Typical! Demanding Lady (orange and black silks) gets up to win the Gr2 Ipi Tombe Challenge under Chase Maujean
The smallest field produced the best finish of the afternoon at Turffontein on Saturday. Journeyman jockey Chase Maujean rode the race of his life to produce the consistent Dynasty filly Demanding Lady at just the right moment to win the R300 000 Gr2 Ipi Tombe Challenge run over a mile.
This race was sadly decimated by the scratching of the De Kock coupling of Rumya and Festival Of Fire, who had topped the boards when the betting opened on Monday last week. They are both en route to Cape Town for this weekend’s Avontuur Fillies Guineas.
The less said the better about that administrative and planning bungle. But the saga of the De Kock coupling was forgotten as the surviving eight runners produced a race out of the top drawer.
Trained by Lucky Houdalakis, the 4yo Hemel’n Aarde Stud-bred Demanding Lady produced a dazzling turn of foot late in the race to get up and beat the fancied Happy Archer.
As is the norm, Without Malice led the field at a solid gallop for most of the race and was still going strongly inside the final 400m. Louvre, who had been tracking the leader throughout moved up menacingly late down the inside as Anton Marcus got animated on Happy Archer wide out.
In a drive down to the wire, Demanding Lady scythed through the centre and got up to collar the super-consistent Louvre and win by a short head in a time of 96,48 secs. Demanding Lady went off at 9-1.
Happy Archer , obviously needed the outing after a four month break, went third , while Yellowwood Handicap winner Enchanted Kingdom ran fourth.
Only 0,25 lengths separated the first four past the post.
Trainer Lucky Houdalakis said afterwards that Demanding Lady had ‘ gone to pieces through the winter ‘ and that he had eased off her. He conceded that he had made an error by missing the Yellowwood Handicap.
But that is academic now.
Chase Maujean. Great ride on Demanding Lady
In another touch of irony, jockey Chase Maujean had ridden the first Group feature win of his career in the Yellowwood Handicap on Enchanted Kingdom, who ran fourth here.
Winning part-owner Warren Laird, who races the winner in partnership with the JJ The Jet Plane team, said that it was a thrill to own a filly that had earned at every one of her career starts.
Laird, who has invested generously in bloodstock in recent years, and is an avid supporter of Dynasty, also owns horses with the Kotzen and Kannemeyer yards in Cape Town, and has a likely J&B Met runner with the promising 4yo Taipan.
He paid tribute to the achievements of stallion Dynasty and thanked Bloodstock Consultant John Freeman for the part that he had played. Laird is known to call on Freeman’s ample experience when making some of his breeding and buying decisions.
Demanding Lady is yet another top-class daughter of the 2003 Vodacom Durban July winner and was bred by Hemel ‘n Aarde Stud out of the American-bred Deputy Commander mare, Demanding Damsel.
Demanding Lady cost R135 000 at the National Two Year Old Sale and has now earned R477 675 in her outstanding track record of 4 wins and 9 places in 13 starts.
She should pay to follow.
Result:
Ipi Tombe Challenge (SAf-G2) (12/1)
Turffontein, South Africa, December 1, R300.000, 1600m, turf, good, 1.36.48
(CR 1.35.44).
DEMANDING LADY (SAF), 56.0, b f 4, Dynasty (SAF) – Demanding Damsel (USA) by
Deputy Commander (USA). Owner CD Boyens, HGN duPreez, WJ Laird, CF Strydom;
breeder Hemel ‘n Aarde Stud; trainer M Houdalakis; jockey C Maujean
(R187.500)
Louvre (SAF), 56.0, b m 5, Doowaley (IRE) – Prive (SAF) by Saumarez (GB)
Happy Archer (AUS), 60.0, ch m 5, Dubawi (IRE) – So Tempted (AUS) by Jeune
(FR)
Margins: nose, nose, sh hd
