Trainer Tienie Prinsloo congratulates his filly Quickstepgal after she had won the Listed Ridgemont Devon Air Stakes at Hollywoodbets Greyville under Kabelo Matsunyane (Candiese Lenferna Photography)
The crack Vercingetorix filly Quickstepgal has been sold by Rakesh Singh to Laurence Wernars and Harry Wilson, but the good news for Summerveld-based Tienie Prinsloo is he will continue to be the trainer.
Tienie said the sale had not come as a surprise to him and revealed, “We all along knew what we were going to do, so we just sat back and relaxed and thought that is what we are going to do one day. When Laurence approached us we said, ‘Ok, let’s do it.’ It was so quick, 1, 2, 3 and it was all over.”
Tienie was not surprised to stay on as trainer and explained, “I knew the filly would stay with me, because Laurence also sent me two babies. Very nice babies, a Trippi filly and a New Predator filly who is from the family of True To Life, Deo Juvente, Zebra Crossing, African Lion, Tecla Bluff etc. But just looking at both of them you can see there is class in them, they are not going to be running as maidens. They are very well put together. They came off the farm and they had a little bit of long hair, but now they have started shining and they are in work already.”
Tienie is not sure of the route Quickstepgal will be taking yet, but he has eyed a nice reappearance opportunity.
He said, “At the end of October there is a nice race over 1600m for her.”
He continued, “At the moment I am just playing with her, but Laurence said to me Justin Vermaak will phone me and then we will sit down and discuss what we are going to do and we’ll take it from there.”
Quickstepgal, who was bred by Marsh Shirtliff’s Greenacres Trust, was purchased for R450,000 at the BSA KZN Yearling Sale last year and has won three times from five starts, including the Gr 3 Tote Strelitzia Stakes over 1100m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville and the Listed Ridgemont Devon Air Stakes over 1400m at Hollywoodbets Greyville, in which she waltzed in by 2,60 lenghs.
She followed the Devon Air win with a 1,40 length second to the crack Alan Greeff-trained unbeaten filly Anotherdanceforme in the Gr 2 Splashout Golden Slipper over 1400m. She was a touch unlucky not to get closer in that race as she was carried across the course.
Tienie said about Quickstepgal, “She’s a very nice filly and still growing a lot. She is getting a bit rangy and 1600m will be a perfect distance for her. But she is just lovely. She is just doing everything right. There is a lot more to come from her.”
The question is whether she will go the Gr 1 WSB Cape Guineas route or the Jo’Burg route, where lesser races like the Gr 3 Fillies Mile will be her options until the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara series gets under way in roundabout February.
Tienie said he would not like to run her in Jo’Burg on hard ground if the rains have not arrived, but on the other hand the Cape route entails a long journey and facing stronger opposition, the like of the Equus Champion Two-year-old filly Golden Palm.
Things are looking up for the Prinsloo yard and Flamingo Park, where he was once champion but where trainers battled along with throwout horses from the chief centres, is now a distant memory. He appreciates his time at Flamingo and said he would never put it down, but he is now relishing competing with the best in KZN.
He said, ” I think I’ve proved myself. If I can get a nice horse, then I can also do it.”
He added, “Sometimes you feel this horeracing is too much, but then you get these horses who can prove to you they are good horses and it’s awesome. I’m blessed to have somebody like Rakesh and you know all these big okes like Laurence in my stable because it just helps a lot. Rakesh has a baby with me now who is by Hawwaam out of Alboran Sea and he is a lovely colt, who I am looking forward to. Every morning he does his light work, because he has just got into training and the way this horse moves, I don’t know if I am right or wrong, but my gut feeling is telling me this is my next champion. He is stocky and built like a proper sprinter. Everybody is saying the Hawwaams can be a bit hot, but he’s calm and relaxed and is a very, very nice horse.”
Tienie now has 19 horses in his yard and is building.
He said, “It’s just amazing how this game can turn around for you sometimes. At one stage the horses were just going out the yard as I was getting rid of the bad ones and then all of a sudden the horses just start winning and then people are coming back to you. It’s nice when people believe in you. That’s the main part, if they believe in you and can trust you. That’s all you need. If they give you the stock you can work with, then we have shown we can produce. You just have to work.”
Tiene was due to fly up to Jo’Burg last night (Tuesday) to atttend the BSA August Two-year-old Sale and is hoping to pick up oneor two there, although he predicted the prices would be high.
At the end of the month he will be attending the KZN Awards, which he has been invited to as there is little doubt he will collect the KZN Champion Two-year-old award with Quickstepgal.
The Prinsloo yard have an exciting season ahead of them and look to be one to follow.
