Game! Anton Marcus steers Trinity House to her Gr3 win.
Small in stature but a real fighter at heart, the game Trinity House recorded her first win beyond 1200m and her third career stakes victory when winning the R146 250 Gr3 Umzimkhulu Stakes run over 1400m at Scottsville on Saturday.
Milnerton trainer Joey Ramsden launched the serious part of his 2012 KwaZulu-Natal campaign in a manner that shows that he means serious business. The Englishman has a powerful string of horses to match his naturally fiery competitive spirit and he provided current South African champion jockey Anton Marcus with a relatively easy earning opportunity here.Trinity House was saddled by assistant trainer Lorenzo Karriem.
This was Marcus’ first win aboard Trinity House but one has to feel for Ramsden’s longserving first choice jockey Glen Hatt, who has partnered the filly to three of her wins. Hatt has also missed out on the odd Group winner here and there on other horses. But business is business, and Superman is retained by the Jooste racing empire, for whom he does a terrific job.
The possible lack of pace and the fact that she may have needed the run, were the sole concerns for Trinity House’s connections and beyond the winner, the race, sponsored by the Independent On Saturday, was uneventful.
Dennis Drier’s Miss Ipanema grabbed an early lead under replacement rider MJ Byleveld. The pair were in no hurry as they led the daughters of Captain Al, favourite Trinity House and Wendy Whitehead’s Reason To Believe, into the straight.
In typically confident cavalier fashion, Anton Marcus gave the slightly built Trinity House her head at the 400m marker and she went clear to win unchallenged at her first Scottsville outing at a rather generous 17-10. Miss Ipanema stayed on well enough for second ahead of a minor stampede from the balance that saw the Spectrum filly Beloved Betty run the race of her life, over a distance short of her probable best, to snatch a third placed cheque.
The fancied Happy Heart had every chance from her plum draw, but failed to quicken in the straight and stayed on just out of the money. She may well be worth another chance.
Home James! Lorenzo Karriem leads Trinity House in after her Gr3 win.
Trinity House won her first four career starts, which included two features at Listed and Grade 3 level as a two year old, when left behind in the Cape by her astute conditioner during the winter months. She did play second fiddle to Glen Kotzen’s brilliant Princess Victoria in both the Cape Fillies Guineas and the Fillies Championship. But the record books will show that she can proudly claim a victory over the champion on her debut over 1000m at Kenilworth way back in January last year.
Bred by Klawervlei Stud, Trinity House campaigns in the instantly recognisable green, yellow and black silks of Ingrid and Markus Jooste . This was her fifth win from eleven starts for career stakes earnings of R571 580-.
She is by Captain Al, whose leading stakes earner this season, Reason To Believe ran fourth. Out of the gallant five-time winning National Assembly mare National Vixen, who was trained by Mike Stewart in her racing career, Trinity House has matured and trained on from what many felt was little more than a fast precocious youngster. In spite of her win today, she still looks best at around 1200m.
Where to from here? Trinity House should be worth including in your Charity Turf Challenge squad but Joey Ramsden was non-committal afterwards and is keeping his options open as regards her immediate future programme.
Umzimkhulu S. (SAf-G3) (4/14)
Scottsville, South Africa, April 14, R146.250, 1400m, turf, good, 1.24.64 (CR 1.21.72).
TRINITY HOUSE (SAF), 58.0, b f 3, Captain Al (SAF) – National Vixen (SAF) by National Assembly (CAN). Owner Mrs I and Mr M J Jooste; breeder Klawervlei Stud (SAF); trainer J Ramsden; jockey A Marcus (R96.970)
Miss Ipanema (AUS), 54.0, b f 3, General Nediym (AUS) – Sherborne Abbey (AUS) by Zabeel (NZ)
Beloved Betty (SAF), 54.0, b f 3, Spectrum (IRE) – Arch Mistress by Arch
Margins: 1¼, sh hd, nose
Also ran: Reason To Believe (SAF) 58.0, Happy Heart (SAF) 56.0, Awesome Beauty (SAF) 54.0
