The five-year-old Dynasty gelding It’s My Turn completed a marathon treble when smashing the opposition to win the R1.25-million, eLan Gold Cup over 3 200m at Greyville today (Saturday) laying claim to the title of champion stayer of South Africa, the annual award that will be presented at the Equus Awards next month.

It gave top Cape trainer Dean Kannemeyer another win in the country’s premier marathon event on Super Saturday, the festival of racing at Greyville that brought South Africa’s Champions Season to a close.

Jockey Anton Marcus, as expected, rode another fantastic race to complete the treble on It’s My Turn that began with an easy win in the Track & Ball Derby at Scottsville followed by another great run to win the Grade 3 DStv Gold Bowl at Greyville on Vodacom Durban July Day and culminated with a brilliant win, coming from near the back of the field, to beat last year’s winner of the race, Hermoso Mundo, that came from last with a storming finish under Bernard Fayd’Herbe.

In the post-race interview, Marcus said it was a case of “when opportunity meets fate” and that he had became involved with the horse just at the right time. He thanked Kannemeyer for the opportunity to ride the gelding and said from the very first time he rode the five-year-old in work, he told Kannemeyer the gelding was a Gold Cup horse.

In the R1-million, Grade 1 Mercury Sprint, the six-year-old Imperial Stride gelding Will Pays outran the opposition to win impressively. The Mike Azzie-trained gelding was a supplementary entry into the country’s top weight-for-age sprint and was chased home by Attenborough that flew through from off the pace with Trip To Heaven and favourite Sunset Eyes filling the minor placings.

The R1-million, Grade 1 World Sports Betting Champions Cup was won in spectacular style by the seven-year-old son of Captain Al, Captain America, for trainer Brett Crawford who won the race last year with Sail South and had Captain America running second.

On this occasion, Corne Orffer gave the gelding his head and he strode out clear of the field from shortly after the start leaving the balance of the field to fight it out for second place. Undercover Agent managed to snatch that honour ahead of favourite Eyes Wide Open giving the Crawford stable the first two places in the race again.

Juveniles were well represented on the day and racegoers were treated to two scintillating victories by youngsters that have exciting careers ahead of them, firstly in the Grade 1 Thekwini Stakes and then in the Grade 1 Premiers Champion Stakes, both over the mile.

Sean Tarry was bullish after winning the Umkhomazi Stakes with Chimichuri Run with the chances of the Pomodoro filly Return Flight in the Thekwini Stakes and she certainly showed she was something special when bursting away from the field in the home straight to win that race as she liked. Rail Trip ran on strongly for second ahead of Can You Feel it,

Then it was an historic occasion in one sense when the Mike de Kock-trained Australian-bred colt Soqrat thrashed the opposition in the Premiers Champion Stakes to give De Kock his 117th Grade 1 winner that equaled the record established decades back by the legendary Terrance Millard.

After the race De Kock said it was an honour to be mentioned in the same breath as Millard and referred to Soqrat as “a proper horse” that could do well anywhere in the world. He said he had been blessed with the support he had received over the years particularly by the owner of Soqrat and second-placed Alyaasaat, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum, one of the biggest thoroughbred owners in the world.

Earlier in the day and to start the programme of 10 feature events on the card, the Duke Of Marmalade filly Temple Grafin from the Glen Kotzen stable proved too good for the opposition to win the Grade 3 Gagasi FM Debutante over 1 200m from Arianos Shadow with hot favourite Inverroche just managing third place ahead of Western Angel.

The favourite was again beaten in the 1 200m, Grade 3 Haval Motors South Africa Umkhomazi Stakes when Cue The Music failed to make the frame. It was the Trippi colt Chimichuri Run from the Sean Tarry stable that lifted the winner’s cheque from Desolate Road and Ganesh Talai and Tarry expressed the opinion that the winner was a quality individual that could go on to even better things. Journalist: Richard McMillan.