The Hollywoodbets Scottsville meeting yesterday was highlighted by a fine win over 1400m for the Gavin van Zyl-trained Gauteng Summer Cup bound Marchingontogether under high-flying Warren Kennedy. Although the race was marred by Keagan de Melo’s nasty fall off Silent Crusade, who was challenging the eventual winner at the time.

De Melo, who was stable in the on course medical facility, was taken to hospital for x-rays. The official reason for the incident was that the horse jumped for no apparent reason.

All of Marchingontogether’s previous three wins had come at Hollywoodbets Scottsville and he had always struck as one who would come into his own this season. The four-year-old was fitted with blinkers over a trip too sharp in the Pinnacle Stakes events and he did race quite keenly from pole position. However, the tall Jagessar Limited-bred bay stayed on strongly to justify his status as the KZN Champion three-year-old male of last season, winning by a comfortable 1,30 lengths from the mare Regal Graduation and Sniper Shot.

Earlier, after the third race over 1200m, punters held their breaths as the winner by a whisker, the fancied Paul Lafferty-trained Celebration Rock, had appeared to lean on to the runner up Woodstock Festival before carrying him outward. There was not much contact or hindrance to Woodstock Festival’s stride and the stipendiary stewards overruled. The four-year-old Australian-bred Celebration Rock, by Excelebration, has now won three out of seven starts.

The meeting started with a one two for Garth Puller’s hard-knocking pair Double Espresso and Brass Bell. The winner, a three-year-old Clifton Stud-bred Crusade gelding, was ridden by Sherman Brown.

Puller then made it a 1200m double as the Bruce Le Roux-bred three-year-old Just As Well filly Georgina Rose ran on to just get up under Luke Ferraris.

The fourth over 2600m saw an upset as the Kumaran Naidoo-trained Rosedene Stud-bred three-year-old Greys Inn gelding Nitzram enjoyed the trip as much as his breeding suggested he would and held on by a whisker from Jer after turning it on well at the top of the straight under Sereno Moodley.

Puller grabbed a treble in the fifth and Ferraris a double when three-year-old Bold Silvano colt Bay Tibbs, bred by Riyo Stud, ran on to win first time out the maidens.

In the seventh over 1600m the talented Northern Route, a five-year-old Lammerskraal-bred Go Deputy gelding, won well in his third start for the Alyson Wright yard under Raymond Danielson.

The last over 1600m saw an easy win for the Gareth van Zyl-trained three-year-old filly Zernia under Eric Ngwane. This win brought a double for Rosedene-bred progeny of Greys Inn.

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