Blaine Marx-Jacobson just gets the hard-pulling Late Bloomer up (JC Photos)
Blaine Marx-Jacobson rode a double at the Turffontein Inside meeting to open up a six win lead over Mxolisi Mbuto in the race for the Apprentice Championship.
Marx-Jacobson earned his riding fee in no uncertain terms in the second of the wins when riding the hard-pulling Querari filly Late Bloomer to a narrow victory.
The filly, who is out of the Gold Cup-winning Dynasty mare Dynasty’s Blossom, has obvious talent because despite pulling hard throughout she still found plenty in the straight.
Marx-Jacobson has fine hands and did outstandingly well to get her covered up early although that did not stop her from pulling and continuously throwing her head to the side and back.
She lost her cover for a little bit when the horse she was following went in but Marx-Jacobson still managed to have her under control.
In the straight she accelerated smartly and looked to be galloping to an easy win when she suddenly began hanging out badly.
However, when reaching the outward rail she accelerated again and just got up.
Marx-Jacobson said after the race, “This filly really ran her heart out today. Coming off the false rail I thought we were going to win by a lot, because I squeezed her and she just went past Calvin in the hands. But once I pulled my stick she decided to run away from the stick. I tried to take my reins and then change my stick to my left, but she was just hanging more and more, so I decided to just push her out. I’m very glad she got there today.”
Trainer Tony Peter confirmed she was such a difficult filly she caused the ring to be emptied of workriders every morning.
He said, “She has been a bit of a nightmare to train. The workrider’s go missing and then after she has finished her work they start reappearing, because she just pulls so hard.”
He said he had wanted to start her over 1400m, but she kept on drawing badly and he knew she was going to be a big problem over a mile.
This was her first start since arriving from Cape Town with her previous start being over 1200m in January.
However, she still won and will be an interesting filly to follow.
Marx-Jacobson will be the obvious one to partner her such was his skill on top today and hopefully she will calm down as the partnership develops.
Marx-Jacobson had won the previous race by an easy four lengths on the Fabian Habib-trained Winding Power.
This R600,000 KZN Yearling Sale purchase is by Trippi out of the dual Gr 1-winning sprint-miler Lady Windermere and he joined this Highveld yard after six runs in KZN, where he had one second and two fifths. With Habib he had run two thirds and two seconds before today’s success over 1600m.
He should pay to follow and his Nadeson Park-bred half-sister by Gimmethegreenlight, the Yogas Govender-trained R1.1 million KZN Yearling Sale purchase Trip To Venus, also looks promising having run on from last for fifth in a Maiden Juvenile Plate over 1400m on the turf on Daily News 2000 day at Hollywoodbets Greyville.
Marx-Jacobson is now on 37 wins for the season and has achieved it at a strike rate of 13.36%.
However, the interesting point is that 34 of those wins have come in the last four months, as he turned the corner at the beginning of February.
His strike rate from February 1 until now is 18.48%.
He will be hard to catch in the Apprentice Championship with almost two months to go as he is very much in demand and is being given some good rides.
Marx-Jacobson was one of three jockeys who scored doubles at Turffontein Inside today, the other two being Keagan de Melo and Calvin Habib.
De Melo is on 122 wins at 20.07% for the season.
Habib is on 115 wins at 11.29%.
