Talented East Cape jockey Louis Mxothwa will have his first Vodacom Durban July ride for Justin Snaith next weekend. And ironically it took a powerful well-judged front-running demonstration by Mxothwa to stop the Snaith juggernaut at Kenilworth on Saturday.
The Joburg-born son of a Groom, Mxothwa is carded to partner Crown Towers for the powerful Snaith team in the July. And he also rode the first winner of his career for the family operation.
Louis Mxothwa keeps Pretty Betty ahead of the pack as Grant van Niekerk and Rain In Newmarket have to settle for second (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
But he had only one goal on Saturday and that was to keep Mike Stewart’s Pretty Betty in the front as he led all the way to win the R85 000 www.caperacing.co.za Listed Ladies Mile.
Bred and owned in partnership with Paul Barrett by leading breeder Peter de Beyer, Pretty Betty (5-2) looked to have it all to do with the senior duo in the race.
But she relished the underfoot conditions and stayed on relentlessly – in fact she never looked in danger of being passed – to beat the joint favourite, the promising Rain In Newmarket (16-10) by 1,25 lengths in a time of 109,18 secs.
The runner-up’s stablemate Sleeping Single (5-2) was thereabouts for a long way, but was beaten a neck into third after tiring in the latter stages.
Louis Mxothwa clearly has pep in his step as he dismounts (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
A well-related daughter of Varsfontein’s Jet Master stallion Master Of My Fate, Pretty Betty is out of the one-time winner Betty Burke (Captain Al) who was also raced by Mr de Beyer.
Pretty Betty was registering her first stakes win here and took her tally to 4 wins with 2 places from her 7 starts.
She has earned R158 600 and looks to have lots more to come.
