James Crawford had hardly started his high school career when Dad Brett first won the R1 million TAB Gr1 Empress Club Stakes.
On Saturday he enjoyed the honour of saddling the racing family’s next winner in the prestigious contest, when Fatal Flaw went pillar to post to win the 2025.
A flawless performance from Fatal Flaw under Gavin Lerena (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Present day Hong Kong star Karis Teetan booted the Klawervlei-bred Thunder Dance home for the Crawford yard under the lights on a memorable Friday evening back in April 2013, and there could be some sentimental positivity that the daughter of Thunder Dance went on to win the Gr1 Garden Province Stakes of the same year – a likely next target for the 3yo Fatal Flaw, who ran a cracker on Saturday.
Now in a Hollywoodbets-sponsored father-son training partnership with Brett headed for Hong Kong in a matter of months, the new generation arrived courtesy of the 2024 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas winner Fatal Flaw (9-4), who was always in command and went on powerfully under Gavin Lerena to withstand a niggling and persistent pursuit by the revitalized Spumante Dolce (28-10) by 1,25 lengths in a time of 101,23 secs for the mile.
Top team! Part owner Arun Chadha and trainer James Crawford (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Piere Strydom always gets the best tune out of White Pearl (8-1), and the way the master kept the grey covered until late, saw her sneak her way in to grab third, a length back.
Let’s Go Now (20-1) ran on from way back, for a 4,05 length fourth.
Backers of VJ’s Angel binned their tickets a couple of hundred metres into the race. The daughter of Gimmethegreenlight was always struggling at the rear.
James Crawford was on record that he would have preferred one prep run, but there are no text books in this game and Fatal Flaw proved him wrong.
Bred by Laurence Wernars, the winner, who races for ASSM Racing Syndicate, who also own the third-placed White Pearl, is by the ill-fated New Approach stallion New Predator out of the five-time winning Rock Of Gibralatar mare, Alinga.
A R210 000 National Yearling Sale purchase, Fatal Flaw took her earnings to R1 978 688 with her fourth win with 5 places from 11 starts.
The going was changed to soft earlier on in the afternoon, in consultation with the jockeys.
The R1 million Champions Day Pick 6 carryover, which kicked off in the fourth race, was projected to reach R5 million. It fell some way short at R3,6 million.
