3 minute read

Pietermaritzburg played host to the Golden Horse Casino Sprint Race day at Scottsville on Saturday, where four Group 1 races over 1200m headlined the card.

First up were the juvenile fillies in the R600 000, Group 1 Allan Robertson Championship, where Vaughan Marshall took the honours for a second year running, when his classy Silvano filly, Happy Valentine, proved too smart for the opposition.

It was only Happy Valentine’s second start, but after winning a Maiden Plate comfortably by 5.5 lengths, Marshall clearly thought her good enough to step up, straight to Group 1 level. And despite racing slightly green in the latter stages, Happy Valentine did not disappoint.

Sean Veale bounced the filly smartly out of the gates and into the lead. Along Came Polly and Masked Lady chased hard, but Happy Valentine was clearly in a different class as she led from start to finish, to win by 3.25 lengths in a time of 68.51 seconds. Even Veale could not quite believe the ease of her victory, with the jockey glancing over both shoulders in the final 200m. Along Came Polly held on for second, with Masked Lady settling for third, a further 2.75 lengths back.

Happy Valentine, by Silvano out of the National Assembly mare Happy Ever After, remained unbeaten, taking her earnings to R420 000 for owners Messrs A Chemaly and G L O’Brien.

The clash of the juvenile colts in the R600 000, Group 1 Tsogo Sun Medallion, was billed as a two horse race between the Group 3 Godolphin Barb winner Normanz and the Group 1 SA Nursery winner, Willow Magic(Aus). Unfortunately, neither colt had read the script and not to be outdone by Vaughan Marshall, trainer Dennis Drier also took the honours for the second year running, this time with Captain Of All.

In an almost identical race to the fillies’ sprint, Sean Cormack was fast away on Captain Of All, while Normanz missed the jump by 1.5 lengths. Willow Magic chased hard and made up ground in the closing stages, but despite shifting inwards over the last 400m, Captain Of All was never headed, crossing the line in 68.10 seconds to win by a length from Willow Magic. Captain’s Reserve finished a distant third, a further five lengths back.

By Captain Al out of the Fard mare Serious Side, Captain Of All is owned by Mrs I Jooste and Mr M J Jooste. It was the colt’s second victory from three starts, taking his earnings to R434 400. In a strange twist of fate, Captain Of All was also bred by Riverton stud, breeders of the 2012 winner, Potent Power.