SA Champion trainer Justin Snaith celebrated a sixth KZN Guineas success when his Hollywoodbets Durban July entry Sail The Seas rallied powerfully to beat his boom stablemate Eight On Eighteen to win the R750 000 World Sports Betting Gr2 Guineas at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday.
Sail The Seas registers his maiden stakes success under Muzi Yeni (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
“This is one of the best 3yo crops we’ve ever seen,” quipped Snaith before explaining that the heavy rainfall in the province had made it ‘borderline impossible’ to train horses and probably favoured the raiders from the Highveld.
“The winner was more ready and the short run-in, tailwind and slow pace would have done Eight On Eighteen no favours. They will both go to the Daily News now,” added the man who celebrated a top two in Saturday’s 2025 renewal of the local classic after saddling his first winner Solo Traveller (2011), followed by Legislate (2014), Black Arthur (2016), Do It Again (2018) and Wild Coast (2020).
There was some pre-race drama when Snaith’s Legal Counsel was withdrawn with a vaccination discrepancy and the Plattner challenger Zeitz registered a high TC02 reading.
Justin Snaith, Muzi Yeni and Kalinga’s Ravi Naidoo celebrate the win (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
With only six starters, it was always going to be a tactical battle and Craig Zackey grabbed the initiative, taking Cosmic Speed up to lead Sail The Seas, On My Honour and Eight On Eighteen.
While Cosmic Speed galloped relentlessly into the home straight, Muzi Yeni had other ideas and he produced Sail The Seas (6-1) with a sustained effort as stablemate Eight On Eighteen unwound at the rail.
With the Snaith pair producing something of a pincer attack on the courageous pacemaker, it was Sail The Seas (6-1) who powered home for a first stakes victory to beat fellow Drakenstein product Eight On Eighteen (15-10) by 0,60 lengths in a time of 97,9 secs for the mile.
Eventual tote favourite, Sean Tarry’s Cosmic Speed (13-10) just tired late to be relegated a neck back in third.
A R500 000 National Yearling Sale purchase, Sail The Seas was registering his maiden stakes success. He has now won 5 races with 2 places from 10 starts for stakes of R1 091 212.
Raced by Rurik Gobel, Dave MacLean, Countess S Labia & Kalinga, the winner is yet another Drakenstein bred stakes winner and is by Vercingetorix (Silvano) out of the three-time winning Philanthropist mare, Sail.
