A thriller of a race at Vaal

THE first-ever 27-horse race at the Vaal Racecourse came down to the wire when jockey Gavin Lerena on Irish Pride snatched the gross total of R750 000 in front of Sherman Brown, riding Front Rank, to capture the World Sports Betting Grand Heritage main race.

The Grand Heritage was successfully launched on Saturday, October 1, at the Vaal Racecourse on the newly revamped grass surface.

Lerena was on top of his game as he took a bumper five wins on the day to make it a memorable day for him and just as memorable as the first Grand Heritage race day.

The excitement grew as the 27 horses lined up for the historic moment to race in the 1 475m straight and it was no surprise to see them coming down on the outside of the expansive track. Former Jockey of the Year, Lerena, waited patiently steering Irish Pride for trainer Johan Janse van Vuuren on towards the centre of the track at about the 1 000m mark.

At the 400m mark Irish Pride was making ground to shrug off Analyse This and Lunar Approach, to pip Tyrone Zackey’s hope Front Rank on the finishing line by 1.10 lengths, with the always prominent well supported Lunar Approach a neck back in third.

The Mauritzfontein stud-bred Irish Pride is a four-year-old gelded son of Ideal World out of the twice winning Fort Wood mare, Celtic Cross. Irish Pride is owned by Jarryd and Lawrence Wernars and trained by Janse van Vuuren.

The Grand Heritage was well supported by the crowds offering all owners and trainers a tilt at a decent stake and attracting big betting pools and handsome payouts.

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