Desert Miracle blazes to victory!

Desert Miracle posted a captivating win in Saturday’s G1 HSH Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes – putting to bed any doubts that she was from the very top drawer, following her G1 Majorca Stakes win in January.

There were some experts who felt that Desert Miracle was lucky to find champion mare Captain’s Ransom on an ‘off’ day in the Majorca and that star jockey Christophe Soumillon’s exceptional handling made a critical difference in the race. But Saturday’s commanding performance gave credence to Mike de Kock’s long-time assessment that Desert Miracle was “as good as anything in the country when she gets to the track with no breathing problems”.

Happy team, post-race.

It’s invariably hit-and-miss when it comes to respiratory issues, but Desert Miracle arrived at Turffontein in the pink of health – a credit to Alson Ndlizana and Mike’s Randjesfontein team – and, as Mike predicted, she’d slay them at best.

Craig Zackey rode the perfect race – Desert Miracle was last of seven in the early part but well in touch. Once balanced in the home run, she sliced through the pack and came to outside for a storming finish. Across the track, Feather Boa ran her heart out in second, but Desert Miracle raced on by and won by 1,25-lengths.

Zackey, who’d ridden Desert Miracle almost every day in the run-up to the race and expressed his confidence about her well-being, was emotional after the race. He said: “The more I worked her the more confident I got. I won the race twice on Jessica (Jell)’s silks and to now win it for Mrs (Mary) Slack is special. The filly did 90% of the work today.”

Mike praised Zackey for his ride and quipped: “Craig ‘Soumilllon’ rode a top race. He had her too far back last time. I was saying to Stuart (Pettigrew, trainer of Feather Boa) that this shows how good Desert Miracle actually is.”

He added: “We bought Desert Miracle’s dam, Welwitschia, at Goffs, so Mary bred the sire of the winner, imported her daughter and now bred the Empress Club winner from her. Add this to Nother Russia’s two wins and it’s a true family affair. Well done to both farms.”

Mary commented: “Desert Miracle is so beautiful and it’s wonderful to have won two Group 1 races with her this season.”

Mike said that Desert Miracle’s immediate future will be discussed when the whole team meets at the National Sale next week. “We’ll debate this at length. We’ve won two G1s with her, that’s enough for her pedigree so we have to ask ourselves if we go out on a high or go for another big race or a trophy. Fortunately, Mary always puts her horses first so the right decision will be made.”

Red Hot Rose (nearest camera) got up to win Race 2.

There was also a family connection and a link to Wilgerbosdrift and the Empress Club Stakes in Race 2, won by Red Hot Rose. Owned and bred by Lady Chryss O’Reilly, she is by Wilgerbosdrift’s red-hot stallion Flower Alley out Of Festival Of Fire, who finished second in the 2013 renewal of the G1 race.

Mike de Kock with Alson Ndlizana and Richard Fourie, who rode a cracking race on Red Hot Rose.