Last Of The Legend delivers
LAST OF THE LEGEND has a mighty reputation to live up to if he is to emulate the feats of his illustrious sire but he is on the right track as the son of Horse Chestnut kept his clean sheet in the seventh on the poly at Greyville yesterday.
From maiden triumph into winning an 80MR Handicap is no easy assignment but Champion trainer Sean Tarry knows his oats and Last Of The Legend delivered as he got the better of Lowan Denysschen’s luckless favourite High Green, his fourth successive runner-up berth.
Bottom weight and aided by a pedestrian gallop that largely nullified his position two off the fence for much of the race, Last Of The Legend was given a peach of a ride by Luke Ferraris who, in only his second year as an apprentice, is mature beyond his age when it comes to race-riding.
He nursed his mount until challenged by multiple champion Anton Marcus on High Green, and then extracted just enough to win cosily in what turned into a sprint for the line.
It was not a win that earmarks a champion but it was still a very decent effort.
Yesterday was one of those days for punters as favourites got ‘rolled’ regularly and those backers that went wide in the exotics will have been well rewarded.
The upset trend was set in the card opener, although the winner Yaas, was not entirely unexpected with the Louis Goosen stable almost invincible at present.
Goosen was aided by apprentice Jason Gates, ‘up-graded’ to a 2.5kg claim last Sunday after recording the 20th winner of his fledgling career. He was worth every gram of his claim on Yaas as he kept the filly going just long enough to edge out two fastfinishers in Missibaba and favourite Sarabi, short heads covering the first four home.
Gates was back in the winner’s box two races later, as he scored a comfortable win on Miesque Sunrise for Wayne Bardenhorst, the first boil-over in the Pick 6 with the winner starting at 25-1. Gates tracked the early pace with the balance of the field playing the waiting game, but once he set his mount alight, the pack was left flat-footed and his filly was never challenged.
If Yaas didn’t set the trend, then Flexible Fugitive did as Robbie Hill’s charge arrived at 30-1 in the second, Gareth Wright getting the gelding up on the line to edge out favourite and pacemaker Captain’s Alpha.
Final Attempt was the next favourite to go by the wayside as Donnan took command at the top of the straight under Muzi Yeni and hold off the attentions of the grey Master Sam, Mark Dixon’s yard showing a welcome return to form after a long battle with a virus. Favourite Final Attempt scraped into third to keep the majority of Place Accumulator punters in the hunt.
Red Shift was sent out favourite for the fifth but he was not striding out when the field crossed the line as Euphoric got the better of the well-fancied Collabro.
Bold Beauty, a 22-1 shot, added salt into any punter’s wounds who may still have been running in the exotics. Often a tardy starter, Bold Beauty got way on terms under Mark Khan in the sixth and after a ding-dong battle up the straight eventually got the better of Awesomely Tuned and Josephine Baker in a tight finish. It was a welcome winner for Duncan Howells who has languished in the second box on more occasions than he would care to remember this season.
It took eight races for some relief for favourite backers as Sean Veale got the Dennis Drier-trained Forthelastime home comfortably. Coming from off the pace, the gelding quickened smartly to out-pace Sovereign Solder and South Paw, who turned in an improved performance fitted with blinkers.
The PA payout of R43.30 belied the reality of the day as only a .09 percentage was paid out on the Pick 6.