A gallant front-running effort by the Sean Tarry trained Stonehenge unravelled in dramatic fashion in the closing stages of the R400 000 Gr2 Colorado King Stakes as the Seventh Rock colt shifted in from the whip and bumped runner-up Unparalleled down his inside.
Stonehenge (JP van der Merwe) maintains his lead with Unparalleled (Bernard Fayd’herbe) obscured down the inside (Pic – JC Photos)
They weren’t two strides past the post when the objection hooter sounded and the subsequent result reversal came as no surprise to anybody.
Trainer Sean Tarry looked to have laid the perfect tactical trap in the nine horse field and there were going to be no fitness or pace excuses this time for his high-class charge French Navy, who went off a popular 13-20 favourite.
Stablemate Stonehenge, a winner of the 2015 Algoa Cup run at Fairview, was out quickly and set decent fractions coming for home three lengths ahead of his field.
French Navy was quick to challenge but his effort was a largely one-paced show as Bernard Fayd’herbe got stuck into Unparalleled, who went for a rails run.
With Stonehenge galloping relentlessly a shock result looked to be on the cards as Unparalleled chased down his inside.
Under a right-handed whip Stonehenge had the upper hand but he drifted on to Unparalleled with rider JP van der Merwe changing (ill advisedly from the grandstand view) to his left hand.
In the drive to the wire, Stonehenge clung on resolutely to win by a short head in a decent time of 124 secs – but a boardroom brawl looked a certainty.
And so it was, with the Stipes laying an objection.
French Navy appears to be a shadow of his former self and finished 1,50 lengths away in third.
The Stipes reported the objection as follows:
In the concluding stages UNPARALLELED (B Fayd’Herbe) was bumped inwards by STONEHENGE (J P van der Merwe) which shifted in away from the crop. A race review was called by a member of the Stipendiary Board into this incident which was followed by an Objection being lodged by him on behalf of the second placed horse UNPARALLELED (B Fayd’Herbe) against the winner STONEHENGE (J P van der Merwe) on the grounds of interference in the concluding stages.
The Objection Board after giving regard to the evidence put forward by the respective parties, was of the opinion that the result had been effected by this incident and that UNPARALLELED would have finished in front of STONEHENGE had this incident not occurred and therefore upheld the Objection and amended the judges result to read as follows:
1st 2 UNPARALLELED B Fayd’Herbe
2nd 6 STONEHENGE J P van der Merwe
STONEHENGE (J P van der Merwe), placed second, was selected for the taking of specimens for analysis. Jockey J P van der Merwe was advised (GF).
Jockey J P Van der Merwe was charged with a contravention of Rule 62.2.7 in that he, as the rider of STONEHENGE, failed to ensure that he did not cause interference to UNPARALLELED (B Fayd’Herbe) in the concluding stages. Jockey van der Merwe signed an Admission of Guilt and a penalty of a Warning was imposed.
Unparalleled is trained by Johan Janse Van Vuuren and has now won 4 races with 10 places from 17 races and R997 600 in stakes.
He was bred by The Alchemy and is by Lateral out of the unraced Elliodor mare, Sublime Surge, a half-sister to Gr1 winning sire Crimson Waves.
Unparalleled was bought back by vendor The Alchemy at the CPYS for R250 000.
He was then re-offered by The Alchemy at the KZN Yearling Sale, where he was knocked down to Corne Spies for R150 000.
The recorded purchaser was subsequently amended to Vicky Veeramootoo, who now races him in a partnership which was restructured in a rather acrimonious public spat recently.
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Gr2 Colorado King Stakes (SAf-Gr2)
Turffontein, South Africa, March 26, R400k, 2000m, turf, good, 2.04.04
1 – UNPARALLELED (SAF), 59.0, b g 4, Lateral (GB) – Sublime Surge (SAF) by Elliodor (FR). Owner Messrs M Gullan, Andre Fouche, V C Veeramootoo & L M F Wernars; Breeder The Alchemy; trainer JJ v Vuuren; jockey B Fayd’herbe
2 – Stonehenge (SAF), 58.0, b c 4, Seventh Rock (AUS) – Pacific Sunrise (AUS) by Twig Moss (FR)
3 – French Navy (SAF), 60.0, b g 4, Count Dubois (GB) – Redoubtable (SAF) by Elliodor (FR)
Margins: 0.05, 1.50, 1.60
