3 minute read

Trainer Brett Crawford was expecting a return to form from last year’s Paddock Stakes winner Thunder Dance in the G1 Empress Club Stakes at Turffontein and she didn’t let him down.

Thunder Dance battled resolutely to clinch the R1 million event over 1600m, overcoming the favoured Mike de Kock trio Ilha Bela, Amur Affair and Festival Of Fire.

Cape Town-based Thunder Dance, who was looked after by the De Kock stable for Crawford in the lead up to the race, went off at 9-1.

Thunder Dance settled a couple of lengths behind the pace with Ilha Bela on the rail and Amur Affair on her outside disputing third place while Festival Of Fire was being given a patient ride by Robbie Fradd and was at the rear.

Jockey Karis Teetan sent Thunder Dance to the inside in the last 400m but shifted out and Ilha Bela became the filling in a sandwich and was forced to check and lose whatever chance she had of winning in the process.

Festival Of Fire and Happy Archer moved up 200m out with Amur Affair also in contention but Thunder Dance kept up a relentless tempo and landed another big payday as she passed the post slightly more than length ahead of the pack.

Festival Of Fire finished second, a neck in front of Happy Archer, who pipped Amur Affair for third.

“She’s a machine,” said Crawford, who added that she would be rested for the remainder of the season and be brought back into training for the summer season in Cape Town.

Crawford said that the race had been a ‘long time plan’ for the filly.

“This sort of prize money is not easy to come by. We were fortunate that she settled in so well in Johannesburg and special thanks to Matthew De Kock for all his hard work,” he said.

Meanwhile Sharp Design signalled his claims for the R1 million Computaform Sprint at the end of the month with a sizzling victory in a Pinnacle Stakes over 1000m on a wet track.

Sharp Design posted his sixth win in only nine career starts.