The 6yo Jallad gelding Villa Del Largo broke a 29 month winning drought to get the ball rolling on a superb feature weekend for Highlands Stud, when he powered home under Andrew Fortune to win the R100 000 Glendore Sprint run on the Fairview turf track on Friday.
Villa Del Largo (Andrew Fortune) cruises in for a good win ahead of Sedge (JP van der Merwe) (Pic- Coastal Photos)
Fortune, who rode a double on the afternoon, has maintained his lead at the top of the SA Jockey log despite a quiet run of late and Villa Del Largo won rather easier than the official length margin suggests.
In a field of eight, the consistent Villa Del Largo looked a decent bet at a generous 33-10 and he got the better of the handily weighted local, Sedge, to score by a length.
No time was taken.
Villa Del Largo was a R750 000 National Yearling Sale acquisition and was registering his fifth win with 17 places from 35 starts and stakes of R408 425.
So he has ticked along and earned but is a fellow who has shown an aversion to the winner’s box.
Owner Fred Crabbia will be hoping that this icebreaker may lead to a few more wins for the 6yo, who has run close to some good sorts in the Cape.
Villa Del Largo’s victory was the first leg of a winning double for Justin Snaith, who followed up in the next when Sunset Tripp (Robert Khathi) beat the luckless Purely Atomic.
Villa Del Largo is one of the few progeny of Jallad still racing and is out of the three-time winning End Sweep mare, Belong To Me.
His breeders Highlands Stud also produced the winners of the Gr1 Cape Fillies Guineas and the Listed Southeaster Sprint (also for owner Fred Crabbia) at Kenilworth on Saturday.
Dorrie Sham’s yard maintained their excellent run of form to take the Fairview Friday training honours with a treble on the day.
