After all the hoopla last weekend around the Cape Met, racing action switched to Turffontein on the Highveld for the start of the Triple Crown/Tiara series, contested by three-year-olds.

In both these 1600m Grade 2 events, bookies got results with Master of my Fate filly Lady of Power (25/1) and Gimmethegreenlight gelding, Eye of the Prophet (33/1) upsetting more fancied rivals.

Lady of Power received a masterful front-running ride from canny veteran, Piere Strydom in the Gauteng Fillies Guineas. He is still able to judge the fractions precisely and conserve extra for the final thrust to the finish.

Lady of Power, trained by Joe Soma, merited a speed figure of 93 +. She has won three of her six starts with the promise of further success. Feather Boa, punted into 4/1, came from off the pace to challenge, but could not get by.

Paul Matchett’s Eye of the Prophet (s/s 101) snuck home in the Gauteng Guineas after a tough duel with Royal Victory (s/s 100). The victor took seven starts to win his Maiden but has now really hit full stride and is posting stronger speed figs. He received a particularly well-balanced ride from Rachel Venniker, as they somehow fended off a vigorous S’Manga Khumalo on Royal Victory (backed into 5/1) by a flared nostril.

The other notable performance on the Turffontein card came from Rollwiththepunches (s/s 104) in the Tommy Hotspur Handicap – a G3 scuttle over 1000m. This was a fine piece of training by Roy Magner who bought his charge back in fighting trim after last racing (and winning) in July of 2022.

Like the other races in this review, it was a desperately close-run thing. Far Away Winter (s/s 103) launched a bold bid only to fall short by a neck. Rollwiththepunches started at 12/1 – another double-digit odds winner as most punters took body blows in the feature races. Favoured, Big Burn (13/10) could only clock in third.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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