Mucho Dinero is in a race of his own under Yuzae Ramzan (Picture: Wayne Marks)
Gqeberha-based jockey Yuzae Ramzan grabbed the opportunity with both hands when given a chance on the Justin Snaith-trained Twice Over gelding Mucho Dinero on Saturday at Hollywoodbets Durbanville in the Listed Woolavington Trophy over 2400m.
The 93 merit rated four-year-old gelding was allotted a weight of just 50kg and Snaith was left with a problem when the Cape-based lightweight rider whom he regurlarly uses, Joshwin Solomons, had already been booked to ride the Greg Ennion-trained Love Is A Rose.
Snaith said after the race, “I called all over, including trying Martin Ball at the SA Jockey Academy in KZN. Eventually I thought of trainer Gavin Smith in Gqeberha. He suggested Yuzae Ramzan as a hardworking and talented jockey. I rang owner Nic Jonsson. He said let’s give him a chance. The rest is history.”
Mucho Dinero was only third favourite behind the Piet Botha-trained Baratheon and the Snaith-trained One Way Traffic, who also runs in the Jonsson colours.
Ramzan brought Mucho Dinero from near the back in a race that was run at a sedate pace initially set by Baratheon before One Way Traffic came from midfield and went around him at about the halfway mark.
However, Richard Fourie on Baratheon did not accept the cover offered him by One Way Traffic and imstead challenged him on his outside, so must have been aware of how slowly he had initially been going.
Baratheon ended up pipping One Way Traffic by a shorthead but neither of them were a match for Much Dinero who came flying on the outside and won by an easy 4,25 lengths. He was receiving 4kg from baratheon and 8kg from One Wat Traffic.
Topweight Senso Unico, carrying a welter 62kg, finished a gallant 4,80 length fourth coming from last and Love Is A Rose was next best.
Much Dinero provides Jonsson with yet another stakes winner by Twice Over. The Durban-based businessman is the owner or part-owner of the three best Twice Overs to race, the legendary dual July-winning Do It Again, the dual Gr 1 winner See It Again and the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas winner Double Superlative.
Mucho Dinero, like See It Again, was bred by Drakenstein Stud.
He is out of stalwart Casey Tibbs mare Cash Register, who is a full-sister to July winner Big City Life.
Cash Register has had five runners and every single one of them is now a stakes winner, the others being Speedpoint (Var), Snapscan (Oratorio), Point Of Sale (Var) and Chat Ching (Duke Of Marmalade).
