Vercingetorix colt Gallic Victor storms home on debut after coming from last (Candiese Lenferna Photography)
Andrew Harrison (Race Coast)
Race caller Sheldon Peters may have jumped the gun after Gallic Victor stormed home in the first leg of the Pick 6 at Hollywoodbets Scottsville yesterday, labelling Dean Kannemeyer’s colt a future Hollywoodbets Durban July winner.
A brave prediction considering that the next July is twelve months away and it was just a maiden race but the signs are good.
Making his debut, Gallic Victor was all at sea from the break. He blew the start and was all over the place on the turn as Gavin Lerena settled him down off the pace. The son of Vercingetorix, still green in the straight, was good enough to put the race to bed with an impressive turn of foot.
If he can win the July, Peters will be the ultimate sooth sayer, but on yesterday’s evidence he may not be too far off the mark.
With stable rider Craig Zackey in the ‘naughty box’, Lerena will have taken his absence with both hands as he booted home a double for Kannemeyer starting in the card opener.
It was not the most inspiring of fields as the Lerena/Kannemeyer combination counted coup with Tulip Fields speeding clear of her field to win comfortably.
Vengi Masawi, who was recently appointed Hollywood Racing’s Ashburton trainer, will have to wait another day for his first winner as Mfethu was run out of it late by the Mike and Mathew de Kock-trained Exocet.
The two joined up to fight it out at around the 200 m mark but Exocet slowly wore down his rival under Callan Murray to deny Lerena another winner to put his jockey championship further out of reach of reigning champion Richard Fourie.
Nathan Kotzen will been having a few sleepless nights as he prepares Royal Victory for the Gr1 HJKC Champion Stakes this coming Sunday but Amor Fati eased some of the anxiety, running out a convincing winner of the Gallop Form Class 4.
However, he will probably have slept even sounder after Now I Got You gave him a double on the day. Apprentice Dezahn Louw recently won his first race as an apprentice and followed up with a more polished ride on Now I Got You. Tracking the early pace, he asked for a final effort at just the right time and won comfortably ahead of race favourite Prankster to deny Lerena another winner.
Masterofthedesert looked to be one of the better bets on the card and duly obliged to round off the meeting although one of his main threats was taken out at the start. Lerena was left in the gates as Mar Del Plata reared when the gates opened and the horse came home riderless. Rachel Venniker steered Candise Bass-Robinson’s charge home to a bloodless victory for KZN stand-in Terry Fripp, a veteran of the trade.
