Mike De Kock and Ertijaal win the battle

Mike De Kock and his unbeaten ERTIJAAL impressed when winning the first Grade 1 on J & B Met Day in Cape Town. ERTIJAAL has now won a race in each of the major race centres in South Africa, having won his debut run in Durban and his next two in Johannesburg. His stamina would have been in doubt and had not run over this distance before.

The heavily backed ACT OF WAR had little to offer in the latter stages and for many Place Accumulator runners barely held on for third.

ERTIJAAL, ridden by Johannesburg jockey, Gavin Lerena, was the first to break the line and was never headed after that. He set a good pace throughout and ensured that the race never developed into a crawl. BIANZINO was quick to track him in second with the odds on favourite and SEVEN OCEANS next best.

After they had settled down and around the 1400m mark, ACT OF WAR and BIANZINO were travelling side by side in an effort to get to ERTIJAAL. LIQUID MERCURY also began to make progress into sixth place.

At the top of the straight ACT OF WAR moved up to challenge ERTIJAAL and looked to make a race of it with 400m left to race. As soon as ACT OF WAR began to threaten, Gavin Lerena asked for more and he duly obliged. ACT OF WAR began to stagger as Piere Strydom attempted to draw something extra from him.

At the line ERTIJAAL had won impressively and when one considers that on 28 November 2014 he made his winning debut. He followed that up with a win in a Merit Rated 71 and then the Sea Cottage Handicap at the beginning of the month. No doubt he will win quite a few more.

There was a blanket finish for second. LIQUID MERCURY ran on well at the end to nab second place with ACT OF WAR only a whisker behind and another whisker ahead of the dead heating ARNISTON and KRAMBAMBULI for fourth.

ERTIJAAL (AUS) 3 ch C Sire: Hard Spun (USA) Dam: Alharir (AUS) Dam By: Jeune (GB).

BRED BY: Shadwell Stud.

OWNED BY: Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum.

TRAINER: Mike De Kock