Badge Of Honour! Punta Arenas comes away for an easy win in the Gr3 Tekkie Town Winter Derby.
The top-class Red Badge and Kapil spring to mind when trainer Stan Elley and the Badge Boys are the topic of conversation. The team enjoyed a welcome return to feature race success when Punta Arenas won the R184 000 Gr3 Tekkie Town Winter Derby going away under Felix Coetzee at Kenilworth on Saturday.
Elley’s major clients have spent top dollar over the years in their quest to race the champions and this R525 000 Silvano gelding has some way to go to emulate their better ones. But as a lightly raced three year old, this win was workmanlike and really quite impressive.
While the official going on the afternoon was soft, the rain of the morning was long forgotten as clear winter skies watched over the eleven strong pack that jumped from the 2400m marker.
After a tentative start, there were no prizes for having guessed that Joey Ramsden’s A Boy Named Sue would be the one to take the initiative and the Caesour gelding took off in a hurry to skate twenty lengths clear of the pack. The eventual winner Punta Arenas was relaxed and settled in midfield by Felix Coetzee as the race became a stop-start affair with jostling for positions.
Turning for home, A Boy Named Sue fell in a hole as expected as Hatt began winding Crown Of Gold up for his run with a few looking dangerous, including Putney Flyer who appeared to be making good ground late in the race.
But none had an answer for Punta Arenas who took command quickly and dashed into a match-winning lead about 300m out. Crown Of Gold stayed on well enough to just hold off the Marshall-trained Hill Fifty Four, for second. The Captain Al colt may not have stayed the trip, which had become a particularly testing one on the surface.
Putney Flyer looks overdue to score his second win at any time, and he stayed on in fourth and 3,20 lengths off the winner. The 28-10 favourite Why Worry plodded on and eventually finished a disappointing sixth and 7,95 lengths behind the action.
A horse considered worthy of a place in the Investec Cape Derby, Punta Arenas started at 13-1 and beat the 33-10 second favourite Crown Of Gold by 3 lengths in a time of 151,73secs.
The race was a triumph for Silvano, who sired the first two past the post. The winner was bred by Maine Chance farms out of the unraced Candy Stripes mare, Peru(SNL), who is a half-sister to the brilliant Paraca. The latter. Like Punta Arenas, also ran in the familiar white, gold and blue of the ‘Badge Boys’ partnership of Mike Fullard, James Drew and Butch Watson-Smith.
Punta Arenas translated means ‘Sandy Point’, and is the capital city of Chile’s southernmost region.
A winner of 3 races from 8 starts for 1 place, Punta Arenas has earned R205 610, so still has quite some way to go to recoup his National Sale price tag of R525 000.
Result:
Tekkie Town Winter Derby (SAf-G3) (6/23)
Kenilworth, South Africa, June 23, R184.000, 2400m, turf, good, 2.31.73.
PUNTA ARENAS (SAF), 58.0, b c 3, Silvano (GER) – Peru (SAF) by Candy
Stripes. Owner M I Fullard, J H Drew, D Watson-Smith; breeder Maine Chance
Farms (SAF); trainer S Elley; jockey F Coetzee (R122.000)
Crown Of Gold (SAF), 58.0, ch c 3, Silvano (GER) – Palace Bride (AUS) by
Palace Music
Hill Fifty Four (SAF), 58.0, b c 3, Captain Al (SAF) – Sports Dance (SAF) by
Sportsworld
Margins: 3, sh hd, sh hd
Also ran: Putney Flyer (SAF) 58.0, Barossa Valley (SAF) 58.0, Why Worry
(SAF) 58.0, Super Seven (AUS) 58.0, Sergeant At Arms (SAF) 58.0, Hollard
Street (SAF) 58.0, A Boy Named Sue (SAF) 58.0, Leo Rapax (SAF) 58.0
