Destiny Of Fire (far side) gets her nose ahead of Ladyofdistinction as they drive in perfect synchrony for the line (Candiese Lenferna Photography)
Ebrahim Khan had to wait just a couple of days to get some justification for his big spending at the BSA August Two-year-old sale last week as the Mike de Kock-trained Master Of My Fate filly Destiny Of Fire made an impressive winning debut at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Sunday in a 1200m maiden for three-year-old fillies.
Mikdedekockracing.com described the race:
It’s never easy to make up ground in a sprint, especially so after an awkward start on debut.
Newcomer Destiny Of Fire was inexperienced out of the gates in Race 1 over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Sunday – she came out with what looked like half a flyjump and lost a length or two on her rivals in a race with pace all around her. But jockey Serino Moodley handled her calmly and with patience. She raced up to the hindquarters of the back markers, found her running rhythm and settled sensibly.
Destiny Of Fire was still last with 500m to go, but, switched into the open she quickened nicely and put herself well into the race with 300m to run. There was a stampede of runners racing into the closing stages, but she finished best and got her nose in front right on the line.
Destiny Of Fire races in partnership for Mike de Kock and Chris Haynes. She was bred by the late Lady Chrys O’Reilly by Master of Fate out of Festival Of Fire, who won the 2012 G3 Joburg Spring Challenge and finished second in the G1 Empress Club Stakes.
“This is a nice filly, she’s going to win her share of races,” said Mike.
Ebrahim Khan purchased a Hawwaam half-brother to Destiny Of Fire for R1 million last Thursday at the BSA August Two-year-old Sale.
She was one of three seven figure lots he purchased on the day and he bought eight horses in all to be the top buyer on Day One of the Sale with an aggregate of R4,480,000 and an average of R560,000.
Khan was one of the biggest owners in the country in the first few years of the millennium and owned such horses as Elusive Fort, who won both the 2006 G1 Derby and Gr 1 Daily News 2000, Saddlewood, who won the 2005 G2 Gold Bowl and G3 Gold Vase, and top-level sprinter Safe Structure, who won the G3 Tommy Hotspur.
