Trippi lives up to Gaynor Rupert’s prediction

Gaynor Rupert, the matriarch of Drakenstein Stud, was the picture of happiness at Kenilworth on Saturday as she lead into the winner’s enclosure another feature race winner sired by her beloved stallion, Trippi.

After a trip to the US, Rupert was so captivated by the son of End Sweep that she managed to purchase the horse and bring him to SA. As shrewd equine moves go, this was nearly as good as it gets.

In an interview a while ago, Rupert said: “He’s the most beautiful horse you will ever see.” However, it was her next statement that was to prove prophetic. “I was just very lucky with Trippi. I always knew he would be a success and I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet.”

Prophetic indeed as Trippi, named after a famous University of Georgia footballer Charley Trippi, has been a dominant sire this year with his progeny including grade 1 winner Jet Dark, unbeaten three-year-old Charles Dickens and last Saturday’s Green Point Stakes winner, Trip Of Fortune.

When Rupert travelled to the Kenilworth track on Saturday, she probably hoped six-time winner Trip Of Fortune would earn a place cheque behind hot favourite Kommetdieding.

Upsets have been the order of the day at the football World Cup in Qatar and here was another with 16-1 chance Trip Of Fortune getting home ahead of Universal and odds-on favourite, Kommetdieding.

That performance saw Trip Of Fortune’s price for the grade 1 King’s Plate on January 7 — a race sponsored by Drakensten — shorten to 10-1. Could the finish be fought out by three sons of Trippi — Jet Dark, Charles Dickens and Trip To Fortune?

Rupert and her racing manager, Kevin Somerville, will be checking out the fifth race at Turffontein on Tuesday in which Trippi’s son, African Torrent, bids to complete a hat-trick. Trained by Michael and Adam Azzie, African Torrent was among the Drakenstein draft at the 2021 National Yearling Sales but didn’t make the price expected and was taken back home.

African Torrent — reunited with jockey Diego De Gouveia, is taking on a weak field and it is no surprise to see the three-year-old priced up favourite at 2-1. Banha Bridge battled in the early part of his career but has now got his act together and may pose the main threat to the Azzie runner.

Trainer Stuart Pettigrew has the outstanding strike rate of 25% this term and he will be expecting his five-year-old mare, Bold Fortune, to get her career back on track with a good performance in the sixth race. A six-time winning daughter of Flower Alley, Bold Fortune had her supporters for the Yellowwod Handicap in October but was never a factor behind stablemate Gilded Butterfly.

Provided promising apprentice Siyanda Sosibo is fit to ride — he missed Saturday’s meeting — Bold Fortune’s weight will be reduced to 55.5kg. That means Tyrone Zackey’s consistent gelding, Flashy Apache, will have to give Pettigrew’s runner 2.5kg which will be no easy task.

Captain Chorus has paid his way this year and Muzi Yeni will be in the saddle on Lucky Houdalakis’s well-drawn runner. Ballroom Blitz rates the pick of the remainder.

SELECTIONS

1st Race: (4) Rosy Lemon (2) Last Wild One (3) Inner Sense (5) Voshaarnooi

2nd Race: (10) Trois Trois Quatre (7) Kambulu (3) Greenbackcurrency (1) Spring Will Come

3rd Race: (3) Tsar Bomba (5) Sage King (2) Fast Love (4) Mini Coop

4th Race: (7) Rule By Force (10) Futurewolff (2) Destiny Of Souls (9) Vesuvio

5th Race: (7) African Torrent (6) Banha Bridge (1) Ablaan (3) Fifth Of July

6th Race: (2) Bold Fortune (4) Flashy Apache (8) Captain Chorus (9) Ballroom Bliss

7th Race: (2) Rockets Red Glare (10) Bonnaroo (6) Silver Winter (7) Love Bite

8th Race: (4) Rattle Bag (2) Run For Isla (13) There She Goes (7) Scottadito