The Ridgemont team celebrated a glorious start to the Betway Summer Cup day at Turffontein on Saturday as the Rafeef filly Chasing Happiness dug deep to win a thrilling finish to the R300 000 Betway Gr3 Carry On Alice Stakes.
Chasing Happiness (Aldo Domeyer) and Elegant Ice (Marco van Rensburg) battle it out. Garlandsofgreenery (Calvin Habib) stays on for third (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
“This was a lovely cherry to pick up,” quipped visiting Cape rider Aldo Domeyer who called on all his strength in the finish to win the Pick 6 opener by a nostril as the 6-1 shot made it three on the trot and registered her maiden stakes success in style.
Allowed to free-wheel a length off the pace set by One Fell Swoop, Chasing Happiness looked to have it all to do as Marco van Rensburg bounced Elegant Ice (10-1) into the lead at the 100m.
In a crackerjack spectacle, Domeyer got serious and Chasing Happiness got there in a time of 67, 74 secs.
It was good to see Aldo’s veteran champion Dad, Andrew Fortune, at the lead in
Elegant Ice came within a heartbeat, with Garlandsofgreenery (33-1) completing the trifecta.
Tarry’s Mia Moo (6-1) was a further quarter length back in fourth, with the Gqeberha challenger Passschendaele running a cracker in fifth.
The tote favourite Mrs Browning finished well downfield.
Raced by the Wernars family, the winner was a R200 000 National Yearling Sale buy and took her stakes total to R472 375 with her fifth win and 5 places from 11 starts.
Another smashing daughter of Ridgemont star Rafeef (Redoute’s Choice), the winner is out of the three-time winner Kalami (Daylami).
In a Ripley’s believe it or not moment, we hear that Chasing Happiness was apparently named after her trainer, Johan Janse van Vuuren.
Good news for 4Racing and loyal tote punters – the R2 million carryover Pick 6 reached R7 627 654. It was paying R9 minimum after an open first leg.
