Sea Fever (Sean Cormack) gets up to beat London Calling (Keagan De Melo)
Trainer Dennis Drier was back on his favourite hunting ground on Saturday and he and jockey Sean Cormack got the 2015 KZN Winter Challenge Series under way when the lightly raced Sea Fever won the sprint leg in rousing style.
The three legged KZN Winter Challenge Series finals were run at Scottsville on Saturday. The innovative series is designed to give the average handicapper a chance to compete for a stake of R200 000 per final, and was run over 1200m, 1600m and 1950m.
Ironically the winners of two of the three legs are rather progressive looking 3yo’s, who look to have a bright future ahead of them.
The start of the race was delayed with the Vet ‘looking at Fly At Em’. Whatever that was meant to mean or indicate, his backers and connections endured some nervous moments as Muzi Yeni had the son of Windrush a few metres from the stalls.
Sean Cormack – back to winning ways at Scottsville
He was eventually despatched with the field and the lack of information (certainly to Tellytrack viewers- and seemingly those on course) was a poor show.
Anton Marcus had Duncan Howells’ Silvano gelding Hunting Owl showing the way and displaying terrific speed as he led topweight London Call, with Sea Fever in close attendance down the inside.
At the 400m marker the top three had the race to themselves as the 18-10 shot Hunting Owl took some pressure from the gallant London Call with Sea Fever winding up between them.
In a thrilling dash to the wire, Sea Fever showed courage to get up and hold off London Call, by a quarter length with Hunting Owl only tiring late in the race and hanging on for third. Only 0,75 lengths seperated the top three.
Sea Fever, who won in 69,28 secs, is now a winner of 3 races with 3 places from 7 starts and stakes of R239 450.
A R300 000 National Yearling Sale graduate, the Cheveley Stud-bred Sea Fever races in the father-and-daughter ‘Futura silks’ of Jack and Nancy Mitchell.
He is by Argonaut out of the six-time winning Sharp Romance mare, Sharp Affair – a reliable winner producer!
Sea Fever looks more than decent and a horse with some scope. He was the second winner on the afternoon for Dennis Drier, after Keagan De Melo had ridden a shrewdly judged race to win the R100 000 Allowance Plate from gun to tape on Bruce Ferreira’s Nineteen Fourteen.
