The Gr 2 Allied Steelrode Onamission Charity Mile winner Zeitz, who has been raised from 114 to 117, has come out of Saturday’s victory at Turffontein Standside well, but will be given a deserved break before coming back for a possible tilt at next March’s Gr 1 wfa Wilgerbosdrift HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes over the same course and distance as the Charity Mile.
Trainer Andre Nel’s Summerveld assistant Byron Forster said nothing was set in stone yet, but made it clear that the L’Ormarins King’s Plate was not on the Vercingetorix gelding’s program.
He continued, “We’re going to give him a little break and maybe concentrate on the Horse Chestnut Stakes. We will freshen him up and maybe give him one run into that race. He has shown he can travel, so that is the rough plan at the moment.”
Byron said the connections had been confident going into the Charity Mile.
He said, “He had come on from that 1400m run. It served its purpose, because it got him in the right space. Serino was very bullish about him after his grass gallop into Saturday’s race and the race itself then worked out perfectly. They went hard and he found a position and then pulled him out and he accelerated at the right time. He had a lot of ground to make up. Serino rode him confidently and knew how much horse he had under him. He trusted Zeitz’s acceleration and the horse brought his work to the course. It is always difficult traveling, you never know, but he is a seasoned traveler. He has been on a few Durban to Cape Town trips and he has the temperament to travel, he’s a very relaxed horse, so that all helps too.”
The win was an exciting moment for Zeitz’s owner Sabine Plattner.
Byron said, “She gave us a phonecall afterwards. She was ecstatic and very emotional. It is a long time since she has had a feature winner up in Johannesburg, so it was nice that a plan came together.”
