Skip to main content
My Golly Molly (far side) gets the better of Hluhluwe (Picture: Wayne Marks)

 

The Eric Sands-trained Fire Away colt My Golly Molly was the surprise winner of Saturday’s Gr 3 WSB Langerman, a 1500m event which has become a reliable pointer to the classic races of the following season.

He became the second stakes winner for Wilgerbosdrift Stud-based freshman stallion Fire Away (War Front).

Wicklow Stud, who bred My Golly Molly, have had a fine season and their stakes earning per runner of R111,057 is second only to national champions elect Drakenstein Stud for those breeders who have had more than 20 runners.

They have had two stakes winners from their 22 runners, the other one being the Gr 3 Sea Cottage Stakes winner Billy Bowlegs.   

Fire Away’s other stakes winner is the Alan Greeff-trained filly Luna Halo, who has won three Listed races.

He has had ten individual winners of 15 races in all.

My Golly Molly sat at the back of the small seven horse Langerman field.

He was produced up the inside rail by San Veale and ran on strongly.  He collared the favourite, the Justin Snaith-trained Hluhluwe (Trippi),  in the final 100m and then fended the latter off when he rallied back.

Another Fire Away colt, the Brett Crawford-trained Zil Moris, was third.

War Front stallions were responsible for three of the quartet-placed runners as the Snaith trained Lancaster Bomber colt Snow Pilot finished fourth.

The odds of 16/1 about My Golly Molly were not a reflection of the Sands yard’s confidence and Eric revealed in the post race interview that he had known his last race was all wrong as he was without cover in the running. 

Gary Player, Nick & Val McFall, Canine Solutions CC (Nom: Mr D C O’Driscoll) & the Sands Grooms Racing Trust (Nom: Eric Sands) are the owners of Golly Molly.

Sands revealed grooms had to be with him for more than three months to be part of the Sands Grooms Racing Trust and the longer serving grooms have a higher percentage of the trust.

This is the second stakes winner the Sands grooms have had, the other being Hanabi who won a Listed race in 2017.

My Golly Molly denied Justin Snaith a fourth successive win of the Langerman.

His three recent winners of the race are Jet Dark (2020), Pomp And Power (2021) and Light Speed (2022).

Other recent winners of the Langerman include the Vaughan Marshall-trained stablemates Tap O’ Noth (2017) and One World (2018).

Some of the above names show just what a great pointer it is to the following season’s classics.