Danie Toerien
Trainer Kelly Mitchley was responsible for the surprise of the season in the Eastern Cape so far when she took the honours in Leg 1 of the Nelson Mandela Bay Poly Challenge over 1200m on Friday with Prince Of Fire, ridden by on-fire Muzi Yeni.
Most racegoers banked on favourite Cliff Top, trained by Alan Greeff and ridden by Richard Fourie, to cruise to victory, especially after his excellent warm-up run over 1 000m when finishing just 0.25-lengths behind Cruise Control.
Prince Of Fire, on the other hand, was racing first time out after a break of almost half a year, and was making his Fairview debut after relocating to Mitchley’s yard having previously been trained by Johan Janse van Vuuren on the Highveld.
With What A Winner setting the pace, both Fourie and Yeni positioned their mounts perfectly for the final attack. Going around the turn, Fourie picked the outside line and allowed Cliff Top to swing past wide, while Yeni ensured Prince Of Fire hugged the rail. Hitting the straight, Prince Of Fire kicked and stayed against the rail when they hit the spur, and from there he had a straight line to the judge.
Despite being a good 5kg out at the weights, Prince Of Fire showed total determination to keep Cliff Top at Bay and ended up winning by 0.1-lengths.
Jacques Strydom’s Gallic Tribe with Jason Gates in the irons was another 0.1-lenghs back while the Greeff-trained Port Louis, ridden by Denis Schwarz, completed the quartet.
Unsurprisingly, Greeff and Gavin Smith were both going all-out to claim the first leg of the Poly Challenge and saddled no fewer than four runners each, but in the end, it was Mitchley’s lone runner who took the spoils.
Considering that there is a R250 000 bonus for any runner who can win all three legs, Mitchley will undoubtedly run Prince Of Fire in the second leg over 1 400m on Friday 29 September.
The final leg of the Poly Challenge is over 1 600m and is scheduled to be contested on Friday 20 October.
If no horse can claim the top prize, there is a R50 000 consolation bonus based on a point system, but only horses that have run in all three legs and won at least one of them are eligible. Points are awarded as follows: 1st 10, 2nd 6, 3rd 4, 4th 3, 5th 2 and 6th 1.
Trainer Sharon Kotzen also had a day to remember yesterday with a well-deserved treble, taking her tally for the season to five from just 28 runners for a win strike rate touching 18 percent.