After not being given much chance in this column last week, Set Afire came home smoking in the Grade 1 Horse Chestnut Stakes at Turffontein, showing what a loss David Ferraris will be to the South African trainers’ ranks when he departs to pursue his career in Hong Kong.
On Sunday Ferraris sends out Set Afire’s full sister, Aquila Rapax, to contest the R125 000 Grade 3 Egoli Sprint, a merit-rated race over 1 000m at Turffontein. The Western Winter filly has smart form and she must rate as the one to beat on her excellent runner-up finish a fortnight ago after an
11-month layoff.
Like her illustrious brother, Aquila Rapax is proving a model of consistency, with two wins and an equal number of seconds from just five starts. Her only unplaced run came when she was supported in the SA Fillies Nursery last year but then met serious interference in the straight to be beaten by 4,75 lengths by long shot Hawaiian Wahoo.
There might well be a tempting price about Aquila come Sunday. Although she takes on only five
rivals, the mount of Rhys van Wyk is the only filly in the race and meets some promising three-year-olds.
War Lord, a son of National Assembly, would be a top contender if racing fit. This R200 000 purchase hasn’t been at the races since May last year but boasts very good form. After winning a maiden race easily at the first time of asking, he showed up well to clinch the runner-up spot in the SA Nursery, a length behind the highly rated Forest Trogon, and then ran a cracker to finish third behind champion sprinter National Currency in the Gold Medallion at Scottsville.
War Lord doesn’t meet anything with quite the proven form of that opposition here, but Eugene Cox’s charge does have that 11-month break to overcome and might well prove in need of his first run as a three-year-old.
Ashtontown gelding Take Silk, the mount of Piere Strydom, has consistent form with three wins and two thirds from his five starts and still has scope for improvement.
Of the rest, the well-tried Great Discovery could place in this small field while top-weight Ritual Mufti is a consistent performer.
Scimitar, half brother to Kournikova, another winner last week, could provide an upset with the bottom weight. He won a maiden very easily in November but then ran two shockers. He was, however, reported to be making breathing noises in both those races and if his problem has been sorted out he could pave the way for some handsome payouts.
Remember the racing adage: the smaller the field, the bigger the upset! The feature race at Kenilworth in Cape Town on Saturday is the Somerset 1200, a listed race for juveniles over the stiff 1 200m.
Finding the winner in this one won’t be easy, but an interesting entry is Port Elizabeth raider Triton. The son of West Man carries top weight by virtue of his win in the Eastern Province Nursery four weeks ago but has yet to be seriously tested. Trainer Alan Greeff must believe he is good enough, and that is a view to be respected.
She’s A Charm, also by West Man, is one of three fillies among the 11 runners and impressed when making it two wins out of three runs at her last start. She can improve further and if she does she’ll be a tough nut to crack.
The other two fillies, California Flyer and Hello Margarita, are both handily weighted and
finished next to each other last time out. There should again be little between them.
At Greyville on Friday night the standout bet appears to be Centivo, who runs in the second race, a maiden plate over 1 600m. The four-year-old has been improving slowly and seems ready
to shed his maiden ticket at his seventh attempt.
Jeff Lloyd could also steer Dean Kannemeyer’s Killarney to his third victory in the sixth, a progress plate over 2 000m. The R400 000 Fort Wood gelding was below his best when wearing blinkers last time and these have now been removed. He has been drawn widest of 12 but seems good enough to overcome this handicap.
At Turffontein on Saturday, Ferraris could bag the second, a juvenile plate over 1 000m, with Fancy ‘N Fast, a R700 000 full sister to his exported champion Forward Filly.
The fourth, a maiden plate over 1 400m, should fall to Millions, who has Guilermo Figueroa in the saddle. This is a particularly weak field and the Gary Alexander-trained Grand Banks should prove second best.
Klosters, from the Geoff Woodruff stable, should give Strydom a win in the seventh, a merit-rated handicap over 1 400m. The Lauterbrunnen gelding followed up his good debut win with a fair second, when backed to odds-on, and needs only to repeat that effort to score here.
Greyville best bets, Friday:
Race 2: Centivo
Race 3: Blushing Romance
Race 4: Generosity
Race 6: Killarney
Turffontein, Saturday:
Race 2: Fancy ‘N Fast
Race 4: Millions
Race 6: Etro
Race 7: Klosters
Race 9: Gold Boom
Kenilworth, Saturday:
Race 3: Cherry Wood
Race 4: Forest Fort
Race 9: Power Of Youth
Turffontein, Sunday:
Race 2: Lots To Laugh
Race 6: Aquila Rapax