While the Woodhill Racing Team has much bigger fish to fry this season, astute trainer Glen Kotzen graciously accepted a welcome confidence-booster ahead of the big day at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday, when he saddled the exacta in the R175 000 East Cape Polytrack Challenge 1600 at Fairview on Friday.
With two runners in Saturday’s Gr3 Cape Classic, and other big guns in the Cape summer season wings, Friday’s result will be a tonic for the Boland team.
The gloomy conditions don’t make for easy photo conditions, but Pauline Herman snapped Cat Daddy storming up the outside rail to a great victory
Earlier this month, the Kotzen family celebrated 21 years at the magnificent Woodhill Estate, one of the most prestigious private training establishments in Southern Africa.
And the energetic Glen, who celebrates his 57th birthday on Sunday, has been a shrewd picker at the sales and tireless traveller to wherever there are races to be won.
On Friday he travelled up the Garden Route with just two runners and came away with the feature exacta.
After former Kotzen charge Herodotus dashed off too fast to lead the way, Lois Mxothwa produced the classy well-travelled 7yo Cat Daddy (5-1) with a sustained late charge to win going away in a time of 95,02 secs.
Stablemate My Bestie (8-1) ran a cracker a half length back in second, with the luckless, but supremely consistent, Greenlighttoheaven (11-2) back in third.
A thrilled Lois Mxothwa gives Cat Daddy a love as Loyiso Bonani enjoys the moment (Pic – Pauline Herman)
Cat Daddy is certainly as evergreen and versatile as they come. A winner of the Algoa Cup, or ‘PE July’, in 2019 at Fairview, he racked up another stakes score with a gutsy victory in the Listed Darley Arabian on the Hollywoodbets Greyville polytrack and earlier this year, he registered a first stakes win on turf in KZN when he ran them ragged to win the R150 000 Listed Kings Cup.
Cat Daddy is raced by The Great 8 Stables and LLC Syndicate (Nom :Mr D H Barton) and was bred by the Gary Player Stud.
A winner of 8 races with 14 places from 40 starts, he took his earnings to R922 700 on Friday.
A son of the dual stakes winning Kingmambo stallion Ideal World, the 7yo is out of the Black Minnaloushe mare Eyona, a winning half-sister to the stakes placed Elusive Model and to the dam of Castle Tankard hero Peggson.
This is the famous ‘E’ family, which produced South African champions Empress Club, Ecurie, Escoleta Fitz, Eventuail, and successful sire Elusive Fort. Former Equus Champion Stayer Hermoso Mundo, also sired by Ideal World, is another notable member of this family.
