Milnerton trainer Paul Reeves was a relieved man at Kenilworth on Saturday.
If he doesn’t saddle another winner this season, the veteran former jockey will be thrilled to have escaped the maiden ranks with his UK-bred 3yo, Adderbury Lake.
The Mauritzfontein bred and raced filly has proven an enigma for punters, having run five seconds at her first seven starts from 1200m to 1800m, since making her debut at 20-1 on 9 December last year.
Luyola Mxothwa steers Adderbury Lake to a welcome win (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
But on Saturday Luyola Mxothwa stepped in for her protocol locked-down regular pilot Craig Zackey, and made no mistakes with a solid front-running display to finally escape the maiden division.
Wearing the blinkers again, Adderbury Lake went from gun to tape in the 1400m contest at even money to beat Vision On Ice by 1,50 lengths in a time of 95,9 secs.
“It’s just been a lack of a combination of luck and confidence,” said a clearly pleased trainer Paul Reeves afterwards.
The filly only has her left eye.
“If she had both her eyes, she’d really be something,” added Reeves, who initiated a masterstroke in dropping the versatile galloper back to the 1400m.
This shouldn’t be the last we have heard of her.
Adderbury Lake is out of the 2014 Gr3 Fillies Mile winner Banbury, who raced in the same black and yellow flag and defeated subsequent Met winner Smart Call (also for the Oppenheimers) when trained by Gavin van Zyl.
Mission accomplished! Paul Reeves is thrilled with the smart filly (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
The winner is by the well-travelled Tamayuz stallion Sir Prancealot, a champion first season sire in the U.K. and Europe, who now stands for a fee of A$9900 at Cornerstone Stud in the Barossa Valley.
His best runners include stakes winners from 1000m to 2000m. Amongst these are 3 x Group winner Lady Prancealot, whose victories include the Gr1 Santa Anita Oaks, 6 x Group winner Sir Dancealot, who won ten times, peaking in the Gr2 Goodwood Lennox Stakes.
