Silvano’s Dasher landed a betting coup at Durbanville on Saturday after being backed in from 12/1 down to 4’s. Brett Crawford’s runner had beaten Dragonfly a year ago at the course and distance before going backwards at a couple of subsequent starts.
He was returning after yet another lengthy 17-week rest (and gelding this time), so it was quite a training feat to get him in shape to run a career peak figure of 102. Crawford saddled the Jackpot at the past midweek meeting and currently has his string in fighting trim. Credit is also due to the excellent, Keagan de Melo who bravely rode the inside rail path as Silvano’s Dasher accelerated sharply to victory.
Brett, who is a long-standing Interbet ambassador, suffered trauma during the week but said that all is now good, and he is back on track after having four stents inserted. We wish him a full recovery and the best of health into the future!
Grade 1 winning juvenile Ambiorix (s/s 103) who is now a four-year-old, looked nicely handicapped on his best efforts carrying just 54kg’s in a 1000m Pinnacle Stakes on the same program. Calvin Habib assertively took him to the front and that’s where Vaughann Marshall’s entry stayed, with the chasing Giacomo Puccini (s/s 101) producing a bold run in defeat.
The horse to take out of the race is Resonate who zipped through the final 600m in a super-quick 33.6 seconds but was too far back from a wide draw to make an impact on a track where handy typed are favored. He has already run numbers of 107 + @ three and could be up to winning some big races this Summer.
Galactic Path (s/s 90), normally a strong front runner could not even get there in the last race as a hectic pace was set up front. Not surprisingly the speed horses stopped to a virtual standstill, and he was able to chug by for the win having been perfectly positioned in midpack by another in-form rider, Luyolo Mxothwa.
Nothingelsematters (s/s 89) suffered a hard luck beat in second after being heavily punted. He came from stone last under JP van der Merwe only to be forced into switching at a crucial stage when a staggering Keep Shining swerved into his path. Such are the millisecond incidents that determine results!