Hat Trick! King’s Bay rallies strongly under Ian Sturgeon to beat Acapulco in the Sentinel Stakes
Trainer Doug Campbell has trained many good horses over the past decades as a leading conditioner in KwaZulu Natal, and he stepped into the limelight when winning the R120 000 Sentinel Stakes at the newsmaking Clairwood meeting on Sunday.
The winner King’s Bay came into this race carrying topweight as the only two time winner in the non black type event, but registered the hat trick to show that he is one of the smarter local juveniles around.
Charles Laird’s weak 3 to 1 favourite Translator, still a maiden after two starts, was the talking horse, but after making the running over the 1000m trip, he capitulated and fell away to finish stone last.
The prospect of running into a headwind was, however, just what the Doctor ordered for King’s Bay as Ian Sturgeon had him tucked away in an energy saving fourth position early on.
Translator jumped well and was keen to lead Brasillia and Fly At Em, with King’s Bay, Acapulco, Emperor Niarchos and the other Campbell runner New Sensation bringing up the rear, after a slow start.
Translator started swerving at around the 300m marker as King’s Bay swept forward powerfully with the Drier first timer Acapulco going with him. Fly At Em was also commencing his run, but they had no chance as King’s Bay swept through down the inside to take it up inside the final 200m to beat the fast finishing Acapulco
King’s Bay went off at 7 to 2 and won by 0,25 lengths in a time of 59,18 secs.
The runner up Acapulco ran a terrific race on debut, and Dennis Drier’s colt, who runs in the Vanessa Harrison silks, should start a short priced favourite back in the maiden ranks next time.
An elated winning rider Ian Sturgeon said that his mount was a ‘lovely litte horse, but still a very immature type of baby.’ He expressed the thought that he would train on nicely.
King’s Bay was bred at the Campbells’ Sugar Hill Stud in Richmond in the KZN Midlands.
The winner is by King Of Kings out of the four time winning Russian Revival mare, Rose Bay, who was also trained by the Campbell clan.
He has now won 3 of 4 starts for 1 place and R172 375 in earnings.
