Another favourite fell by the wayside at a gloomy Turffontein on Saturday as rampant KZN raider Ultra Magnus bounced back fresh off a rest to win the R160 000 New Turf Carriers Gr3 Merchants and give trainer Peter Muscutt his biggest success since his return to the training ranks.
Close up behind Mardi Gras in this event last year and touched off by a dramatically narrow margin in the Gr1 Golden Horse Sprint at his penultimate start, the joint SA-Zim owned Oratorio gelding showed his speed and class with a gutsy win in testing conditions.
Donovan Dillon and Ultra Magnus charge home as Eden Roc (Lyle Hewitson) lurks up late (Pic – JC Photos)
Australia-bound Donovan Dillon, whose plans to move Down Under have been hamstrung by lockdown and red tape, showed his value as a thinking jockey when he rode a well-judged race on the speedy 5yo, who dug deep at a generous 16-1 and carried too many guns for a flying Eden Roc (6-1), to secure a relatively comfortable victory by two lengths in a time of 67,60 secs.
Recent Golden Loom winner Bold Ransom looked dangerous late, but ran out of puff from his inside gate and was a neck back in third, ahead of Singforafa in fourth.
The favourite Bohica ran 14,50 lengths off the winner.
A son of Avontuur’s Danehill stallion Oratorio, Ultra Magnus was bred by Haras Del Carmo (Pty) Ltd and is out of the two-time winning Lecture mare Field Star.
A winner of 6 races with 4 places from 12 starts, the lightly raced Ultra Magnus has banked R582 325 in stakes.
He races in the apt black and white of Black Diamond Thoroughbreds for two well-known Southern African auctioneers in Graeme Hawkins and Brian Makwabarara.
