Double Grand Slam storms home under Richard Fourie to win the Cartier Gr1 Paddock Stakes (Pic – Wayne Marks)
Justin Snaith won the Gr 1 Cartier Paddock Stakes over 1800m for the seventh time in his career at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday as the filly Double Grand Slam provided him with his first Gr 1 win since Double Superlative’s victory in last year ‘s WSB Met.
A R1 million National Yearling Sale purchase, Double Grand Slam was bred by Varsfontein and is by Maine Chance kingpin Vercingetorix (Silvano) out of the two-time winning Captain Al mare Princess Peach.
Double Grand Slam has now won 7 races with 6 places from 15 starts and took her stakes earnings to R1 893 088.
There were doubts that Double Grand Slam would stay the trip in her first attempt at a middle distance race, but she proved the doubters wrong when finishing strongly to beat her Perennial rivals Red Palace and Rascova by a cosy margin.
It was the tenth time she had met Rascova and the score is now 6-4 in Double Grand Slam’s favour and it was the fith time she had met Red Palace and the score is 4-1 in Double Grand Slam’s favour.
Double Grand Slam is owned by Drakenstein Stud in partnership with Dave MacLean and Gary Player.
It was a halcyon day on Saturday for MacLean as he had shares in three of the winners.
Cape Racing wrote the below report about the Paddock Stakes:
Richard Fourie sat for as long as possible before unleashing DOUBLE GRAND SLAM with a devastating late move to win the Gr 1 Cartier Paddock Stakes (for fillies and mares at WFA) over 1800m.
As expected, the early pace was set by tearaway LAVENDER BAY with RASCOVA, RED PALACE and LITTLE SUZIE stretched out in Indian file. Fourie had the daughter of Vercingetorix settled some way off the action, tracking SAARTJIE up the straight before weaving past tiring rivals and drawing off for a resounding score with an impressive 23.3 second 400m finish sectional. The final time was 109.86 seconds.
“I didn’t even need to use the crop – she won so easily”, a suitably impressed Fourie said afterwards.
RED PALACE was game to attend such a hot pace and still keep on, but she drifted outwards as she tired and could not match DOUBLE GRAND SLAM’s come-home sectional. The same applied to RASCOVA, who held third from RAINBOW LORIKEET.
DOUBLE GRAND SLAM is trained by Justin Snaith. The conditioner was confident as one can be going into hard-to-win Gr 1s, describing her as enjoying a “near-perfect prep and being in super shape.”
That assessment proved prophetic as the Varsfontein Stud bred filly attained her 7th and most significant win from 15 starts. In so doing the 33/20 favourite proved conclusively that she can carry her brilliance in a hard run, nine-panel test.
