Princess Ofthe Sky (Aldo Domeyer) holds off Piere Strydom and the flying Acrostar (Equine Edge)
Jockey Aldo Domeyer was the destroyer in chief at Kenilworth on Saturday with a well taken treble that included a feature double. His ride on Princess Ofthe Sky to win the R150 000 Listed Stormsvlei Mile was out of the top drawer and he conceded afterwards that his famous father was helping with his rides.
If Andrew Fortune is half as good a jockey agent as he was in the saddle, then young Aldo is on the right path.
An enquiry is still pending into his fall in a horrifying heel clip incident at Greyville on 16 May.
That evening Domeyer’s mount Shivrani clipped the heels of the S’manga Khumalo ridden Brown Sugar and despite being badly shaken he was back in the saddle in just over a week and has been riding like a demon with 4 winners in his subsequent fifteen rides.
He was on fire on Saturday though and even Piere Strydom had to play a rare second fiddle.
Aldo – riding with fire
Strydom had his hopes partly dashed at the start when his mount, the 22 to 10 favourite Acrostar, was slow into stride. It was possible that the tardy jump way by design as he grabbed a nice position on the rail as Lupin led Petty Officer and Princess Of the Sky.
Into the short winter home straight, Domeyer sent Princess Of the Sky down the inside rail and it was only the brilliance of Piere Strydom that got Acrostar to fly late and suffer a very narrow defeat.
Princess Of The Sky started at 22 to 10 and ran on well to beat the desperately unlucky Acrostar by a short head in a time of 102,85 secs.
Royal Air Force’s huge daughter Petty Officer stayed on nicely for third, with the winner’s stablemate Supreme Sunset coming from the clouds and passing most of the field for a respectable fourth.
Bass assistant trainer Candice Robinson said that Princess Ofthe Sky’s last win was facile.
“Today we were well drawn and we thought she would go very well. She is a big filly and she may go further, although we can’t say yet,” she said.
Jockey Aldo Domeyer said that his mount hadn’t broken well but had recovered.
Soul Agent, Andrew Fortune is helping his son
“I managed to hold my position and I asked the guy on the outside to challenge her and dictate. She has a big stride and I didn’t want to ease her. I was aware that Piere would be chasing me late on so I tried to let her use her stride and get away from them early. Thanks to the Bass team and also to my Dad who has been helping me with my rides,” he said.
Princess Ofthe Sky, who races in the famous Rhona Beck silks, has won 4 races with 3 places from 10 starts for stakes of R249 625.
She was bred by Patricia Devine from Jet Master out of the four time winning Goldmark mare, Spirit Of the Dance.
She is thus a full brother to Garth Puller’s staying sort Air Patrol, who has won up to 2500m.
She wasn’t a cheapie and cost R950 000 on the Cape Premier Yearling Sale Book 1.
