Milnerton-based veteran trainer Eric Sands made a rare trip up the Garden Route to Fairview on Friday and turned the visit into a perfect black-type plan come together when Corne Orffer steered the Varsfontein Stud-bred Pineapplemintgreen to an eyecatching victory in the R150 000 Listed East Cape Breeders Stakes.
With only one runner and one ride on the day respectively, the Cape duo came, saw and conquered a decent field of opponents, including some hotshot locals.
With the high-quality Alan Greeff 3yo pair of Three Rocks and Luna Halo fancied to possibly fight things out in a quality fifteen horse field, it was left to Corne Orffer to provide the finishing touches and continue his personal good form ahead of his ride on Master Redoute in the Hollywoodbets Durban July.
Corne Orffer has Pineapllemintgreen in control as Miss Greenlight (Louis Mxothwa) tries hard (Pic – Pauline Herman)
Pineapplemintgreen (10-1) took charge from some way out to beat Miss Greenlight (33-1) convincingly in a time of 68,22 secs, with Passchendaele (16-1) in third and Golden Pacific (16-1) rounding off a R21 707 quartet.
The 17-10 favourite Three Rocks was never in it and ran well downfield. The Greeff yard have been very quiet by their own high standards, and had a rare blank day again.
A winner of 4 of her 13 starts with 3 places and stakes of R399 589, Pineapplemintgreen races for a mix of old and new generation interests in a partnership of the Kalmansons and Rowetts, and was bred by the family’s Varsfontein Stud.
Eric Sands and Corne Orffer – Friday success at Fairview (Pic – Pauline Herman)
A daughter of the top farm’s resident champion Gimmethegreenlight (More Than Ready), she is out of the six-time winning Windrush mare, Sunsational.
Many years ago, Farm manager Carl de Vos told the Sporting Post about the acquisition of the mare that has served them so well.
She was on sale after midweek racing at the Cape’s country course and, unsurprisingly, there was hardly anybody present in the dimly lit parade ring.
“There were two Windrush fillies on the sale and myself and Frikkie jumped in our truck and drove the half hour trip through to the racecourse. We were confident of getting both of them and when I saw the scant attendance, I knew we were in luck,“ he recalled.
The former Mike Bass-trained Gr3 Prix Du Cap winner Sunsational, and a good looker called Elysian Gem, were the two Windrushers loaded on to the Varsfontein float.
Sunsational, a versatile stakes winner of five races from 1000m to 2000m, was to go on and produce a nuggety first foal called Juxtapose, which was purchased by Roland Bouwer for R130 000 on the 2015 National Yearling Sale.
Varsfontein is celebrating 50 fabulous years in 2024.
