Inara won the fourth Grade One of her 17 run career when scoring in the Laurie Jaffee Empress Club Stakes at Turffontein. The field merely jogged along in the early sections which affected the final time, with Inara (s/s 88++) using her superior turn of foot from a handy position to get the job done for Mike Bass Racing. She repeatedly ran figures of around 103 as a three year old, so can be expected to surge to an even higher level this season.
Sean Tarry’s juvenile, Rightful King (s/s 94) looks very promising, after strolling away in the opener to win stylishly. He received substantial betting action on Interbet and landed the gamble without any bother. A speed figure in the mid 90’s is an excellent effort on debut for a two year old, suggesting that Rightful King has the raw talent to make a further impact.
Rabada (s/s 94+) won easily enough on the same card when making his Highveld seasonal return. He ran a fig of 101 when winning a big juvenile feature last August, and though stable mate Abashiri has since gone on to greater achievements (just as trainer Michael Azzie predicted), a fit and focussed Rabada may still have another big win in him.
In other action around the country Exelero (s/s 100) galloped rivals into submission when winning a Pinnacle Stakes at Scottsville, followed by well-bred and progressive filly Elusivenchantment (s/s 91) employing similar forcing tactics to beat off her handicap rivals. Exelero’s trainer Vaughan Marshall also got Captain Sam (s/s 96) back on the winning trail on Friday evening at Greyville – this sprinter could be a tough nut to crack on the Greyville Poly this winter. Capel Top (s/s 94) is another who thrives on that surface. He notched a fifth career victory on the Polymer and can keep winning at the right handicap level for the Dean Kannemeyer stable who continue to prosper with their primed and cleverly placed runners up in KZN.