Just Sensual (s/s 103) made a race-winning move around the turn and down the centre of the Kenilworth straight to deny Safe Harbour (s/s 102) in the Fillies Guineas. The daughter of Dynasty had quickened with great fluency to win her previous start, impressing jockey Anton Marcus, and finished with similar zest to clinch this Grade 1 event. The game and consistent runner up ran the same figure she attained recently in the Lanzerac RTR Stakes and is clearly thriving in the Cape.
Scrimmaging down the inside proved costly to some – longshot Lady of the House (s/s 97) missed out on the placings marginally behind Querari Falcon (s/s 97) and Sail (s/s 97) after being blocked in a rough scuffle. She is worth following over further.
The true pace in the Green Point Stakes set up a memorable duel between established champion Legal Eagle (s/s 116) and younger pretender, Marinaresco (s/s 115). Legal Eagle got first run and though Marinaresco tried hard to make up nearly four lengths from the turn, he was held safe by the Equus champ in the drive to the line. Both will prove formidable in Summer features like the Queens Plate and SunMet.
Search Party (s/s 107) justified heavy betting action to score in the Cape Merchants. He demolished a potent field at his most recent start when running way above his official handicap rating, so the betting plunge on the lightly weighted runner made sense. The son of Captain Al galloped forcefully all the way in the middle of the course with only Silicone Valley (s/s 106) able to mount any meaningful challenge.
The runner up is a top horse – serious physical break-downs have repeatedly hindered his career, yet he has still managed to win five of thirteen starts and only succumbed narrowly here. A mile is ideal for Silicone Valley, but his connections understandably don’t want to risk their fickle gelding around the turn again, so are sticking to the short cuts. Perhaps, he might yet pick up a significant prize if things fall neatly into place – the brave Jay Peg gelding sure deserves it.