Picture: Quickstepgal will be taking on the best in Cape Town. (Anneke Kitching/Race Coast).
Kwazulu-Natal’s leading three-year-old filly Quickstepgal (Vercingetorix), has joined caretaker trainer Eric Sands in Cape Town, and her trainer Tienie Prinsloo is excited about her prospects in the Grade 2 R450,000 Western Cape Fillies Championship over 1400m at Kenilworth on 8 November.
Sands is putting Quickstepgal through her paces at Milnerton and Prinsloo said, “She is coming along nicely, Eric is sending me videos and I like what I see.” This exceptional performer is Prinsloo’s first classic prospect – he has handled Quickstepgal with such expertise that top owner Laurence Wernars left her in his care when he bought her after her second place to champion filly Anotherdanceforme in the Grade 2 Golden Slipper on Durban July day.
Quickstepgal won her first start in the Wernars family’s familiar silks when she toyed with the opposition in a Progress Plate at Hollywoodbets Greyville on 12 October and Prinsloo said, “There is a lot more to come from her. I will be flying to Cape Town on 5 November and we are all looking forward to the race.”
Prinsloo is aiming Quickstepgal at the Grade 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas on 6 December and he said: “We’ve all seen the quality of Alan Greeff’s three stars, Golden Palm, Anotherdanceforme and Direct Hit, but Quickstepgal will stand her ground where and when she has to. Races are not automatically won ahead of time. This is racing, we have a very good filly to take them on, and we’ll be trying our best.”
Anotherdanceforme beat Quickstepgal by 1,4-lengths in Golden Slipper and they are likely to meet again in the WC Fillies Championship. Prinsloo said: “Anotherdanceforme was green and carried Quickstepgal inwards that day. I still believe that, if not for the interference, our filly could have won that day.”
Prinsloo, who has continued to churn out winners from his small string, won Race 6 over 1400m at HWB Greyville on Monday with six-year-old mare Convocation, a recent acquisition owned by George O’Brien.
He said: “This was a lovely win and I am so happy for George. He and a partner had a young horse with us called Like Fire, a promising unraced colt who suffered complications after being gelded and died. Months later I had an opportunity to buy Convocation from a retiring owner and George was keen to get involved, he bought her for R70,000, and she recovered a large chunk of that on Monday.”
He added: “Convocation is a speedy sort with her best form down the straight, but from what she showed me in work I felt we could try her again over further. I was told I was mad to go over 1400m, but she won it and she beat a fair field.”
O’Brien’s filly Jazz Café (Robbie Hill) finished fourth behind Convocation, starting favourite, and the owner said: “That was perhaps not quite what we expected, but I enjoyed the race and I am impressed with Tienie as a trainer.”
O’Brien, who was a regular and popular racegoer in the early 2000s, owned several good runners including the 2008 Grade 1 Gommagomma Challenge winner Eddington (Model Man), top sprinter Trance (Joshua Dancer) and the exported Grade 1 Allan Robertson Championship winner, Happy Valentine (Silvano).
He is not in good health at the moment, and said: “I have only four horses left in training, but they still bring me joy. I am fighting on!”
Wernars, meanwhile, has sent two more runners to Prinsloo’s yard and the trainer said: “They are fillies by New Predator and Trippi. Both look promising. I have 12 horses in my stable now, most are babies so I can’t wait for next season when they will be ready to race.”
