Three races at Turffontein on Saturday yielded triple digit speed figures: Texas Red got a s/s of 103 when edging out Humdinger s/s 102; Ready to Charge (s/s 100) won a close call against Mount Pilatus (s/s 99) and One Fell Swoop merited a s/s of 100 in the Grade 3 Sycamore Sprint.
Texas Red loves the Turffontein 1400m trip and earned a career peak number though he was made to work very hard for the gold gong by Humdinger, an ultra-game pace-presser.
Ready to Charge is a smart sprinter that has already hit a high fig of 103 and he was punted to go in again. He got the job done after his odds constricted from 3’s into 18/10, chasing down lightly weighted filly Elegant Ice (s/s 94) then out-dueling Mount Pilatus (s/s 99) in another exciting finish.
One Fell Swoop justified market support in the G3 Sycamore Sprint. White Pearl (s/s 99) came home powerfully on the stand side rail but could not get past Tony Peter’s filly in time. One Fell Swoop, by Lancaster Bomber, has now won five of seven starts on the Highveld.
Two races at Kenilworth produced notably strong speed figures: Winter Cloud managed 102 + and Wecangoallnight recorded 101 in Pinnacle and Cape A Stakes over 1000m and 1400m respectively.
Winter Cloud came back from last year’s KZN juvenile campaign the worse for wear and it has taken Candice Bass Robinson some time to get her back to full revs again. The What a Winter filly is exceptionally talented with a potent burst of acceleration. A sectional upgrade to credit a powerful closing burst puts her figure @ around 108. That suggests she has a Grade 1 win in her – if Bass Racing can keep her in one piece.
Wecangoallnight has tested trainer Eric Sand’s skills, and it is testimony to his fine horsemanship that the feisty gelding won the fourth race of his career on Saturday. He settled better this time with Tout a Fait stretching the field out, and after tracking favourite Café Culture (s/s 99) for much of the long Kenilworth stretch, got the upper hand in the final stages to win fluently.