Five in a row, still improving and a Cape summer season ticket booked!
That’s the word on Alan Greeff’s classy Flower Alley filly Santa Therese, who was a facile winner of the R100 000 Listed East Cape Paddock Stakes at Fairview on Friday.
The good looking 3yo chestnut has to be one of the most promising fillies seen in the province for some seasons, and trainer Alan Greeff told us that he hadn’t been this confident of a horse in a very long time.
Grant van Niekerk steers Santa Therese to an easy win (Pic – Pauline Herman)
With stable jockey Greg Cheyne contracted to the powerful Ridgemont team, Grant van Niekerk got the call-up, and was told that ‘this was no ordinary ride’.
A pleased Van Niekerk, who had endured a frustrating afternoon up to that point, said Santa Therese had improvement to come.
One gets the feeling that most any jockey could have done the honours here, such was the ease of the 3yo’s victory.
Allowed to lope along at the rear, Santa Therese (4-3) weaved her way between runners and ran away from the capacity field to beat her late rattling Ridgemont stablemate Water Spirit (20-1) by 3,25 lengths unextended in a time of 97,17 secs.
Sovereign Secret (12-1) blew in the betting, and dead-heated with Step Lively (20-1) in third.
It was a great result for the Greeff yard, picking up first, shared third and fourth cheques in the process.
The win was all the more meritorious as Santa Therese had played up in the starting stalls and was checked and cleared to race.
The victory was a reflection of Greg Cheyne’s astute judgement. The Ridgemont jockey told all who would listen some time ago that Santa Therese is good enough to compete in the Cape – and she now seems to be headed in that direction in three months.
Racing in a partnership of Celso and Lee Scribante, with Steven and Jessica Jell who watched the race from the USA, Santa Therese was a R160 000 National Yearling Sale buy.
Wilgerbosdrift’s Flower Alley
She has now won six of eight starts with two places for stakes of R238 750.
Bred by Wilgerbosdrift & Mauritzfontein, Santa Therese is by Flower Alley (Distorted Humor) out of the twice winning Tiger Ridge mare, Santa Clarita.
Her sire has produced 50 black type horses internationally, including Kentucky Derby winning champion I’ll Have Another and Gr1 Ashland Stakes victress Lilacs And Lace.
The Greeff and Van Niekerk partnership competed a quick double when the consistent Blingking made it four wins on the trot since arriving in the Eastern Cape from Cape Town just three months ago.
Alan Greeff, who is at 7th slot on the SA National Champion log, earlier saddled the first of his three winners when Charles Ndlovu partnered Bad Habit (7-1) to beat her more fancied stablemate Delicasea (9-2) to win the third race.
