On the face of it, today’s Turffontein Gr3 Spring Spree Stakes feature field may not strike anybody as dazzling or anything to get overly excited about.
But it may be worth noting that our 2017/18 Equus Champion Sprinter Will Pays won the Spring Spree Stakes last term and launched a season that was to end with him capturing the Gr1 Mercury Sprint and being crowned the king of speed.
He also won the Gr2 Hawaii Stakes and ran third in the Gr2 Drill Hall Stakes.
Will Pays (Craig Zackey) wins the Spring Spree Stakes in 2017
Besides that memorable Mercury moment, he gave father-and-son training team Mike and Adam Azzie their first Gr1 success and put their forgettable Vodacom Durban July day well behind them, They saddle three runners today in a bid to win the double.
Will Pays also contributed in no small measure to Northfields Stud receiving the Outstanding Breeder accolade at Equus.
Together with Vodacom Durban July winner Do It Again, he is one of two Gr1 winners produced by Robin Bruss’ very efficient breeding operation.
Robin Bruss – great breeding achievements over the years
Our champion sprinter is by a mile-and-a-half horse out of an Oaks winner, being a son of Imperial Stride (Indian Ridge) out of the top-class six time winner, Rattlebag (Jallad).
In the past season Bruss’ Northfields had 12 runners and 7 winners, including the mentioned Equus Champion 3yo Do It Again, who besides the July also won the Gr2 Daisy Guineas and was second in the Gr1 Investec Cape Derby.
Further afield, there was also Hong Kong-based Horse Of Fortune (Strongman), who was runner up in the Gr1 S$1 million Kranji Mile and Mighty Emperor, who registered his 7th win in Singapore.
The field:
R250 000 Gr3 SPRING SPREE STAKES
| 1 | 1 | Talktothestars | 60 | 103 | TB | M Khan | Coenie de Beer | |
| 2 | 10 | Mujallad (AUS) | 59 | 101 | T A | R Simons | Mike de Kock | |
| 3 | 14 | Finchatton | 58 | 99 | A | C Zackey | Gokhan Terzi | |
| 4 | 5 | Tar Heel | 58 | 99 | T A | R Danielson | Gokhan Terzi | |
| 5 | 12 | Angel’s Power | 56.5 | 96 | A | P Strydom | M G Azzie/A A Azzie | |
| 6 | 4 | Chimichuri Run | 56 | 108 | T A | S Khumalo | Sean Tarry | |
| 7 | 13 | Clever Guy | 56 | 95 | TBA | M V’Rensburg | Stephen Moffatt | |
| 8 | 7 | Wrecking Ball | 56 | 95 | T A | *L J Ferraris | Grant Maroun | |
| 9 | 11 | Just As I Said | 55.5 | 94 | T A | W Kennedy | Lucky Houdalakis | |
| 10 | 9 | Mrs O | 55 | 93 | BA | M Yeni | M G Azzie/A A Azzie | |
| 11 | 8 | Premier Show | 55 | 93 | BA | H v’d Hoven | Clinton Binda | |
| 12 | 3 | Splendid Garden | 55 | 93 | T A | K Zechner | M G Azzie/A A Azzie | |
| 13 | 6 | Chepardo | 52.5 | 88 | BA | Reserve 1 | Alec Laird | |
| 14 | 2 | Lily Starlette | 52 | 71 | T A | Reserve 2 | Paul Matchett | |
| Same Trainer – Not Coupled on Tote | ||||||||
| (3,4) (5,10,12) | ||||||||
