The Cape summer season gets into full swing on Saturday with its first grade one event, the R200 000 Cape Fillies Guineas over a mile on the Kenilworth new course.
The favourite, Tatler, hails from Port Elizabeth and the daughter of Hard Up certainly has the class and the form to justify her position at the top of the bookies’ boards.
Since staying on for a surprise third at long odds in a fillies feature on July day, Tatler has proven in four subsequent starts that the run was no fluke, winning features in KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape.
In the process she has beaten some of the very best fillies of her generation. She is without doubt at the top of her game and her wide draw seems of little consequence over this fairest of courses.
A trio of Gauteng-based fillies seem most likely to make the favourite work for the R125 000 first prize. At their best Bridal Paths, Silver Moon and Fading Light can all win.
Mike Azzie-trained Bridal Paths looked special when blitzing through her first three races undefeated, with Tatler behind her on the last occasion.
She has run some way below that form in two subsequent starts, but can possibly offer valid excuses. She might have been in need of the run when 4,5 lengths third behind Tatler in her first Cape outing and can improve with Jeff Lloyd up again.
Silver Moon was second between Tatler and Bridal Paths in that last race, finishing strongly over the 1 400m. She was easily beaten, though, and while the run indicated that she might enjoy the extra 200m here, so will Tatler.
Fading Light could be the dark horse. The Ormond Ferraris-trained daughter of Bel Byou showed a good turn of foot when downing champion filly Fun Fly last season and came back to that form in beating the very useful and year older Carolina Cherry over a mile at Gosforth Park two months ago.
A lot will depend on how Fading Light handles her unfamiliar surroundings after her short break.
These four represent proven class, but a nice “roughie” could be the Mike Bass-trained Rhinestone. She showed big improvement in her last run over 1 400m and will appreciate every inch of the extra ground here.
The supporting feature is the R150 000 grade 2 Diadem Stakes over 1 200m, the distance over which July runner Nhlavini has scored two good wins recently. The stiff Kenilworth six furlongs should suit the Charles Laird-trained gelding, considering that he has been a runner-up in grade 1 company over 1 600m and 1 800m. He lumped 61kg to an easy victory at Turffontein a month ago and at weight for age the son of National Emblem should take a power of beating.
Clifton King, Eli’s Game, Malinga and Syon could scrap it out for the minor money.
Bass’s Enchantress seems to have opted out of the feature in favour of what looks like a certain win in the fourth race, a novice plate over 1 200m. The Eric Sands-trained Smart Cookie looks second best.
In the eighth Justin Snaith’s Sage Blue looks set to follow up on her impressive maiden win.
Turffontein best bet: Hinterland (race 9) Scottsville best bets: Son of Caesour (race 3), Candybox (race 5), Global Game (race 7)