The Dennis Drier-trained Sommerlied beat a quality field of speedsters at Scottsville on Thursday to set a new track record for the 1000m straight.
Sommerlied in action
Fresh off his Gr1 success for the Drier yard on Sunday, jockey Sean Veale rode a perfectly judged race on the smart filly. Sommerlied beat Gr2 Joburg Merchants winner Brutal Force (Western Winter) and the 2016 Gr1 Tsogo Sun Sprint winner Talktothestars (Overlord) in a thriller. The previous course record holder, Muscatt (Victory Moon), ran fourth.
Muscatt was the record holder on 55,81 secs and Sommerlied chipped away at that benchmark to run it in 55,61 secs. In a twist, the winning owner-breeders also stood Muscatt’s sire, Victory Moon (Al Mufti).
Sommerlied, a 4yo daughter of Avontuur’s newly crowned SA Champion 2yo Sire, Var, has now won 4 of her 5 starts and is loaded with ability.
Owned and bred by Maine Chance Farms, she is out of the Pentire mare Sommermarchen, who won in Germany from two starts. She retired injured. The well-related dam is a half sister to three stakes performers in Germany and to the dam of a Gr3 winner.
