Mambo’s Gr1 Glory

Same Jurisdiction (Kevin Shea) shades Carry On Alice in a thriller

KZN Yearling Sale Million winner Same Jurisdiction proved that her big July payday was no flash in the pan when she stayed on powerfully to pip Carry On Alice in the R600 0000 Gr1 Thekwini Stakes run over a mile at Greyville on Saturday. Her victory also proved a boon for the big money restricted race concept that has become such a popular feature of our racing.

The Thekwini was also a watershed moment in the career of Moutonshoek stallion Mambo In Seattle who celebrated a well deserved first Gr1 winner from his first crop.

With all of the big names amongst the current generation of 2yo fillies lining up, the contest, a final Gr1 opportunity for this crop, always promised to deliver a top drawer spectacle.

The Gr1 Golden Slipper runner-up Alboran Sea was expected to make amends and was posted a 12 to 10 favourite with her conqueror Bilateral quoted at 6 to1.

Same Jurisdiction went off at 11 to 2 and was well placed in the box seat as Banbury carted the field along.

Inside the 300m Carry On Alice burst forward and looked to be going on to win but the never-say-die Shea got stuck in to Same Jurisdiction and the two went to the line as one.

It was so close that Sheldon Peters suggested that Carry On Alice had won.

But the photo showed that Same Jurisdiction had done enough and she got the verdict by a nose in a time of 96,71 secs.

Kevin Shea rode a cracker

Bilateral maintained her form resurgence by staying on for third with Banbury running fourth.

The De Kock pair of Alboran Sea and Pine Princess finished down the field.

Jockey Kevin Shea has been aboard at all four of Same Jurisdiction’s starts and knew what he had under him coming into this race. He admitted that they would have been happy to have run a place in the exalted company but said that as the race time got closer, winning became a more serious option!

“I would have liked them to have gone a bit quicker as she is a long striding filly. There is something about this filly. She is a fighter,’ he said.

Trainer Duncan Howells who looks set to lift the KZN Champion trainer title and was celebrating a sixth career Gr1 victory, said: “To be quite honest, I was pretty confident coming in today. She has shown such promise and let’s face it – running to her best ability at three different racecourses must make her something quite special. She is such a professional.”

Klawervlei Stud bred the winner, who cost R270 000 on the KZN Yearling Sale.

She is a daughter of Mambo In Seattle out of the lightly raced one-time winning Captain Al mare, Diana De Carlo.

Mambo In Seattle is a son of Kingmambo and stands at Moutonshoek.

Same Jurisdiction has now won 3 of her 4 starts with 1 place and R1 054 675 in stakes. She was also one of the qualifiers for the Bloodstock South Africa value added bonus of R100 000.

With all three 2yo filly Gr1’s having been won by different horses, the Equus selection panel faces a tough task.