WAR OF ATHENA OOZES CLASS IN WOOLAVINGTON TRIUMPH

Despite coming off a tough season, and not having things her own way, recent Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara winner War Of Athena showed her class with an impressive victory in Saturday’s G1 Woolavington 2000 at Hollywoodbets Greyville.

In the process, the star three-year-old, who was emulating last season’s Triple Tiara Summer Pudding by landing the R500 000 feature, made it six wins on the bounce, and provided jockey Muzi Yeni with his third win on Saturday’s card.

Sent off red hot favourite for Saturday’s 2000m contest, War Of Athena tracked her front running stable mate, and fellow Act Of War filly, Only The Brave, as the latter set a pedestrian pace up front.

Well fancied Princess Calla was not suited to the slow pace, and pulled hard, which did her chances no good.

In contrast, Yeni sat quiet on War Of Athena, and when he asked his filly the question, the Summerhill Stud bred star hit the front 200m out and powered clear to win as she liked by over two lengths. The quietly fancied Princess Calla was game in second, but no match with the winner, and rank outsider Scented Mistress caught the eye when running on very strongly to claim third spot.

The brilliant winner claimed the 2021 Woolavington 2000 in a time of 124.95 seconds.

In the post-race interview, Yeni paid tribute to War Of Athena’s trainer Paul Matchett, with Matchett having done a tremendous job to keep his champion on the boil for the past eight months.

Now a winner of nine of her 15 starts (she has six graded wins to her name), War Of Athena took her earnings to R1 713 800.

From the first crop of Cape Guineas winner Act Of War (like Saturday’s G3 Lonsdale Stirrup Cup winner a son of Dynasty), War Of Athena was a bargain R30 000 buy from the 2019 Ready To Run Sale.

South Africa’s current queen of the turf is out of the Requiem mare Qaphela, a half-sister to a pair of stakes winners notably G3 Pretty Polly Stakes winner Mzwilili.

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