Fourie and De Melo dominate Scottsville meeting

The score between Manchester City and Manchester United at Wembley in London on Saturday was 2-1 — the score between Richard Fourie and Keagan De Melo at Hollywoodbets Scottsville in Maritzburg was 5-3.

While two famous football clubs battled it out in the FA Cup final, the two top jockeys in SA this term, Fourie and De Melo, dominated the nine-race Scottsville card which featured four grade 1 sprints.

After a four-timer at Fairview last Friday, Fourie came close to making racing history by winning four grade 1 races on the same day.

The 37-year-old won the Allan Robertson Championship on Mrs Geriatrix, the Gold Medallion on Lucky Lad and the SA Fillies Sprint on Princess Calla to make it a torrid meeting for bookmakers.

The victory by Mrs Geriatrix was perhaps the only result for the layers as Winter Cloud was sent off 11-10 favourite to land a four-timer for trainer Candice Bass-Robinson.

Winter Cloud had been slow away on her last start and her many supporters knew they were in trouble as the filly trailed the field at the halfway mark. She never looked like catching Mrs Geriatrix but did make late progress to close the gap to two lengths.

“She’s proved a magic ride for the ladies — every run has been impressive,” enthused Sean Tarry referring to the fact that Mrs Geriatrix races for the Magical Lady Syndicate headed by ROA CEO Natalie Turner.

It was a red-letter day for the filly’s breeders, Clifton Stud, with owner Peter Blyth revealing that this was the stud’s first grade 1 winner since Classic Flag many moons ago.

Fourie and Tarry wasted no time in notching their second grade 1 win of the afternoon with the favourite, Lucky Lad, maintaining his 100% record with a dynamic win in the Gold Medallion.

An R850,000 buy from Varsfontein Stud, Lucky Lad looks an exciting prospect for next season and may end up being a shrewd purchase by his Kentucky-based owners, Angela and Antony Beck.

Many pundits felt SA Fillies Sprint favourite, Princess Calla, was the best bet on the card and the five-year-old mare duly delivered the goods to record her ninth win and 17th grade 1 success for Tarry at the Scottsville track.

The surprise is that Princess Calla’s half-brother (by Vercingetorix) only made R1m at the National Yearling Sales in April. Perhaps the fact the colt was a late foal was the reason the youngster didn’t make a bigger price.

Fourie’s chance of a historic grade 1 four-timer rested with Rio Querari in the Golden Horse Sprint but — as stated in Friday’s column — this was his weakest ride as the veteran sprinter was taking on a strong field which included De Melo’s mount, Gimme A Prince.

Rio Querari was never a factor, trailing in 12th of the 16 runners and finishing six lengths behind Dean Kannemeyer’s star sprinter. De Melo had been upbeat about the four-year-old’s chances and landed his sixth — and most important — prize for his owner/breeders, Khaya Stables.

Those punters who follow favourites had a day to remember and this was born out by the jackpot payout of just R79.

Meanwhile, after being ignored by most experts after his flop in the 2000 Guineas, Auguste Rodin provided trainer Aidan O’Brien with his ninth Derby success in Saturday’s classic at Epsom.

“Aidan is a genius — his record speaks for itself. He produces the animal on the day to get the maximum of their ability,” co-owner Michael Tabor said in the winner’s enclosure.

This was a third Derby triumph for Ryan Moore, regarded by many as the best jockey on the planet. He said: “He’s got the trip well and he was very comfortable throughout the race.”

There was no fairy-tale ending for Frankie Dettori having his final Derby ride. The well-backed Arrest was a beaten horse some way out.