Bingwa has run ever -better speed figures of 99 – 104 – 106, and now 108 in winning the Onamission Mile (Grade 2) at Turffontein on Saturday. The son of Pathfork was particularly well ridden into a handy position from draw 14 by Chase Maujean who, together with trainer Dorrie Sham, must take plenty of credit for a finely- executed campaign. Astrix got a perfect trip and ran right to his regular rating of 102, though he was three lengths adrift in the second slot.
Desert Miracle (s/s 103 +) was a commanding winner of the G3 Graham Beck Stakes being geared down close to the finish when far ahead of Pyromaniac (s/s 92). She is seriously talented and could have run an even higher figure if pressed.
Other notable scores on the Highveld card included a fleet-footed victory by Corrie Lensley’s Alesian Chief (s/s 104) in the Golden Loom Sprint; One Night in Paris (s/s 99) in the G3 Starling Stakes & Prince Evlanoff hitting the same number of 99 in a top division handicap.
Headliner on the Kenilworth card was the CTS de Grendel RTR Stakes over 1400m which turned into a thriller. Fifty Fiver (/ss 95) just got there in a narrow margin victory over Dancetildaylight and Queen of Shadows with Bush Tracker (s/s 93) close by in the lower quartet slot. The winner is by Vercingetorix, trained by the accomplished Vaughan Marshall, and was handled with determination by big-money pilot, Anton Marcus.
The horse to take out of the race though is Dancetildaylight. Drawn 18 she was understandably caught wide going around the turns. Despite that difficult trip, Candice Bass’’ entry then accelerated rapidly (35.3 seconds 600m – finish) but ducking in under the right- handed urgings of her jockey probably cost her first prize. On this performance she is projected to attain a speed figure of at least 101 ++ which makes her a Classic contender for the Fillies Guineas.
Last week Bass’’ stable companion, Amanzimtoti got a glowing write up after her Western Cape Fillies Championship romp where she managed a speed score of 104 +. It’s hard to say who is the better of the two fillies – both are high class, but whether they can resist the formidable Desert Miracle if she runs in the Cape Fillies Guineas is another question entirely.