No Worries gets up on the outside to beat Midnight Run (JC Photos)
In stark contrast to the dramatic fairer sex equivalent run a half hour earlier, the R400 000 Gr2 Joburg Spring Challenge was little more than a choir practice for Gavin Van Zyl’s Kahal gelding, No Worries. Keagan De Melo rode a confident race and has forged a strong association with the Brian Burnard-owned galloper.
The mature chestnut has spent his career largely on the fringes of the spotlight, but the newly upgraded Gr2 race looked a perfect opportunity for him to raise his game and boost his CV.
While it was to prove his first stakes win, he enjoyed a bigger payday late last season when winning the non black-type KZN Breeders Million Mile.
The field was reduced to a disappointing seven with the scratching of Zanzibar Man and Mercado jumped slowly, never showing thereafter.
Midnight Run led No Worries and Mountain Master, with Heart Of A Lion and Snowdon further back.
In the final 400m Keagan De Melo squeezed No Worries and the gelding asserted himself as he drew level with Midnight Run and then went on well to hold the Bass runner by a quarter length in a time of 87,25 secs.
Midnight Run did a lot of the legwork out front and stayed on nicely in what proved to be a happy two days for the Mike Bass Racing team.
The top two dominated the race.
Keagan De Melo rode a nice race
Snowdon showed a flicker of a form return by staying on late into third.
Hear Of A Lion was always three lengths away and never got near the top two. He stopped late for a 3 length fourth.
The fancied Rake’s Chestnut was never in the race after his three month break and finished downfield, 7,25 lengths adrift with only Mountain Master behind him.
No Worries was bred by Summerhill Stud and is a 5yo gelded son of Kahal out of the eleven-time winning Rambo Dancer mare, Coastal Waltz.
He has won 4 races with 9 places(a 4th in each of the Gr1 July and the Gr1 L’Ormarins Vodacom Durban July) from 25 starts and took his earnings to R1 657 365.
Now that No Worries is learning the art of winning, he should pay to follow in the Highveld Spring Season. He always puts in an honest effort.
