Dennis Drier, KZN leading trainer by number of winners last term, has come out of the blocks like Olympic Champion Usain Bolt, and with the season little more than a month old he is already second on the National log with 16 winners, four of which came at Greyville yesterday.
Justin Snaith, with a satellite yard in Port Elizabeth, heads the National log with 26 wins for the season and Alan Greeff has saddled 19 but Drier has lined them up in KZN.
Most satisfactory of his four yesterday was probably Apres Ski in the opening leg of the Place Accumulator. Blinkers are not always a magic bullet, some horses no matter what equipment is tried, are just not capable of going any faster than their legs will carry them.
There are others that need a little more prompting and if a set of blinkers was all it took to bring out the best in Apres Ski then he could be destine for more than just a maiden win.
According to Drier and Anthony Delpech, the gelding had shown tremendous ability at home but his three stabs on the racecourse had Drier and his team scratching their heads. “I worked this horse on Thursday and couldn’t believe he was still a maiden,” said Delpech, deputising for stable rider Sean Veale.
Drier concurred. “He’s shown us so much at home but just didn’t bring it to the racecourse so we decided to try blinkers.”
They obviously worked a treat and Apres Ski came with a telling run up the middle of the track to beat the well-backed favourite Royal Regatta with rank outsider Black Samurai staying on gamely for third and paying R15 a place.
Drier got the meeting off to a difficult start for punters as See The Sea caused a 33-1 upset winning from Arabian Party and 8-10 favourite and Highveld raider Lebanese Tractor with raiding trainer Paul Peter headed home with little to show for his three-horse raid.
Taku Wind looked the right one in the fourth even though going an extra furlong for the first time and he won as expected under Kegan de Melo who had earlier booted home See The Sea.
Joy To Joy had been disappointing in her poly debut after a string of promising efforts on the turf but she found hefty market support and came home lonely in the fifth giving Delpech a double for the meeting.
Andrew Harrison
