Mon Petit Cherie (s/s 100) received an inspired ride from Richard Fourie to sneak through down the inner and pip Beware the Bomb in the G2 Western Cape Fillies Championships. In a blanket finish, Symphony in White ran third with Gimmie’s Countess another neck back in fourth.
The early pace seemed honest enough and all these horses mentioned finished relatively strongly so this should be a good pointer for the upcoming Classics. Brett Crawford trained, Mon Petit Cherie ought to improve as she develops physically, and is also bred for further, making this a notable effort over 1400m early in the season.
Gimmie’s Countess was arguably best of the defeated horses as she came home strongly down the outer having been dropped out to last from her wide draw. With a sectional upgrade, her figure can be estimated at around 102.
It’s amazing how horses run better for certain jockeys. Take the case of Miss Marguerite (s/s 95) – a long-term loser who was mired in a 506-day losing streak. Yet the record of Piet Steyn’s mare with comeback kid, Ashton Arries now reads six starts – four wins; after taking out the Laisserfaire Stakes in a head-bobbing thriller with game top-weight, Asiye Phambile.
“I told Mr Steyn I was going to ride her differently with her lighter weight and rather follow one or two from a handy position than be caught far back. We made a move at the 400m as I knew she would run all the way to the line.” explained Arries.
Other than Daimyo’s record breaking, start- to- finish, tour de force over the seldom used 2500m journey in the Woolavington, the performance of Sail the Seas (s/s 102) warrants a mention. Justin Snaith’s three-year-old cracked the triple digit speed figure mark which, historically, is what it takes to shape in the Cape Guineas.
The final time was around two seconds faster than mid to high 80’s campaigners, Zeitz and Ozark managed, and he dipped below 24 seconds for the final 400m in a smart display.
Azzurri is a beaten horse to take out of this race for future betting purposes. The recently gelded bay scored 95 with a closing sectional of 23.7 seconds – not bad for a one- time winner with an OMR of just 74. I expect him to do well over the next few months in the highly competent care of trainer, Lucinda Woodruff.