The Avontuur-bred Soft Falling Rain gelding Pray For Rain registered a satisfying and overdue first stakes success when he proved too strong for his rivals to win the R100 000 Marshalls World Of Sport Listed Umngeni Handicap at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday.
“I have had bad runs before but not like this!” quipped trainer Dennis Drier as he paid tribute to the patience of his Mauritius owners after the second and final polytrack contest on the big day.
Tristan Godden drives Pray For Rain to a smooth victory (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
A Gr1 runner-up as a 2yo to top stablemate Tempting Fate, Pray For Rain has been dogged by bad luck and a virus in Cape Town. and then in KZN set him back badly.
Mr Drier has endured a drought that dates ‘back to the rinderpest’ – in his words – and he thanked his team as well as horse behaviouralist Mike Shaw and winning jock, Tristan Godden, who rode a beautifully confident race.
Well drawn in the 1000m contest, Pray For Rain (5-1) was always travelling beautifully and went past the pacesetting Traces (10-1) in the final stages to win going away to register 56,37 secs and a 1,90 length victory over the consistent favourite Spydas Corner (5-2).
Love Bomb (12-1) and Keep The Lights On (10-1) dead heated for third.
Pray For Rain was a R425 000 buy from the Cape Premier Yearling Sale. He has won 2 races with 4 places from 8 starts for stakes of R213 125.
He was a second feature winner in two days for deceased sire Soft Falling Rain (National Assembly). He is out of the two-time winning Var mare Kitco. The fast-rising broodmare sire retired from his illustrious stud career just this past week.
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