Royal to get one hand on crown
Headlining tomorrow’s race meeting at Turffontein, is the World Sports Betting Gauteng Guineas and the Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas.
These two races are of particular interest not only because they are the first leg of the World Sports Betting SA Triple Crown and the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara respectively, but also form part of the Pick 6, which is expected to reach R3-million.
Both the fields have attracted some of the best three-year-olds on the Highveld.
In the Fillies Guineas, Gimme A Shot stands out as a possible Pick 6 banker.
Trained by Mike and Adam Azzie, this daughter of Gimmethegreenlight has run six times for three wins, two seconds and a third place but it is her penultimate run that put her head and shoulders above her rivals.
On that occasion she ran in the Grade 2 Ipi Tombe Stakes for fillies and mares over 1600m, a weight-for-age event, and she trounced her opposition by 3.50-lengths. There were some decent older fillies in that event and Gimme A Shot made them look second rate.
Interestingly, Feather Boa, who is regarded as her chief rival in the Fillies Guineas, was left floundering in third spot in the Ipi Tombe Stakes. They met at level weight on that occasion and they meet on the same terms this time.
The only concern for Gimme A Shot, is that she is drawn to jump from gate 11 but she has JP v’d Merwe up and he is at the top of his game right now.
In the colts’ race, Nathan Kotzen’s Royal Victory looks to have the edge in a very competitive field.
Although he finished behind re-opposing Shoemaker and East Coast in his penultimate, he was fitted with blinkers last time out and walloped his opposition.
With the headgear, as well as jockey S’manga Khumalo retained for the Guineas, he could well reverse that previous result.
Shoemaker and East Coast, both trained by Mike de Kock, are the highest rated runners and won’t go down without a fight.
Shoemaker has been the victim of some bad luck lately, getting stuck in traffic three runs back and almost taking a tumble in his penultimate. Despite those problems, he still managed to finish second in both those races.