Buttercup Baby is led in by owners Sandy and Eugene Arundel (right) and trainer Wendy Whitehead (left) (Picture: Race Coast)
The main race at the Holywoodbets Greyville poly meeting on Sunday, a Middle Stakes event over 1200m for fillies and mares, saw a comfortable victory for the Wendy Whitehead-trained Buttercup Baby and it brought up a 100th win as owners for Sandy and Eugene Arundel’s Itssa IT and Business Solutions ownership concern.
Buttercup Baby was off an 88 merit rating which did not make her well weighted as she was officially 1,5kg under sufferance with Convocation. However, Rachel Venniker’s gender allowance of 1,5kg brought the pair together at the weights. On the same weight terms Convocation had beaten Butterup Baby by 0,45 lengths over this trip at Holywoodbets Scottsville on February 18, but Buttercup Baby had some fine poly form over this trip and she was duly backed in to 5/2, although Convocation also shortened from 28/10 into 18/10. Buttercup Baby, a four-year-old by What A Winter, was taken straight to the front from the widest draw of seven and got their quite easily, with the tardy start of the well known front-runner Hierkommiebokkie in pole position aiding her cause. Buttercup Baby stayed on well in the straight and fended off the challenge of Sovereign Grant to win by half-a-length, although not before drifting outward and this led to an unlucky Kythera, who was going for a gap between the two front-runners, having to be snatched up late and it probably cost her third place. Back At The George was third and Convocation only managed fifth place.
It was fitting Wendy Whitehead trained the Arundels 100th win as she was their first trainer when they went into the sport in a big way and she picked some of their best horses at the Sales, including Gr 1 winner Rascova and the many-times Graded-placed Minogue, so their were some emotions shown in the winner’s enclosure by both trainer and owners.
Earlier in a C Stakes event for all horses over 1200m, the Glen Kotzen-trained Gimmethegreenlight gelding The Mask scoring a deserved victory after finishing second in his three previous starts. The Mask was actually at the bottom of his merit rating band in this contest so was 1kg under sufferance with the best weighted males and 3kg under sufferance with the best weighted runner, the raiding Highveld filly Dondoyaki, but nevertheless he started favourite at 9/4. Chad Little managed to get him to the front from draw six out of seven and after stealing a march at the top of the straight at the same time as second favourite Ibutho was looking for gaps to open further back, he never looked like being caught and won by 3,20 lengths from Winter Waves with Ibutho next best.
The meeting started with a surprise result as the Gareth van Zyl-trained I Am Invictus led from start to finish under S’Manga Khumalo and held on by 0,60 lengths from Sail The Horizon and Light The Fire to convert odds of 10/1. The good looking Vercingetorix gelding had finished last on debut, but looks a type who can progress.
In the second race, an Open Maiden over 1400m, the hard-knocking Louis Goosen-trained Pomodoro filly Saudi Sweep carried joint topweight of 60.5kg but that didn’t stop her scoring by 0,60 lengths under Rachel Venniker from the odds-on favourite Vaan’s Spirit. She jumped from pole and came from a handy position with a sustained run down the inside.
In the fifth race, a fillies and mares Class 5 over 1000m, the Alyson Wright-trained three-year-old Willow Magic filly Magical Sky was taken to the lead under Damyan Pillay, just heading a horse inside of her, and she kicked on well under a finely judged ride to win by 1,50 lengths.
In the sixth, a Class 5 for fillies and mares over 1900m, Glen Kotzen and Chad Little clinched a double together as Legislate filly Sesame came from midfield and outfought Sweeter Than Honey under a typically powerful ride by Little.
In the seventh, a D Stakes event over 1900m, the MJ Odendaal-trained What A Winter gelding Takeyourbestshot had just won an Open Maiden off a 61 rating and off a 64 was at the bottom of his merit rating band in this race, but he was nevertheless backed into 18/10 favourite and he led throughout to win by an easy 1,70 lengths under Keagan de Melo.
In the eighth, a Class 4 over 1600m, Fanie Bronkhorst’s journey down with six horses hadn’t looked to be going well, but Erupt mare Boom Boom made it worthwhile as Serino Moodley extracted a strong charge from her to win by a head and a shorthead from Blue Poppy and Prom Queen in a thrilling finish.
In the last race, a Class 5 over 1600m, S’Manga Khumalo managed to get the Vengi Masawi-trained Potala Palace gelding into a handy position with cover from draw five and with the rest of the field being held up by Master Silvano, who was battling to keep up, Khumalo just had to steer Pied Piper straight to chalk up a 1,10 length victory from a closing Basie Raakvat. Hollywood Racing’s Ashburton-based trainer Masawi has now had 14 wins in his first full season as a licensed trainer and he has the highest strike rate in the country at 25.45%.
