South Africa to be aimed at the Country Champs after maiden win

South Africa
Country Championship plans are afoot for South Africa and Kerry Weir after an impressive Wagga victory.

KERRY Weir-trained gelding South Africa will be spelled following its break-through win at Wagga on Tuesday to get the horse ready for the Country Championships early next year.

The four-year-old Fastnet Rock progeny jumped from an outside barrier, but was balanced up nicely by jockey Megan Taylor, who steered the winner to the middle of the track where it ran away from the field to record a commanding victory and return +320 at Crownbet.com.au.

Nicotic battled on gamely to claim second and deliver +120 via Sportsbet.com.au while race favourite Paris Carver (-250) could only manage third.

The win was the first victory in South Africa’s six-start career, but the race camp is not looking to attempt to strike while the iron is hot.

The trainer said that the horse will be spelled immediately after the win and will look to return in February for the big fixture of racing in rural NSW.

“He’ll go to the paddock now,” Weir told HorseBetting.com.au.

“He’ll get set for the Country Championships I’d say.

“I’ve just got to put that past the owners first but that’s the plan. He’s a very well bred horse.”

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While most trainers would have bemoaned the wide barrier for their horses in a maiden field, Weir believes the outside stall actually played in South Africa’s favour.

The trainer said the ability to align itself in the running without encountering traffic helped the horse hit the line strongly.

“We came from the outside barrier so that gave him plenty of room,” he said.

“He’s such a big horse, and he got held up last start as a certainty beat so we didn’t mind the middle.

“Big horses on wet tracks, they always need plenty of room.”

The win was the first time South Africa has placed in its racing career and the second start for the Weir stable, but the trainer believes the horse was unlucky not to have registered a win at Canberra just over a week ago.

Tuesday’s win was the culmination of a lot of hard work from the Weir camp, which has had to overcome issues both before and during race days.

“We haven’t had him a very long time but he was very unlucky last time out,” the trainer explained.

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“He got checked at the start, he got checked at the furlong and he was a certainty beaten. Then we had to trial him, so we did that and then we brought him here the other day and he got scratched at the barriers.

“But his work at home has been first-class. He’s a very good horse.”

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