Gavin Lerena produced the ride of the season to date to win the Listed Spring Spree Stakes over 1200m at Turffontein Inside last Saturday on the Johan Janse van Vuuren-trained Bjorn Ironside and it was the third leg of a four-timer for him.
The horses sitting in one wide positions around the turn had been battling to make up the ground throughout the day with the horses on the inside getting first run on them coming off the false rail. Lerena had also been aware, having ridden him before, that the five-year-old Gimmethegreenlight gelding tended to hang in, so he wanted to be on the inside fence down the straight. Therefore the first move he made was to drop Bjorn Ironside out. The plan worked out perfectly as a gap opened behind the vanguard and he was able to secure the rail in the small eight horse field one from the back and third in line on the rail.
In the straight it was noticeable that Lerena kept the stick away throughout and drove him entirely with the hands, even when he was under pressure to catch the leader Max The Magician. Janse van Vuuren pointed out later that Lerena understood this horse having ridden him when he was a young horse. Gavin had perhaps formed the opinion the horse resented the whip, or otherwise, looking at some replays of him as a young horse, he tended to hang towards the side he was being whipped on.
However, the main point is, as Janse van Vuuren pointed out, this horse always tried his heart out. Such horses do not need the stick and he proved it by finding extra under the hands.
He got up by a length from the 28/10 shot Max Magician with 25/2 shot Karate Kid next best three lengths behind the winner and behind that was the 2/1 favourite Umzingeli Wenyathi (5,70 lengths), the 15/2 shot Charming Cheetah (6 lengths), the 9/2 shot The Last Duke (7,10 lengths), the 25/1 shot Slinky Mapimpi (8,40 lengths) and the 16/1 shot Quantum Theory, who was going for a third win in the race, finished a 10,70 length last.
It was the third time in four years the Laurence Wernars family had won this race, as the Sean Tarry-trained Querari gelding Quantum Theory, who is now a seven-year-old, had won it in 2023 and won last year’s renewal, which was relocated to the Vaal Classic Track.
Janse Van Vuuren said the connections had always believed Bjorn Ironside would win bold black type sometime in his career and that it had come later than expected.
The horse was actually returning from a four month layoff, so it was a fine training feat.
Johan pointed out, “I thought he would run in the money today as he had been working really nicely.”
However, he added that he had fancied some of his past runner up finishers in this race stronger than he had fancied Bjorn Ironside on the day.
He went on to thank the Wernars family for their patience, pointing out the good looking bay had often had niggles.
The horse’s honesty is shown in that in 17 starts he has only missed a cheque three times and has had four wins, four seconds, four thirds and two fourths.
Bjorn Ironside was bred in partnership by Klawervlei Stud and the late David Abery.
He is out of the one time-winning Trippi mare Dance At Dawn, who is a full-sister to the Gr 1-winning Champion Broodmare Real Princess, and he was bought for R850,000 at the Race Coast Sales Premier Yearling Sale.
Dance At Dawn had a colt by Vercingetorix at last year’s National Yearling Sale that went for R2.4 million and a Gimmthegreenlight colt at this year’s Sale that went for R2 million.
She is owned personally by Klawervlei’s former owner John Koster and has another Vercingetorix on the ground and is in foal to Vercingetorix.
Lerena’s day did not start on a bright note as the 5/10 shot he rode in the first race over 1200m, Shining Sun, was scythed down late by the 5/2 second favourite Forever Canford, a St. John Gray-trained Canford Cliffs gelding ridden by Jason Gates. Gray is in magnificent form and his eight wins this season have been achieved at a 32% strike rate. Gates is also riding with great determination and having had 14 wins the whole of last season at a strike of 4.70% he has had seven wins this season at a strike rate of 25%.
In the next race Lerena was on the 5/4 favourite Rafeef’s Queen and was once again caught and passed late by the second favourite, this time by the Mike and Mathew de Kock-trained Rafeef filly Thorn Bird, who was ridden by Jeff Syster.
However, Lerena won four of the last five races at the meeting.
His run started with the Tony Peter-trained What A Winter filly Winter In Auckland, who converted 5/2 odds in a MR 80 Handicap over 1200m by a comfortable 2,20 lengths after being taken to the front from a seven out of seven draw.
In the Non-Black Type Betway The Lady’s Stakes, the promising Candice and Tamy Dawson-trained Vercingetorix filly Anchorage had not been finishing off her races from the front or handy positions, so the blinkers were dispensed with and from draw two Lerena had her in last place in the eight horse field before mowing them down with a devastating finishing effort to get up by 0,90 lengths at 4/1 odds.
Lerena came from last in the final race too on the Stuart Pettigrew-trained Flower Alley gelding Orange County.
He had known the importance of having the rail in this meeting and had it in just about every race, whether that meant taking the horse to the front or dropping him out to last.
Orange County had to come between horses for his run, but this 7/2 shot went through them like a hot knife through butter to win by 1,70 lengths in the 2000m handicap.
The race completed a master class in race riding by Lerena and hopefully the up and coming youngsters noticed his planning and execution.
