Picture : Captain’s Christy has fetched Cala Mureta and put her nose in front shortly before the line in the Gr 2 Debutante but the latter then put her head down to get the verdict (Candiese Lenferna Phptography).
Summerveld trainer Mark Dixon has a good filly on his hands in Captain’s Christy, who was beaten on the head bob in the Gr 2 World Pool With Gold Circle Debutante over 1200m on the last day of last season.
Mark said about her plans, “She had seven runs as a juvenile and she was ready for a rest. We will just give her a couple of months off and take it from there.”
Asked where he found her from he replied, “The KZN Sale from Clifton Stud (for R100,00). We had a short list of Colts and fillies and she was one of them and she was in our price range of 100 grand. She’s good and she’s out of a Fort Wood mare, so she’s going to improve a lot. That last run of hers in the Grade 2, we were unlucky, we caught the one in front before the line and were ahead after the line.”
Mark said Captain’s Christy had not been quite herself in the build up to the only Gr 1 she has taken part in, the Allan Robertson Championship over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on June 3.
He said, “She was leaving a bit of food. It was minimal but something wasn’t quite right that day and she didn’t run up to scratch.”
She duly proved that run to be all wrong two runs later when beating older fillies over 1000m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville with the field spread out like the washing.
Then came her fine run in the Debutante to prove she is one with a bright future.
Assked whether he felt she would go further than sprints, Mark said, “She looks like a sprinter. But she is out of a Fort Wood mare and she ran on strongly in the Debutante. She was flying at the finish and wasn’t stopping. So 1200m to seven furlongs, if she got a mile it would be nice, but I have my doubts.”
He concluded, “We will just have to see what’s available for her three-year-old career and take it from there.”
His decent Querari filly Get In The Q bounced back with a good run last time. She was one of a few horses who was interfered with by a loose horse.
She is capable of adding to her three wins this season, but Mark believes this filly, who “is not the biggest” is a bit high at present on a 90 merit rating.
Mark has 23 horses in his yard at present and lamented he was just one of the trainers who were currently “counting the numbers”.
However, there look to be some syndicate plans kicking off from various quarters and hopefully these will boost the numbers in the ownership pool. If it does there could be a knock on effect.
