Lady and the Tramp is July champ

LADY and the Tramp gave a thunderous performance in rather windy conditions to clinch the 2005 edition of the July Handicap at the Windhoek Turf Club on Saturday.

The Rehoboth-based horse, ridden by Manfred Swartbooi, stormed to victory in a closely contested race which saw her fellow stable-mate Kings Lodge taking second spot. One of the favourites on the day, Porto Vinere, took third place, ahead of another hot favourite, Miss American Pie, which came in fourth.It was the first July Handicap victory for Lady and the Tramp, which also won the MTC Cup at Chaka last year.The July Handicap is the biggest horse race on the local calendar, and 13-year-old Laverne Christians, who is the owner of Lady and the Tramp, won N$3 000, which was the highest prize on the day.Second-placed King’s Lodge made a dramatic comeback with at least 200m to go to squeeze itself among the front pack where the competition was fierce between Lady and the Tramp, Porto Vinere and Miss American Pie.The race was open for all 13 horses that were entered and seemed too close to call as all the horses raced in one bunch even by the 400m mark.The race was contested over a distance of 1 600 metres.Lady and the Tramp stepped up the pace with just over 100 metres to go, but King’s Lodge did not give up, and this forced the winning horse to put in even more effort to cross the finish line inches ahead of King’s Lodge.Porto Vinere also gave a good performance and it did not finish far behind the two leaders.There was an unfortunate situation when another horse, Wealdstone, was trapped in the gate as it failed to open at the start of the race, but the owner received a refund for that.Eamon Freygang, who bought Lady and the Tramp in Cape Town, said the horse has won twice at Gobabis, once in Rehoboth and the race on Saturday was its first win in Windhoek.It finished an earlier race in Windhoek in fifth place.Horses from Rehoboth dominated the championships as they won most of the categories on the day.Seven wins from nine races went to Rehoboth-based horse owners who belong to the Rehoboth Turf Club.Since the launch of the July Handicap in 1998, the race on Saturday had the most horses (13) competing in the main race.In one of the highlights of the day, the last race provided for some spectacular racing as 12-year-old Henzel Feris on his horse Otto’s Den showed his senior a clean pair of heels to win the C Division.Dominate and National Ruler came second and third respectively.Feris, son of Namibia Horse Racing Association president Henry Feris, was in a class of his own as his horse paced to the finish line, leaving fellow racers at least five metres behind.The young Feris has been riding for the past two years now, but is said to have gained a lot of experience and this could be seen through his composure on his horse and confidence before the race.The championships were sponsored by Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) with other co-sponsors such as D and K Bouers, MS Construction, Gammamsbrug Service Station and Animal Fedco.In other results, Shock-Em claimed victory in the Graduation race of 1 000 metres, followed by Spanish Pepper in second and Smashing Century in third.In the Maidens, which is also a 1 000-metre race, Trixs won the race, followed by Qatar in second and Palmistry third.Miss American Pie won the A Division (1 000m), with Porto Vinere following on its heels, while Fencing Master was third.In the D Division (1 000m), Dominate made its mark to take first spot, while Dominion Warriors had to settle for second, with Prestan Pan in third.Royal Secret was the champion in the C Division (1000m), followed by Windsor Fire and Piper Alpha in third.Shock-Em once again took the Maiden and Graduation Mix (1 600m), with Linean’s Heat in second, while Forty Love followed in third.In another D Division race, Prestan Pan emerged victorious, while Fast Man settled for second as Tully Allen Fields came third.One of the favourites on the day, Porto Vinere, took third place, ahead of another hot favourite, Miss American Pie, which came in fourth.It was the first July Handicap victory for Lady and the Tramp, which also won the MTC Cup at Chaka last year.The July Handicap is the biggest horse race on the local calendar, and 13-year-old Laverne Christians, who is the owner of Lady and the Tramp, won N$3 000, which was the highest prize on the day.Second-placed King’s Lodge made a dramatic comeback with at least 200m to go to squeeze itself among the front pack where the competition was fierce between Lady and the Tramp, Porto Vinere and Miss American Pie.The race was open for all 13 horses that were entered and seemed too close to call as all the horses raced in one bunch even by the 400m mark.The race was contested over a distance of 1 600 metres.Lady and the Tramp stepped up the pace with just over 100 metres to go, but King’s Lodge did not give up, and this forced the winning horse to put in even more effort to cross the finish line inches ahead of King’s Lodge.Porto Vinere also gave a good performance and it did not finish far behind the two leaders.There was an unfortunate situation when another horse, Wealdstone, was trapped in the gate as it failed to open at the start of the race, but the owner received a refund for that.Eamon Freygang, who bought Lady and the Tramp in Cape Town, said the horse has won twice at Gobabis, once in Rehoboth and the race on Saturday was its first win in Windhoek.It finished an earlier race in Windhoek in fifth place.Horses from Rehoboth dominated the championships as they won most of the categories on the day.Seven wins from nine races went to Rehoboth-based horse owners who belong to the Rehoboth Turf Club.Since the launch of the July Handicap in 1998, the race on Saturday had the most horses (13) competing in the main race.In one of the highlights of the day, the last race provided for some spectacular racing as 12-year-old Henzel Feris on his horse Otto’s Den showed his senior a clean pair of heels to win the C Division.Dominate and National Ruler came second and third respectively.Feris, son of Namibia Horse Racing Association president Henry Feris, was in a class of his own as his horse paced to the finish line, leaving fellow racers at least five metres behind.The young Feris has been riding for the past two years now, but is said to have gained a lot of experience and this could be seen through his composure on his horse and confidence before the race.The championships were sponsored by Namibia Breweries Limited (NBL) with other co-sponsors such as D and K Bouers, MS Construction, Gammamsbrug Service Station and Animal Fedco.In other results, Shock-Em claimed victory in the Graduation race of 1 000 metres, followed by Spanish Pepper in second and Smashing Century in third.In the Maidens, which is also a 1 000-metre race, Trixs won the race, followed by Qatar in second and Palmistry third.Miss American Pie won the A Division (1 000m), with Porto Vinere following on its heels, while Fencing Master was third.In the D Division (1 000m), Dominate made its mark to take first spot, while Dominion Warriors had to settle for second, with Prestan Pan in third.Royal Secret was the champion in the C Division (1000m), followed by Windsor Fire and Piper Alpha in third.Shock-Em once again took the Maiden and Graduation Mix (1 600m), with Linean’s Heat in second, while Forty Love followed in third.In another D Division race, Prestan Pan emerged victorious, while Fast Man settled for second as Tully Allen Fields came third.