The annual South African sponsor party to the Champ de Mars on Saturday produced a day of patriotic positives with a former BSA Super Sale salestopper winning the Gr1 feature.
Cedric Segeon drives Baritone to a good win (Pic – Mauritius Turf Club)
The South African Airways Cargo Gr1 Princess Margaret Cup was won by the Trippi gelding Baritone, who scored his third win of the season, and earned Jean-Michel Henry’s yard their second win of the day.
Baritone accelerated in the final straight under the urgings of Cedric Segeon, getting the better of two former Joey Ramsden-trained Markus Jooste runners in the Gr2 Selangor Cup winner Hard Day’s Night (Juan Paul van der Merwe) and Cape Classic star Table Bay (Daniel Stackhouse).
The latter was the highest SA based horse to arrive here for the new season.
Fee Ramsden is hard a work while Wayne Marks keeps an eye on things (Pic – Mauritius Turf Club)
The dual SA stakes placed Trippi gelding Baritone (raced in SA by Michael De Broglio and trained by Justin Snaith) topped the 2017 BSA Super Sale held at Greyville Racecourse and was knocked down to J M Henry for R625 000.
While the final race of the day was tagged the ‘no name plate’, SA sponsors came to the party for the other seven events with the likes of Phumelela, Gold Circle, BSA, the RA, the Greyville Convention Centre and Central Route Trading putting their names into the hat.
Tristan Godden breaks the ice on Aware (Pic- Mauritius Turf Club)
It was a big day for SA jockey Tristan Godden, who won the Gold Circle Draper’s Mile on Aware for the Narang yard.
JP van der Merwe also rode a winner for the Gujadhur yard when he steered Rock On Geordies to victory in the Phumelela Gaming & Leisure Trophy.
South African horseracing’s most improved television personality Fiona Ramsden was also part of the SA contingent and added a touch of glamour to proceedings.
Gold Circle CEO Michel Nairac and the KZN racing operator’s ‘ambassador’ Bill Lambert, as well as the RA CEO Larry Wainstein were also sighted at a packed Champ de Mars.
RA CEO Larry Wainstein chats to Shan Ip (Pic – Mauritius Turf Club)
For the rest, the whole event gets extraordinarily minimal – if any – coverage from the supporting sponsors’ media platforms.
