The Sandown Stud-based Irish champion Pathfork is having a wonderful season this year and one of Pathfork’s main flagbearers in 2023-2024 has been star three-year-old Main Defender.
The latter claimed his third graded stakes win, and sixth win from just seven starts, when running out an impressive winner of the G3 Betway Got The Greenlight Stakes (1400m) run at Turffontein on Saturday afternoon.
Trained by Tony Peter, the top-class Main Defender was sent off favourite for Saturday’s R350 000 contest, and duly obliged.
Under Calvin Habib, Main Defender looked a winner a long way out, and he cruised home to score a deceptively easy win, despite conceding weight all around, by just over a length.
Bred by Jagessar Limited, Main Defender notched up a hatrick of graded wins on Saturday, with the gelding having claimed the G2 Betway Joburg Spring Challenge and G3 Betway Graham Beck Stakes in his two starts prior to Saturday’s win.
Main Defender, who is out of the Judpot mare Alessia, was an R140 000 purchase from the 2022 Cape Yearling Sale.
He is one of 17 stakes winners for his sire, with Pathfork also the sire of this season’s G1 Betway Summer Cup winner Royal Victory.
Pathfork, also the sire of G1 winners Mighty High and Pearl Of Asia, has a single colt on offer at this month’s Cape Racing Premier Yearling Sale Powered By Tattersalls and a single filly on sale at the 2024 Cape Yearling Sale.