KZN Raiders Roar
| KZN Raiders Roar 2 April, 2012 – Lisa Barrett |
One of the most exciting races on Classic Day, was the SA Fillies Classic (Gr.1) which produced a last gasp victory for the Kwa Zulu Natal-trained filly, Bambina Stripes. Despite a ridiculously slow start, the pace picked up when Bluroute decided to step up to take the lead. It was if the field only came life in the home straight, and it appeared as if Kalami had the race in the bag.
However, as they say, it’s not over until the fat lady sings, and a furious last-gasp attempt by the KZN raider, Bambina Stripes in the dying strides of the race, saw her snatch it from Kalami by a whisker, with the highly rated Ihla Bela rounding out the top three. Congratulations go to Dennis Drier and Knut Haug.
Another KZN raider who had an excellent day’s racing was Gavin Van Zyl, winning the Pretty Polly Stakes (Gr.3) with Franny, a filly owned by Mrs Bridget Oppenheimer and ridden by Anthony Delpech. She romped in by three lengths.
Gavin Van Zyl then recorded the big win of the day with Slumdogmillionaire going from start to finish, under a brilliant ride by Marthinus Mienie who went on to win the SA Classic (Gr.1) over 1800 metres, Congratulations to Messrs A Greyvensteyn and J Sarkis on the prestigious win. The aptly named colt is now indeed a millionaire after winning the race with a total stake of R2-million.
All in all, a fantastic day for KZN-bred raiders, and a loud warning to the rest of the country, KZN means business!
| Lisa Barrett – Guest Writer “Lisa Barrett”, her psuedonym, currently works at a stud farm in the KZN Midlands – a position she has held for the past eight years. She describes herself as “absolutely and totally besotted by horses” and she is in a fortunate position to work with a stallion she idolises every day. She describes herself as “continually fascinated by every aspect of the racehorse business, especially pedigrees!” |