While it wasn’t a vintage SA Champions Season by any means for lady trainer Candice Bass-Robinson, the top-class Marina injected some sense of respectability into proceedings for the Milnerton team with an emphatic victory in Saturday’s Gr2 Gold Bracelet at Hollywoodbets Greyville.
It’s a funny old game this and newly crowned SA champion condition Paul Peter summed things up well in an interview with the Sporting Post last week, pointing to the fact that racing is just one never ending wheel and sometimes we are anywhere from the top, to the middle, to rock bottom.
For Candice Bass-Robinson, who struck early after taking the reins from her legendary Dad Mike with a history making Durban July winner in Marinaresco in 2017, it’s been a typically mixed bag of highs and lows, with the Cape results keeping the home fires burning strongly.
Aldo Domeyer salutes as Marina storms home to an impressive victory (Pic Candiese Lenferna)
On Saturday it was ironically Marinaresco’s full-sister Marina, a recent runner-up in the much discussed Brentford FC Gr1 Garden Province Stakes, who gave the Bass-Robinson team their 2022 SA Champions Season feature icebreaker with a storming performance in the Gr2 Gold Bracelet.
The Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein-bred Marina didn’t make the final cut for the Hollywoodbets Durban July, but demonstrated her talent with a superb career peak victory on Saturday as she bounced clear at 14-10 to beat the late rattling Follow The Star (12-1) by a facile 2,20 lengths in a time of 126,01 secs.
Sprinkles (12-1) ranged up looking dangerous, but was well beaten a further 1,80 lengths away in third.
A classy chestnut winner of 9 races with 5 places from 19 starts for stakes of R814 650, Marina is by retired multiple SA Champion sire Silvano (Lomitas) out of the twice-winning Fort Wood mare, Gay Fortuna.
The good news is that along with other smart winners, including Jet Dark and Captain’s Ransom, Marina is set to stay in training for another season and maybe her Hollywoodbets Durban July chance may yet come. She is, after all, a daughter of Silvano, and they age like a fine red wine.
Watch Saturday’s replay here:
