Lesley Sercombe steered Fast Five to her fourth win in seven starts in the 1,600m feature GBA Fillies Guineas on Sunday at the Ngong Race Course, Nairobi.
The skilled Lesley who is contracted to ride Fast Five from Patsy Sercombe’s stable raced through the line to lift the race title by two and three-quarter lengths in the meet, clocking 1.40.1.
The South African breed took command of the race at the start and kept engaging the field of eight runners in the tracks. Inside the final bend at 1,000m mark, Lesley steered the filly in the middle lane as Muhindi moved Party In The Park in his revered inner lane threatening to steal pace to go ahead.
Vying for the second and third places, James Muhindi jockeying Zimbabwean strain Party In The Park beat Patrick Mungai’s South African breed Abby Rose by a short head. Paul Kiarie steering Grace Kelly came in fourth with two and a half lengths separating her from Henry Muya’s La Cha Cha.
Muya had to push his three-year-old mount to the limit to outmuscle Joseph Lokorian’s Impala by a neck. Oliver Mutua-trained Flamboyant settled for the seventh spot to only beat Richard Kibet-rode Unforgettable by 17 lengths.
Meanwhile, in the 2,060m KHS Handicap, Lesley led Piece Of Cake (another Patsy-trained filly) to victory, and once again consigned Muhindi-riding Winter Comet to the second place as Mungai’s Marico settled for the third spot. The long-distance essentially attracted low win-rate fillies as the experienced Lesley took advantage of the endurance of Piece Of Cake to edge the closest challenger by half a length.
In the DT Dobie Handicap, Peligroso, jockeyed by Kiarie grabbed her first win in five starts, timing 1.14.4 in the 1,200m stretch. Peligroso came home two and a half lengths ahead of Muhindi’s Top Notch as Repton by Lesley was third in this sprint.
RACE RESULTS;
The Berlin Handicap (1,600M)-1.41.1
Macushla- Joseph Lokorian
Fire Fighter- Lesley Sercombe
Lettof- Kevin Ng’ang’a
THE AHK Maiden (1,600M)-1.42.8
Karowe- James Muhindi
Choc Chip- Lesley Sercombe
Emmy Award- Paul Kiarie
THE Alibhai Shariff Chilli Cup (1,200M)-1.12.8
Gold Pot- Patrick Mungai
Quickfire- Joseph Lokorian
AS Paragon- Kevin Ng’ang’a
THE SIXT Handicap (1,800M)-1.55.3
Trade Secret- James Muhindi
Pepper Wood- Richad Kibet
Bestow- Daniel Tanui