South
African horseracing will bid farewell to one of its great characters and
leading trainers at the end of this month.
Former
Cape champion trainer Joey Ramsden has decided to close down his South African
operation.
Joey Ramsden
Whatever
his personal reasons for making this sea change in lifestyle, there is little
doubt that he will go down in history as some of the collateral damage, which
includes many individuals and sectors of the racing and breeding industry here,
of the Joostegate scandal.
While
he was a top trainer long before Markus Jooste’s arrival, Joey was one of the
men most exposed when the former Steinhoff boss hit a brick wall back in
December 2017.
“We’re
taking a sabbatical as both Steph and I feel that this is the right decision
for ourselves and our family to take a step back for a while and reassess in
the future. Goodhope Racing will be closing its doors on 30 November 2019.We
thank you all for your understanding in what has been an extremely testing time
and an extremely hard decision we’ve had to make,” writes Joey in an email that
has done the rounds of racing’s unforgiving bush telegraph in the past few
hours.
He
goes on to say that they need to reiterate that this is not a knee jerk reaction
to any ‘news’ that’s been released – ‘we simply needed to take the time to
speak with our family, friends, staff and owners before we made anything
public’, he writes.
He
adds that naturally the horses in their care will be looked after as per their
usual high standards until new homes are found.
“Having
been lucky enough to have trained many Champion racehorses it has been the
staff behind me that have made it all possible and it has been heartbreaking to
tell them and I can’t thank them enough for their loyalty and their
understanding. It’s been a privilege and an honour to train in this beautiful
country and I’m going to miss Cape Town very much,” he says in closing.
Joey
obtained his trainers licence in 1995 and has been Cape Champion Trainer four
times. He has trained 20 Gr1 winners of 26 Gr1 races, including Variety Club,
Attenborough, Just Sensual, Winter Solstice, The Conglomerate and Red Ray.
He has three young daughters, Holly, Zara and Ruby who he once said keep him busy and broke! His partner Stephanie Grentell worked for Inglis in Australia before meeting Joey.
Captain Tatters, only a dwindling four-tenths of a length
behind Silver Operator in the Cape Classic at Kenilworth 12 days ago, will
renew rivalry with the Vaughan Marshall star in the Cape Guineas on December
21.
As he was bought to race in Hong Kong there were fears that
the gelding would be put into quarantine now that he has shown he is good
enough but Justin Snaith has been given the go-ahead to prepare him for next
month’s classic and he is understandably delighted.
Vaughan Marshall
He said: “Captain Tatters has to be a big runner. If you
watch his races you will see that he has flown home in them and that the line
has come just in time for the opposition. He will be suited by the extra 200m
and by the summer course.”
Snaith has won the Cape Guineas only once with Solo
Traveller nine years ago but he has taken two of the last four runnings of the
Woolavington and his Strathdon is 9-2 favourite for Saturday’s 2 400m
test.
Anton Marcus, who rides the gelding, is reunited with One World
in the Cape Mile and the Marshall colt has opened favourite at 16-10.
Marcus won four out of five on One World last season including the Concorde
Cup, CTS 1600 and Winter Guineas.
MJ Byleveld, successful on the four-year-old in the Matchem
last month, is this time on stable companion Tap O’Noth on whom he won the 2017
Cape Guineas. Tap O’Noth is third favourite at 15-2 with the Brett
Crawford-trained Charles on 7-2.
The hat-trick seeking Boomps A Daisy (Greg Cheyne) heads the
market for the Laisserfaire Stakes at 7-2. Marcus, who cannot get
anywhere near the filly’s allotted 52kg, rides fellow Ridgemont runner Nastergal
who is a 13-2 shot.
Aldo Domeyer, on paternity leave from Hong Kong, has seven rides and his best chances (at least according to the opening betting) would appear to be on the Candice Bass-Robinson trained Mayfern in race three and on What A Lover for Piet Steyn in the last.
Exciting news emerging from Mike de Kock’s six
winners at Turffontein Standside on Saturday is that he is
“seriously” thinking of running the impressive four-year-old
Irish-bred filly Queen Supreme in the Grade 1 Gauteng Summer Cup on November 30.
On Saturday she became the third stakes winner
for her USA-bred Gone West dam, Call Later, when cruising to a 4,25 length
victory in the Grade 3 Yellowwood Handicap over 1800m, beating two classy
fillies in Ronnie’s Candy and Roy’s Riviera.
It was her fourth win in five starts.
Queen Supreme (Candiese Marnewick)
Queen Supreme is by Darley shuttle
stallion Exceed And Excel, who was Australian champion sire in 2012/2013.
De Kock said, “She didn’t beat much but I
have been impressed with the way she has gone through the divisions and am
seriously thinking of running her in the Summer Cup. She will go down to Cape
Town for the Paddock Stakes and Sun Met later.”
Queen Supreme was originally bought at
Ireland’s foremost yearling sale, the Goffs Orby Sale, in September 2017 on
behalf of Markus Jooste.
She was landed for 130,000 Euros.
De Kock bought her back at a later
dispersal sale and she is currently owned by a syndicate consisting of
Mauritzfontein Stud, De Kock himself, Larry Nestadt, JR van der Linden and
Noeline Malherbe.
Queen Supreme is six months younger
than her contemporaries, being Irish-bred, and will be improving continually.
She wears a sheepskin band on her
forehead to solve a habit she had developed of rearing up.
De Kock’s Grade 2 Peermont Emperor’s
Palace Charity Mile winner Barahin sounded a warning to his Summer Cup
opponents.
Jockey Callan Murray said after the 3,50
length win on Saturday, “The blinkers made a massive difference. We just
tracked the speed and when we turned into the straight it felt like a five
furlong race the way he quickened up. I just held on to him, he extended
to the line impressively.”
The maestro trainer added, “Barahin has
always been a nice horse, in fact he’s a proper horse. He was unlucky as a
three-year-old to be bumping Hawwaam all the time. But today the rain helped
him, he’s never been the greatest mover or strider. The sting out of the ground
was fantastic for him.”
Barahin was raised nine points by the handicapper to 131, which is going to
make his Summer Cup task tough. The weights for the big race were set on Monday
and he was allotted joint topweight of 60kg together with his stablemate
Soqrat. They will have to give the field 5,5kg and more. On the other hand
there are only 13 horses in the handicap as it stands, the rest are under
sufferance.
Before Saturday, a mile was considered to be a
touch on the sharp side for Barahin, but three of his earlier wins were from
1200m to 1400m. However, he ran on strongly when winning the Jubilee Handicap
over 1800m last season so should enjoy the Summer Cup trip.
Queen Supreme was raised from a 97 to 110, but
she will nevertheless be 3,5kg under sufferance as it stands if she lines up in
the Summer Cup.
Another impressive winner for the yard on
Saturday was the three-year-old New Zealand-bred gelding Frosted Gold. This
strongly built grey is by All Too Hard, a four-time Group 1 winner in Australia
from 1400m to 1600m, and he is out of a stakes-placed sprint-miler by Verglas.
Frosted Gold won the Grade 2 SA Nursery last season and also looks to be a sprint-miler,
although his second dam produced the winner of the Grade 1 Grand Prix de Saint
Cloud over 2400m.
De Kock said, “He is a nice horse
although he is temperamental. He will go for the Dingaans and we will take it
from there.”
Frosted Gold was raised two points to 114,
which puts him level with last season’s Equus Champion two-year-old male Got
The Greenlight.
One of De Kock’s maiden winners on the day,
the Noble Tune colt Hellofaride, looks a possible SA Derby prospect as he is an
imposing horse who won effortlessly over 1600m in just his second start despite
still being green.
However, De Kock is never one to jump the gun
and said, “It was a weak field, but I liked the improvement he made from one run
to the next, it was impressive. But he needs to improve again. I am not one to
overrate a horse like the handicappers do. He is definitely looking for further
though.”
The yard’s Australian-bred gelding Atyaab won
for the first time since his victory in a weak renewal of the Grade 1 Cape
Derby at the beginning of the year. He stayed on to win the Listed Java
Handicap over 2400m. De Kock said he had “come well” and gelding him
in June had made a big difference. However, he admitted he was no more than
“a handicapper.”
His other winner on the day was the Australian-bred Snitzel gelding Alameery who won a maiden over 1160m. De Kock said this horse was looking for further.
Class told yesterday as
Sunset Eyes ran out a comfortable winner of the Gold Circle Podcast Handicap at
Hollywoodbets Greyville. Competitive at the highest level, the three-month
break was of minor concern for Brett Crawford’s runner and his supporters.
Taking the ‘golden
highway’ as Anton Marcus has dubbed the outside of the Greyville synthetic
track, the six-year-old went to the line virtually unchallenged.
Elusive Heart chased
shadows for second with the lightly weighted Hey Boy staying on for second.
Fillipo, expected to make some impression, folded early to finish out with the
washing.
Je Ne Sais Quoi (Candiese Marnewick)
The question of soundness is of major concerns for trainers. Vets bills are an unwelcome attachment to training bills, but find a solid and sound horse and you have a ‘champion’, no matter what the horse does to make it to the top.
Big King, an
eight-year-old gelding, turned the tables on the three-years younger Mutawaary
when landing the fifth. Greg and Karen Anthony’s gelding winning his seventh
race from 40 starts.
Multiple champion Marcus
is not a man to be run down easily but Joshwin Solomons, son of Western Cape
jockey Morne Winnaar, came from a long way back on the Dennis Drier-trained
Dune Dance to out-point race favourite Captain Of Colour when the race looked
all over.
Jason Gates is one of
the more driven apprentices in the SA Jockey Academy. “He even wants to win
barrier trials,” commented one trainer who was looking for an easy introduction
to the track for his charge.
With that in mind, one
would do well to take cognisance of all Gates’s mounts although Dust Storm gave
little early notice that he was a contender in the card opener.
Gates had ridden Garth
Puller’s charge in both his barrier trial and one debut, finishing down the
field in both outings. A four-year-old that pulled up lame on debut, it was
little wonder that he started at 45-1 yesterday but finished like an even money
shot.
Favourite James Peter,
later reported to have pulled up lame, and visiting Touch Of Fate set quick
early fractions and when James Peter fell away, Touch Of Fate looked set for
victory. But Gates coaxed a finishing burst that took Dust Storm past his
rival.
Warren Kennedy started
the day 20 winners clear of nearest rival Greg Cheyne in the jockey
championship, and although there is still a long way to go before the cock
crows, Kennedy rarely goes a meeting without a winner. He restored some
confidence in favourites with a hard-fought victory on Arianos Spinner for
Robbie and Shannon Hill, holding off a game challenge from At Your Request,
having her first run for Dean Kannemeyer.
Desolate Road looked
very much the best bet on the card in the third but Anton Marcus earned his
riding fee as he was hard-pressed on Tony Rivalland’s gelding to keep The
Master at bay.
Lowly Fillies and Mares
Handicaps are notorious for results that don’t necessary correspond with
current form although Je Na Sais Quoi’s win was not entirely unexpected as she
was going over her prefer trip. Up from the Western Cape, Glen Kotzen’s filly was
given a pipe-opener from a poor draw on her KZN debut, but sent over 2000m
yesterday, Stuart Randolph waited until the final furlong to pull the trigger
and Je Ne Sais Quoi responded with a burst of speed to overhaul Abbey.
The Turffontein
Inside track stages an eight race meeting tomorrow and the exotics look the
best way to approach it.
In the first race
Creation makes his comeback having last been seen in March. This Vercingetorix
gelding is a half-brother to the Listed placed Querari filly Champery. In his
two starts to date he has not been disgraced finishing 4,60 lengths behind
Guantanamo Bay over 1000m and 6,90 lengths behind the Equus Two-year-old
champion male of last season, Got The Greenlight, over 1200m. He looked to have
class and will have matured in his eight months off. He is thus preferred to
those who have run before as none of them look to be world beaters. Crazy
Charlie stayed on well last time over this trip, showing a good turn of foot.
That was a weak workrider’s race but he does have a good draw here and has gone
close with Muzi Yeni up before. Trend Master has done well in all three of his
starts and has proved effective over this trip. However, a place in the
trifecta positions must also be found for the R4,5 million Mike de Kock-trained
Dynasty colt Oscar Wilde. He is out of the Western Winter mare Lady Windermere,
who won both the Grade 1 SA Fillies Sprint and the Grade 1 Garden Province
Stakes. He jumps from a fair draw of six under Gavin Lerena.Temenee is another interesting first-timer. She
is the only filly in the race but is by Var out of the Grade 2 Gerald Rosenberg
winner Tamaanee.
Perfectly Putt (Candiese Marnewick)
In the second race
over 2600m Romantic Sea has run two fair races over 1600m and 1800m
respectively and should relish the step up to this 2600m trip being by stamina
influence Lateral out of a Caesour mare who won up to 2400m. Poppycock is
proven over staying trips having narrowly failed in two outings over 2400m.
Magic Vision has shown some ability and steps up in trip. However, on pedigree
there is a stamina doubt as he is by Visionaire out of the Grade 1-wining Jet
Master miler Little Miss Magic and he also has a wide draw to overcome.
The third race
over 2600m could be won by Glamorous Scandal who has never quite lived up to
her potential and has only won one race in 26 starts. However, she has dropped
to a competitive mark and is the one to beat based on the form of her
penultimate start. One factor against her is her wide draw. Perfect Light beat
Glamorous Scandal by 3,25 lengths over 2400m last time, but she was raised four
points, and before that was beaten two lengths by Glamorous Scandal over this
course and distance. Cranberry Crush won the latter race and followed up with
another good effort over this same course and distance off her current mark of
72. However, her last run puts her on the back foot and she has to carry 60kg
from a wide draw. Ritchi is thus preferred for third with a 4kg claimer up off
a reasonable opening merit rating. It hard ignore the rest, especially Flying
Fantasy and Shezahotti.
In the fourth
race, also over 2600m, Gentleman’s Wager has always struck as one with some
ability and has a long stride and a good turn of foot. He won a maiden handicap
over 1450m easing up by 3,25 lengths last time out. He is by Oratorio out of
the Var mare Princess Of Light, who won over 2450m and finished second in the
Gold Cup, so has a chance of staying this trip and with bottom weight will be
hard to beat if he does. Gold Griffin has drawn well and this consistent stayer
makes most appeal of the rest.
In the fifth over
1600m Waqaas was raised two points for just failing to beat the improving
Captain Flynt over this course and distance, although he has to come from
another wide draw. Marshall Foch was progressing nicely last season after being
stepped up to this trip and can continue from where he left off, although he
also has a wide draw. Supa Mufti’s win last time has been franked by Captain
Flynt and Waqaas. He is half-a-kilogram under sufferance but 4kg claimer Cole
Dicken, who carries 1kg overweight, is aboard. He is another with a wide draw.
Tokyo Drift and Gimme The Fire should be considered as horses with runs under
their belts.
In the sixth, a
Graduation Plate over 1600m, Spero Optima is not officially well in but
impressed second time out and looks to have plenty of scope. This Dynasty gelding
is well drawn too and might be making a bid to qualify for the Dingaans. The
best weighted horse is Glider Pilot but he was beaten 15 lengths last time in a
comeback from a layoff of more than a year. Promiseofmyheart is the best
weighted three-year-old and has some good form up to this trip. The filly
Frosted Steel looks to have class and should enjoy the step up in trip.
Informative has decent form over sprints and is also interesting stepped up in
trip from pole position, being by Greys Inn out of a Jet Master mare who won
over 1300m and placed second over a mile once.
In the seventh
over 1000m Madamoiselle is a form choice and should get away with returning
from a five month layoff over this trip. Ocean City will make a bold bid from
the front from draw two. Arikel comes off a good win over course and
distance.
In the last over 1200m Chainsaw has a chance on some of his best form although he ran badly in his only start over course and distance. King Of The Delta is in good form and is well drawn and distance suited. Gemcutter, Strikeitlikeamatch and Perfectly Putt also have to be included.
Dennis Drier got off the mark for the Cape season in some style
when newcomer Croisette made a winning debut – and like a real good horse – in
the Tabonline.co.za Maiden at Kenilworth yesterday.
Dennis Drier (Nkosi Hlophe)
The Var filly, a half-sister to SA Fillies Classic and SA
Oaks winner Juxtapose, was surprisingly easy to back considering the promise
she had shown in a Scottsville barrier trial, and she went off at 8-11. Sean
Veale had her first away and, although the more experienced Cyber Blossom soon
headed her, it was only on sufferance. The favourite came away from two
furlongs out to win in a common canter with her rider patting her admiringly
down the neck.
Veale said: “I know she didn’t beat much but it was the way
she did it. I rate her highly and I think she is very special and very classy.”
Drier echoed this, saying: “I am thrilled with this run. I
think she could be something special although I will take it slowly with her.”
He has brought 15 others down from Durban “but no Beach
Beautys or Master Of My Fates this time.”
However he had some disturbing words – disturbing that is if
you are an owner or trainer with horses in Cape Town – about the comparative
level of the stakes in the two centres. “Most of the 16 are Cape Town-owned and
I am very grateful to their owners for allowing me to bring their horses down here
because they are not going to be racing for the stakes we have in Durban.”
Apparently several of his owners based elsewhere were not
keen for their horses to race for the prize money now on offer at
Kenilworth.
BLOB The Eric Sands-trained Bitter Lemon, who was Anton Marcus’s only ride of the day when a disappointing seventh of eight in the 1 400m fillies handicap at Kenilworth last Saturday, has been suspended for 60 days. The 11-2 shot was found to have suffered a bilateral epistaxsis (burst blood vessel with blood coming from both nostrils).
The arrival of many long-shots at recent Hollywoodbets
Greyville meetings these past couple of weeks has made it difficult for an army
of punters. However, the flip side is decent pay outs for those that got it
right. But it is another one of ‘those’ cards on the poly at the same venue
today and although the field sizes are relatively small, it has not made
finding winners any easier.
Sunset Eyes (Candiese Marnewick)
With the Western Cape Summer season on the horizon one could
reasonably speculate that Sunset Eyes would have a date with some of the big
sprint races during their season. But Brett Crawford elected to keep the
gelding in KZN with assistant Peter Muscutt after his win in the Umgeni
Handicap on the last Saturday of last season.
Sunset Eyes romped home in that race, beating Filippo who
will be in opposition again today. In contrast, Yogas Govender has kept Filippo
on the boil since the Umgeni Handicap and may strip the fitter horse this
afternoon. He followed up his Umgeni second with victory at Scottsville and
turned in a useful effort in a strong Pinnacle Stakes last time out, finish
just over a length back to the promising Ultra Magnus.
Govender has declared blinkers on his charge for the first
time, no doubt on the advice of regular pilot Sherman Brown, so there should be
very little between Filippo and Sunset Eyes.
The balance of the eight-horse field have smart sprint
credentials so it would be unwise to write any of them off lightly although it
would be pointless going through their individual credentials, but Filippo and
Sunset Eyes look the principal contenders.
After two good showings in barrier trials, admittedly eight
months apart, James Peter made his debut as favourite early last month over
course and distance and can get punter’s off to a good start. In spite of his
two educationals in barrier trials, the penny still had to drop for Gavin van
Zyl’s runner on debut and he arrived on the scene too late to trouble Treading
Water.
With that experience under his girth he can make amends in
the card opener.
The second is something of a head-scratcher. Annaberg has
shown up well in both starts to date and from a good draw should contest the
finish although she faces difficult opposition. Arianos Spinner has improved at
her last two on the poly and has a good draw while At Your Request needed her
last run, her first for a new stable. She makes her poly debut and is one to
watch in the betting. Trap Queen makes her local debut after showing some
improvement at her last two in the Cape and is another in with a winning
chance.
Unlike some trainers with big strings where the attrition
rate is not always of paramount importance, small yards have to nurture what
they have. Mai Tai has been off the track since June after pulling up lame in
the Devon Air stakes, some four lengths off the winner, that after making a
winning debut. Wayne Badenhorst will have been ever cautious with what is
possibly the best horse in his small string and has picked a race with a
favourable draw.
Dive Captain and Accidental Tourist should be there to pick up the pieces should Mai Tai let the side down.
The former Stuart Pettigrew-trained Surcharge, now known as Yulong Prince and trained by NZ and Australian Hall of Famer Chris Waller, won a listed race at yesterday’s Melbourne Cup meeting at Flemington.
The Varsfontein Stud-bred Gimmethegreenlight five-year-old entire was in an awkward spot nearing the top of the straight, in last place and trapped on the rail in the one mile one furlong Furphy Plate, a handicap contested by 12 horses in which he was joint top weight.
However, jockey Nash Rawiller was able to switch him outward and get him through a gap.
Once in the clear he showed his class and stretched out impressively. He got up by a head.
He returned odds of 17/2 as his previous overseas form, consisting of two races in Dubai and three in Australia had not yielded a place, although they were in a higher class including two Group 1s.
Yulong Prince always showed tremendous class in South Africa where he infamously had to contend with a spate of bad draws.
He is one to follow as he could build on this win.
Reigning national Champion trainer Sean Tarry has hit the front in stakes earning for the season but just unofficially as his only feature win at Saturday’s Peermont Emperor’s Palace Charity Mile meeting was in a restricted race, whose stakes don’t count towards the championship.
His Visionaire filly Spiritofthegroove stormed home from way off
the pace to win the R1 million Emperor’s Palace Ready to Run Cup.
In The Dance (JC Photographics)
Jockey Marco van Rensburg dropped her out from a wide draw and in
the straight he faced a wall of horses on the inside.
However, he somehow managed to weave her through and she won going
away by 2,25 lengths.
She is owned by Singapore-based Mark Yong’s Equine Hub SA and was
bred by Tmen Stables.
Tarry, whilst mindful Spiritofthegroove had won this 1400m contest
in testing conditions, was still concerned about her getting the tough
Turffontein Mile of the Grade 3 Fillies Mile on November 23.
He said he would see how she drew in the WSB Cape Fillies Guineas,
which was another option.
Tarry said he had endured an overall disappointing day on
Saturday.
He said, “I would have liked In The Dance to have had another
run going in to the Charity Mile, but she travelled well in the race and still
finished well. She could have got closer with a better draw. Tilbury Fort
needed the run and the soft ground made it more testing. So they will both come
on from the run. Zillzaal looked a picture before his last run and a picture
in the parade ring on Saturday but he then went into a complete sweat
behind the starting stalls, so something went wrong between the parade
ring and the start, so it was disappointing. He and Tilbury Fort will still be
going for the Summer Cup and there is a nice four week gap for In The Dance
into the Ipi Tombe so hopefully she can fluke a draw.”
He continued, “Eden Roc ran a good race at the weights in the
Graham Beck and should be cherry ripe for the Dingaans. Putontheredlight had a
complete no show and the rider stood up at the 300m mark, it was a nothing run,
so I don’t know what to read into it. Sidonie did at least stay on so that was
a result you can live with. “
In the official championship standings Tarry is in third place on earnings of R3,410,838. Justin Snaith leads on earnings of R3,603,163 and Paul Peter is in second place on R3,486,675. Mike de Kock’s halcyon day on Saturday took him into fourth place on R3,197,750. Alan Greeff and Brett Crawford are in 5th and 6th place respectively on R3,183,638 and R3,030,963. Yvette Bremner is in 7th on R2,389,600. Glen Kotzen, Gavin Smith and Garth Puller fill the final three places in the top ten on the log.
The David Nieuwenhuizen-trained Mill Queen was victorious in the
Grade 3 HSH Princess Charlene Starling Stakes over 1400m despite not enjoying a
smooth preparation.
This Digteby Stud-bred Querari filly was bought for R140,000 at
the National Yearling Sale session 2 and has already earned R423,375 in gross
stakes for her owners S Poriazi, WG de Koker and W Volschenk.
Nieuwenhuizen said, “She still has to mature mentally and
physically, she is a late maturer who is still furnishing, so hopefully she
will get a lot better. She is doing extremely well despite being backwards and
that is just down to her ability, so we have to look after her. She is a filly
who gives her all, so we also have to be careful with her in work.”
Mill Queen (Candiese Marnewick)
Nieuwenhuizen lamented the lack of a preparation race for her
going into the Starling Stakes, which he said was due to the benchmark for any
suitable handicap races not being high enough to include his 110 merit rated
horse and there were also no suitable plate races.
He did not want to put her up against older horses at this stage.
He said the lack of a preparation race might have worked in her
favour to some degree due to the conditions of the Starling Stakes, which
penalises horses for having more than two wins. He questioned the logic of this
condition, i.e. why should good horses be penalised for feature preparation
events, when there is already a condition which penalises Graded wins.
Furthermore, the Querari filly had a setback in training, tweaking
her back, and they were forced to only walk her for a few days.
He added, “Thank goodness Gavin (Lerena) has a good feel for
a horse. He rode her with a bit in reserve and it looked like she did need it.”
She won by 0,30 lengths from the persistent Wisteria
Walk.
Nieuwenhuizen said another disadvantage she had endured was the
difficulty of getting one jockey to stay aboard her.
He feared losing Lerena for her next intended target, the Grade 3
Fillies Mile, due to the latter’s retainer with Wilgerbosdrift and
Mauritzfontein Stud.
Lerena had ridden her before Saturday, which was an advantage.
Mill Queen ended her campaign as a two-year-old with a 0,80 length
second in the Grade 1 Thekwini Stakes. However, Nieuwenhuizen pointed out she
had come from a wide draw that day and did not know the track, which was unlike
the winner Gabor on both counts.
He would have preferred her next race, which will be her second
after a layoff, to be on Gauteng Summer Cup day, November 30, but they had
moved the Fillies Mile forward to the 23rd.
However, he said she had come out of Saturday’s race well.
He added he always went in to races positively, so would be able
to adjust her work accordingly.
He concluded, “It’s all about the stable working together and
management.”
By David Thiselton
Racing Tools
Calendar, stats, racing videos, it's all here!
Get all the latest race stats on your favourite filly, watch racing videos from your couch or find out who's running where!