Time Of Our Lives wins in good style at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Wednesday (Picture: Wayne Marks)
Dean Kannemeyer scored an interesting double at Hollywoodbets Durbanville today (Wednesday) as they were ridden respectively by his former stable jockey, Keagan de Melo, and his current stable jockey, Craig Zackey.
De Melo was given the ride on the three-year-old Querari colt Time Of Our Lives in a Maiden Plate over 1250m because he is retained by one of the part-owners Laurence Wernars.
He rode a cracker of a race as he was able to get the three-year-old colt over from he widest draw of all, eleven out of eleven, into the box seat behind the pacemaker Gimmethejackhammer, although the colt’s fine gatespeed helped him out.
The colt relaxed well in behind the pacemaker and ran on well in the straight to win by an easy 2,75 lengths, converting 87/100 odds.
It was only his third start and Keagan said, “He is not going to stop here.”
Time Of Our Lives is owner in partnership by Wernars together with Mukund Gujadhur and Harry Willson.
He was bred by James Armitage’s Sandown Stud and being out of Listed winning Second Empire mare Miss Scaramanga makes him a half-brother to the Paul Lafferty-trained Pathfork mare Forward Motion, who finished third in the Listed Flamboyant Stakes.
Time Of Our Lives cost R750,000 at the BSA August Two-year-old Sale.
Craig Zackey rode the three-year-old Rafeef colt Big City Roller in a maiden over 1250m and, having finished second in both of his first two starts, he started at odds of 91/100.
Zackey went forward from draw five and found himself in the box seat after the widely drawn Cracker had come around him to take the lead.
Zackey went down the inside in the straight and the colt ran on readily to win by 1,50 lengths.
Big City Roller was also bred by Sandown Stud and is out of the unraced Var mare Dilalah.
He cost R500,000 at the National Yearling Sale and is owned by Messrs P Govender, G M Grant, M H Holland, L I F Meaker & Michael Mouat.
It was Michael Mouat’s first winner.
Big City Roller is from the family of the Gold Cup winner Nebraas and his fourth dam is Miesque, a Breeders Cup Mile winner who was a champion in both Europe and the USA and she was the dam of the multiple Gr 1 winner and champion sire Kingmambo.
Zackey said, “He is on the up and is only going to come on from here.”
Keagen de Melo is the leader in the Lucky Fish Jockeys Championship and is the favourite too at 9/10, but Zackey looks better value at 3/1 considering how quicky he has come from nowhere into second place and he also has a strong yard supporting him in the East Cape.
De Melo is on 39 wins at a strike rate of 23.08%, while Zackey is on 27 wins at 20.45%.
Richard Fourie is also a 3/1 chance and at present he is in 9th place on the table with 15 wins at 21.74%.
Dean Kannemeyer was the only double-scorer at today’s meeting and has had seven wins so far this season at a strike rate of 16.67%.
