Gr3 Kenilworth Fillies Nursery: Trinity House

Trinity House tight finish from Lady Var

The old maxim that if you could buy money they’d sell it at the local supermarket nearly came back to haunt those who took the extremely short odds about Trinity House in the Betting World Cape Fillies Nursery at Kenilworth on Saturday, writes Matthew Lips. The unbeaten winner of her three previous races came perilously close to surrendering her spotless record in this 1200m contest, for which she started as the 1/5 favourite after beating most of the same field on less favourable terms in a Listed race over the same course-and-distance four weeks earlier, but Trinity House did manage eventually to barely pull the irons out of the fire.

Annie Be Quick and Lady Var were the most fancied of Trinity House’s eight rivals in the Fillies Nursery, going off at 15/2 and 8/1 respectively, but to most punters the race looked like a foregone conclusion.

Trinity House was very prominent from the start and raced in second spot behind early leader Dark Journey, with Lady Var and Lola Bud showing well as Annie Be Quick raced some way off the action.  Trinity House found herself in front as Dark Journey weakened inside the final 400m and looked set for a fairly comfortable success until deep inside the last furlong, where Lady Var threw down a strong challenge on her inside.  Lady Var indeed struck the front for a few strides around 50m out, but Glen Hatt got Trinity House going again in the nick of time to come back at Lady Var and snatch victory by a head.    Lady Var had been beaten 2.25 lengths by Trinity House four weeks earlier and now met the hot favourite 2 kgs worse off, and this seemed to represent considerable and natural improvement from the runner-up even if two-year-olds are probably not as unpredictable to follow as many punters seem to believe.

Super Elegant had come from the clouds to win her only previous start against older maidens and confirmed that to have been no fluke when running on stoutly to finish one length further behind Lady Var in third.   It is early days yet, but Super Elegant’s sire Daylami has made an encouraging start with his first South African two-year-olds and we may come to rue the fact that he has already been returned abroad to stand as a sire of National Hunt (jumping) horses in Ireland.  Don’t Tell Mama finished a never dangerous fourth, 2.5 lengths behind Super Elegant, but Annie Be Quick singularly failed to live up to her name and was never sighted.

Trinity House is trained by Joey Ramsden, who pointed out afterwards that his filly had raced up front into a strong headwind for a long way and that this may have been responsible for her near-defeat.   “She seemed to hit a flat spot,” noted the winning jockey, who admitted that at one stage he thought he was heading for a considerably more comfortable success, but it is a good sign that Trinity House was able to re-rally when called upon to do so.  Ramsden indicated afterwards that Trinity House would probably have her only start of the KZN season in the Gr 1 Allan Robertson Fillies Championship over 1200m at Scottsville on May 28^th before returning home, indicating that there are no plans to try her over more ground any time soon.

Trinity House is a daughter of the hugely prolific Captain Al.  She is the fourth foal, fourth winner and first Stakes winner produced from National Assembly mare National Vixen, who won five races over 1000/1400m and who was placed numerous times in Stakes events up to Gr 2 level.  She is the dam also of Trinity House’s Gr 1 placed full brother Never Forever.  Bred by Klawervlei Stud, Trinity House was never offered at auction and has won four times from four starts in the colours of Ingrid and Markus Jooste, earning R244 610 in stakes.

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