Former SA Champion jockey Gavin Lerena was at his brilliant best at Turffontein on Election Day when he banged home five winners on the eight race card.
Lerena scored his 139th winner of the season at a win strike-rate of 25.93% and moved into fourth position on the national log with just under three months left of the term.
Gavin Lerena steers Schippers to victory on Champions Day (Pic – JC Photos)
Interestingly, he rode two winners apiece for Paul Peter and Lucky Houdalakis, and one for St John Gray. And none of the winners today were for Geoff Woodruff, for whom Lerena produced a lovely Champions Day feature double at Turffontein on Saturday.
The first of these was the Geoff van Lear owned and bred 4yo Schippers, who really showed her class when accounting for a quality field of stakes winners to win the R400 000 Gr2 Camellia Stakes run over the 1160m straight.
Allowed to bowl just off the pace early on, Schippers finished with an electrifying burst to beat the smart Pathfork 3yo Mighty High by 2,50 lengths in a time 66,72 secs,
Green Plains and Pretty Penny completed the quartet.
On this performance, and based on her showings this season, Schippers looks a lively candidate for the Gr1 SA Fillies Sprint later this month. She had previously tasted graded success when victorious in the 2018 Gr3 Magnolia Handicap.
Bred and raced by Geoff van Lear, she is a daughter of our Leading Sire of 2YO’s in South Africa the past two years running,Var (Forest Wildcat) out of four-time winner Fair Rosalind (Count Dubois.
Schippers has won 6 races with 7 places from 15 starts for stakes of R870 950.
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Gr2 Camellia Stakes (SAf-Gr2)
Turffontein, South Africa, May 4, R400k, 1160m, turf, good, 1.06.72
1 – SCHIPPERS (SAF), 59.0, ch f 4, Var (USA) – Fair Rosalind (SAF) by Count Dubois (GB). Owner Mr Geoffery van Lear; Breeder G van Lear; trainer GV Woodruff; jockey G Lerena
2 – Mighty High (SAF), 59.5, b f 3, Pathfork (USA) – Bold Nimph (AUS) by Shamardal (USA)
3 – Green Plains (SAF), 60.0, b f 4, Gimmethegreenlight (AUS) – Savannah Leigh (SAF) by Jet Master (SAF)
Margins: 2.50, 0.25, 1.50
