Just under a week after their multiple Gr1-winning stallion Canford Cliffs celebrated his maiden SA-bred winner, the Ridgemont Highlands team opened the champagne again at Kenilworth on WSB Met day when their champion miler’s son Cliff Top went start to finish to win the R175 000 City Of Cape Town Listed Summer Juvenile Stakes.
Trained by East Cape Champion trainer Alan Greeff and ridden by Ridgemont jockey Greg Cheyne in the Ridgemont silks, Cliff Top carried too many guns for a diverse field and stamped himself as one to follow, enjoying the distinction of becoming his sire’s first SA-bred stakes winner.
East Cape raider Cliff Top pulverizes his opposition to win the Listed feature(Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
East Cape champion Greg Cheyne also rode the first Canford Cliffs SA -bred winner Body Electric at the same venue on 23 January.
Showing no signs of any ill effects after his long Garden Route road-trip from his Gqeberha hometown, the imposing Cliff Top (4-1) was never headed and opened the R14 269 188 big day Pick 6 when bolting home by 1,50 lengths as tote favourite in a time of 59,18 secs.
Local hope We’re Jamming (4-1) stayed on for second, with 20-1 shot Grinkov shading Cousin Casey (9-2) a further 4,25 lengths back in third.
The winning Ridgemont Team are all smiles (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
With only a handful of runners from his first SA crop having seen the racecourse, Canford Cliffs, who was recently recognised by Timeform as one of the greatest milers to grace the turf this century, could not have hoped for a better start to 2022.
Europe’s dominant miler at three and four, Canford Cliffs won five consecutive Gr1 races over the trip. He has produced winners in over 30 countries, including more than 40 stakes perfomers.
His smart son Cliff Top had run a course-record breaking cracker for second on his 800m Fairview debut and has now won at his second time of asking. In the process he took his earnings to R122 375.
The winner was bred by Ridgemont Highlands out of the Western Winter one-time winner Bacqueira.
Buyers will be happy to know that Canford Cliffs has nine lots on the CTS De Grendel Cape Premier Yearling Sale on 6 February.
OFFICIAL RESULT:
TRAINER JOCKEY DISTANCE BETTING
1 ST 7 CLIFF TOP AC Greeff G Cheyne 4/1
2 ND 11 WE’RE JAMMING ELP Steyn R Fourie 1.50 1.50 4/1
3 RD 9 GRINKOV GS Kotzen G Lerena 3.75 5.25 20/1
4 TH 8 COUSIN CASEY GS Kotzen L Mxothwa 0.05 5.30 9/2
5 TH 10 PURE MAVERICK SJ Snaith G van Niekerk 0.20 5.50 10/1
TIME OF RACE: 59.18 sec
Tote Fav 7 CLIFF TOP AC Greeff G Cheyne __________ 4/1
