Andrew Harrison (Gold Circle)

Lyle Hewitson, fresh from a milestone 50-wins season in Hong Kong, was back on familiar territory at Hollywoodbets Scotttsville on Wednesday and rode another black type winner for his old boss Sean Tarry.

Hewitson rode a measured race on the favourite Emerald Princess, a four-year-old Gimmethegreenlight filly bred by Syrilla Stud, in the Listed Off To Stud Stakes over 1600m.

Tracking the pace early, Hewitson produced his mount with the prefect late run to snatch top honours.

Emerald Princess is owned by Mrs L C A Bouwer, Messrs G A Basel & W Volschenk.

Hewitson had seven rides at the meeting for one win, two seconds and two thirds.

Tarry had two winners at the meeting, the other one with the ever improving Celestial City.

The latter’s owner Henning Pretorius is not new to the horse game, buying Summerhill Stud, a prolific source of winners on the racecourse after Summerhill founder Mickey Goss retired and sold off an iconic horse nursery. Summerhill is now more a station for Warmbloods but Pretorius has kept his hand in on the thoroughbred business. Apart from standing useful sire Act Of War, he plunged at the National Yearling Sales, forking out an eye-watering R7 million for Celestial City, a full brother to top Gr 1 galloper Hawwaam and half-brother to two other multiple Gr 1 winners in Rainbow Bridge and Golden Ducat.

 A late starter to his racing career, Celestial City is loaded with winning genes, and although he may not reach the highs of his siblings on the racecourse or recouping his purchase price on the track, he has shown that he is no mean galloper.

Sean Tarry has coaxed him to five wins and Celestial City could still climb to greater heights given that he only turns five at the end of the month. Given his blue-blood pedigree and that he has shown he is a winner, Henning could well recoup his outlay in the stallion barn.

Given that he is still an entire, Celestial City was perfectly behaved in the preliminaries and ran out an emphatic winner of the third at race over 1400m.

Neither Tarry or Henning were in attendance at the lead-in but regular rider Kabelo Mastsunyane, with his Hollywoodbets Durban July win still fresh in his memory, was confident that Celestial City was good enough to win a feature in the coming Highveld season which would add even further luster to the colt’s paddock potential.