Justin Snaith and Ravi Naidoo with the Gr 2 WSB Guineas trophy, which Snaith has now won six times. (Candiese Lenferna Photography)
Passionate Durban owner Ravi Naidoo enjoyed multiple stakes race success, including Grade 1 and Grade 2 wins, with Vercingetorix colt Cousin Casey as a two-year-old and he came to the course on Saturday to watch that now five-year-old entire run in the Gr 2 IOS Drill Hall Stakes and to also watch his up and coming Vercingetorix colt, the Justin Snaith-trained Sail The Seas in the Gr 2 WSB Guineas.
It was a comeback from injury run for Cousin Casey and not much was expected from him from a wide draw and he was duly beaten 5,65 lengths into tenth.
Sail The Seas then made amends under a fine ride by Muzi Yeni to enhance the Hollywoodbets Greyville Graded record of horses running in Ravi’s “Kalinga” French grey with a violet cap colours, which besides Cousin Casey’s multiple succeess also includes a Gr 2 WSB 1900 win for Future Swing.
Starting at 6/1 Sail The Seas edged out two open weight for age Gr 1 winners, his WSB Met-winning stablemate Eight On Eighteen (Lancaster Bomber) and the Wilgerbosdrift HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes winner Cosmic Speed (Querari).
In a change of tactics to his come-from-behind second in the Gr2 Hawaii Stakes behind Main Defender, Craig Zackey had no hesitation in taking Sean Tarry’s charge Cosmic Speed to the front in a field reduced to seven runners with the late scratching of Legal Counsel.
Cosmic Speed set sedate early fractions with Sail The Seas in close attendance and Eight On Eighteen off the pace, but still in touch some six lengths off the leader.
Zackey sat for as long as he could once off the false rail but with Sail The Seas breathing down his neck he was finally forced to go for broke.
But Yeni always had him in his sights and looked to have the upperhand as they entered the final furlong.
However, Eight On Eighteen was moving up well on the rail and became a threat to Sail The Seas.
Sail The Seas, who had looked immature during the Summer so was always likely to improve, won by 0,60 lengths with Eight On Eighteen next best and Cosmic Speed a long head further back.
Naidoo revealed Sail The Seas had been bought by himself, Dave MacLean, Rurik Gobel and Countess Labia on reflex while they had all been sitting at the same table at the BSA Nationals.
He said the chances of such a story working out in racing increased when the horse was bred by Drakenstein Stud.
Sail The Seas cost R500,000.
Drakenstein also bred Eight On Eighteen, so scored an exacta.
Sail The Seas will go the Daily News 2000 and Hollywoodbets Durban July route, while Eight On Eighteen will go Daily News and it will be decided from then.
Snaith said it had been tough for horses training out of Summerveld due to all the rain and felt it was just the ability of his two horses that had enabled them to come through.
He spoke highly of the current three-year-old crop with all of One Stripe, Eight On Eighteen, Cosmic Speed and Fire Attack winning open weight for age Gr 1s.
Fire Attack was unfortunately scratched from Saturday’s event.
