The Hollywoodbets Scottsville Festival Of Speed meeting on Saturday was a memorable meeting in many ways.
Trainer Sean Tarry added two more Grade 1s to take his tally to 15, which is now three clear of another Scottsville legend Dennis Drier.
Tarry and Calvin Habib retained their crown in the Grade 1 Allan Robertson Championship, winning it with the Trippi filly Sweet Pepper, out of the smart Gimmethegreenlight race filly Green Pepper. They won it together last year with Under Your Spell (Capetown Noir), who provided Habib with his career first Grade 1.
Sweet Pepper is a Drakenstein Stud homebred.
Drakenstein have now bred 15 individual stakes winners this season which is believed to be a record in recent times. She is Trippi’s tenth individual Grade 1 winner.
Habib sat at the back of the outside group as Sabatini opened up a lead in front. After switching in to pass a few, Sweet Pepper got a clear run when the outside horses drifted inward. She caught Glittering Girl (Rafeef) close to home to win by a quarter of a length.
Sweet Pepper. Image: Candiese Lenferna
River Queraress (Querari) finished third ahead of Eastern Cape raider Ekoria (Futura) and Ameena (Quasillo) was fifth.
Gavin Lerena said the favourite Miss Cool (What A Winter) had travelled well for the first 150m but he had then felt there was nothing there although she did run on fairly well.
In the Grade 1 Gold Medallion Thunderstruck, wearing blinkers for the second time in his third career start, was up with the pace from an outside gate and then drew clear in the final stages to win by 2,90 lengths.
He gave Rafeef his third individual Grade 1 winner with just two crops to have raced to date.
He was bred by Avontuur, who have a fine record at Scottsville chiefly through their late stallion Var and the latter is damsire of Thunderstruck.
The Corrie Lensley-trained Now I Got You (Admiral Kitten) finished second ahead of the Peter Muscutt-trained pair Ocean Time (Time Thief) and Captain Bombshell (Captain Of All).
A meeting highlight was the reappearance of the superstar Justin Snaith-trained Captain Al filly Captain’s Ransom.
Having clinched her fifth career Grade 1 in the SA Fillies Sprint brought to you by The Witness, pundits can now be justified in including her among the all-time great fillies in SA history.
She showed pace from her extreme outside draw to be just behind the leading line.
Thunderstruck. Images: Candiese Lenferna
She appeared to be struggling to get on terms after Richard Fourie had got to work at the 250m mark. However, he changed whip hands at the 150m mark and her sudden surge took her clear. Fourie was able to celebrate before the line.
She was 1,10 lengths clear of True To Life (Duke Of Marmalade), who had finished fourth in the previous two renewals of this race.
Sound Of Warning (Trippi), Big Burn (Elusive Fort) and Gallic Princess (Vercingetorix) were next best.
The Moutonshoek-bred filly gave Fourie his sixth Grade 1 win of the season and Snaith his seventh.
In the Golden Horse Sprint Corrie Lensley proved just how good a horseman and trainer he is by landing his first Grade 1 with Alesian Chief (Vercingetorix) under Muzi Yeni.
He found this horse for sale on Dr Marianne Thompson’s Ambiance Stud for just R50,000 and phoned passionate racing man Peet Boonzaaier. Peet took 50% and is the chief owner. The other shareholders are Corrie and his long-time partner Emmie Le Grange as well as Graham Palmer and D Palmer.
It was a 15th career Grade 1 win for Yeni and a third of the season.
Alesian Chief. Image: Candiese Lenferna
In the winner’s enclosure Yeni described Lensley as a “class trainer” who “brought his class to the table.”
It was a doubly memorable day for the Lensley family who could not only celebrate a Grade 1 win and a Grade 1 second but also the wedding of Corrie’s son Leon, who was officially married at around the same time Alesian Chief crossed the line.
Corrie was at the wedding and Emmie represented him on course.
Alesian Chief showed tremendous gatespeed and Yeni’s patience in front allowed him to find a kick when it counted.
He beat Bartholdi (Act Of War) by 0,60 lengths with Smorgasbord (Twice Over), Chimichuri Run (Trippi) and Eden Roc (Var) next best.
Alesian Chief, whose damsire is also Var, is Vercingetorix’s fifth individual Grade 1 winner.
-extract goldcircle.co.za
