Enterprising ride! MJ Byleveld won the fourth on outsider Polo Lounge.
Jockey MJ Byleveld rode a welcome double at Kenilworth on 15 February, but he is unlikely to be receiving any late Valentine’s Day cards from punters. His unpopular win on Polo Lounge at long odds in the jackpot opener being the reason. And where on earth were the Stipendiary Stewards?
There are those that will rightly be singing the young Blue Bulls’ supporters praises for the initiative and enterprise which he displayed in getting the formless Albert Hall colt home from a poor draw. And effective the ride certainly was with owner Ken Truter and trainer Vaughan Marshall definitely not complaining. Marshall in fact enjoyed a double after he sent out the cleverly named Twitter to win the opener.
Byleveld jumped from the widest stall gate of 11 in the 1400m Maiden Plate and was not seen again as he stole the race from the front. His mount however jumped violently inwards at the release bumping Golden Enchantment onto the favourite Dynasty’s Secret, which was carried inwards. Interestingly the mentioned horses were drawn at 9 and 8 respectively, while the horse drawn directly next to Polo Lounge, Cognac On Ice eventually ran a desperately unlucky second, but may have escaped some of the exchanges as he was slow away.
Not Fair! Polo Lounge on rail keeps going to hold Cognac On Ice.
The official Stipes Report mentions the erratic jump and the knock on effect. There was apparently a review of the incident – not publicly announced – but it was decided that it had not affected the result. On what basis was this conclusion reached?
While a tentative objection may have been a longshot, one of the victims was the favourite- who may have had his chances ruined at the start and eventually ran fourth. And a full objection enquiry may have reached a different conclusion, rather than a casual glance, surely?
The Stipes Report makes no mention either of any of the jockeys involved being spoken to, neither does it suggest that the trainer was questioned as regards the sudden improved performance of the winner. Polo Lounge admittedly had not been far off in his recent runs, but his six career efforts had yielded exactly zero stakes, prior to yesterday.
There is no question in the mind of a reasonable punter, if such an animal exists, that the shenanigans at the start perpetrated by the winner, unintentionally conspired to improve his prospects of winning. When doing our form study, we would not have included the horse on form and his wide draw over the 1400m would have been further reason to leave him out. So the horse reduced the downside of his draw by taking out some of his opponents, and the punter got nailed six-love. The National Horseracing Authority, as the custodian’s of the integrity of the sport, appeared to have gone through the motions – and done sweet nothing. It is simply not good enough to provide a multi-million rand investor with a two line shrug-off.
Trainer Joey Ramsden was the other conditioner to send out a double on the day and the Good Hope Racing team continued in their rich vein of form with great aplomb. Glen Hatt rode a cagey but clever waiting race to win the fifth race, an MR 68 Handicap over 1400m, on the Var filly Falling Blossom. A second winner on the afternoon for the Avontuur Forest Wildcat stallion, she was produced at the right moment late to win going away.
Blooming Good! Owner Martin Wickens leads his Var filly Falling Blossom in.
Stan Elley’s Daddy’s Countess ran on doggedly under Sean Cormack for second , but had no chance with the Ramsden lady who runs for Erinvale residents, Gisela Burg and Martin Wickens. The Litchfield Stud product Falling Blossom had taken 18 runs to win her Maiden, so is no star, but looks set to win again at this level. The disappointing favourite Miss Pink was never in the hunt.
Impressive Rock then won the next race, an MR 70 Handicap over 2000m, when Sean Cormack gave her an excellent ride to win easily. Cormack had in fact been given all the credit for the three year old’s last win by Ramsden , and he appears to have built an affinity with her. She was allowed to lope along just off the leader Reptillian and then came forward at the 300m to draw clear. She has now won three from seven for Ingrid and Markus Jooste, and the Aussie bred is likely to be in the Ramsden KZN travelling party next month.
The rest did not impress, with Reptillian gamely plugging on to earn a second cheque ahead of recent maiden winner It’s Exciting. Full Regalia ran a moderate race as favourite and she appears rather limited. The promising Jet Master filly Hijacked was scratched by Paddy Kruyer and she is apparently on her way to his neighbour Greg Ennion. Owner Fred Crabbia is certainly not shy to move his horses around!
Tellytrack presenter Stan Elley was once again spot-on with his assessment of the final race of the day, when spotting the twice raced Dancing Dynasty as ‘the best filly in the field.’ The daughter of Dynasty gave Stephen Page and Gareth Wright a welcome winner when she moved up smoothly on the rail to hold the determined Fugetta at bay.
The Wright Stuff! Dancing Dynasty(inside) is kept going by Gareth Wright to beat Karl Neisius on Fugetta.
The winner is out of a four-time winning Northfield mare, Southern Pride, and looks to have plenty of upward potential. The fancied Glacier Express was another Govender runner to disappoint. Two seconds and two unplaced from four fair runners on what should not have been a blank day. That must be a worrying factor for a yard who has been in good form recently.
