Stable Stars Shine On Classic Day
Sean and his team enjoyed a remarkable G1 double on Saturday, with their charges Grand Empire and Tin Pan Alley victorious in Saturday’s G1 HKJC World Pool SA Classic and G1 Wilgerbosdrift H F Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes, respectively. It was the second straight year that the stable had won the Horse Chestnut Stakes, with the yard’s Cosmic Speed victorious in the race last year.
Classy three-year-old Grand Empire turned the tables on his G2 TAB Gauteng Guineas conqueror Splittheeights when he won Saturday’s SA Classic.
Under a great ride from Craig Zackey, the Vercingetorix gelding put his head down where it mattered most and kept going to hold off runner-up Trust, with Splittheeights a further length and three-quarters away in third spot.
Owned by the yard’s stalwart supporters Heinrich and Hester Kuhn, the progressive Grand Empire was bred by Al Adiyaat. Yet to finish out of the first two in six starts, Grand Empire is out of G3 Pretty Polly Stakes winner Palace Of Dreams.
The gelding could be aimed at the G1 Daily News 2000 and G1 Hollywoodbets Durban July following his win on Saturday.
The decision to skip the Classic with Tin Pan Alley proved a shrewd one when the gelding won Saturday’s Horse Chestnut Stakes. Given a typically shrewd ride by Keagan De Melo, the three-year-old son of The United States kicked clear down the inside of the track and kept going strongly to win his maiden G1 race by an emphatic three and three-quarter lengths at the expense of recent G1 World Sports Betting Cape Town Met winner See It Again.
Bred by Moutonshoek, Tin Pan Alley (who was winning the third graded race of his career on Saturday) races for the Wernars Family and Dayalan Chinsammy.
The Tarry yard also claimed feature races with Secretary Bird (Wilgerbosdrift Ruffian Stakes) and Care Forgot (Wilgerbosdrift Acacia Stakes).
The latter was also a second feature race winner on the day for Moutonshoek’s underrated sire The United States, with Care Forgot running out a convincing winner of the Acacia Stakes. The four-year-old stormed home, under an inform Ryan Munger, to claim her first Listed win by a length, with stablemate Warning Sound catching the eye back in second spot.
Another bred by Moutonshoek, Care Forgot, who was making it back-to-back wins with her victory on Saturday, has now won six of 21 starts.
The filly is owned by Lance Michael, a long-time friend of Sean and supporter of Sean Tarry Racing.
The Tarry yard also saddled the first two home in Saturday’s Listed Wilgerbosdrift Ruffian Stakes, where promising two-year-olds Secretary Bird and Griselda ran first and second. The Ryan Munger-partnered Secretary Bird made a big impression when she romped home to down her stablemate by a convincing two and a quarter lengths.
Now a winner of two of just three starts, the daughter of Rafeef is owned by the ASSM Racing Syndicate.
Bred by Klawervlei Stud, Secretary Bird is out of the Captain Al mare Secretariat’s Girl, making the filly a full sister to the smart performer Tintin.