Andrew Harrison
Strutting looked to be one of the better bets on a tricky seven-race programme and she duly obliged at cramped odds in the card opener on a wet afternoon on the Hollywoodbets Greyville poly.
Drawn wide, Craig Zackey was forced to press forward on Mike and Mathew de Kock’s diminutive filly with the runners on her inside not giving an inch, but once in front, Strutting was never headed holding off the battling Owner Of Creation and Harpa who stayed on well for the shallow end of the purse.
Kevin and Alyson Wright are both steeped in horse racing, their roots going back to Zimbabwe where Kevin was multiple Champion Jockey and Alyson the daughter of leading trainer Penny Fisher.
The couple, together with equine physio Tessa Zietsman, daughter of trainer Gary Rich, have prolonged the life of many a veteran galloper, highlighted by the win by Hollywood Racing’s eight-year-old Ibutho, who score his tenth win in the second. His stable companions Winter Waves (8-yr-o) and Ulta Quick (7-yr-o) were only separated by six-year-old Rafiki in second from the Andre Nel stable where Hailey Crawford does their physio.
However, the danger of a reputation for patching up retreads is that you can miss out on building a yard from two-year-olds up. Superb horsewoman, the late Anne Upton, would have born testament to that trend, frustratingly hamstrung by her reputation.
Ibutho was always on the bridle travelling under Keagan de Melo as Ultra Quick set brisk fractions and if there was in-race betting, it collect at the top of the straight.
Apprentice Dezahn Louw is still a 4kg claimer but I don’t think for long. It is seldom that a seasoned jockey gives an apprentice kudos but Keagan de Melo was generous in his praise after he was made to work hard on Isivivane to get the better of Sundance Kid in the third. A furlong out, the race looked to be a formality as Isivivane challenged pacemaker Sundance Kid, but Louw had saved something in reserve and De Melo and Isivivane had to work hard for victory with the balance well beaten.
In the fourth, favourite Malshana Mou was under pressure from the jump as Million Voices set a blistering gallop and she finally ran out of steam over the final 200m as Wings Of Josephine and Magical Sky took off together in a ding-dong battle. Race caller Devonne Govender was not tempted into calling a winner but Magical Sky prevailed by the shortest of short heads with Call Me Jane a further length back.
Axis Power did not have many supporters in the D Stakes over 1000 m but Siphesihle Hlengwa, ‘Spare’ to his mates, jumped Garth Puller’s charge out from the wide draw to lead early. It was a lead that he did not relinquish in spite of challengers coming from all sides with another turf veteran Trafalgar Square flashing up for second but well beaten. It was a quick double for the under rated Hlengwa who edged out Cole Dicken in a tight finish to the previous race.
S’Manga Khumalo is never shy when it comes to the use of the crop and he gave Good Traveller a few reminders that the gelding will not remember fondly as he got Good Traveller home for Gareth van Zy. In a desperate finish to the B Stakes with three horses nose-to-nose on the line, Good Traveller got his nose in front ahead of favourite Circumbendibus with visiting Wild At War denied two short heads from giving the sister partnership of Candice and Tammy Dawson their first winner in KZN.
De Melo may be missing the lucrative pickings of Hong Kong but finishing in the pack on mostly modest horses is not where one wants to be in a highly competitive sport. A champion in his own right, De Melo’s experience in Hong Kong will have honed his skills and they came to the fore in the last as he rode a canny race on Garth Puller’s charge Izibulo to round off the afternoon with a treble. The win gave Puller a double and Hollywood Racing a treble with log leader Craig Zackey adding one more to his tally.
