The running style that a racehorse employs can make a difference to the result. Ernie, who used hold up tactics to win the 1200m Sophomore Sprint at Kenilworth, is a case in point.

Earlier in his career, the son of Elusive Fort would press the pace. He showed fair potential racing that way, but his career has really lifted since learning to conserve his natural speed for a sharp late burst. Aided by jockey Grant van Niekerk, Ernie has enjoyed a productive summer – defeating The Stone Thrower in a Graduation event, then failing by a wart to power past strong older sprinter Captain Alfredo in early December, and on Saturday clinching the Sophomore with another swift finish after a waiting ride.

This was a fourth victory from 12 starts for the Mike Bass trained entry. He has a triple digit official merit rating of 101 and previously earned a laudable speed figure of 104 in his tussle with Captain Alfredo. They did not go unduly hard in the early part of this race which affected the final time, but by running the last 600m in 35.06 seconds, including consecutive splits of around 11.3 seconds, it was Ernie’s acceleration that proved pivotal.

Seventh Plain opened odds on favourite, though sceptical punters were leery of the Dennis Drier trained runner. He may indeed have produced sparkling efforts to win Grade 1 events mid-year in KZN, yet had not run even close to that level on his seasonal debut in the Lanzerac 1400 and was equipped with a tongue tie for the first time. Seventh Plain did improve on that flat comeback run, making a determined bid on the rail, but could not contain Ernie’s decisive rally and even relinquished second on the line to Illuminator, who stayed on nicely.

Illuminator, got very worked up in the parade so may benefit from gelding. Nevertheless, he ran promisingly. Ernie displayed superior acceleration to burst through a slim gap and seize the lead before the 200m marker, with Illuminator then staying on gamely to get within a length of the winner. The son of Trippi is very talented, as evidenced by good tries in the Selangor Cup and Cape Guineas, so is worth following particularly when he settles down.

Fourth place went to low-weight Psycho Syd. Equipped with blinkers, he raced handily throughout and kept on well enough for a minor share.