Glen Kotzen’s Woodhill Racing Team dominated an entertaining Durbanville racemeeting on Saturday, winning four of the eight races.
While Frankel son General Franco and Dean Kannemeyer’s handsome big-ticket purchase Track Attack were touted as the potential newsmakers, it was the Kotzen outfit’s day to remember, with stable jockey Morne Winnaar again demonstrating that his raw stats are no reflection of his true ability, when given the opportunities.
Point Of Sale (Greg Cheyne) is led in by Kirra Kotzen, Kevin Sommerville and Glen Kotzen (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
The Kotzen rout commenced in the third where the well-related Var filly Point Of Sale (16-10) skipped home to shed her maiden at her fourth start under Greg Cheyne. She thus confirmed her good fifth in the Gr2 The Debutante and looks to have lots of upward scope.
Paddy Kruyer’s Caribbean Sunset showed improvement to run a half length second and the Captain Al daughter is one for the notebook.
High-riding Morne Winnaar steers Follow The Star to victory (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
Morne Winnaar picked up the first of his three winners when the Scott Bros-bred Silvano filly Follow The Star (21-10) was an easy winner of the Jackpot opener.
After his recent maiden success, Oratorio – what a week of winners he has had – gelding Viva Rio was backed from 14’s into 4-1 and duly obliged to give Kotzen and Winnaar another strike in the fifth race. Another recent maiden winner in Sir Michael came out of the pack to chase Viva Rio home, with the winner’s stablemate Miraculously Ours completing the recent maiden winner trifecta in third.
Oratorio gelding Viva Rio powers home under Morne Winnaar to beat Stuart Randolph and Sir Michael (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
After Justin Snaith and Richard Fourie had gotten their day off to a flyer, courtesy of the Drakenstein-bred Trippi gelding Stopalltheclocks in the opener, plenty of expected of General Franco(17-10), who was returning from an eighteen week break in the second race.
But the 3yo had little to come late and finished with only one of his four opponents behind him – running 3,35 lengths off the free-striding Spectra Force, who won well under MJ Byleveld.
The start of the final race was delayed after Fort Agopian appeared to lose his bridle and broke away from the start – breaking a few rails in the process. Dean Kannemeyer’s R5,2 million National Yearling Sale record-breaker Track Attack (23-10) looked a picture in the preliminaries – but the son of Dynasty was run off his feet by the catch-me-if-you-can Winnaar on Highlands-bred Pathfork gelding Hubble.
Track Attack made up ground but was not punished by replacement jockey Stuart Randolph. He ran a nine length second to the astonishingly easy winner. Track Attack looks an interesting proposition next time at Kenilworth – maybe over a mile.
