strongly into the closing stages. Fancied runners continue to roll in with Anton Marcus winning on the 1-4 shot Coyote Girl in the second.
It wasn’t long until the bomb dropped in race three with Chere’s Joy winning at odds of 75-1 which was a knockout blow for favourite backers in the opening leg on the Pick 6. The PA also begun to grow nicely with Adorned by Beauty and Starlight filling in the minor placings and both fancied runners Champagne Gold and Roy’s Novice finishing further down field.
Little Winter (Anneke Akal Kitching)
The day continued to get tougher with Epic Sword claiming the fourth race at a price of 25-1 under a strong driving ride from Stuart Randolf. The gaps failed to open for the unlucky Queen’s Plain who only managed second and could be one to watch on her next outing.
The combination of Anton Marcus and Johan Janse van Vuuren’s rich vein of form continued in the fifth where punters were finally given a lifeline with Ancient Spirit which taken to the extreme outside running rail to win going away. Bon Bon can be considered a touch unlucky as the gap closed abruptly at a crucial stage and he flew up to finish third which was an eye-catching run.
Boeing City from the Garth Puller yard met a much stronger field this time round but did everything that was expected of her winning going away in the FM 84 Handicap over the sprint trip of 1000m for apprentice Serino Moodley who has partnered her in all three of her victories. The daughter of Sail From Seattle looks to be improving with every start and could be one to watch. The second placed Essenceoflife only got going when the race was over as it looked like Kanye Sakayi had his reins tangled up coming into the straight followed by Dame Commander who finished third.
As the saying goes, the smaller the field the the upset, as Rich Harvest romped home for trainer Greg and Karen Anthony in the seventh. In what looked bigger to be an armchair ride for Muzi Yeni Rich Harvest scored by four lengths and returned a healthy R14.70 on the tote.
It’s was a tough day for punters overall as there were only 1.73 Pick 6 tickets going into the last and 1.24 on Brandon Lerena’s mount Carefree who duly obliged. The Dennis Bosch trained daughter of Marchfield had an easy lead and gave a good kick into the straight to pull away from her rivals. The Pick 6 paid a massive 1.18 million.
By Devonne Govender
