In a terrific emotionally charged climax to the 2020 SA Champions Season at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday, Cape trainer Eric Sands celebrated a superb ‘family’ exacta for longstanding SA racing patrons Mike and Norma Rattray.
Their 4yo Philanthropist gelding Golden Ducat snared his half-brother Rainbow Bridge in the shadow of the post to win the R425 000 World Sports Betting Gr1 Champions Cup.
The angle is deceptive but Golden Ducat gets up in the last stride! (Pic – Candiese Marnewick)
Amid a dizzying tapestry of interwoven emotions, Eric Sands, who trained his first Gr1 winner over 30 years ago, registered the Champions Cup double for the Rattrays, with two sons of Champion Broodmare Halfway To Heaven – a racer that he once trained for his own loyal client and friend, Gavin Walker – fighting out the finish of a memorable race.
Racing has a unique knack of creating horror stories.But conversely, there are plenty of true blue fairytales scripted along the way.
And young rider Donovan Dillon’s tears in the post-race interview of his first Gr1 success put the cherry on top of a shiny happy story, and an amazing few years for veteran Eric Sands.
The Sands rollercoaster gathered momentum when the popular horseman saddled Rainbow Bridge to win the 2019 Sun Met – and has taken a number of twists and turns along the yellow brick road.
And while Rainbow Bridge was undoubtedly the stable elect in his bid to win the Champions Cup for the second consecutive year on Saturday, Dillon’s perfectly timed ride from near the rear on Golden Ducat added the dash of drama as the 6-1 shot shaded his stablemate in a thriller of a finish.
Dillon’s presence followed his largely, with respect, default Vodacom Durban July engagement in the travel lockdown climate of the time. He was loyally rewarded by Eric Sands for his commitment (he lost kilo’s in a hurry to make the July cut) with a race he will be able to tell his Grandkids about.
After Lyle Hewitson looked to have sealed the race by giving his field the slip on 20-1 shot Cirillo, Warren Kennedy produced Rainbow Bridge with what looked to be a perfectly time effort down the inside.
But Dillon had other ideas and he launched Golden Ducat (6-1) down the middle to spoil the Rainbow Bridge party by a whisker in a time of 108,09 secs.
Ros Coetzee and the Sands team (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Cirillo was right in the mix, less than a quarter length back in third, with Do It Again battling to get going and rounding off the quartet, under a length behind the winner.
Trainer Sands confirmed that Golden Ducat had improved after his Vodacom Durban July fourth.
The handsome Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein-bred Philanthropist gelding, the ‘next in line’ after Rainbow Bridge (Ideal World) and the now exported Hawwam (Silvano), injured his hock as a youngster and thus wasn’t considered for sale.
His champion dam Halfway To Heaven – a daughter of Jet Master – is out of the Rambo Dancer mare Pas De Basque and is inbred 3×3 to Northern Dancer.
Golden Ducat has won 3 races with 6 places from 9 starts for stakes of R1 104 375.
