Yesterday’s Durbanville meeting might have come under fire – and in some quarters ignored altogether – but it proved to be manna from heaven for Louis Mxothwa who won on his first ride on the course when Essenceoflife came home at 7-2 for new boss Glen Kotzen in the TAB Telebet Handicap.
Mxothwa, 24, said: “Six weeks ago I moved from Port Elizabeth to ride as second jockey for Mr Kotzen. I’ve ridden over 200 winners so far but no big-race ones and that’s really why I am here. Cape Town has bigger yards, better horses and bigger prizes – and I want a chance of winning some of them.”
Glen Kotzen
It was also a Happy New Year for Andre Nel who has had to contend with a sickness in his yard for the past two months and, after a mortifying first race when his pair where beaten by not much more than the length of their teeth, Dalibhunga came good under Anthony Andrews in the Tabonline Handicap to show some light at the end of a nightmare tunnel.
A relieved Nel said: “I was desperate for a winner. Every morning something has a swollen leg or a snotty nose and it has been the worst spell of its kind since I’ve been on the farm.”
The controversial decision to pay R1 000 to trainers for each runner – there were only 49 of them – caused a furore, notably on the comments page of the Sporting Post with some contributors claiming that the payments were actually banned under Rule 11.2.7 which states that a trainer shall not accept payment of any charges in respect of his or her horses other than from the registered owner.
However an NHA representative said the operative word is charges, ie training fees, and that the rule is to prevent unregistered owners running horses in someone else’s name. The NHA man also said the R1 000 payment had a precedent. When the main section of the Kenilworth pens broke just over a year ago, horses had to be scratched to reduce field sizes and those who lost out were paid R3 500 a horse.
Maybe it would have been better to make the payments to the owners. After all they have to foot the bill for the jockeys’ fees (and just about everything else). Seemingly they may just get the money because Phumelela boss Clyde Basel said: “The payments come from Kenilworth Racing, not from the stakes fund, and we will leave it to the trainers as to what they want to do with them. We just want to support those who have supported us, and we have been rewarded with a good crowd.”
– Trip To Heaven looks set to attempt to join the illustrious group who have won the Diadem Stakes in successive years. Last season’s winner heads the 19 entries for Saturday week’s Khaya Stables-sponsored Grade 2 at Kenilworth.
The Sean Tarry-trained six-year-old has to give weight to all except Search Party but dual winners of the race include Flaming Rock and What A Winter while Flobayou and Nhlavini won it three times.
By Michael Clower
