Sparkling Water is well fancied
January 29, 2022
A Job well done!
January 30, 2022
S’manga Khumalo had a Plan A and a Plan B for Sparkling Water in Saturday’s G2 New Turf Carriers Western Cape Stayers over 2800m at Kenilworth, but things didn’t go exactly as he’d hoped and he had to revert to ‘Plan C’. She got up in the last stride of the marathon to post a popular win.
“She got a nudge at the start, the boys were bullying her a bit so we had to sit at the back. But I remembered how she’d won from the back of the field over 2400m so I didn’t panic. I followed them through, there was a bit more barging down the straight but she is gutsy, she put them to bed!”
Mike de Kock said: “She got away with this win because she is so good. She’s a special filly and she was generously treated at the weights, so this race was tailor made for her.”
Sparkling Water got up to win, on the line. (Chase Liebenberg).
Mike thanked the sponsors, New Turf Carriers, owner Mary Slack and 4Racing for putting up am excellent day. “4Racing raised the bar, this was a well-managed, well marketed and enjoyable day and gave us all hope for the future. What we on the Highveld would like to see now is some Cape trainers pull finger to come and race with us on the Highveld!”
Sparkling Water is a now six-time winning daughter of Silvano and Slack’s former smart stakes winner, Espumanti, bred at Wilgebosdrift Stud.
Mike said about Cape Met winner Kommetdieding: “This was an old-fashioned, excellent training feat into a big race by Michelle Rix and Harold Crawford. It’s not always easy to train champions, it takes true skill and they did it magnificently.”
