Glen Kotzen experienced the highs and lows of racing at the Vodacom Durban July meeting on Saturday when first winning the Gr 2 Gold Circle Golden Slipper with Final Judgement, but later seeing his fancied Shizam scratched from the KZN Yearling Sale Million.

A plan came together in the Golden Slipper after Kotzen and jockey Stuart Randolph had analysed the previous run of the Varsfontein-bred Judpot filly Final Judgement.

In the Listed Devon Air Stakes, over the same Greyville turf 1400m course and distance, she had been cramped for galloping room behind a slow pace, so was unable to use her big action. Late in the race, after a challenger had edged ahead of her, she took off and came back to beat the latter for third place.

Kotzen and Randolph thus planned to go to the front from pole position on Saturday, where she would be able to use her action and it would also put the ball in the court of the other jockeys to use up energy and go around her if they wanted to overcome their wider draws.

She bounced out into the front and strode out nicely on the rail, while two of the dangers, Visuality and Al Hawraa, were trapped wide and burnt up some valuable energy. The eventual third-placed Sail, who looks full of promise, initially used up some energy before being reined in.

However, Final Judgement’s tactics did appear to have played into the hands of the hot odds-on favourite Maleficent, who had been drawn in barrier two. The latter was able to park in behind her on the rail.

However, the second reason for Kotzen and Randolph’s plan proved spot on. After using that big stride to keep Maleficent at bay, Final Judgement was challenged by Dawn Calling late in the race. However, just as the latter put her nose in front, Final Judgement once again picked up a gear and surged to get up by a neck.

Maleficent did not find the kick she had displayed in the Devon Air Stakes and perhaps ran below par.

Kotzen said about Final Judgement, “The further for her the better. We avoided the Allan Robertson, because we knew she would be better suited to the bend.”

However, the connections are in no rush to run her in the Gr 1 Thekwini on eLan Gold Cup day, as they believe she has a fine three-year-old career ahead of her, and will see how the field and the draws look before committing. Dawn Calling and Sail will likely enjoy the 1600m of the Thekwini too.

Final Judgement is owned by Peter De Beyer and Hugo Hattingh’s Triple H Trust.  At last year’s Bloodstock South Africa Val de Vie Sale, Hattingh had arrived with the resolve of not buying any fillies. However, Kotzen asked him to have a look at just one of them, Final Judgement, whom he believed to be the pick of the Sale. It did not take Hattingh long to agree.

Peter de Beyer later arrived and liked the pedigree. She is out of the Gr 1 Garden Province Stakes-winning Proclaim mare Final Claim, who is a daughter of the 1996 ARCSA Champion Broodmare Ollies Last (Highborn Harry), who also produced Gr 1 Cape Guineas-winner Alpha Omega as well as Gr 3-winner Over Bearing. Hattingh and De Beyer  landed Final Judgement for R500,000, which now looks a bargain.

Kotzen said, “I was very pleased for Hugo on Saturday as he has put his money down to buy some well bred horses and it was lovely to see him rewarded. Being out of a Gr 1-winning mare she is now worth bombs.”

Kotzen was also pleased for Peter de Beyer, although the latter is no stranger to success and judging by his record looks to be one of the most intuitive buyers in the country.

A dampener was later put on Kotzen’s day. Apparently noise from revellers unnerved his strongly fancied Kahal filly Shizam as she was leaving the parade ring for the KZN Yearling Million and her left hind leg became caught over the wooden railing, which is on the left hand side of the chute entrance. She had blood on the leg and was scratched down at the start. The injuries have proved to be superficial. However, the incident was costly to the owners, who could have recouped plenty of costs and more.

Gold Circle will be looking into the structure of the parade ring at the entrance to the chute to see whether any changes could lessen the chances of a repeat of such an incident. The KZN Million was moved this year from the last race on the day to the ninth, due to it being dark by the 12^th and the crowd by that stage being rowdy. There might now be renewed requests to bring it forward even further.

David Thiselton