Crowd Pleasers or show-offs? These two had Aintree spectators on their feet.
The unwelcome invader on the track during the running of the Greyville final race on 20 March will be charged with ‘Pitch Invasion and Reckless Endangerment’ and the matter is in the hands of the SAPS. This is the word from Gold Circle Chief Operating Officer Graeme Hawkins, after a potentially suicidal dash by an unidentified male in the final stages of the ninth race.
Track invasion and streaking thankfully appears to be a lot more popular internationally, where tracks such as Aintree, Randwick and Hamilton have been platforms for the publicity seeking exhibitionist pranksters. The most famous British streaker is a fellow by the name of Mark Roberts, who has run riot during several international events.
A father of three, Roberts’ streaking career began in 1993 when he saw a female streaker in a Rugby Sevens game in Hong Kong. After a bet in a bar, he went naked in front of the crowd himself the next day. Roberts has done this, as of 2011, almost 500 times, targeting such events as Hamilton Race Course, a Mr. Universe contest, a Miss World contest, tennis matches, the bull run in Pamplona, the synchronized swimming world championship in Barcelona, and his specialty, association football matches.Probably his most famous streak was on a live 1995 broadcast of This Morning, where he swam onto Fred Talbot’s floating weather map.
Looks quite normal! World Champ Mark Roberts.
Never a dull moment in the holiday province, it seems. But the young man who made a gallant but ridiculous attempt to pace it out with Dennis Drier’s Hallowed in the final 250m of the Maiden Plate may find himself having to explain to a judge why he shouldn’t be heavily punished for his momentary madness when he became a two legged Senor Santa. Greyville only caters once a year for this type of runner – and that is the thirteenth race on Vodacom Durban July Day where the operator gives its’ unwritten sanction. Otherwise it is patently against the law and a dangerous way of having fun at others’ expense.
The routine Maiden Plate closed off what was a pleasant and uneventful evening of night racing, with the Gr3 King’s Cup run over a mile heading affairs. Commentator Craig Peters tone changed in the final 200m of the ninth as he called Hallowed who was being challenged wide out by Mojav. “Get off the track!”, the seasoned race-caller screamed in horror as the idiot came dashing from the outside rail.
The clothed streaker shortened his stride late and ran out of the money along with the race favourite San Geran, as Bart Rice’s Mojav came away to win well and peg back a gallant Hallowed. But we do not wish to make light of what could have been a tragic ending to an act of unbelievable stupidity. Hopefully his thirty seconds of fame will be a lesson to the racing operator. But seriously, what next?
Trainer Mike De Kock got into the early Group racing action with Champions Season just
Legend! Anthony Delpech gets Jet Legend up to beat the fancied Bay Route.
around the corner, when he grabbed the R200 000 Gr3 King’s Cup for Sheikh Hamdan. Jet Legend started a ridiculous 11-2 as the talk and interest was all for the course and distance dazzler Bay Route. The two fought it out, with Jet Legend changing legs beautifully in the final stages to win going away under Anthony Delpech. This was JJ The Jet Plane’s full brothers’ fifth win from ten starts and the Patricia Devine bred colt looks upwardly mobile at this stage.
Glen and Kathi Kotzen celebrated their 19th wedding anniversary in style with a stable winner at Greyville – even though they were some 2000km away in Paarl as part owner Raymond Deacon and his family led their improving Argentinian bred Mister Slam in for his hat-trick of victories in the MR72 Handicap over 1200m. He benefitted from a superb ride by Billy Jacobson, who kept his cool as the entire world descended upon them in the final 100m.
Mister Slam has won four from eighteen and looks better than rated. He also provided Assistant Trainer Frikkie Greyling with an early birthday present for the 21 March.
In A Different Claassen! Young Bryan shows champ Anton how its done.
While Avontuur sponsored Cape based jockey MJ Byleveld was the top rider on the evening with a hard taken double, champion jockey Anton Marcus had a frustratingly blank night at the office with two second cheques. He actually looked to have the MR62 Handicap run over 1700m in the bag on the well backed Alec Laird-trained Raptor, but young apprentice Bryan Claassen had other ideas and he forced the Lowan Denysschen-trained Gandolf The Great up to beat the favourite. It was a grandstand finish hard up against the outside rail and had the small crowd on their feet.
The son of Modern Day has been a model of consistency and he was receiving a hefty ten kilos from the favourite. But it was a shrewd training feat of placement by Denyssschen and the cheque is in the bank!
