Miracle comes true at Turffontein

Jack Milner

Desert Miracle claimed her second Grade 1 victory in her last three outings with a victory in the Grade 1 HSH Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes over 1600m at Turffontein on Saturday.

Ridden by Craig Zackey, the four-year-old daughter of Dynasty came from last to grab luckless Feather Boa by 1.25 lengths.

There was another 3.75 length back to third-placed Marigold Hotel with Under Your Spell a neck further back in fourth.

Stuart Pettigrew-trained Feather Boa was well supported in the betting an eventually went off 22-10 favourite with Desert Miracle starting at 3-1.

Desert Miracle is trained by Mike de Kock and runs in the colours of Wilgerbosdrift’s Mary Slack. Amazingly, it is also the eighth time either Mary Slack or her daughter, Jessica has won this race. Even more remarkable this is one Grade 1 race that has been won by a mother and a daughter, both human and equine as Mother Russia won it (for Mary) as did her daughter, Nother Russia (for Jessica).

Desert Miracle captured her first Grade 1 in January when she defeated Captain’s Ransom to win the Majorca Stakes at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth in Cape Town.

“The pace was really good,” said Zackey. “For once in a Group 1, it was really testing and with a true-run race, the right horse wins, and this was a good example.

“She likes to be held up for as long as possible and everything sort of went her way. I perhaps wish I had sat on her a little bit longer but everything in front of her started dying too quickly and I had to show her daylight.

“But she got there and got the job done.”

De Kock was not 100% sure where they would go with Desert Miracle from now but a possibility is the Drill Hall Stakes followed by the Garden Province Stakes on Durban July day, both at Hollywoodbets Greyville.