The filly Dawn Calling only has a single victory behind her name but she has mixed it with the best with some success and looks set to make a belated opening to her seasonal account in the KwaZulu-Natal Breeders Million Mile at Greyville on Sunday.
Dawn Calling (Nkosi Hlophe)
Duncan Howells is a master at targeting big money restricted races and the Anton Procter-bred Dawn Calling has almost everything in her favour when she lines up on Sunday. On official ratings she is 2kg better off than any of the opposition, bottom weight, good draw and a top light-weight rider. If there is a chink in her armour it may be that she doesn’t quite see out 1600m as she has often been found out over the last 100m. However, on most of these occasions she has been competing at set weights or in level weights races where she is not always well in. On this occasion, although she takes on a useful field, bottom weight will be a huge advantage and the mile well within her compass.
Mike and Tanya McHardy of Rathmor Stud have been investing heavily in top bloodstock over the past few years and they will be looking to the Ormond Ferraris-trained Romany Prince to fly their flag. The son of Kahal has been competing in strong handicaps on the Highveld with his last victory coming in January in the London News Stakes where he beat subsequent Premier’s Champion Challenge winner Deo Juvente. He has been on the boil since and will strip a fit horse on Sunday where Anthony Delpech rides from pole position.
No Worries (Nkosi Hlophe)
Unagi and Top Shot give Garry Alexander a useful hand, the latter possibly being the pick of the pair from a better draw and a close-up second at the Vaal last time out.
No Worries, twice a winner of this event, showed signs of coming to hand again when three lengths off Marinaresco in the Drill Hall and the blinkers are back on. But whether the can give a filly the class of Dawn Calling 10kg is debateable.
The Million Mile is the only race on the turf with the balance of the card on the poly and restricted to horses that qualify as KZN-bred.
It is also the final of the KZN Breeders Series ‘Levelling the Playing Fields’ with a mountain of money at stake.
Early pace-setters, Brave And Bold and Putchini, are joint second on 47 with the ever consistent Royal Agree in fourth on 46 points. The King of Random and Kahula follow next on 42 and 41 points respectively. The Owner, breeder and trainer of the leading horse at the conclusion of the Series will each receive a bonus of R50 000.
Morne Winaar, Billy Jacobson, Marco van Rensburg and Craig Zackey are the four jockeys best placed to land the rider’s bonus with Winnaar and Jacobson in the prime seats. Of that pair Winnaar appears to have the better ride on Wendy Whitehead’s mare Brave And Bold on whom he has scored most of his points but Jacobson is on Royal Agree, Glen Kotzen’s filly having won the first leg of the warm-ups and at best over Sunday’s 1400m. Tony Rivalland narrowly heads the trainer’s log along with his owner Mary Liley, their gelding Reactive doing them proud.
By Andrew Harrison
