World Sports Betting Cape Fillies Guineas (Group 1)
QUICKSTEPGAL made virtually all the running in the World Sports Betting Cape Fillies Guineas at Kenilworth last Saturday to give trainer Tienie Prinsloo the biggest success of his career.
The 10/1 chance was the first winner in this race for former champion Gavin Lerena who said: “I always had it in mind to go to the front with this filly. She has such a good action that it would have been detrimental to have her in behind a slow pace. Right from halfway round the turn I thought it was going to take a good one to beat me. At the top of the straight I gave her a squeeze, she lengthened beautifully.”
The daughter of Vercingetorix is out of a mare by the mighty Jet Master and she held on by three quarters of a length from Richard Fourie’s mount Reet Petite (by Rafeef out of a mare by Irish-bred Daylami). But Keagan de Melo reported having difficulty in getting a clear run early in the straight on Golden Palm and the 11/10 favourite managed only an expensive sixth.
Prinsloo has just 13 horses in his yard and for some time he was based way off the beaten track in Kimberley – the equivalent of an Irish flat trainer being at the far end of Donegal!
Quickstepgal was bred by the Greenacres Trust of the highly successful Cape Town owner Marsh Shirtliff who quipped: “I have always wanted to own a Fillies Guineas winner and now I have bred one!”
The winner was sold for R450,000 (€ 22,680) at the 2024 KZN Yearling Sale and, owned by the Werners Family in partnership with Harry Wilson, she has now won five of her eight starts and over R1.2 million (€60,455).
On the score sheet
Justin Snaith, who sent out third-placed Wish List (by Legislate out of a Silvano mare), has been the leading trainer at Kenilworth in each of the last 12 seasons but last Saturday wasn’t his day and he had to wait until the ninth of the 10 races to get his name on the score sheet.
This was with Supreme Fate ridden by the irrepressible 58-year-old veteran Andrew Fortune who declared: “I said to Justin. ‘Don’t worry. I’ll find you a winner!’”
For good measure he added: “You know what’s great about me? If you work hard you get there – and I do.”
Snaith commented: “It’s been an amazing day. I’ve had six seconds and two thirds but I am very proud to have been here today and it’s good to be part of it.”
The backing of big bookmaking firm Hollywood Bets is certainly paying dividends.
When I first went to Kenilworth nearly 20 years ago, I thought ‘What a beautiful racecourse – such a pity that there’s hardly anybody here.’ But on Saturday the place was packed.
Today it’s the turn of the colts in the Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas and Mike de Kock’s Premiers Champion winner Jan Van Goyen (Callan Murrray) has 4kg in hand on ratings.