Back to back Majorca Stakes wins for Inara

Drakenstein Stud scored a remarkable clean sweep of the placings in the R1 million Klawaervlei Majorca Stakes for fillies and mares at Kenilworth on Saturday.

This was when Inara winning the race for the second year in succession, Same Jurisdiction second and Lanner Falcon third.

Same Jurisdiction and Anton Marcus made a bold front running effort to take the race beyond the keeping of the rest of the field and they nearly succeeded. However, over the final sectional of the trip Inara and Grant van Niekerk came strongly from the field and strides before the line the Trippi mare at 13/2 went past Same Jurisdiction to claim the win.

Van Niekerk stood in the irons and saluted the rare second win in the classic fillies and mare’s race with the margin for the 2016 renewal 3/4L.

Same Jurisdiction (Mambo In Seattle) was clear of Lanner Falcon (Trippi) in third with the margin 2 1/2L. Bichette was fourth. The time was 1.39.68 on the Good rated track.

The win was a triumph for trainer Mike Bass who has returned to the track after a serious illness now in a wheel chair after losing a leg and the industry welcomed the result. Champion golfer and well known breeder Gary Player has promised to teach Bass how to play golf from his wheelchair.

In the meantime his daughter Candice has looked after the running of the stable and she will take over the licence at the start of the new season later in the year,

“She is a top class filly, she won the race last year and she has done pretty well in between. I think Candice has done a wonderful job this time to get her ready for this particular race and I think she was spot on today,” said Bass.

“Same Jurisdiction is a tough filly to beat. We came out first time this season and we were a little bit off the top and Same Jurisdiction gave her a good thumping. And then we beat her last time with a further trip of 1800m and then the placings.

“Today she is probably at her very best and as game as she is I think she ran a cracking race to win again today," he said.

“She always gives her best and she never lets me down. She is a filly with such a big heart and back to back wins we could not ask for any better,” said van Niekerk.

Inara is a four-year-old filly by Drakenstein Stud’s sire Trippi out of the Shirley Heights mare Mountains Of Mist and this was her sixth win from 16 starts. She earned a stake of R625,000 for the win.