Front And Centre targets Paddock-Majorca
FRONT AND CENTRE, who made a winning return in last Saturday’s Diana Stakes, has a Paddock-Majorca Stakes double as her ultimate target this season. Brett Crawford, in fine form with three winners yesterday, said: “It’s a question of picking the right races for her before then. We will sit down and work it out.”
Stable companion Bwana has opened 5-1 joint favourite with the Greg Ennion-trained Elusive Trader for the Tellytrack.com Pinnacle Stakes at Durbanville on Saturday.
Green Jacket, trained by the in-form Justin Snaith, is next in the market at 11-2.
Snaith was at the country course yesterday to upset hot favourites in the first two races and, despite being on crutches, nipped up and down the staircase a good deal quicker than most people manage – “Certainly I can still move faster than the three-quarters of the trainers!”
Duchess Of State
Duchess Of State was backed down to 3-4 for the opening maiden and Callan Murray’s mount was travelling like a winner pretty well everywhere except where it mattered and she went down by a neck and a short head to 10-1 shot On The Scent in the Team Valor colours.
Murray reported: “My filly led and led comfortably - and I felt that there was nothing to say that she wasn’t going to win - but she didn’t produce much of a kick.
“It was disappointing.”
Snaith, though, revealed that he had had his fair share of disappointment with the Richard Fourie-ridden winner: “We had been quite bullish first time out but she needed the penny to drop.
“She will come on again from this.” Many punters expected to get their money back on Track Attack in the next and backed the Dynasty colt from 2-1 to 5-4 accordingly. Keagan de Melo rode a waiting race and early in the straight it looked all over when the gaps opened up like the Red Sea. Sadly, this particular Moses was unable to take full advantage.
He got to the front alright but he couldn’t quicken clear and he was run out of it by the Snaith 14-1 second string Anderson, enterprisingly handled by Robert Khathi.
Dean Kannemeyer, disappointed but quick to see the positives (what else can you do when you train racehorses for a living?), said: “I would like to have won the race but I was pleased with the way he switched off and the way he quickened. “In fact I thought he had it won but, don’t forget, his game is going to be 2 000m.”
Rio Querari was most impressive under Fourie in the last and the owners, somewhat understandably, now have Ready To Run ambitions. THE National Horseracing Authority (NHA) has announced two senior appointments in the Department of Racing Control. Deanthan Moodley has been appointed as the Chief Stipendiary Steward in KwaZulu-Natal with effect from 1 November 2019.
Deanthan, a qualified attorney, joined the NHA as a Stipendiary Steward in Johannesburg in 2015.
After demonstrating a sound understanding of the rules and the ability to lead from the front Deanthan was appointed to the position of the Senior Stipendiary Steward in Port Elizabeth in 2018, where he is a respected figure tasked with upholding the rules and the values of the NHA.
Douse
Langa Douse has been appointed as the Chief Stipendiary Steward in the Eastern Cape, also from 1 November 2019.
Langa was first licenced as a stipendiary steward in Johannesburg in 1998 and subsequently formed part of the KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Cape Stipendiary Boards.
He was promoted to the position of the Deputy Chief Stipendiary Steward in Central Provinces in 2010.
Langa subsequently spent some time away from the horseracing industry, before returning to the Central Provinces Stipendiary Board this year. - NHA