Donald McDonald’s hard-fought victory in the Listed Michaelmas Handicap at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Sunday put an exclamation mark on a remarkable weekend for breeders Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein.
The Gavin van Zyl-trained gelding was one of a posse of seven winners across three meetings bred by the current log leaders.
The banner weekend started at Fairview on Friday when Soft Falling Rain filly Weather Bomb lost her maiden tag in the colours of Michael Javett, who races the four-year-old in partnership with Mary Slack. She is the first foal of Encosta De Lago mare Purely Atomic, who carried the same silks to victory in the Listed East Cape Paddock Stakes five years ago.
Impressive Courageous Cat saunters to victory (Pic- JC Photos)
On to Saturday’s Turffontein meeting where no less five of the eight winners were either bred at Wilgerbosdrift or sister stud Mauritzfontein, four of which in quick succession.
Paul Peter-trained Shangani kickstarted a memorable day with a fluent win in the 2600m second race. Also by Soft Falling, the lightly-raced four-year-old was scoring for the third time in just four starts and gave the impression that he relishes a demanding test of stamina, as did his dam, the Gr2 Gold Bowl victress Gorongosa and half-sister Chitengo, a dual winner of the Aquanaut Handicap.
In the 1450m third race, trainer Mike de Kock took the wraps off a potential good one in Courageous Cat, who swept to an eight and a half-length debut victory.
The colt scored in the reverse Oppenheimer colours of Steven Jell, who races him in partnership with Diane De Kock, Noeline Malherbe, Spencer Cook and Murray Makepeace.
Incidentally, he is the first South African winner for champion American stallion Kitten’s Joy and is a grandson of Sadler’s Wells, as is Horse Chestnut, the colt’s broodmare sire. The colt’s dam Tamdiid is also an own sister to Lucifer’s Stone, who was Horse Chestnut’s first and sole Gr1 winner when he stood at Claiborne.
The fourth race proved an all-girl affair, with victory going to the Dianne Stenger-trained Flower Alley filly Ms Flower Power.
Off the track for seven months, she shed maiden status with a comfortable win going 1450m and was one of a Stenger-trained double on the day for red-hot apprentice Rachel Venniker. Out of the Australian-bred Malmaison, Ms Flower Power’s half-sister Rosier won the Gr2 Debutante in the Slack silks.
The Wilgerbosdrift/Mauritzfontein juggernaut continued its relentless march in the fifth race, where Ideal World filly Eternity Ring scored a seasonal debut over 1450m.
It was a third success for the three-year-old, to go along with back-to-back victories as a juvenile. A half-sister to Gr3-placed Petra, she is one of six winners out of Swallow Stakes winner Loupe.
An amazing quintet of winners on the day was rounded out in the eighth race by De Kock-trained three-year-old Aragosta.
Making a return to racing after cracking his maiden in May, the son of Rafeef took the step up in trip to 1800m with aplomb to land the spoils by the best part of two lengths. A first foal, his dam Miss Galidora is a Galileo half-sister to the French 2000 Guineas winner and sire Clodovil.
Which brings us to, Donald McDonald. The Ideal World five-year-old took his game to the next level when he became Wilgerbosdrift/Mauritzfontein’s latest stakes winner. His gutsy victory over the rain-softened track was also his first foray into stakes company. The five-time winner was rewarded for consistency, as he has yet to finish out of the first four in 11 starts.
Donald Mcdonald ( Warren Kennedy) shows courage to hold off Wealthy (Sean Veale) (Pic- Candiese Lenferna)
Amongst the early entries for the Gr1 Summer Cup, Donald McDonald is trained by Gavin van Zyl as was his dam, the Brazilian import Mark Of Esteem mare Ireland. A winner of two races, she has gone on to become an excellent broodmare. Donald McDonald joins dual champion filly Celtic Sea as her second stakes winner and she is also the dam of multiple Gr3-placed Cashel Palace.
Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein’s good run spilled over into the new week with first-timer Evening Primrose winning the fourth race at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Monday for young Gareth van Zyl!
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