Safe Passage shows his class

WORDS BY ANDREW HARRISON - GOLD CIRCLE

PICTURE: CANDIESE LENFERNA -  GOLD CIRCLE

Safe Passage sounded a warning as he put his hand up for the forthcoming Hollywoodbets Durban July with a cracking victory in the Grade 1 Daily News 2000 for Mike de Kock and Muzi Yeni at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Saturday.
It was the gelding’s sixth win in seven starts and made up for his narrow defeat in the Grade 1 SA Classic.
Hot favourite Pomp And Power did himself no favours, giving Richard Fourie a torrid time as he fought for his head for much of the race. He was largely a spent force inside the last 200m as Safe Passage swept by.
But it was a tribute to his courage that he managed to hold on to second ahead of Aragosta, the second of the De Kock runners, with Waterberry Lane pressing on from last turning for home and finishing on top of the placed runners.
“He was definitely underdone for today,” warned De Kock. “I know that is sounds crazy that he’s won, but he’s a horse that has freakish heart rates.
“He is really a good, good athlete. I still think that when he got beaten last time that he was probably incubating a virus.”
“He’s going to improve on this for sure.
“Muzi gave him a good ride and did exactly what we wanted with him. I must congratulate Gaynor and Kevin and Drakenstein who bred him. You know, he’s a proper racehorse.”
Aragosta probably cost himself second. “He ran right across the course, I don’t know why? The plan was to go to the front but I guess he couldn’t get there,” de Kock concluded.
Pomp And Power is obviously a handful as he was accompanied to the start by a pony. He flashed out of the barriers from his inside gate and it was all Fourie could do to swing on as his mount fought for his head and hardly settled with half the race run.
It was a worrying performance given that the Hollywoodbets Durban July is 200m further and similar antics will almost certainly cost him.
Waterberry Lane finished off his race smartly while Senso Unico was making some headway at the death but will need to add a little more gloss to his form if he is to be a July contender.
Grant van Niekerk took full advantage of a pedestrian gallop in the Grade 1 Woolavington 2000 as Silver Darling out-sprinted the opposition to the land the spoils with Light Of The Moon staying on gamely for second ahead of a late-charging Sprinkles.
It was some consolation for Justin Snaith with Pomp And Power’s performance in the Daily News something of a disappointment.
The only recent blot on Silver Darling’s copybook had been in her first attempt at 2000m in the Jamaica Handicap with the majority of her best form being over 1600m.
Given that, the race played out perfectly for her as a test of stamina transformed into a sprint for the line.
Monashada got out best of all and Francie Herholdt was in no great hurry on Kom Naidoo’s filly with Light Of The Moon and Silver Darling slotting in behind.
Van Niekerk went for broke at the top of the straight which caught the majority of the field flat-footed as Silver Darling opened up a two-length cushion, a lead that she never relinquished.
Light Of The Moon threatened briefly but could not quite make up the leeway while Sprinkles arrived on the scene too late to make any impression on the winner as she edged a game Monashada for the shallow end of the purse.
It was a Grade 1 double for Gaynor Rupert at her Drakenstein Stud in the Franschhoek Valley as she was also the owner and breeder of Safe Passage.
Earlier, the Sean Tarry-trained Shango got the better of Flying Bull in a desperate finish to the Grade 3 Lonsdale Stirrup Cup while Golden Pheasant edged out Gentleman’s Wager in the Pinnacle Stakes for Barend Botes with July entry Hoedspruit running on from last to take third.