Former KZN-based rider Gareth Wright continues to make proper use of the opportunities that arise through his association with a powerful yard, and he travelled up the Garden Route on Friday to secure a smart feature victory in the R150 000 Listed Lady’s Bracelet on Gold Poker Game – yet another victory for the high-riding Drakenstein team.
Wright made the Gqeberha trip on Friday for six rides, and rode a polished and confident race on the 4yo daughter of Gold Standard, who finished with a late rattle to beat the odds-on fancy and local star 3yo Luna Halo in the afternoon headliner.
Top three! Gareth Wright on Gold Poker Game (far left) returns with Richard Fourie (runner-up La Luna, green sleeves) and Louis Mxothwa on the third-placed defending champion And We Danced (Pic – Pauline Herman)
Gold Poker Game was a first winner of 2024 for the Maritzburg College student, but looking back he enjoyed the best December of his career with 8 winners, of which 50% were for the Candice Bass-Robinson yard.
Despite running a bit green, Gold Poker Game (28-10) showed her mettle to record her second stakes success – her first being a slightly hollow victory, after gaining the credit for the 2023 Listed Jamaica Handicap following the disqualification of the original winner, and in the process becoming her relocated sire’s first stakes winner.
On Friday Gold Poker Game was on fire and beat Luna Halo by three quarters in a time of 97,04 secs.
Last year’s winner And We Danced (8-1) finished a further 2,25 lengths back in third.
Gold Poker Game is another feature winning Drakenstein home-bred, She is a daughter of Trippi stallion Gold Standard, who was transferred to Colin Birch’s historic Vogel Vlei Stud in the Karoo in late 2023.
The winner is out of the well-related US bred Skip Away mare, Skip Poker, and is now a winner of 5 races with 7 places from 14 starts for stakes of R489 213.
Gavin Smith and Smanga Khumalo were in rich form and dominated proceedings with 50% of the winners on the eight race programme.
- The next Eastern Cape racemeeting is on Friday 19 January.
Enjoy the replay:
