Serino Moodley clinched a double when winning aboard the Andre Nel-trained Pleasedtoseeyou (Master Of My Fate) on the Hollywoodbets Greyville poly today (Wednesday) (Picture: Gold Circle).
Sean Veale, Serino Moodley and Kumaran Naidoo had doubles on the Hollywoodbets Greyville poly today (Wednesday).
Veale goes to 43 wins for the season and has achieved it at a strike rate of 14.05%.
Moodley is on 21 wins at 12.35%.
Naidoo is on five wins at 8.47%.
Andrew Harrison wrote the below report on the meeting.
Andrew Harrison (Gold Circle)
Kom Naidoo made a welcome return to the winner’s enclosure in the card opener at Hollywoodbets Greyville yesterday as Thesupernovastar made all the running to win the first by the proverbial street. With the race moved to the poly, the field cut up to just five runners with Dean Kannemeyer’s filly Meritorious mostly in the red after an eye-catching debut victory. But Thesupernovastar, down from a rating high of 82 to yesterday’s 54 and apprentice Nirvan Nastili giving a further 2.5kg relief in the handicap, made all the running and was not for the catching as she accelerated away to win as she liked.
Meritorious on the other hand, never looked comfortable and Craig Zackey was at her a long way out. Zackey was critical of the surface in a later interview claiming that the favourite was never comfortable with the kick-back which he said was mostly responsible for her disappointing effort. “Ten furlongs on the grass,” he said would bring out the best in the filly.
Imperial Power got a hefty shunt up the ratings after his last win but the handicappers got this one right as he powered to a comfortable victory in the second. Stepped up to a mile by Garth Puller, Rachel Venniker was hard at work a long way from home as Fish Eagle and One Irish Rover led the procession at a brisk pace. But once in the straight, Imperial Power picked them off as the early pace found the pacemakers treading water and Imperial Power quickened past to win as he liked.
“I was probably the only trainer that was happy when I got the call,” quipped Stuart Ferrie post-race with the third race intended for the turf before the rain intervened. Stable stalwart Preemptive Strike had recorded four of his five previous wins on the poly and it was a sixth yesterday. The first two races were won by big margins but it was a case if heads-up-and-down as Sean Veale got Preemptive Strike’s nose in front of a hard battling Rhythm. The official margin was 0.05 but it looked a little closer than that in spite of commentator Sheldon Peters getting it right and making a confident call.
Mc Dazzler was one of the first victims of the dreaded CTO2 testing which almost caused a riot as he was a short-priced favourite for the race. That was five races back and he only just made it past a second test yesterday before finally shedding is maiden ticket.
Dean Kannemeyer prefers his runners to be given a chance and run on at the finish but MC Dazzler has given the impression that he lacks intestinal fortitude given those tactics as he has been run down late in his last two starts. Zackey took no prisoners as he bounced Mc Dazzler out of the widest gate, took up the lead and was not for the catching. Assistant Nicolette Roscoe confirmed that the gelding had been a frustrating horse as he shows good work at home, but a change of tactics may be the answer.
It is always nice to have a little ‘insider’ information – which I may add can be very misleading – but Gallop TV presenter Paul Lafferty gave notice of his conversation with Paul Gadsby on the morning gallops where Gadsby explained that he had been disappointed with the showing of Princess Hannah at her previous start as she was not ridden to instructions. But Gadsby kept faith in Sean Veale and the title-chasing rider made amends as the filly left the favourite and pacemaker Ladybug for dead.
Kom Naidoo was back in the winner’s box as Hoodwinked held on gamely to edge out Rainwater as the pair battled it out in a tight finish to the sixth. Rollo The Viking ran out of steam after threatening halfway up the straight to finish a well-beaten third.
There is a school of the uninitiated that think trainers and jockeys just run them and ride them whatever, but plenty of thought goes into each race by both. Pleasedtoseeyou was a lightly raced gelding sent up from Cape Town by Andre Nel to his KZN yard to have a try on the poly and it has worked out well. Third behind the promising Mr Hotstepper in his local debut and winning well yesterday beating favourite Go Grayson Go.
Working out that Go Grayson Go may still be short of experience, having only his third start, Serino Moodley piled on the pressure early and it paid dividends with his younger rival still green and not getting to grips.
Gary Rich was hoping to claim the prize for the Hollywood Syndicates 600th winner but was pipped on the post for the second time running, also missing out by a couple on their half-century but he has kept Benni In The Area fit and firing as Calvin Habib kept him rolling from his inside draw to hold off Irish Luck who had no luck from his outside draw, wide for most of the way and not able to finish off.
