| Hat Puntano (speed score 105) improved significantly equipped with a different bit to win the Charity Mile at Turffontein. He failed to beat the ambulance home when finishing last on his SA debut in mid-September so was hard to fancy, yet suddenly got closer to his Argentinian form to lift this Grade 2 for the Azzie’s. Social Order (s/s 104) caught the eye running on smartly from off the pace into second – given that it was only his sixth start this son of Count Dubois shows plenty of raw ability.
Accolades are due trainer Joey Soma for patching up Graduation Day and getting a career best effort of 109 out of the sparingly raced, infirm gelding. The seven-year-old has only been wheeled out for ten starts, but has won six of them and was full value when beating off Alfolk (s/s 109) on the bob. Two other speedballs, Hashtag Strat (s/s 108) and Pera Palace (s/s 107), were close up in a tight finish, with The Thinker (s/s 107) making late progress to just miss the frame.
Big Bear (s/s 101) yet again ran a triple digit speed figure, which is a smart accomplishment for any three-year-old. That was sufficient to propel him to an easy score in the CTS RTR Cup and he remains worth following. Zen Arcade (s/s 97 +) won the Grade 3 Graham Beck Stakes later on the card over the same distance, surging through in the centre to outrun Ideal Secret(s/s 95) and Prince of Kahal (s/s 95), as sons of Ideal World filled the exacta spots.
Via Seattle (s/s 90) used her turn of foot to swoop down the inside rail and nail Folk Dance in the Starling Stakes. Credit is due trainer Yvette Bremner who bought the well-performed young filly up from Port Elizabeth to stun the Highveld locals at 55/1. The winner was ridden by Lyle Hewitson – an intelligent and focussed professional with a very bright future.
Somewhat surprisingly, one of the biggest figures of the day came up in the Grade 3 Yellowwood Handicap over 1800m. Usually a par score of around 98 would be good enough at this level, yet Cascapedia (s/s 107) made dramatic improvement with blinkers to edge out Al Danza (s/s 106) with Bi Pot (s/s 103) clocking in third. If these figures are legit, then the winning High Chaparal filly should enjoy a most rewarding career.
Another runner to shine up first time blinkers was River Cam (s/s 93), who burst away from toiling rivals to comfortably win a handicap at Kenilworth. He should be able to reel off more wins at the appropriate grade based on Saturday’s convincing romp.
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