The Dorrie Sham yard took home the lion’s share of the stakes spoils at Fairview on Friday when they saddled both feature winners on the programme.
The Shams have become major players on the PE circuit and pulled a nice win out of the bag in the R100 000 Fairview Mile with the 5yo Kahal gelding Symbolik finding his best form under Sandile Khathi.
Sandile Khathi steers Symbolik to a deserved win over Distinguished (Pic: Coastal Photos)
With topweighted dual Cape Gr3 winner Readytogorightnow (now based with Tara Laing) going off a 17-10 favourite, the nine horse field boasted plenty of quality.
And for Symbolik’s part owners, the Wernars, his victory was to prove a bright light on a weekend that promised plenty, but delivered only a half-baked cake in the end – as it happens in racing.
With Distingusihed and Grape Vine leading the charge at the 400m, Symbolik was poised in the shadows and was climbing all over the front pair.
And Sandile Khathi’s body language suggested he knew he had it in the bag at the 200m marker already, and the gelding cruised past Distinguished to win by 0,75 lengths in a time of 96,04 secs.
The handily weighted Grape Vine was always thereabouts and hung on for third.
Readytogorightnow ran a rather poor race and could only stay on weakly for fourth.
The Kjell Foundation bred Symbolik is a 5yo gelded son of Kahal out of the unraced National Emblem mare, Protea.
He was formerly based in Gauteng with Johan Janse van Vuuren, where he left as a one-time winner at the end of 2014. He has now won five further races in PE.
Symbolik has won six times in total from 28 starts with 10 places and took his stakes to R417 325.
The Shams’ first feature winner came about two races earlier, when the supremely consistent home-bred Memphis Mafia made it four wins in his last five starts when he bounded clear to win the R80 000 Sophomore Plate.
The 1400m 3yo non black-type feature attracted a field of twelve runners and with the Alan Greeff Go Deputy colt Welsh Emperor backed into 15-10 favourite, there was some handy 33-10 available about Memphis Mafia.
Met winning rider ‘J&B’ Van der Merwe did the honours and had Memphis Mafia relaxed some 5 lengths off the leaders Agterskot and Paulus.
‘J&B van der Merwe has Memphis Mafia is full flight to beat Fly Like The Wind (Pic: Coastal Photos)
At the 300m marker Memphis Mafia shot clear and won going away by 0,75 lengths in a time of 82,46 secs.
Fly Like The Wind came on late to maintain his own consistent form profile, while Welsh Emperor ran on far too late and had to be satisfied with a PA berth in third.
Memphis Mafia has become a real moneyspinner and registered his fourth win from 13 starts with 7 places. He has earned R295 750.
He was bred by his trainer Dorrie Sham and is by Lecture out of the four-time winning Special Preview mare, Olympic Special.
