The 101-rated Catfish was the only three-year-old in Tuesday’s Middle Stakes event over 1200m and he galloped to a commanding 6,60 lengths victory (JC Photos)
Three-year-olds contested the last three open races at the Vaal meeting today in limited numbers and dominated.
The first of these races was a MR 86 Handicap over 1600m and there were two three-year-olds in the race, the 95-rated Sheriff Bill Brown (Buffalo Bill Cody), who was going for a hattrick, and the 89-rated Lone Horizon (Heavenly Blue), an inconsistent sort whose win and close second in her seven start career were in between five well beaten runss.
Sheriff Bill Brown ran on strongly in the closing stages to convert 18/10 favouritism under Keagan de Melo, while Lone Horizon ran last.
In the next race, a Middle Stakes event over 1200m Catfish, was the only three-year-old in the 12-horse field. He had earned a 101 rating via three victories in the space of four starts over 1000m and his last run, when beaten 4,50 lengths into ninth in the Gr 2 World Pool Bet With Tote Umkhomazi Stakes over 1200m, was a better run than the bare result suggests as he ran on well after being dropped out from a wide draw and he was short of room late.
Under the conditions of today’s race he was 1,5kg under sufferance with the best-weighted She’s All Mine, the only female in the race, and he was half-a-kilogram under sufferance with the best weighted males, Antonio Gaudi and Tommy Atkins.
Catfish was allowed to go off at 6/1, but the Fabian Habib-trained Danon Platina gelding traveled like a winner throughout under regular rider Blaine Marx-Jacobson and pulled clear to win by a commanding 6,60 lengths.
In the last race, a MR 69 Handicap over 1400m for fillies and mares, there were only three three-year-olds in the eleven horse field, the 85-rated Me And You, the 78-rated Secret Life and the 76-rated Highway Heiress. They finished first, second and fourth respectively.
The feature season is yet to begin, so the three-year-old strength can’t be judged yet, but their recent results suggest it could be a decent crop.
Todays results were in addition to other three-year-old winners in open company this month, the 80-rated Chatterbox (Canford Cliffs), the 76-rated Red Birch (Erik The Red), the 90-rated Gimme A Fireball (Gimmethegreenlight), the 86-rated Special Envoy (Master Of My Fate), the 90-rated Fierceness (Hawwaam), the 91-rated Bangkok Magic (Willow Magic) and the 79-rated Fort Usher (Global View).
Another three-year-old to impress at today’s meeting was the Mike and Mathew de Kock-trained NZ-bred Almanzor colt One Eye On Dubai, who scooted in by 8,50 lengths under Callan Murray in a maiden over 2000m.
There were doubles at today’s meeting for all of Lucky Houdalakis, Craig Zackey, Keagan de Melo and Muzi Yeni.
De Melo leads the Lucky Fish Championship on 38 wins achieved at a strike rate of 23.46%.
Zackey is in second place on 26 wins at 20.80%.
Kablo Matsunyane is in third place with 23 wins at 19.33%.
Yeni is next on 22 wins at 14.67%.
Gavin Lerena, who was stood down for today’s meeting, is in fifth place with 20 wins at 17.09%.
