Riding in a rich vein of form, the Sporting Post-sponsored Sean Veale dropped his rein in the 2025 renewal to be narrowly beaten, but made up for that slip-up with a confident ride on Sunday on the trojan mare, who won the same race in 2024 under Rachel Venniker, for trainer Duncan Howells.
Now a winner of 10 races with 11 places from her 31 starts, Asiye Phambili (18-10) took her stakes earned to R1 727 739 with her fifth success at graded stakes level as she stalked the leaders, headed by Serengetti Sun, before being released between runners and taking off to clock 67,94 secs for 1200m and beat the 3yo Tulip Fields (8-1) by a widening 3,70 lengths.
It was a meritorious effort by the runner-up who was stubborn going to start and expended some energy in the process.
Wendy Whitehead’s Buttercup Baby (33-1) was a further 0,30 lengths back in fourth.
As we have mentioned, a coveted Gr1 victory has so far Eluded Asiye Phambili, who came closest to an elite level strike when beaten a shorthead in last season’s Gr1 SA Fillies Sprint.
Asiye Phambili closed out her five-year-old campaign with a fast-finishing third in the Gr1 Mercury Sprint from a wide draw
A R500 000 Cape Premier Yearling Sale book 1 graduate, the winner is a Hemel ‘n Aarde Stud-bred daughter of four-time Gr1 winning stallion What A Winter (Western Winter) out of the six-time winning Rambo Dancer mare, Cast A Spell, who in turn is out of American import Flying Magic.
Sent to South Africa by the late Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, this daughter of Hansel boasts a top drawer pedigree, being out of the Danzig mare Magic Gleam, who was rated amongst the top rated three-year-old fillies of her generation.
A winner of the Gr2 Child Stakes, she ran her finest races in defeat when second in the Gr1 Coronation Stakes and Gr1 Prix Jacques Le Marois.
Flying Magic was a prolific mare, producing no less than 13 foals, the best of which being Cast A Spell, who raced in the Eastern Cape with marked success, winning six races, including the Listed Breeders Guineas.
As a broodmare, Cast A Spell has made a name for herself as the dam of an impressive six black-type earners from nine winners.
A mare who makes her trainer and jockey ‘look good’ in the words of Duncan Howells, Asiye Phambili is likely to be off to the beautiful Ridgemont paddocks at the end of this term. A Grade 1 trophy looks very attainable and we should see her back at the Pietermaritzburg track on 23 May for the SA Fillies Sprint.
Original article by Sporting Post