Miss Twinkle wins the Listed KRA Cup Off To Stud Stakes at Hollywoodbets Greyville last Friday night and makes it three wins from three starts over the Hollywoodbets Greyville turf 1600m course and distance (Picture: Race Coast)
The feature race of the weekend, the Listed KRA Cup Off To Stud Stakes, took place at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Friday night and it saw the Andre Nel-trained Sabine Plattner-homebred Oratorio five-year-old mare Miss Twinkle defying the weights.
Miss Twinkle, who has always raced in KZN, was officially 5kg out at the weights with the best weighted horse in the Off To Stud Stakes, but did have the advantage of pole position.
She is well regarded and had a Champions Season campaign mapped out for her before pulling a muscle in the Non-Black Type WSB Scarlet Lady over 1750m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on April 5, which saw her eased out of the race.
She was sidelined until making her comeback on 28 June in a fillies and mares handicap over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville.
She ran an encouraging fourth in her comeback outing.
Byron said last week at Summerveld in the build up to the Off To Stud Stakes that she was “spot on” as far as well-being went and he added that although officially having a tough task at the weights he believed she was underrated off an 86.
A further plus to her chances was that she went into the race unbeaten in two previous starts over the course and distance.
So, despite being so badly out at the weights, she was backed into 9/2 third favourite.
The 101-rated Cape Town-based horse Swiatek was third best in at the weights, but was made 2/1 favourite with the best weighted runner Drumnadrochit next best at 7/2.
Miss Twinkle was a little bit fizzed up in the preliminaries in her first time under the lights.
However, she jumped well and sat in a handy position third in line on the rail. She threw her head around momentarily, but never appeared to over-race.
She was later shuffled back one position, but the pace judgement of Serino Moodley was impeccable as he did not chase her up the hill, despite the leading vanguard getting away a little bit.
Moodley balanced her in the straight before driving her down the inside and she ran on resolutely to win by 0,40 lengths from a widely draw and running on That’s My Baby, who kept up her magnificently consistent form at this course. Drumnadrochit and Swiatek were beaten 1,20 and 3,50 lengths respectively into the third and fourth places and Red Taffety was fifth.
The win clinched a treble for Serino Moodley.
A representative of the Korean Racing Authority was on course to present the prize on a night in which Race Coast went out of their way to have a Korean theme, with Korean food an option for fans on course.
Miss Twinkle’s paddock value will have increased now that she has earned bold black type, but she is lightly raced with only eleven starts under the belt and it would be no surprise to see her staying in training.
