O’Tenikwa wins comfortably on debut to give Corne Orffer and Andre Nel the first leg of a double together and Orffer the first leg of a treble (Picture: Wayne Marks)
Andrew Harrison (Gold Circle)
Astute followers of racing will have been aware that the Andre Nel yard seldom, if ever, run two-year-olds as they have the luxury of owner Sabine Plattner’s aversion to running juveniles, as she prefers her horses to strengthen up before they start their three-year-old careers.
So when the cleverly named O’Tenikwa made his debut in the first at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth yesterday, a Maiden Juvenile Plate over 1200m, the money arrived and proved to be money well spent as O’Tenikwa turned up the heat over the final furlong to win comfortably.
Callum Dixon, assistant to Andre Nel, said it had not been difficult to persuade Mrs Plattner to run the colt after she had watched him work. The stable is upbeat about his future and he is a horse to follow.
Two for the notebook could be second race winner Rama Forcesa and runner-up Eight On Eighteen, the two leaving their opposition for dead. Richard Fourie, closing relentlessly on the record number of wins for the season, had no hesitation in taking Mike Stewart’s runner to the front at a smart gallop with Eight On Eighteen dropped out to last.
Most were treading water a furlong out as Rama Forcesa kept rolling, only Eight On Eighteen making any impression. The two pulled clear of their rivals with Fourie keeping Rama Forcesa going and Eight On Eighteen closing relentlessly.
Vaughan Marshall alluded to Lion Rampart’s quirks post-race but that did not stop his supporters as he was backed in to 1-5 for the third. Given free rein from the jump he soon had all off the bit except for the debutante Kaiboy who stuck to his guns and kept the favourite honest although Lion Rampart was up to is tricks as he looked to put on the brakes when Fourie was hoping to coast to the line.
The unkindest cut of all could be on the cards.
There is a school of thought that a horse can win from any draw of good enough and while that statement is generally sound, it goes without saying that a good draw is always an advantage. Ice Rain slipped up the inside rail and kept rolling from her pole position draw to finally shed her maiden and give the Nel stable a double on the day. Pretty Precious, who has the widest draw, finished off her race well to snatch second – would the draw have made a difference?
The ‘Cape Town crawl’ was to the fore in the fifth as Sean Veale played the game on Vintage Crystal, slowing the pace to what almost resembled a canter. Lickety Split, expensive to follow and having her eleventh bite at the cherry, took advantage of the pedestrian gallop to out-sprint her rivals to get Justin Snaith on the board.
The grey Unconquerable Lady finally got it all right in a field reduced to six runners as she kept firing all the way to the line.
Similarly, Dance Variety landed his favourite tag with a bloodless victory in the Easter Sprint, leading for most of the way.
It was a day where front-running tactics paid most dividends but Fourie was denied a third win on the afternoon as Aldo Domeyer got Strata to lift and chase down Palo Queen in the shadow of the post.
