Racing on - PARADE MAGAZINE

RACING NEWSTEXT: ADA VAN DER BENT.although hard-pressed by Western Cape visitor Captain’sSecret on his inside, the gelding showed true gritto land the spoils by a neck from a fast-finishing BeaconFlare, who stormed up late to deprive Captain’sSecret of the runner-up spot.This was a well-deserved victory for the winner,whose last run on the dirt was in the Listed HighveldSand Challenge in April, where he was unlucky to benabbed on the line by Mr Tobin, the beaten favouritethis time round.The five-year-old has now raced 15 times for six winsand as many places, with his cut of the rich purse effectivelydoubling his total earnings to R729,525.JOBURG SPRING CHALLENGE (Gr 3)Given a textbook ride by champion jockey Basil Marcus,Link Man snapped a five-race losing streak witha stylish victory in this Gr.3 event, to provide trainerMike de Kock with back-to-back victories, having sentout 2011 winner Gibraltar Blue. The pair wrapped upa stellar day for the champion trainer, who also tookthe preceding fillies’ equivalent with ultra-promisingFestival Of Fire.Moving down the back straight, Marcus had Link Mansitting chilly, seven lengths off the pacesetter Wittenberg,who had Snowdon and Kings Entourage breathingdown his neck. Snowdon surged into the lead atthe top of the straight, with Marcus committing LinkMan at the quarter mark and Pierre Jourdan beginninghis forward move from the tail end of the field.Link Man took command at the 250m mark and thegrey kept on powerfully to score by just over a lengthfrom the fast-finishing veteran Zorba’s Tale, who rana blinder to deprive Snowdon of the runner-up spot.Pierre Jourdan, the 2010 winner, was most unluckynot to finish closer.A Gr.1 winner of the Gold Reef Resorts Medallion asa juvenile and successful in the Gr.2 Gauteng Guineasand Gr.3 Tony Ruffel Stakes at three, Link Man’sfour-year-old campaign proved disappointing to putit mildly. Following a winning seasonal debut, the coltappeared to lose his way, the best of five subsequentstarts a third behind Antious in the Gr.2 Merchantsat Turffontein. Disaster struck in the Queen’s Plate atKenilworth, where he ran last and was found to havebled. Rested for four months, he returned in for theGr.1 Golden Horse Sprint, but again finished last andhe was gelded thereafter.Link Man clearly was in need of the run when he returnedin the Hampton Handicap on the Vaal Sand,but the pipe-opener no doubt primed him for thisevent, and now that he is back to best, the seven-timewinner looks set to add to his bankroll, which currentlystands just over R1.6 million.JOBURG SPRING FILLIES & MARESCHALLENGE (Gr 3)Onn just her fourth racetrack appearance, three-yearoldFestival Of Fire showed an undisputed touch ofclass when she gained an impressive first stakes successagainst older opponents.Held up in the early stages, the Mike de Kock-trainedfilly came with a smooth run up the centre of the trackto reel in Louvre, who was engaged in battle with DemandingLady and Without Malice up the inside sail.The trio clearly had no answer to the younger filly’sturn of foot, as she swept into the lead approachingthe final 100m and powered home to win in style.Unraced at two, Festival Of Fire made a striking impressionwhen she won her first two starts, both atClairwood, the latter by over four lengths. Favouredin her next outing, she could only manage a third overthe Scottsville 1400, however, considering that wasbehind two smart sorts in Felix The Cat (Gr.1-placed)and Miss Ipanema (Gr.3-placed), there was no disgracein defeat.With a first black type event under her belt, she is sureto continue his upward trajectory.MATCHEM STAKES (Gr 3)Notwithstanding a near five-month absence from thetrack, classy three-year-old King Of Pain was all therage to provide trainer Joey Ramsden with back-tobackvictories following his success with Variety Clubin last year’s event. However, jockey Felix Coetzeespoilt the party on Justin Snaith’s Changingoftheguardand it proved a momentous occasion for the veteranrider, who etched his name into racing history withthis, his 3500th winner!The winning pair had bided their time as last year’s22 Parade CAPE PREMIER YEARLING SALES EDITION