David Thiselton
The Alyson Wright yard are in flying form at present and not only lead the KZN Trainers Championship but also landed a Listed race at Turffontein Standside on Saturday with the well-related Gimmethegreenlight filly Charge It.
Meanwhile, the Listed Flamboyant Stakes at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Friday was also won by a well related filly, the Michael Roberts-trained Ladyofdistinction, while the gelding Imposing continued his transformation under Gareth van Zyl by winning the Listed Christmas Handicap, and in America on Friday the SA-bred champion One Stripe not only got back to winning ways at Gulfstream Park but also got close to a course record which has stood for twenty years.
The Wright-trained Varsfontein homebred Charge It is a full-sister to Surcharge, a Gr 1 winner in both South Africa and Australia, and after being backed in from 6/1 to 9/4 for the War Of Athena Handicap over 1800m at Turffontein on Saturday she produced a fie turn of foot under Muzi Yeni to win the R225,000 event by 1,25 lengths from Soldier’s Eye and Gerbera. It was the Gimmethegreenlight filly’s fifth career start and her second win, but more importantly her first black type success. She had finished second in the Gr 3 Ducat Africa Fillies Mile at Turffontein Standside on Betway Summer Cup day at odds of 100/1 in her previous start and in the War Of Athena, as the only three-year-old in the contest, she carried 52,5kg off a 93 merit rating.
The main feature on the day at Turffontein was the Gr 3 Lebelo Handicap over 1000m, a race the Tony Peter yard were out to land for the third time in succession. They had the two favourites Taxi To The Moon and Pistol Pete and it was the former, an Oldlands Stud-bred four-year-old who gave the phenomenal Champion Sire Vercingetorix his second stakes winner of the weekend. Four-year-old gelding Taxi To The Moon was carrying 57kg off a 110 merit rating and saw off Truth (61.5kg) in a stirring battle for the line to win by 0,50 lengths and Pistol Pete (61,5kg) was a further 0,30 lengths back in third.
Earlier, the Non-Black Type Sophomore 1000 was won by the Mike and Mathew de Kock-trained Avontuur Thoroughbred Farm-bred What A Winter colt Constellation, who has now won four of eight starts. The filly Anchorage challenged late and looked likely to come second before trying to take a bite out of the winner, forcing Muzi Yeni to snatch her up and this handed second place to Charming Cheetah.
The meeting was cut short due to lightning with only seven of the ten races completed and the day’s winners included the Sean Tarry-trained 110-rated Vercingetorix filly Callmegetrix, who easily accounted for The Equator in a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1600m, winning by 3,20 lengths under Mickaelle Michel, who has now had four wins since arriving in SA at the beginning of December.
In the Flamboyant Stakes over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Friday the lightly-raced four-year-old Michael Roberts-trained Vercingetorix filly Ladyofdistinction, who is a full-sister to KZN Horse Of The Year Gladatorian, produced a storming finish under Rachel Venniker to win by 0,25 lengths from Amelia’s Legacy with Forward Motion only beaten 0,35 lengths into third. Ladyofdistinction has now won four of seven starts and it was the first black type race she had contested.
In the Christmas Handicap over the same trip Imposing sat in a handy position under S’Manga Khumalo and shot clear early in the straight and never looked like stopping. The Lammerskraal Stud-bred six-year-old Visionaire gelding carried 54kg off a 96 rating and beat Isivivane by two lengths with Capsaicin beaten 2,80 lengths into third. Imposing has now had five starts for Gareth van Zyl for four wins.
In the KZN Championship Wright is on 23 wins in KZN this season at a strike rate of 13,29% after yesterday’s meeting at Hollywoodbets Greyville, although she has had 24 wins overall in the season.
Reigning KZN Champion trainer Gareth van Zyl is on 21 wins for the season in KZN and also in contention are Andre Nel and Dean Kannemeyer on 16 wins while Mike and Mathew de Kock and Stuart Ferrie have 15 wins apiece.
Over at Gulfstream Park in America on Friday the Drakenstein Stud-bred One World colt One Stripe represented Hollywood Racing and Rikesh Sewgoolam in an Optional Claiming Race over a mile on the turf. The four-year-old was going to be hard to beat as the winner of two of South Africa’s most prestigious miles, the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas and the Gr 1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate and with the weights looking to be set such that the four-year-olds received two pounds from the older horses. However, One Stripe had not had any luck in his first two runs in America, both in Gr 1s, while both rides were criticised, so he was a bit under a cloud and hadn’t convinced the locals of his quality. He was thus allowed to start at 5/2 while Judge Davis, who had won four ordinary races in 26 starts, was the 8/5 favourite. However, One Stripe was at last given a good ride and was able to show them what he was made of. Jumping from draw seven of seven Hall Of Fame jockey John Velazquez found a beautiful position in midfield in a one out position with cover. One Stripe swept around them on the final turn, keeping Judge Davis in a pocket momentarily, and he then romped to a 5,25 length victory. The track record set by Mr Light on January 3, 2005, more than 20 years ago is 1 minute 31,41 seconds and One Stripe stopped the clock in 1 minute 31,81 seconds, just 0,4 seconds shy of the record under a hands and heels ride. He will be treated with a lot more respect next time out!
