Alboran Sea (Rock of Gibraltar) earned her second Group 1 victory and her
trainer Mike de Kock’s milestone 100th when she captured the Cape Flying
Championship (SAf-G1) at Kenilworth Saturday.
One of only two three-year-olds fillies in the field, the other being Carry
On Alice (Captain Al), the favorite was away alertly after a delayed start and
drafted about a length behind the front-running pair against the stands-side
rail. With veteran pilot Weichong Marwing aboard, the dark bay was cut loose
with two furlongs to run and quickly seized command.
The Australian-bred looked to be home free, but older rival and Group 1
winner Captain of All (Captain Al) came charging late down the center of the
course and drew even in the shadow of the wire. The two hit the line together
and Alboran Sea emerged the narrow winner.
“It is a great pleasure to have a Group 1 win for Mike (de Kock) and Mary
Slack,” Marwing told Sporting Post. “We realized that there was a lot of speed
in the race and we wanted to give her a chance. But things didn’t map out as we
planned. Trip Tease (Trippi) was up front as we expected but his speed wasn’t
good enough and I wasn’t as far back as I wanted. I thought Captain Of All got
me on the wire.”
A winner of the Allan Robertson Championship (SAf-G1) at Scottsville last May
after breaking her maiden at first asking, the Rosemont Stud-bred was second to
Bilateral (Lateral) in the Zulu Kingdom Golden Slipper (SAf-G1) two months later
and ran ninth in Greyville’s Thekwini S. (SAf-G1) July 26. She made her
three-year-old debut a winning one at Turffontein, but completed the superfecta
in the Pinnacle S. in November and ran second in the Southern Cross S. (SAf-G2)
in early December.
Alboran Sea is out of the Toolighttoquit mare Lady’s Light, a half-sister to
multiple Grade 3 winner Erica’s Dream (Two’s a Plenty) and multiple stakes
scorer Twosies Answer (Two’s a Plenty). The latter produced 1998 Breeders’ Cup
Juvenile (G1) winner and champion two-year-old male Answer Lively (Lively One).
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