Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic (Grade 1)

Wilgerbosdrift HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes (Group 1)

TAB SA Classic (Group 1)

THERE was high drama at the start of the Wilgerbosdrift HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes at Turffontein last Saturday when Main Defender - favourite to repeat last year’s success in this Grade 1 - was badly hampered leaving the stalls, finished unplaced and was subsequently declared a non-runner.

Both the TV recording and the stipes’ film showed that the Pathfork gelding’s muzzle had become caught up in the grill of the gate as it opened, turning the horse’s head, with the handler being slow to release him.

This almost certainly made things a lot easier for the Querari three-year-old Cosmic Speed who led a furlong out under Craig Zackey to beat 40/1 shot Texas Red (by the Irish-bred The United States) by a length and three-quarters.

But those who backed the 8/1 winner were most unhappy to find their winnings subjected to a 40% deduction.

Trainer Sean Tarry, though, was thinking more of the future and said: “I think we need to find out whether he gets a mile. If he does, it opens everything up for us.

“But the Horse Chestnut is a great race to win and the last time I had the winner was with Legal Eagle (successful three years in a row from 2016 to 2018) so it has been a long time between drinks.”

Tarry picked out Cosmic Speed at the 2023 National Yearling Sale and bought the Main Chance-bred for R725,000 (€37,128).

SA Classic

Zackey is leading the jockeys’ table - he started this week on 163, 14 clear of Gavin Lerena with champion Richard Fourie just four winners further back - and he initiated a notable Grade 1 double when leading throughout on 8/1 shot Confederate in the TAB SA Classic.

“I let him go to the front at his own pace,” Zackey reported. “And it was hard not to be impressed with him after the way he cantered down.” Confederate, by the American-bred Fire Away, is out of a Danehill Dancer mare and was bought for only R280,000 (€14,340) at the 2023 August Two-Year-Old Sale.

This was the second Grade 1 win for trainer Fabian Habib who declared himself to be “over the moon.”

Fillies Classic

The Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic was run in driving rain and hot favourite Spumante Dolce couldn’t pick up at all.

She finished a most disappointing seventh but a subsequent veterinary examination revealed that the real problem was almost certainly mucus in her trachea.

In contrast, Fiery Pegasus (by Captain Of All out of a Jet Master mare and bred by Marsh Shirtliff in partnership with the Hemel ‘N Aarde Stud) revelled in the conditions and romped home nearly five lengths clear.

A mud-bespattered Fourie reported: “The track is really heavy. This filly is not the biggest but she makes up for it with her heart and at the two furlong marker I found myself passing them all.”

Trainer Joey Soma added: “Grade 1 racing is what it is all about for me. I love winning the big ones and it’s the reason I get up in the morning.

“We earmarked this race for Fiery Pegasus when she was a two-year-old and the further she goes the better she will be.”