Viva La Vida scores a hattrick and makes it three wins from four starts and gives Sean Veale a double (Picture: Wayne Marks)
Sean Veale rode a double at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Wednesday, one of them for James Crawford, who also scored a double, while Gimmethegreenlight was sire of two promising three-year-old winners.
Crawford’s first winner Fox On The Run, ridden by Veale, would have been rewarding as the yard trained his mother Quick Brown Fox (Foxwedge), an Australian-bred who won her first two starts in emphatic fashion which saw her start second favourite for the Cape Fillies Guineas.
Fox On The Run, who is a Ridgemont-bred Canford Cliffs three-year-old colt owned by Hollywood Racing, found a handy position from draw three before running on well and extending in the closing stages to win in fine style by 1,75 lengths.
Veale’s second win was aboard the Vaughan Marshall-trained Gimmethegreenlight filly Viva La Vida, who claimed a hattrick. It was only her fourth career start and she was running off an 86 merit rating in a 1500m Class 4 event. The Alec and the Honourable Gillian Foster’s homebred Gimmethegreenlight three-year-old filly, who is not tall and is on the slight side, was third in line on the rail in the small six horse field and ran on well to haul in Supreme Fate to win by a cosy one length.
Crawford’s second win was with the 93-rated William Longsword filly Festival Chic, who won a Middle Stakes event over 1250m by a short-head under Luyolo Mxothwa.
Gimmethegreenlight’s double come when Craig Zackey cruised in on the Dean Kannemeyer-trained Gimmie Rules, who came from last and looks highly promising as that made it two wins in three starts.
Another notable winner on the day was the 106-rated Greg Ennion-trained What A Winter gelding Arctic Wizard, who made it career win number six, including three of his last four, when landing a 1000m A Stakes even by a cosy 0,75 lengths under Muzi Yeni.
Craig Zackey’s single win on the day put him back on top of the national jockey’s log with 46 wins at a strike rate of 14.94%, one clear of Richard Fourie (45 wins at 25%).
Callan Murray is in third place with 34 wins at 16.67% and then Yeni (33 at 13.52%) and Serino Moodley (33 at 13.36%) are next best.
Crawford has 16 wins at 15.24%.
