Marinaresco overcame a wide draw and a troubled passage to land the Gr1 Mike and Carol Bass Champions Cup at Greyville yesterday. It was a fitting send off for Bass to sign off on a race named in his honour as he retired after yesterday’s race meeting.

There were a few anxious moments for the supporters of the 11-10 favourite as he became the meat in the sandwich at around the 400m mark. However, there was no stopping the diminutive son of champion stallion Silvano as he powered through the tight gap, going on to win comfortably from Judicial, No Worries and Saratoga Dancer.

The early fractions were more suited to a funeral procession than a horserace and it allowed Grant van Niekerk to track wide on the home turn without much effort. Approaching the final two furlongs it was a cavalry charge and there were a number of hard luck stories, most notably Saratoga Dancer who only found daylight when the race was over.

Van Niekerk was lavish in his praise for Bass who recognised a precocious talent and plucked the young jockey out of obscurity, and also for his mount Marinaresco. “You always get nervous before a big race but when you sit on him he does it all for you.”

S’Manga Khumalo, Champion Jockey elect, rounded off a memorable season with a perfectly timed run aboard the Australian-bred Enaad (5-1) to give Mike de Kock back-to-back wins in the Gr2 eLan Gold Cup. He was chased home by Helderberg Blue and Kinaan with Ovidio filling fourth place.

Tucked in towards the back of the field for most of the race as stable companion Kingston Mines set the gallop, Khumalo gradually moved Enaad into contention up the hill and was within striking distance of the lead as the field came off the false rail at the top of the straight.

Along with stable companion Kinaan the pair hit the front with Enaad staying on the better. Helderberg Blue hit a flat spot in the straight but then picked it up smartly and finished strongly for second.

“This was one of my goals,” said Khumalo, already a winner of the Vodacom Durban July aboard Heavy Metal in 2013, “and I’m glad to have achieved it.”

“This horse had so much running in him. At the 800m mark I thought to myself that my horse was full of running and I didn’t want to break his stride.”

However, it is anxious times for Khumalo who faces charges of injudicious riding in a race in Port Elizabeth last month.

De Kock said, “He was a horse that was progressing nicely and he had to win the Gold Vase to get in the race. When he won the Vase I was a bit concerned because they don’t often do the double.”

“I wasn’t worried about the penalty because he was so low in the weights I didn’t think it would make any difference.”

“There is still more to come. I don’t think he’s reached his handicap mark as yet,” concluded the trainer.

Querari Falcon and Gunner gave the Equus Award judges a double headache when rounding off the season with victories in the Gr1 Thekwini Stakes and the Gr1 Premier’s Champion Stakes respectively. Judging for the awards took place immediately after the running of the Gr1 Mike and Carol Bass Champions Cup.

With two-year-old Gr1’s at a premium, all have produced different results. Dawn Calling was in warm order for the Thekwini Stakes but after battling her way through traffic she was unable to match the finishing burst of Querari Falcon and Anthony Delpech who finished with a wet sail on the favourite’s outside.

It was also a red letter day for Champion freshman sire Gimmethegreenlight who rounded off his first season at stud with a Gr2 winner in Umkhomazi Stakes victor Hack Green and two races later Gunner caused a 25-1 upset in the Gr1 Premier’s Champion Stakes for Paul Gadsby with Brandon Lerena aboard.

Ashburton-based Gadsby said he had bought Gunner at the CTS January sale. “I liked the Gimmethegreenlights and this is the one I wanted. Hassen (Adams) was kind enough to let me leave him on the farm for two months. It took me ages to put him together and Hassen kept a quarter. I have a few more Gimmethegreenlights back home so hopefully I’m in the right camp.”

Andrew Harrison