For a kid out of the backwoods of the Eastern Cape and plucked out of a school in Cape Town, apprentice Khanya Sakayi has made the most of his opportunity at the South African Jockey Academy. He has hit a purple patch, the likes of which is the envy of all in the weighing room, including his seniors.

He scored his first three-timer at Scottsville a month back and since then has been getting them home regularly but going one better at Greyville yesterday as took his tally of wins to 28 with a winning four-timer.

Sakayi started by surviving an objection call on Sea Urchin in the Pinnacle Stakes. The protest was lodged by Mark Khan, rider of Royal Armour, who claimed interference in the latter stages.

The protest didn’t faze seasoned rider and trainer Garth Puller who hardly blinked when put the question. “We came from behind that horse. I don’t think there was anything in it. It will be over-ruled in my opinion.”

He proved correct as Sea Urchin notched the fifth success of his career. “He’s seven-year-old but he’s brave and does his best. He fought his way through.”

The Yogas Govender-trained Lickerio was next up for Sakayi in the first of the three-race apprentice challenge races where Luke Ferraris looked to pinch a lead on Sentido. But Sakayi had plenty of horse under him and they went to the line unchallenged.

As he showed on Sea Urchin, not only is Sakayi tactically sound, but also a difficult man to master in a finish as he fought off all rivals on the favourite Itdawnedonme for owner, trainer Duncan Howells.

As if to confirm that opinion, Sakayi rounded off a superb afternoon as he out-duelled fellow apprentice Ferraris in a desperate finish to the last race on the diminutive filly Just Rap, fittingly for Puller and winning all three of the apprentice races.

Earlier, favourite for the third, Bulleting Home, was a tardy starter, unusual for a horse ridden by Anton Marcus, and from there on was never in the race.

Marcus was aboard favourite Sorceress in the previous event but his mount was under pressure early and never featured. In contrast, Sweet Mary Lou gave apprentice Ferraris a dream ride as she quickened up smartly in the straight to win as she liked. “I was a case of switching her off so that she would see out the mile, but she quickened very well,” said Ferraris.

Dennis Drier has more depth in his stable then probably all of his colleagues at Summerveld combined and he turned out another smart winner in the card opener as Holy Land put his opposition to the sword.

“I thought Dennis had lost it a bit,” quipped Nick Jonsson, tongue-in-cheek. “He kept on telling me that we have a nice horse here but he was not showing it on the racecourse.”

Gelding appears to have done the trick and Holy Land put it in all the way to the line yesterday.

“This horse was bought on sentiment,” said Jonsson. “He’s the great grandson of a smart filly that my father owned, Old Rituals. I saw the pedigree at the sales and just had to have him.”

Sometimes sentiment works in you favour. Mostly it doesn’t, but Holy Land appears to be one of the exceptions.

A smart tactical ride on Stelvio gave Drier the double as Sean Veale pinched the race at the top of the straight. Favourite O’Keeffe, bidding for a hat-trick, got going late but Stelvio stuck to her guns to narrowly hold the challenge.

Drier took the wraps off a smart filly at Scottsville on Wednesday with Golden Chance putting seven lengths over her rivals and Star In The Sky was equally impressive in the seventh. After two forward showings over shorter, the daughter of Silvano out of a Galileo mare, Star In The Sky was bred to go every metre of the 1900m maiden and she did it in style, leading the procession by six lengths from the luckless Little Audrey who in turn was three lengths clear of her nearest rival.

By Andrew Harrison