World Of Royalty impressed over 1600m today at Hollywodbets Scottsville and could be Gr 1 World Pool Moment Of The Day Premiers Champion Stakes bound. (Candiese Lenferna Photography).
Two entries for the Gr 1 World Pool Moment Of The Day Premier’s Champion Stakes over 1600m won over the 1600m trip at Hollywoodbets Scottsville today.
The Paul Lafferty-trained Danon Platina colt Bruh beat his own age group in a Maiden Juvenile Plate race under Muzi Yeni and later the scopey, long-striding Nathan Kotzen-trained One World colt World Of Royalty, who had plenty of ground to make up in a Maiden Plate against older horses, ran on in eyecatching style and won easing up by 1,10 lengths under Craig Zackey.
World Of Royalty’s time was 1,44 seconds quicker than Bruh’s, athough he was carrying 4kg less.
Garth Puller and Siphesihle Hlengwa had a double together at the meeting.
Chad Little also had a double.
In the national jockeys championship race, Zackey’s single winner put him on 242 wins for the season, four behind Gavin Lerena and two ahead of Richard Fourie.
Puller’s double took him to 43 wins in KZN for the season, five behind the reigning KZN champion and current championship leader Gareth van Zyl.
Andrew Harrison of Race Coast wrote the following report on today’s meeting:
Andrew Harrison (Race Coast)
Legendary jockey and trainer Garth Puller is not easily pleased when it comes to the riders that he puts on his horses but he has stayed loyal and mentored former SAJA Head Boy Siphesihle Hlengwa, known affectionally to all at Summerveld as ‘Spare’.
Unassuming and polite, Hlengwa got two home for Puller at Hollywoodbets Scottsville yesterday.
Kanaal Skater looked to be home and dry in the third to add to Dean Kannemeyer’s Hollywoodbets Durban July victory last Saturday but was treading water late as Cardinal Chief pedaled past under Hlengwa to run him out of it with early leader Xenophon staying on for third.
Celestial Diamond found plenty of support in the market for the Gallop Form Maiden Plate, next up on the card, but Hlengwa went one better after being run out of it late last time out, to keep the favourite at bay.
Paul Matchett was not on course to lead in the well fancied Opera Fan in the card opener but may well have suffered a few heart palpitations as Calvin Habib managed to keep his charge going just long enough to hod off a rather unlucky Cassandra who came from well off the pace to be denied on the line.
It was a fine ride from Habib who had a difficult time getting his charge to the post as she stuck up at the entrance to the parade ring and had to be led past the entrance before deciding to head on to the start.
In the first leg of the PA, former Mike de Kock right-hand man Wengesai Masawi sent out his first runner from his Ashburton base and Pied Piper was far from disgraced after showing pace before tiring late. The well-backed Bruh came from off the pace, having Paul Lafferty muttering under his breath in the running, but Muzi Yeni got the well-fancied runner home ahead of Sean Tarry’s runner Master Spy, both horses held in high regard.
Royal Victory was not disgraced in defeat in last Saturday’s Hollywoodbets Durban July, coming from off the pace to finish a creditable fourth behind The Real Prince, and still the best horse in the country, Eight On Eighteen.
World Of Royalty racing in the same Pieter Victor colours yesterday and stepped up to a mile by Nathan Kotzen, the One World gelding, starting tote favourite, produced the required result under July winning rider Craig Zackey to get past 40-1 chance Carnival Park and stave off a Pick 6 ‘bomb’.
Lucinda Woodruff has paid her way with her small Champions Season raiding party and Another Dream paid her ticket when running on stoutly to hold off all challengers in the sixth. A big-striding filly, Chad Little made a winning move two furlongs out and the daughter of Futura kept rolling to hold of the late challenges from Ideal Gift and Elembee.
Well-backed Lock And Key took on male rivals in the Gallop TV B Stakes and turned in a courageous performance to hold all at bay. Under pressure from a long way out, Chad Little kept Glen Kotzen’s filly hard to her task and she responded gallantly to hold off Trois Quatre and French Trip to give Kotzen’s the 2000th winner of his training career.
Lady Of Vix, having her second run after a four-month break, took no prisoners in rounding off the meeting. Sean Veale bounced her out of the gate and Tony Rivalland’s charge was not for the catching and never seriously in danger with Rafa’s Boy, hunting a third straight victory, never got close.
