Brett Crawford saddled four of ten runners in Friday’s Listed Ardmore Jamaica Handicap over 2000m at Kenilworth and while three of them made the first four, it was his longest-priced Principessa (16-1) who stuck her head in front after a flying finishing run under Nooresh Juglall.
Justin Snaith’s Sleeping Single (5-2) held second, and Crawford’s Kelpie quickened from her deep position, but she was 0,55 lengths short at the line, finishing third. Crawford rounded off the quartet with Heaven’s Embrace (8-1) in fourth.
Juglall’s finish was superbly timed and he paid tribute to former jockey and now Maine Chance Farms Marketing Manager Glen Hatt, who’d given him a few pointers on how to ride Principessa.
He said: “She didn’t have the gatespeed to get as close as we wanted early, but Glen’s instructions were perfect, I knew how to ride her.”
Crawford commented: “With her light weight today, Principessa had a chance, it’s not easy for the big weights to keep going. We’re happy to have gotten black type for Maine Chance.
Bred and raced by Maine Chance Farms, Principessa, a R325 000 buy from Cape Premier Yearling Sale, posted her first stakes success and took her tally to 3 wins with 4 places from 12 starts for stakes of R257 900.
She is a daughter of her owners’ resident sire Querari, who has 12 lots on the 2020 Cape Premier Yearling Sale.