Caen gallops to Stewards Handicap Trophy on favourable course
Big running Caen jockeyed by Robert Mbatha was the star of the cast over the weekend as she won the short 1,000m Stewards Handicap Trophy at Ngong’ Racecourse.
The 1.01.7 race saw trainer Onesmus Mutua’s stable clinch two podium slots at close under theday’s great weather. This was the mixed breed Caen’s eighth win in 32 races in what was a handicap event reserved for three year old fillies.
However Caen had to check out imminent threat from the rear in the shape of Kidnap jockeyed by Martin Kiilu who finished just one-and-three-quarter lengths back.
The other Mutua fillie Crixus ridden by Peter Kiarie came in an impressive third just really close behind; a nose off the second placed finisher in a race that was full of pace. It was Crixus fifth win in 26 meets and a growing improvement from its end. James Muhindi’s Flash Harry was a disappointing fourth despite having favourable odds by the bookmakers before the start of the meet.
In another epic, Coralline was master in the 1,600m Hirola Maiden when she won in a race timed at 1.42.9. The South African breed under the tutelage of Oliver Gray beat the immediate challenger by a commanding five lengths.
This was a debut race for all the runners in the three-year-old category and James Muhindi did well to pace up the young fillie especially on the attack spaces.
