Mxothwa brings it home with a snap
David Thiselton
When Anthony Delpech said earlier this season “we need a Grade 1 horse” he and the Hollywood team could hardly have envisaged their leased Ridgemont Highlands-bred Dynasty filly Make It Snappy would be a dual Grade 1 winner by the first weekend of January.
The first ever winner of the Grade 1 Cape Fillies Guineas in 1969, the Terrance Millard-trained Claneum, also won the Grade 1 Paddock Stakes and following her Palmistry (1973), Artists Pride (1977), Petrava (1985), Olympic Duel (1990), Shepherd’s Moon (1994/95), Hoeberg (2000/2001) and Bad Girl Runs (2005/2006) also did the double.
Brett Crawford trained the Sabine Plattner-owned Bad Girl Runs and yesterday landed this rare and prestigious double for the second time in his career when Luyolo Mxothwa brought home Make It Snappy with a fine front-running ride.
The win helped Hollywood maintain their lead in the National Owners Championship, a feat Delpech had expected would be a long term goal when speaking about it earlier this season.
It is unlikely they will do it this season, considering the firepower of reigning champion Drakenstein Stud, but they are out in front setting a target.
Their stakes earnings for the season are now sitting at R6,649,325 and they are R623,987 clear of Drakenstein, who are more than R2,6 million clear of the rest, who are led by Messrs J F & L M F Wernars & Mrs T J Wernars.
Make It Snappy has come from a somewhat under the radar position, considering the media coverage given to Charles Dickens, into a Equus Horse Of The Year candidate.
The most incredible aspect of her profile is she has had just five career runs.
She still had the “could be anything” tag after her Cape Fillies Guineas win and still has it.
The reason for that is because on Saturday she did not have it easy getting to the front, but despite exerting that early energy she still stayed on to beat the reigning Equus Horse Of The Year and defending Paddock Stakes winner Captain’s Ransom by 0,30 lengths. Also behind her was Grade 1 Woolavington 2000 winner Silver Darling (beaten 1,55 lengths), Hollywoodbets Durban July winner Sparkling Water (beaten 2,05 lengths), Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara heroine Rain In Holland (beaten 4,30 lengths) and last year’s narrow Paddock Stakes third-placed Marina (beaten 5,55 lengths). Make It Snappy is now on course to make history as she became a supplementary entry in the WSB Met just before Christmas. No horse in history has done the CFG/Paddock Stakes/Met treble. How much more is there to this rangy and scopey daughter of the Western Winter mare Icy Winter Air?
Icy Winter Air only won once, on debut in a Maiden Juvenile Plate over 1200m, and she went on to finish third in the Grade 2 SA Fillies Nursery.
At stud she has had two runners and two winners, the other one being Nippy Sweetie (Duke Of Marmalade), whose five wins to date range from 1600m to 1900m.
