“He’s phenomenal,” said trainer Vaughan Marshall of ONE STRIPE after the 3YO caused a sensation when winning the L’Ormarins Kings Plate (WFA) Gr 1 over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday.
When asked what the remarkable son of One World’s key attributes are, Marshall responded without hesitation, “It’s his speed, and that he’s got gears – jockey Gavin Lerena will confirm that…”
For much of the long straight it looked like ONE STRIPE would fall short as GIMME A PRINCE moved up menacingly to challenge a forging MONTIEN. But neither could withstand the dramatic 22.9 second late rush that Lerena summoned from the gear-shifting ONE STRIPE who started as the popular 11/10 favourite. The winner’s final time was 97.63 seconds.
ONE STRIPE
The winner was bred at Drakenstein Stud and is out of the Silvano mare, Silver Stripe. He has now won six of eight starts, including the Punters Cup, Cape Guineas (Gr 1), and now this prestigious cross-generational Gr 1 WFA mile showdown since mid-November.
That’s a busy campaign, so Marshall will most likely duck the World Sports Betting Cape Town MET and instead target a lucrative R5 million incentive race later in the Cape Summer season for this truly outstanding three-year-old.
MONTIEN emerged with honour in defeat. Getting over from draw 12, pressing the pace and fighting all the way to the line was a performance of class and determination from the humbly bred son of Louis the King, trained by Piet Botha. He massively outran his starting price of 75/1.
GIMME A PRINCE also did well to secure third spot. Troubled by physical issues and requiring tender handling, he may just have run out of puff the last part as he was stretched to his limit in the eight-furlong contest.
ROYAL AUSSIE rounded out the quartet, 4.5 lengths off Marshall’s coveted L’Ormarins King’s Plate Gr 1 hero, ONE STRIPE.
In Race 6, Richard Fourie sat for as long as possible before unleashing DOUBLE GRAND SLAM with a devastating late move to win the Gr 1 Cartier Paddock Stakes (for fillies and mares at WFA) over 1800m.
DOUBLE GRAND SLAM
As expected, the early pace was set by tearaway LAVENDER BAY with RASCOVA, RED PALACE and LITTLE SUZIE stretched out in Indian file. Fourie had the daughter of Vercingetorix settled some way off the action, tracking SAARTJIE up the straight before weaving past tiring rivals and drawing off for a resounding score with an impressive 23.3 second 400m finish sectional. The final time was 109.86 seconds.
“I didn’t even need to use the crop – she won so easily”, a suitably impressed Fourie said afterwards.
RED PALACE was game to attend such a hot pace and still keep on, but she drifted outwards as she tired and could not match DOUBLE GRAND SLAM’s come-home sectional. The same applied to RASCOVA, who held third from RAINBOW LORIKEET.
DOUBLE GRAND SLAM is trained by Justin Snaith. The conditioner was confident as one can be going into hard-to-win Gr 1s, describing her as enjoying a “near-perfect prep and being in super shape.”
That assessment proved prophetic as the Varsfontein Stud bred filly attained her 7th and most significant win from 15 starts. In so doing the 33/20 favourite proved conclusively that she can carry her brilliance in a hard run, nine-panel test.
