Keagan De Melo steers Golden Answer home for Corinne Bestel
“We don’t have the Silvano’s, the Trippi’s or the Dynasty’s, but our horses are just as special to us.” Well said and three cheers for trainer Corinne Bestel who saddled the second leg of a lovely A.P. Answer sired double at a buzzing Greyville on Friday evening.
Corinne’s loyal owner Erich Buhr made the 2 hour drive all the way up the South Coast from his hometown of Port Shepstone and it was worth all the effort as he proudly led in the Clifton Stud-bred Golden Answer.
The 3yo was always in the firing line under Keagan De Melo to thwart the challenge of the fancied Birkins Best and shed her maiden at her eighth start in good style over the turf mile.
Summerveld based (probably not by her own choice), Bestel and her legendary Mom Eileen had terrific success for many years from their first home of Clairwood, with horses like Sherrif’s Star and Suave, to mention just two of many.
But these days the Bestel name is low profile – ironic, really, as in terms of experience, ability and love of the horse, it is difficult to think of a more accomplished and polished medium-sized yard in KZN to match her.
While the likes of PE trainers Tara Laing and Yvette Bremner may disagree, lady trainers generally probably lack that marketing relationship edge – as they don’t tend to talk up a hype storm and telephone numbers against the bar counter after races.
The first of the A P Answer winners was the consistent What An Answer in the fourth race – a maiden over the same trip.
The Sugar Hill-bred is trained by Doug Campbell, who is holidaying in America. Jockey Donovan Dillon saluted in glee as the 3yo filly came home easily at 8 to 1. Her time was substantially faster than Golden Answer, who had dictated much of her own running.
Puller Double
Garth Puller was the most successful trainer with a double on the evening.
He sent out Mullins Bay’s daughter Respect At Bay to win the first, in the hands of Jose Barnes.
Finish of the night! Fortissimo (centre) gets the better of Highway Explorer and Hunting Owl (blue)
She is now unbeaten in two starts. Owner Richard Fitzgerald was thrilled by the fact that Barnes had ridden such a good race and gave the SA Jockey Academy something to think about when observing that in his opinion, Puller had done far more for Barnes than they ever had.
“Does Jose look unfit to you?” he asked, in a reference to the fact that Barnes had been taken off a ride later as he was deemed unfit.
Puller wrapped up his double when Athandiwe Mgudlwa got Fortissimo home to win the seventh in the finish of the evening. Anton Marcus had led all the way on Highway Explorer, but Mgudlwa didn’t panic, as Hunting Owl flew down the outside.
A neck separated the top three, and a modest Puller said:” We got lucky as Thandi got his head down at the right time. But I am very pleased with the win.”
AP Answer – son of Champion AP Indy
The Answer?
The Clifton Stud-based A. P. Answer stands just under 16.1h.
“I think that he is a good looking horse, a racy looking horse with Danzig definitely coming through,” says Peter Blyth.
“Sadly he damaged his knee and couldn’t produce it on the track as a result. People like the look of him and he has a good temperament. He has already produced very nice foals – they are racy, scopey horses, and they are good looking. Most of the KZN breeders bought shares in him and he has been well supported thanks to them all.
“A.P. Answer won two races on turf over a mile in America, but his near fore knee plagued him. One of the partners that owned him, said that had the knee injury not happened, you would have heard a lot more about this horse. With his stunning pedigree, had he won Stakes races, there is no way that he would have been here.”
La Berg’s A.P.Answer Lot 132
A.P. Answer has an incredibly strong dam-line, with the essential Gr 1 winners or placers under each of the dams going back four generations, that sires must have in their female lines. Pas de Reponse, his mother, was a champion 2 year-old filly with five wins in England and France, which include the Gr 1 Cheveley Park Stakes and 2nd in the GR1 Prix de l’abbaye de Longchamp, then third in the Prix Morny Gr 1. Her two brothers, Sunday Doubt and Saying are both Black Type winners too.
He has only one lot on the CTS March Yearling Sale later today.
Check out #132 – a colt out of the Australian-bred three-time winner Bold Princess.
