The big wheel always turns. Trainer Dean Kannemeyer struck with a nice double at Greyville on Wednesday and said that he was pleased that his yard was showing a return to form after a tough summer.
An upbeat Kannemeyer, whose SA Champions Season string arrived at Summerveld last month and have ‘settled well’, told the Sporting Post that he was excited by some really nice stock ‘on the shelf’.
Keagan de Melo steers Orient Express to a well-deserved win (Pic – Candiese Marnewick/ Gold Circle)
“We haven’t had an easy time of things for a variety of reasons. But that’s racing and one has to keep doing the basics right and things will turn – just as we can see they appear to be doing. One needs broad shoulders in this game and thankfully I have been around long enough to understand that!”
The Duke Of Marmalade progeny are firing and the first of the DKR winners came in the sixth, when the Terry Andrews bred Orient Express shed her maiden at her eleventh outing after four promising placed efforts.
The winner is out of the Trippi mare, Blue Train and is raced by a partnership of Terry and Annabel Andrews, Nolene Malherbe,Cheryl and Reiner Gabler, and David Abery.
“She was put together by a group of friends as she wasn’t sold at auction. The 1900m is actually too short for her – she will stay all day so we could have some fun with her. Dean had her looking outstanding today. We are thrilled for all the partners,” Sorrento’s Annabel Andrews told the Sporting Post.
The second DKR winner runs in Dean’s own silks.
She is the Ideal World filly Josephine Baker who made it two wins in 16 starts when storming to victory in the eighth race, an MR 64 Handicap over 2000m.
Bred by Wilgerbosdrift / Mauritzfontein out of the Fort Wood mare Wall Fly, Josephine Baker loves the poly and should pay to follow.
Both winners were ridden by Kannemeyer stable jockey Keagan De Melo.
Kannemeyer’s Visionaire gelding Hidden Influence went close to giving the yard a treble when he failed narrowly in the fifth. His second win should not be long in coming.
Dean said he was studying the bumper National Yearling Sale catalogue and added that he felt that there were some lovely youngsters going under the hammer.
“It is always a top-class sale and we will be in Johannesburg from 19 April as there are a lot of horses to look at!” he added.
