Lerena wins Charity Mile on New Predator
Various charities all emerge as winners on The Peermont Emperors Palace Charity Mile.
IT was all joy for the various charities, as they all emerged as winners at the Peermont Emperors Palace Charity Mile.
THE Grade 2 R1 million Charity Mile was held on Saturday November 5 at Turffontein Racecourse – where 16 charities, 16 horses, 16 celebrities and their media partners gathered to experience the delight of fierce horseracing at its best.
Former champion jockey Gavin Lerena went about his daily task in great fashion, when he steered New Predator over the finishing line – in order to capture the ultimate prize for his charity: Peermont Educational Trust Bursary Programme, who won a whopping R150 000 in prize money.
In the main race Lerena was paired with his cruiserweight boxing champion cousin, Kevin Lerena, to be in the final four – and they surely stamped their authority on the day for their charity, when the four year old New Predator cruised over the finishing line, to win the popular R1-million Grade 2 Charity Mile.
New Predator had shrugged off the charges from second-placed Saratoga Dancer, to win by 0.60 lengths, with Deo Juvente just 0.20 lengths off in third place. Lerena said: ”He’s an amazing horse. He needed his last run. It put him in the zone and he was spot on today.”
Saratoga Dancer was a winner for the Charity Chest and collected R100 000 for them, while third placed Deo Juvente collected R80 000 for the Lesedi programme.
Deo Juvente is a four-year-old Australian import trained by Johan Janse van Vuuren, who also had four winners on the day – including the last three legs of the Jackpot – all in the colours of the Wernars family.
But Lerena had other plans in mind, as he directly after the main race of the day, rode his final race to bag all four legs of the jackpot and receive his own pot of gold for the day.
He completed his jackpot with a hair’s-breadth win on Doosra in Race 8: the R250,000 Grade 3 Graham Beck Stakes for three-year-olds. His four winners were Chili Con Carne (15-1) in Race 5, the Ready To Run Cup; She’s A Giver (15-1), in Race 6, the Grade 3 Starling Stakes (see separate story); New Predator (7-2) in the Charity Mile, and Doosra (13-10, favourite) in Race 8.
The day was marked by the strong crowd that turned up to watch their favourite horse win for their charity, alongside the enthusiastic celebrities. Apart from the 70 minute rain delayed Highveld storm, all present enjoyed the day and Peermont Emperors Palace Charity Mile has become a popular feature on the racing calendar.
