In one of the most exciting finishes seen in KwaZulu-Natal this season, the four-year-old Dynasty gelding Daring Dave was driven through between Moofeed and Willow Magic to snatch victory on the line in the R350 000, Grade 2 Post Merchants over 1 200m at Greyville in Durban on Friday night.

It was an absolute thriller with favourite Willow Magic from the Sean Tarry stable and the Mike de Kock-trained Moofeed in a ding-dong battle in the straight under top jockeys Piere Strydom and Anthony Delpech with horse and rider giving their all.

Moofeed finally gained the upper hand but his victory was denied by the Justin Snaith-trained Daring Dave that had come from about midfield with a sustained finish under a powerful ride by Richard Fourie who drove his mount through between them to win by a head.

Fourth Place went to the Alec Laird-trained Judpot gelding Aurum Pot.

The race was not without incident as Willow Magic pinged the gate a fraction before the start was initiated and a false start was called. The riders managed to pull their mounts up without going too far except for J P van der Merwe on Aurum Pot that went the furthest before being turned back to the stalls for the restart. This could have affected his race performance and he might otherwise have gone closer.

But it was a brilliant rider by Fourie who is proving to be a world-class rider and a powerful finisher. He is due to leave South Africa to ride in Hong Kong in the near future.