Ridgemont’s red-hot sires Rafeef and Canford Cliffs enjoyed a collective national treble in the Cape and on the Highveld on Saturday, with both saluting with 2yo winners.
The first leg of Rafeef’s double came in the shape of a dazzling debut effort by his Ridgemont-bred two-year-old son, Esteemed, who was expected to be green but turned the Turffontein 1160m contest into a walk in the park with an impressive and professional 4,50-length success.
Ryan Munger enjoys an armchair ride on Esteemed at Turffontein on Saturday (Pic – JC Photos)
“This is what good horses do!” enthused Canada-based jockey Ryan Munger, who suggested the winner was a ‘classy individual’.
“It was like he’s done it a million times. He has everything about him, all the attributes to be a top horse. He did everything right. I shook his reins at the 300m mark, gave him one smack and it was race over. He cruised in!”added Munger.
Trainer Mike de Kock was also suitably impressed.
“Esteemed was a bit green coming into the ring, ducking and looking around. But he has a good mind, this horse. He is laid back at home and delivered what he had shown in work.”
The veteran said that he and son Mathew were privileged to be training several nice young horses for Ridgemont.
Hollywoodbets’ Devin Heffer also owns a share in Esteemed, and the athletic specimen holds an entry in the TAB Gr2 SA Nursery on Champions Day, 29 March, where Ridgemont rider Richard Fourie has been engaged.
“We’ll leave him in for next week, we’ll see how he pulls up,” added a delighted De Kock.
Rafeef’s second winner of the day came 1750km away down at a wet Hollywoodbets Durbanville when the 5yo mare Fun Zone, a model of consistency, picked up her third career victory in a Class 4 mile.
Timed to perfection by regular rider Aldo Domeyer, Fun Zone finished with a rattle to win well for trainer Candice Bass-Robinson and a large partnership of thrilled owners.
Fun Zone is out of the Ideal World mare What Fun and has earned at 75% of her 31 runs.
Consistency rewarded as Fun Zone (Aldo Domeyer) charges home to beat La Divina (Corne Orffer) and fourth placed Lady Look Alike (Mpumelelo Mjoka) at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Saturday (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
Canford Cliffs has been well and truly firing from the hip this season with a number of impressive 2yo winners and his Ridgemont-bred daughter Cliffscape won at her third start to give the five-time Gr1 winner a score at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Saturday.
Aldo Domeyer salutes as Cliffscape is led in by Mike Fullard, and Lee-Ann and James Drew (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
After two placed efforts down the Hollywoodbets Kenilworth straight, the Candice Bass-Robinson trained Cliffscape started a well-backed 7-10 favourite and duly shed her maiden ticket in style at her first start at the Country Course.
She is out of the Jet Master mare Sky Castle, and looks a promising prospect.
