Paddy Kruyer’s ninth win this season with Tenpenny on Wednesday at Hollywoodbets Durbanville has come in just his 39th run and his strike rate of 23.08% is the second highest on the national trainers log behind Vengi Masawi’s 25.58% (Picture: Tenpenny winning in June last year)
Andrew Harrison (Race Coast)
Paddy Kruyer, a man of few words, was for many years the late legend Terrance Millard’s right-hand man. He has never been high-profile in spite of his obvious experience but he could have a decent stayer in Tenpenny who defied a four-point rise in the handicap to win back-to-back in the Lucky Fish Winning Streak B Stakes at Hollywoodbets Durbanville yesterday.
It was the first time that the four-year-old had gone 2000m and given Kruyer’s post-race comments, a mile-and-a-half and further is on the cards with a possible crack at the Champions Season staying races in KZN where, given his current rating, he should be competitively handicapped.
JP Van der Merwe always had pacemaker Landoftherisingsun in his sights but when challenged it was La Pulga who kept him honest. Tenpenny went to the line in command over La Pulga with Landoftherisingsun staying on for the shallow end of the purse.
At 57-years-old, Andrew Fortune may not be around much after the end of the current season but while he is, racing aficionados will take pleasure in watching a master in the saddle before he calls it a day.
Fortune gave another masterclass in the card opener as he got the Ricky Maingard favourite Klein Karoo over quickly from an outside gate, slipped up the inside rail and Kelin Karoo responded under the hands to win as he liked with the balance of his rivals flailing away as if they were threshing wheat.
It was somewhat fitting that the owners were members of the Wolf Power Syndicate, named in honour of the Maingard-trained grey superstar of his day.
Craig Zackey is keeping his head in front in the hunt for his first National Jockey’s Championship and he showed just why he will not easily be knocked off course as he got James Crawford’s filly Winter In Aukland home in a tight finish to the first leg of the Place Accumulator. Zackey had to switch out of a closing gallop to get home narrowly ahead of the chasing mob.
One race later, Zackey was denied another notch in the butt of his gun as Loui’s Star caught Vixens War one jump from the line. Favourite Homing Pigeon had the run of the race from her inside draw but when it came to the sharp end of the race it was obvious that she was never going to catch pacemaker Vixens War. However, Grant van Niekerk, an almost forgotten talent, got Greg Ennion’s filly to respond to his urgings to get up and nail Zackey and Vixens War on the line.
Ennion’s star is a fixture in the firmament of Western Cape racing and he recorded a quick double as Muzi Yeni finally got it all right on Fort Liam in the fourth. It was anyone’s race approaching the final furlong after Phantom Man had set the fractions but once Yeni put the hammer down, Fort Liam shot out of the pack to win as he liked. Phantom Man, to his credit, stayed on gamely for second.
Van Niekerk put his head above the parapet once again as he got Des Mclachlan’s gelding Noble Hero to finished with a wet sail to win the C Stakes over 1800m. Fortune always had Konnichiwa in a challenging position as he and Maingard hunted their second win together but they were no match as first Noble Hero went by followed by the well-supported Chance Encounter who, from last, arrived on the scene too late to land the gamble.
Van Niekerk stepped over the parapet and onto the ramparts with his hands in the air. A third win on the afternoon and arguably his best as he and Mclachlan made it a double with the filly Double Dash. Judging that a pedestrian early pace was not in his favour, Van Niekerk went clear on the turn and was never for the catching as the opposition, obviously having misjudged the pace, were never going to reel in the runaway winner.
Not to be denied, Champion Jockey Richard Fourie rounded off a winless afternoon as he got the Paul Reeves-trained Sooty to rally gamely and edge out Dawn’s Early Light in one of the tightest finishes of the afternoon and deny Grant Van Niekerk and Des Mclachaln a well-deserved treble.
