While Piet Botha and Keanen Steyn were the leading combination with a well-taken double on a festive afternoon at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Saturday, it was Bernard Fayd’herbe who saved the best for last with a cucumber-cool intelligent tactical ride to win the ninth race on Lucinda Woodruff’s Café Culture.
Newly crowned SA Champion trainer Justin Snaith saddled a treble, with Gareth Wright riding a smart double – in the process demonstrating that when the lower profile jockeys get the opportunities they too can ride their share of winners.
But it was Bernie at his brilliant best in the final event when the heavyweight showed what a dash of tactical forethought, courage, guile, experience and luck can do to win a sprint at the Country Course and that, like age, the widest draw in a field of 13, is just a number.
Bernard Fayd’herbe and Cafe Culture are led in by Mike Fullard, Lucinda Woodruff, and Lee-Anne and James Drew (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
Carrying joint topweight in the Class 4 contest, Café Culture was out like a scalded cat and directed in a straight line to the corner, he was in front and never headed to win a cracker at an easy to back 14-1. Plan come-together as they say for the trainer and jockey!
“I thought if we drop him in and give him a chance he’d run a good race, but probably only into the places. So when we got a good break, there was only one way as we discussed,” said Bernard.
The lightly raced Café Culture showed courage as he withstood a challenge from the Hollywood Syndicate challenger Moya Wa Laliga (18-10), who was bidding to give Gareth van Zyl and Athandiwe Mgudlwa a new season icebreaker in the Cape.
At the line three quarters of a length separated the pair, with Café Culture clocking 74,58 secs for the 1250m.
Ridgemont bred the 4yo son of the late legend Var.
Dennis Drier’s Dynasty filly Put The Kettle On in her racing days. The late Alec Forbes is in the saddle (Pic – Gold Circle)
Café Culture’s five-time winning Dynasty dam Put The Kettle On was trained by the now retired Dennis Drier, who was on course.
She raced in the same famous Badge Boys’ white, gold and blue flag as Saturday’s winner. Somehow these colours always evoke memories of that good racing man Stan Elley, who sadly disappeared from the scene without much fanfare early last season.
Jockey Bernard Fayd’herbe modestly gave trainer Lucinda Woodruff all the credit for the victory, saying that Café Culture had come on in leaps and bounds in his work.
“If I had ten horses I’d give them all to Lucinda to train,” added the multiple Gr1 winning rider.
Lucinda Woodruff, known to those close to her as ‘Lulu’, certainly has the pedigree to make it big.
Her late Granddad Terrance Millard was a legend and Dad Geoff, now training in Saudi Arabia, was a widely respected five-times SA Champion trainer.
Enjoy the Cafe Culture replay here:
The next Cape racemeeting is at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Tuesday 15 August.
Bernard rides Bullitt for Lucinda in the fourth race on Tuesday afternoon. We could see a repeat!
Get your racecard here:
