Westwind tops Santa Claus Handicap

Westwind, jockeyed by Leslie Sercombe, emerged tops in the 2060m distance Santa Claus Handicap for three-year-olds and over on Sunday at the Ngong Racecourse.
The South African breed had to maintain stamina while at the same time tactical with Leslie being dutiful in guiding it through the field.
This was the fillie’s second win in five appearances in the same event over the years for owner Mary Haynes.
James Muhindi’s Zamburak came in second in what was a very long and tiresome run for the veteran who has 11 previous appearances in the race.
Andrew Wambua atop Deodoro came in third to give the Stewart McCann stable two podium places. Wambua fought well against some good runners but the final push was not strong enough. It was a record 17th appearance for the big running fillie whose last win was late last month in a 2,400m event.
In another impressive race, Jingle Bells Handicap (1400m) Ameerah from the Joe Karari stable won with precision under good guidance by the experienced James Muhindi. It was the second win in five starts for the Zaid family with the South African breed using its good start and pace to seize control of the race.