Roland Garros serves an ace at Greyville

DURBAN – Roland Garros came off midfield to serve a scorcher in the 5 million rand (S$386,100) Race Coast Sales Big Cap (1,400m) at Greyville on April 11, extending trainer Justin Snaith’s great run at the start of Champions Season in South Africa.

A three-year-old son of Vercingetorix, Roland Garros – named after the prestigious French Open tennis tournament’s venue in Paris – was given the perfect ride by Juan Paul van der Merwe.

The handsome grey colt – owned by Greg and Gina Bortz, and Hong Kong-based J.P. Cuvelier – had a trouble-free passage from his inside gate one. He sat on the paint, not far behind the leading Just Be Lekker (Serino Moodley).

Roland Garros ($27) hit the front 200m from home, before finishing off strongly for a comfortable 1¾-length victory over Talk To The Master (Craig Zackey), with What A Fortune (Athandiwe Mgudlwa) another neck away in third.

Roland Garros may have been a little under the handicapper’s radar previously, but that would likely change after his fourth career win.

Snaith, who had three other runners Randolph Hearst (fifth), Malmesbury Missile (sixth) and Great Plains (eighth) in the race, said preparation work had been tough for his runners, but the inside draw and handicapped weight were to Roland Garros’ advantage.

“It was not easy. The race was relocated to (KwaZulu-)Natal, gallops were hard,” said the multiple South Africa champion trainer to Gallop TV.

“It was sort of a new race in the early part of the season, so everything had to change. We had to come up early, which was brilliant.

“When you win, it’s great, but it was a slog.

“I had to take them to Scottsville, gave them little preps. Back here, you just don’t know what you’re going to be expecting.

“This horse was always primed for this race. When he got draw one, it was going to be a positive thing.

“It’s a very strong tailwind today, so it wasn’t going to be so easy for horses that come from behind, but he was probably just the right horse with the draw. He’s also one of the few horses of mine in this race that I thought was handicapped all right.

“At the end of the day, it’s a handicap race and horses with 50 kilos, it makes it tough to win it, so it’s just incredible to win.”

Van der Merwe, who enjoyed success at Kranji previously, was grateful for the support from connections and pleased with the win.

“Well done to Justin and his whole team. Well done to J.P. Cuvelier, and Mr Bortz and Gina,” he said.

“They have been through thick and thin with me and we’re getting some results.

“I was not sure if he (Roland Garros) was always travelling beautifully at 54.5kg, but I thought there was one to be beaten and that’s Mr (Craig) Zackey’s horse (Talk To The Master) in a light weight (56kg).

“Just before we got into the straight, I had a nice running and got him into a nice momentum. He (Talk To The Master) was sitting there and ready to come and catch me, but it worked out beautifully.”

In the 3 million rand Race Coast Sales Slipper (1,200m), Turn It Up ($10) scored an emphatic victory under jockey Keagan de Melo, putting a high-class two-year-old field to bed in a matter of strides.

The Sean Tarry-trained Querari colt had very little gone his way, which made his third win on the trot even more impressive.

Playing up in the gate at first, Turn It Up was withdrawn for a veterinary inspection before taking his place.

Although he was slightly slow into stride from a wide gate, de Melo was confident enough to slip his mount in behind the big field.

Turn It Up was on the bridle at the top of the straight and he cruised through the hands to win as he liked.

World Series (Richard Fourie) and Red Spice (Zackey) were always in contention, but were unable to match the finishing burst from Turn It Up and battled on for second and third respectively.

De Melo said he always felt he was on the best horse.

“I elected to drop him out and gave him a chance. I haven’t felt a two-year-old like this in a long time,” he said.

It was a day to celebrate for owner Laurence Wernars, who bred Turn It Up and also had shares in the first four horses past the post. GOLD CIRCLE