Quickstepgal (far side) just pips Mon Petite Cherie after a ding-dong tussle in the Gr 2 HKJC World Pool Tibouchina Stakes (Picture: Race Coast)
Trainer Tienie Prinsloo believes the best trip for his crack filly Quickstepgal is the 1400m trip of the Gr 2 HKJC World Pool Tibouchina Stakes, which she won on Saturday at Hollywoodbets Greyville under Keagan de Melo, albeit by a whisker and she had to survive an objection too.
He said, “We will go into the Ridgemont Garden Province now and we will see what happens there. It is 1600m, it is a little bit further, I generally prefer the 1400m, but 1600m is also her game and Keagan is at the top of his game, so I think it will all go well. It’s a month away but we will have her ready for the race.”
Quickstepgal was given a fine front-running ride by Gavin Lerena when winning the Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas, but the jockeys will be wary of alowing her to dictate again.
Tienie said, “She is a frontrunner, she likes to be handy, and the weight for age conditions will suit us bettter than the conditions of the Tibouchina.”
He had gone into the Tibouchina with high expectations and the Greenacres Trust-bred Veringetorix filly, who is owned by Laurence Wernars and Harry Willson, didn’t disappoint.
Tienie said, “The filly had been working well and we went in confident. They had a ding-dong battle down the straight (her and Mon Petite Cherie to whom she gave 2kg) and they objected against us, but at the end of the day it went our way. That is how the game works and we got it, so I was very happy with that.”
Opinion has been divided on the objection outcome as the horses fought it out alongside each other at close quarters, with some saying Quickstepgal had ducked to her right late and hampered Mon Petite Cherie, but Quickstepgal’s supporters have counteracted by saying Quickstepgal was knocked sideways, due to Mon Petite Cherie bumping her hindquarters, which created the impression she had ducked out.
One of the difficulties of judging objections from the television footage at Hollywoodbets Greyville is that the front on footage is provided by cameras that appear to be in line with the inside portion of the track. Therefore, the horses on the outside appear to be hanging out even if they are in fact running straight. One can only judge how straight they are running by comparing them to the shadow of the outside rail.
However, the clearest footage is supplied to the stipendiary stewards and their professional opinion has the final say.
Tienie elaborated, “From the 400m mark they were close together and there was a little bit of bumping here and there, but not serious enough to take the race away from her. At the end of the day the stipes made the decision and they made tthe right one.”
Quickstepgal has had 12 starts for six wins, including a Gr 1, a Gr 2, a Gr 3 and she has earned R1,751,562, a good return on the original R450,000 she was purchased for at the KZN Yearling Sale, although Wernars and Willson bought her later in training for an undiclosed sum.
