Feel It! Raymond Danielson steers Feel My Love through to win the Listed Queen Palm Handicap.
She is living proof of the horses for courses theory. Greg Ennion’s smart Australian filly Feel My Love showed her true ability on the right track, when she stormed through to win the R125 000 Listed Queen Palm Handicap run over 2400m at Clairwood on Sunday.
The daughter of Fusaichi Pegasus had earned her trip to the East Coast with a fluent win at Kenilworth at the beginning of May, but the story of her racing life prior to that had been one of excuses and frustration.
It is difficult to believe that she has ever been ridden handy in her races at times. It is really not a favourable reflection on the way the Capetonians run and ride their races, is it? But she showed just how good she really is with the complimentary factors of a confident ride, a true-run race and the assistance of a long run-in for home.
Feel My Love now has a 100% feature strike rate after winning her only two starts in KwaZulu-Natal, after a career knocking about in lowly-rated fillies’ handicaps in her hometown.
Raymond Danielson had Feel My Love settled at the rear as Alec Laird’s Himalayan Hill led the party, Muzi Yeni stretching her lead to some 6 lengths as they cut the mile-post marker.
Happy Hearts. Raymond Danielson raises his hand in triumph as he is led in by trainer Greg Ennion.
It was all over in a matter of strides though as Danielson unleashed Feel My Love with her characteristic late burst to skip clear and win unchallenged by 2,75 lengths in a time of 152,63secs.She had drifted from 28-10 to 3-1 on the off.
In a mirror image of the recent Listed East Coast Handicap run over 2000m at this course, Feel My Love accounted for the Drakenstein Stud owned and bred Croc Valley, who once again ran on stoutly for second place. Himalayan Hill stayed on well enough for third after running very freely for most of the trip.
The obvious disappointment of the race was the flat run of the fancied 15-10 Singspiel mare Atlantic Oak, who blotted her immaculate copybook after being given every chance by Kevin Shea. She fizzled out to run a tame fifth 6,80 lengths off the winner. The Snaith’s Audrey Rose,who was up with the action for most of the trip, was also given every chance and went into one-paced mode when the chips were down, to run 10 lengths behind.
Feel My Love was bred in Australia by Phillip Kahan and is by 2000 Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus out of the Danehill mare Bellhouse.
The winner is trained by the most positive of trainers, in former Cape Hunt amateur jockey Greg Ennion. He is never scared to label them, and declared that he had given part owner Etienne Braun the confidence to have a tickle. At the price on offer, it is the kind of result that keeps owners who enjoy a punt, very positive indeed.
Feel My Love has been a model of consistency and won 6 and placed 5 times from her 15 starts. She has won total stakes of R300 820.
Ennion has achieved his Champions Season mission for his filly and even though she has been relatively conservatively campaigned, he will probably ease off her now with a view on the Cape Summer Season.
Feel My Love is getting stronger and maturing fast. She could yet produce some serious fireworks for her connections. And with her blood, the paddocks beckon excitingly after her racecourse days are over.
