Candice Bass-Robinson l- strong string
Candice Bass-Robinson has more than 60 two-year-olds this season and Nous Voila is apparently not the only potential star among them. “It’s an exciting crop,” says their trainer although she cautions: “It’s early days yet and they have to go and do it.”
Michael Clower writes that Lesedi La Rona (named after one of the biggest diamonds ever found) became the fifth to win when catching better fancied stable companion Santa Clara on the line in the newcomer-dominated Fillies Maiden Juvenile at Durbanville on Saturday with the heavily backed (6-1 to 17-10 favourite) Dancing For Rain only third.
This was the 70th success of the season for both Mrs Robinson and Grant van Niekerk who also adopted waiting tactics to complete a treble on Oloye for Eric Sands and the Justin Snaith-trained Love Happens in the last two races.
Greg Ennion – success with small string
Greg Ennion, a near neighbour of Bass Racing, has seen his numbers slump alarmingly from 40 to 22 in the past three months but that has not stopped him advertising his talents with a winner at each of the last six Cape Town meetings – and he was full of praise for Sandile Mbhele after the 20-year-old had brought Northern Corner with a decisive run between horses to record his eighth success in the TAB Telebet Handicap.
Ennion said: “This horse doesn’t like being hit but with a hands ride he will give you everything and I told Sandile what to do. He listened to my instructions and he carried them out to a T.”
The five-year-old carries the Braam van Huyssteen colours and so it was no surprise to see him backed from 9-2 to 2-1 joint favourite. But the shock of the day came in the Hassen Adams silks when Shadow Warrior made most of the running at 28-1 to beat the Dan Katz first string Royal Ginger in the Supabets Handicap.
Devin Ashby – modesty!
It looked as if Devin Ashby had stolen the race when he kicked several lengths clear before the straight but the jockey, rather more modestly, said: “He has been running over 1 400m and a mile and I suggested trying him over 2 000m. But he is a tearaway and he went a bit hard early as I couldn’t hold him!”
Curiously the improved course layout has had more impact on race times in the distance races than in sprints. The 2 000m record here is 2 min 0.06 sec set by Gimme One Night last September and Delma Sherrell’s American Landing was only just over a second outside that in the Play Soccer Maiden.
Brett Crawford and stable jockey Corne Orffer also took the Tabonline Maiden with 6-10 hotpot Miss Smarty Pants who made most with the trainer predicting: “I wouldn’t be surprised if she won again quite soon.”
- www,goldcircle.co.za
