Justin Snaith made it a year-on-year R225 000 Listed Woolavington Stakes double at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday when Joshwin Solomons went gun-to-tape over the 2500m to register a maiden stakes success on the progressive 4yo stayer Daimyo.
Daimyo (Joshwin Solomons) stays on to beat Love Is A Rose (Ashton Arries, green cap) ahead of Holding Thumbs (Siphesihle Hlengwa, black & white cap) with Call To Unite (Anthony Andrews) on the rails (Pic – Chase Libenberg)
The Woolavington, run last year over 100m shorter at Hollywoodbets Durbanville and won by Snaith’s Mucho Dinero, is a summer starter for the stayers and looking to be a few lengths ahead of the handicapper off his 86 rating, Daimyo showed the necessary improvement over the stamina trip to carry his 50kg to an easy victory.
In a field of nine, with a number of lightweights in the mix, the pace was always going to be reasonable and the cucumber cool Solomons led 2022 winner Baratheon and Otto Luyken early.
At around the 1000m, Sean Veale took Ponte Pietra round his field, but that effort was short-lived and Daimyo (11-2) kept at his task up the short winter home run to register a commendable victory, beating the solid mare Love Is A Rose (66-1) by 1,25 lengths in a time of 153,37 secs.
Holding Thumbs (5-1) came out the pack for third, a further 0,40 lengths back.
The tote favourite Future Swing (28-10) never got going and finished a 4,10 length fifth.
A R600 000 November 2yo Sale graduate, Daimyo is raced by Messrs K P Nagendran & R V Norton & Mrs C Nagendran and was bred by Erasmus Thoroughbreds & Syrilla Stud.
A son of Vercingetorix, Daimyo is out of the Gr1 SA Oaks winner Juxtapose (Judpot).
The winner has earned R368 063 with his third win and 5 places from 11 starts. The winner of this cannot incur a penalty of more than 6 Merit Rating points, so Daimyo is worth following!
Earlier on in the afternoon, the overdue Zeitz (8-10) got punters off to a good start to the day when the Maine Chance Farms-bred son of Vercingetorix enjoyed the addition of the blinkers and the kinder dynamics of the Hollywoodbets Kenilworth track to shed his maiden at his fourth start. Corne Orffer rode the Plattner winner for trainer Andre Nel.
Richard Fourie and Paul Reeves maintained the run of fancied winners in the second race, a mixed bag Cape D Stakes, when the popular 4yo Ozark (5-2) hit the front earlier than anticipated but kept on gamely to warn off the Mike Stewart-trained Querrai mare, Hang Out The Stars, who showed good resolve over the mile. Bred by Terry Andrews, Ozark is a son of Oratorio out of the Var mare, Spice Girl and is now a three-time winner from 19 starts for R240 675 in stakes – not bad for a Cape Yearling Sale R50 000 buy!
Ridgemont-sponsored Richard Fourie followed up with a double when he steered the well-supported 3yo Sail The Seas (33-20) home for the Snaith Racing team in the third, a Class 4 race over 1600m. The Drakenstein bred winner is a son of Vercingetorix and was labelled a potential Cape Guineas contender by his top jockey, and his trainer concurred that winning two handicaps suggested that his charge had earned his stripes for the classic on 14 December.
Aldo Domeyer and Candice Bass-Robinson opened the Pick 6 with an eyecatching win in the 1100m Cape B Stakes by the Canford Cliffs gelding Tenango (9-2) who was returning from a 39 week break following a wind operation. Now a two-time winner from 8 starts, the Ian Longmore bred and raced 4yo should make his presence felt this summer on today’s showing.
