Last season’s star 2yo colt Dutch Philip stepped out at Durbanville on Wednesday but, as anticipated by his connections, found the seasoned older speedsters too much to handle after a 17 week break from action.
Dutch Philip – top class son of What A Winter
Aldo Domeyer’s mount won four of his five starts last season for trainer Candice Bass-Robinson, which included top-class victories in both the Somerset 1200 and the Cape Nursery.
But he drifted out to 2-1 at the off on Wednesday, and found the 1000m of the revamped country track, as well as some hard-knockers that he faced in the MR 96 Handicap, his undoing as he was outpaced throughout and only got going late for third.
Aldo Domeyer did not exactly punish the promising 3yo, who finished 1,45 lengths off the strong galloping 10-1 Percival.
A son of Equus champion What A Winter, South Africa’s Leading First Crop Sire by stakes earned last term, Dutch Philip is a R460 000 CTS March Yearling Sale graduate (he banked stakes of R316 875 in his first term) and was bred by Rex Stud. He is out of the versatile five-time winning Dominion Royale mare, Uppity Ann. He now heads for the Cape Classic at Kenilworth on 28 October.
The winner of this race, the 6yo Percival, gave the Andre Nel team their third winner of the afternoon. This lightly raced gelding has won 6 of his 14 starts and was returning from a similar length of rest as Dutch Philip – but no ring rustiness from the Rondeberg resident!
Oratorio – another winner!
Percival’s win also marked a great afternoon for Avontuur champion stallion Var, who sired three winners on the afternoon. Another Avontuur sire, the international stakes producer Oratorio, also got another winner on the board when his son Orakal survived an objection and scored at his sixth start for trainer Mike Robinson. He shed his maiden over a mile but looks likely to go further as he matures.
Jockey MJ Byleveld rounded off the afternoon and ended his birthday with a bang – knocking Pick 6 punters out when the longshot Zeb flew late to catch the smart recent maiden winner Rommel.
