General Lee rules the roost at Ngong
By Barry.Silah, November 15, 2022
The feature 1800m Geoffrey Griffin Trophy saw the unshakable General Lee jockeyed by masterful James Muhindi clinch an easy win Sunday at the Jockey Club of Kenya’s Nairobi’s Ngong Racecourse.
In the race that was clocked at 1:52.02,Muhindi had a very good start and maintained a studious lead all through with minimal threat.His gap of two and three quarter length over Charles Kimani’s All Over Again would have been wider if the backmarkers did not push the pedal towards the end.
For his troubles,Muhindi whose filie is trained by Stewart McCann,tok home a cash purse of Shs 46,740.General Lee also collectively earned it’s 10th win in 19 meetings this season to give owner Mary Binks something worth smiling about.
Meanwhile in the short 1200m Stewards Handicap Cup,it was fairly straightforward win for Paul Kiarie’s Kenyan Queen who crossed the line with a gap of two and a half lengths on a race that was clocked at 1:14:00.
The Joe Karari stable runner was comfortable off the blocks and had the pace to match in the straight line meet.Coming in second was Richard Kibet’s Frankie off the Patsy Sercombe stable and third place going to Peter Njogu’s Bullet trained by Oliver Gray who incidentally had another of his gillies- Pretty Pearl withdrawn under Doctor’s orders.
The itself saw the winner go home with Sh 44,600 with the South African breed-Kenyan Queen getting it’s sixth win in 18 starts.
In the final race of the day,-The Merchants Purse(2060m) was also an electric affair with Richard Kibet’s emerging winner after good tactics on his end while riding HoneyBell Orange.
His win on the meet of four and a quarter lengths gap timed at 2:17.01,came against the backdrop of a heavy challenge from the rear from the likes of Daniel Kiprotich who finished second atop Steel Drum and James Muhindi’s Karowe.
This was the fourth win on the trot for Kibet’s big filie and he earned Sh 43,320 for his troubles. The race itself wa tactful with Charles Kimani jockeying Rosie which had an odds of 7/4 stationing itself as a backmarkers paying badly for the gamble as it it closed the day forth overall and last in the group of four runners.