Bitter Sweet! Gareth Wright guides Rosier to a good win over Cotton Candy (Coastal Photos)
The smart looking Wilgerbosdrift bred filly Rosier made it a memorable Friday for her trainer Glen Kotzen and her sire. In winning the R150 000 Listed East Cape Fillies Nursery run over the 1200m straight at Fairview, she became Kildonan’s first stakes winner and also Kotzen’s first feature strike out of his brand new satellite yard at the track.
The Paarl based Kotzen has come out full of fire early and saddled his third winner in just two weeks since opening his new Fairview yard under the management of the broadly smiling and charismatic Lunga Gila, who looks to be a man on a mission.
Kotzen has trained many PE features in the past on raids but he will be very pleased that things are working out as well and as quickly as they are.
Gila was all animated emotion as he led the lovely filly in, hugging jockey Gareth Wright and seemingly oblivious to, and unconcerned about, the race review in progress.
Rosier and the second placed favourite Candy Cotton had become rather close friends over the final 200m of the race and there appeared to have been some potential bumping.
Gareth Wright. Polished ride by the underrated jockey
But there was no doubt who was the superior filly on the day.
The win also marked a milestone for the Yellow Star Stud based Kildonan, who many will remember as racing for Mike De Kock in the RMG Syndicate silks.
Ciao Caro led by six lengths with plenty of speed in play and at the halfway marker she was going all out.
Cotton Candy was just off the pace and looked to be going very well as Fourie guided her through against the bit down the centre.
At this stage Rosier was relaxed some eight lengths off the action.
But Gareth Wright wasn’t sleeping and he sent Rosier after the Snaith runner at the 300m. The two came together at the 100m marker in a grandstand finish.
Wright straightened Rosier up and she went on powerfully to beat the odds on favourite by 0,25 lengths in a time of 70,32 secs.
Cotton Candy was second best on the day, while the Grant Paddock maiden Vanishing Sails was a further 1,75 lengths away in third. The daughter of Sail From Seattle will not be a maiden for much longer on this showing at her second start.
Rosier had won on her Cape debut a month earlier and showed similar fight here as she dug deep before asserting her authority.
She thus made it two from two and chalked up R129 572 in earnings to date.
Winning jockey Gareth Wright, who doesn’t get many opportunities, said that he was happy with the tailwind and had given his mount a chance and switched her off.
He said Rosier was green in the new environment and had lugged in during the latter stages.
He confirmed that she had always had things under control though.
Assistant Gila said things were going well and observed that Rosier looked very capable.
Her sire Kildonan, a son of Rich Man’s Gold, was a top class racehorse here, winning five races that included the Gr1 Premier’s Champion Stakes and the Gr1 Golden Horse Sprint as a 3yo.
Exported to Dubai, he injured himself and never raced there.
Rosier was bred by her owners Wilgerbosdrift out of the French Deputy mare, Malmaison.
The latter won once in a modest career with Dean Kannemeyer and she is out of the Storm Cat mare, Dontstealmyroses.
Rosier is not a typically speedy precocious sort and looks likely to go further. That makes her a lovely prospect.
