Plum Pudding (no. 9) holds on from Trois Trois Quatre (Candiese Lenferna Photography)
Andrew Harrison (Race Coast)
Objections will always be a contentious issue in horse racing. Some incidences are so clearcut that the stipendiary stewards have little choice but to press the button for the objection hooter to sound.
In other cases, objections from the affected parties require little more than a quick deliberation, over ruled and deposits forfeit.
Objection rules have changed many times over the years as the authorities try to pigeonhole offences but in a fluid situation in the heat of the moment, none can say who is right or wrong unless the infringement was blatantly obvious.
That brings us to the sixth race at Hollywoodbets Scottsville yesterday where winner Plum Pudding and runner-up Trois Trois Quatre came together around the 200m marker, the two having met at their previous outings with Trois Trois Quatre the winner but Plum Pudding now 1.5kg better off in the handicap.
On the evidence, Plum Pudding did move onto Trois Trois Quatre, pressured on her outside by African Dusk.
Plum Pudding and Trois Trois Quatre were both knocked off balance by their coming together but Plum Pudding recovered the better and went on to win convincingly.
Some will argue that Trois Trois Quatre had come from off the pace and may have been finishing the better prior to the contact but in the final analysis, Plum Pudding did come out the stronger of what looked to be six of one and half a dozen of the other.
As far as I recall the deciding criteria is: would B have beaten A?
Callan Murray, who lodged the objection got his money back, Serino Moodley may not be so lucky (i.e. he might get a suspension – however, there appears to be no inquiry into the incident).
Dean Kannemeyer may have moved the majority of his string back to Milnerton but he has had a plethora of debutantes making their mark and Nicolette Roscoe holds the Summerveld fort. The word was out early that Hah Lah Lah was the horse to beat in the card opener and they were on the mark as Craig Zackey steered her to a comfortable victory.
Second-placed Son Of Rafeef and third-placed Buddy Boy both caught the eye when running on strongly and both names are for the notebook.
Royal Sword looked to be one of the better bets on the card and the betting told it all as he went out solidly in the red. Garth Puller’ s gelding lived up to his name and the market and although it was not all plain sailing as Moodley had to work to keep his mount hard to the task and Royal Sword kept responding to hold off Jet Blackfire.
Act Of Grace made short work of her opposition in the first leg of the Pick 6 with favourites obliging in the first three races of the day. She put daylight between herself and Paul Matchett’s filly Tipperary, with Matchett likely to be around in KZN from his Highveld base until the spring rains take some of the string out of the ground on home turf.
