Miss World impressed at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Friday night September 4 when inadvertently making her poly debut due to the meeting being switched from turf to poly at the halfway mark (Picture: Julia Marnewick)
Andrew Harrison (Race Coast)
In something of a first, racing was switched from turf to poly midway through the meeting at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Friday evening. The heavens opened shortly after the finish of the third race and by the fourth it was obvious that the turf would not hold up. After consultation between jockeys, trainers and the stipendiary stewards the decision was taken to switch racing to the poly track.
Adam Azzie learnt well from his father whose horses were always turnout out immaculately and so was Miss World who lived up to her name with an empathic victory in the Middle Stakes that headed the card. Never out of the money in four previous starts for Azzie, she made short work of the opposition as Serino Moodley slipped her up the inside rail and was quickly clear of the opposition. Sohot Sowhat was a forlorn chaser with Match That coming from last in the straight to finish an eye-catching third.
In the seventh, Who Blinked was backed like his connections already knew the result – and they were not wrong. From an opening ante-post call of around 5-1 MJ Odendaal’s gelding was back in to 14-10 before the jump and he delivered in style under apprentice Anaas Mosaheb giving him his fourth winner on the evening’s card. Out in a flash from his draw of nine, Mosaheb rushed Who Blinked into the lead, gave him a short breather approaching the turn and setting sail for home at the top of the straight to stretch away and win as he liked. Gamble landed.
Odendaal pegged Mosaheb as a promising rider from day he made it to the training tracks and has mentored him to where he regards Mosaheb as a professional jockey with an apprentice claim.
Mosaheb got off to a winning start on Kom Naidoo’s outsider Guild The Lilly in the first. The gaggle of geese marching around the paddock before the race may have been an omen as Guild The Lilly, with nine ‘duck eggs’ in her formline, made all the running. Form horse in the race Blenheim Palace was friendless in the market drifting alarmingly in the face of market support for Chantilly Lady and Lilbitofmonica, but the light-framed Guild The Lilly, stepped up in trip, led all the way to win, the 50kg on the filly’s back obviously a big factor with the tote paying R17.90.
Lilbitofmonica finished closest of the money horses in second with Chantilly Lady very green and Blenheim Palace seemingly battling in the soft conditions.
Serino Moodley took his chances from his 14 draw in the second, charging to the front on Mustang Highway, and it almost paid dividends. However, Chad Little always had Danny Atlas handy on the rail and ran him down over the final furlong. Chasing hard was favourite Dreadnaught who was making up ground hand over fist on the winner but took too long to find his feet. His day should not be long in coming. This trio pulled six lengths clear of the opposition and all three should pay to follow.
Mosaheb is riding with bullet-proof confidence but he will seldom get an easier ride than Next Of Kin that notched up the 20th win of his career and he will now claim 2.5kg. Mike and Mathew de Kock’s runner made short work of the opposition in the C Stakes, quickening up the inside rail to put daylight between himself and Song To The Moon who snatched second ahead of favourite Zagreb. De Kock was most complimentary of Mosaheb’s handling of his grey who he said had a soft mouth and required soft hands – always a big asset for any rider.
It was three up for Mosaheb in the fourth as he had another armchair ride for Sean Tarry when United Offer came home lonely in pouring rain. A measure of Mosaheb’s racing ‘nous’ is that his instructions were to make the running, but when Spirit Of Shimla took off to lead, he was content to sit in off the pace before making his move in the straight.
First up on the poly saw apprentice Dezahn Louw shed his 2.5kg claim as he led all the way on Taylor’s Version for Candice Bass and assistant Terry Fripp to record his 40th win. The yard were a little nervous about the switch to the synthetic surface but they need not have worried in spite of Taylor’s Version making an awkward start as she went to the front and was not for the catching.
The one-eyed Sugar Bush rounded off the meeting for Andre Nel giving Moodley his second winner of the evening.
