Emotional owners are just Takingthepeace
EXCITEMENT: HUGE THRILL AS WILGERBOSDRIFT FILLIES GUINEAS GOES TO FIRST-TIME OWNER
Race gives Mike de Kock the Exacta after Silver Thursday runs second.
Iwatched my father win the Durban July and I saw him finish second in the World Cup, but nothing feels better than this. That was the comment of Michael Shea, son of former jockey Kevin Shea, after Takingthepeace won the R500,000 Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas over 1600m at Turffontein on Saturday.
The three-year-old daughter of Visionaire, owned by Shea, Murray Makepeace and Mike de Kock, came from last under jockey Callan Murray to beat stable companion Silver Tuesday by a neck with 36-1 outsider Green Top claiming third and joint bookies’ favourite Folk Dance (5-2) in fourth.
The first two past the post were trained by Mike de Kock.
Takingthepeace went off at 22-1 with Silver Thursday and Weichong Marwing at 12-1. The De Kock Exacta paid R209.50.
De Kock is in Dubai but the excitement in the winner’s enclosure was indescribable as Shea, Makepeace and assistant trained Mathew de Kock hugged one another in delight. This is Makepeace’s first horse and he has a possible Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara winner among his assets.
“She should stay all three distances of the Triple Tiara,” said Mathew. To claim the R1-million bonus Takingthepeace will now have to win the Grade 1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic over 1800m at Turffontein on Saturday 7 April and the Wilgerbosdrift SA Oaks over 2400m on 5 May.
This race has become an emotional affair for the De Kock family. Last year, when Janoobi won, it brought up De Kock’s 3,000th winner. This year it was Mathew who was touched by the win. “Michael has been a friend of mine for ever and Murray has become one of my best friends and I’m just so pleased for them.”
It was a thrilling moment for jockey Callan Murray who has not been having the best of runs but has redeemed himself with a great ride. Asked when he thought he had the race, he replied: “As we came into the straight I knew I had it.”
That might be construed a bit of a hyperbole because going through the 200m mark most pundits would have poured their money on to Silver Thursday who had shrugged off the attentions are the more fancied Folk Dance and Fish River and was clear in front. But Murray had other ideas and his mount ran on powerfully to get up close home, despite shifting in away from the crop in the latter stages.
Speaking about Silver Thursday, Marwing said: “I have no complaints. She had every chance and was beaten by a better filly on the day.”
One might assume that naming a horse is easy but that is not always the case. “Because of my name I wanted to get ‘peace’ into the name,” explained Makepeace. “We tried a whole lot of names but every time it got rejected because some other horse had the same name.
“After it came back about six times Mathew just said ‘it can’t be true, they’re just taking the piss’. It then all came together – Takingthepeace. And it went through.”