East Cape trainer Kelly Mitchley celebrated a career milestone century of winners at Fairview on Friday, courtesy of the Lancaster Bomber gelding Launch Code, who won the fifth race on the card.
The 27 year old Kelly Mitchley only saddled her first runner on 1 July 2022, at a time when many thought she was very brave to be setting out in one of the most toughest jobs on earth.
Smanga Khumalo is flanked by Kyle Paddock and Kelly Mitchley after Launch Code brought up the 100 winners milestone (Pic – Pauline Herman)
But time has proven the doubters wrong, and the lifetime horsewoman has grown her string on her family’s De La Ranch, just 3km away from the Nelson Mandela Bay Racing headquarters, to be the third largest, and fastest growing, in the region.
Kelly learnt from the best, including Justin Snaith, Corne Spies, Gavin Smith and Johan Janse van Vuuren and has applied the skills and principles constructively, showing exponential growth, with Launch Code her 60th winner this term.
Smanga Khumalo steered the Laurence Wernars bred Launch Code to his second win from 13 starts, in the MR 66 Handicap, and the combination followed up two races later when the Maine Chance raced and bred Passchendaele made it two wins from her three starts in the Eastern Cape.
Alan Greeff saddled three winners on the afternoon, two of which were ridden by Richard Fourie, Charles Ndhlovu won the last for Greeff on the promising Canford Cliffs 2yo Can’t Say No, who scored a nice win in open company, to close the meeting.
- The next Fairview racemeeting is on Friday 24 May, where the Listed Milkwood Stakes heads the card.
