Sparkling Star makes it two eyecatching wins in succession (Picture: Wayne Marks)
Candice Bass has started the new season in fine style and seven of this racing operation’s eight wins so far have come in the strong centre of Cape Town, which could indicate she has a decent string at present.
Viva Asterix was not her only impressive winner on Saturday at Hollywoodbets Durbanville as her Rafeef three-year-old filly Sparkling Star followed suit, converting 15/10 odds.
This filly had won a Maiden Juvenile Plate over 1000m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on 16 May with consummate ease in her third career start.
She was sent out at 15/10 on Saturday, despite returning from a three month layoff.
She ran off an 87 rating and Aldo Domeyer had her one wide in the joint lead rounding the turn before steadily opening a gap in the straight and winning by 1,50 lengths from 75-rated four-year-old stablemate Final Call.
Sparkling Star was bred and is owned by Marsh Shirtliff’s Greenacres Trust in partnership with David Hepburn-Brown’s Hemel ‘N Aarde Stud.
It is always gratifying to see the Shirtliff white, blue and pink colours winning for the Bass yard as it brings back memories of the great Bass-trained Pocket Power.
It was a fine day for Marsh as he was the owner of the winner of the next race, the Vaughan Marshall-trained Rafeef gelding Ireland Forever, who carried topweight to victory over 1250m off an 85 rating by half-a-length under Sean Veale. She went off at 13/2 odds and beat the hard-knocking Vercicat with the Listed Somerset 1200 winner Catwalk King beaten 0,90 lengths into third.
Marshall had a double when the One World gelding United Front won a C Stakes event over 1400m under Oswald Noach.
Veale scored a double when the James Crawford-trained Hollywood Racing-owned Danon Platina filly Boozy Suzie followed up on her eyecatching second in her last start to score in the last race, a 1600m handicap for fillies and mares. Veale took her handy from a good draw and she ran on well to win cosily by a length, her second career win in her 12th start.
The Justin Snaith-trained Greg and Gina Bortz and Leon Ellman-owned The United States gelding Miami Summer caught the eye when winning the third race, a Middle Stakes event over 1600m. The big four-year-old was running off an 87 and built up momentum on the outside from a handy position in the five horse field, wearing them down to get up by a length under JP van der Merwe at 5/4 odds. He should soon be on a feature campaign and looks likely to enjoy further.
The ever dependable Piet Botha-trained Master Of My Fate six-year-old gelding Avignon followed up on his last win over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth with an amazing 4,50 length win in the fourth race, a handicap over 1250m. The 2,5kg claimer Dezahn Louw too her to the front and the 72-rated gelding kept on finding to score his sixth career win.
Craig Zackey had earlier followed up his win in the first race on the impressive Viva Asterix by winning the second on the Greg Ennion-trained hard-knocking Elusive Fort gelding Havoc, who was backed into 9/4 and beat a decent field, including Landman and Waterfront, who should both pay to follow. Waterfront met trouble in the straight, which scuppered his chances, and his three length third is not a fair reflection of his ability, so he is one to follow.
Zackey started off the season slowly, with 23 rides before he had a winner, but his season took off over the weekend with a treble on the Fairview poly on Friday, a double at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Saturday and a single win at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Sunday.
