Best I’ve ever sat on, says JP
CLASS: JOCKEY LAUDS THE CAPABILITY OF STAR FILLY GIMME A NOTHER
Four runners priced up at odds-on for Champions Day.
We are just a few days away from Champions Day at Turffontein and a look at the early betting indicates there are a lot of hot favourites on the card.
Almond Sea, Pistol Pete and Gimme A Nother are deep in the red to keep their unbeaten records intact but it is on the latter that most pundits will be focusing. She does seem special and the Mike de Kock-trained daughter of Gimmethegreenlight is fully expected to justify her odds of almost 1-5.
Almond Sea and Pistol Pete, both trained by Tony Peter, are quoted at 1-4 and 3-10 respectively to win the Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Nursery and TAB SA Nursery, both over 1160m.
In addition, Silver Sanctuary, also from the De Kock yard, has been priced up at 6-10 to win the Grade 2 Wilgerbosdrift Bridget Oppenheimer SA Oaks over 2450m.
Unfortunately for the daughter of Silvano, she has found one too good in her last three races, touched off in the Grade 1 Cape Fillies Guineas by Beach Bomb and then defeated by stablemate Gimme A Nother in the Grade 2 Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas and again in the Grade 1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic over 1800m.
So, without Beach Bomb and Gimme A Nother – the latter is running in the Grade 1 TAB Empress Club Stakes – in the Oaks field, it gives Silver Sanctuary the ideal opportunity to claim a feature race victory.
The question on many people’s lips, though, is: how good is Gimme A Nother compared to the other three-year-olds, especially the fillies?
One person who has the necessary insight to answer that poser is jockey JP van der Merwe. He has ridden all of them – Gimme A Nother, Beach Bomb, Silver Sanctuary, Double Grand Slam and even Snow Pilot, who he rode to victory in the Grade 1 Cape Guineas.
I asked him the question after he had ridden Gimme A Nother to victory in the SA Fillies Classic.
“It’s difficult to compare,” he responded. “This filly (Gimme A Nother) has just been in Joburg while Beach Bomb is running in Cape Town
“But the form line is there. Silver Sanctuary just got touched off by Beach Bomb, but has been well beaten by Gimme A Nother.
“I don’t have to put them on a pedestal, they are all good.”
And then came the coup de grace!
“But I think this filly is probably one of the best I have ever sat on.
“I actually thought she was a specialist miler but after the Classic I will go any distance with her. She’s such good quality, it doesn’t matter.”
Gimme A Nother had been a little “naughty” when going down to the start but Van der Merwe said that with the use of the lead pony in the SA Classic, she was very well behaved.
So, there we have it.
Hopefully on Saturday, we can relish in a seventh victory from this super filly.
Champions Day – betting on Graded races
Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Nursery 1-4 Almond Sea
7-1 Little Ballerina
14-1 Mountain High
20-1 and upwards others
TAB SA Nursery
3-10 Pistol Pete
5-1 Proceed
13-1 Fire Attack
15-1 Dantonfromsandton 16-1 Mount Pinatubo
25-1 and upwards others
TAB Hawaii Stakes
13-10 Sandringham Summit
2-1 Lucky Lad
9-1 Unzen
12-1 Texas Red
14-1 At My Command, White Pearl
20-1 and upwards others
Wilgerbosdrift Bridget Oppenheimer SA Oaks
6-10 Silver Sanctuary
5-1 Let's Go Now
6-1 Frances Ethel
10-1 Beating Wings
14-1 My Soul Mate
25-1 and upwards others
TAB Empress Club Stakes
22-100 Gimme A Nother 7-1 Mrs Geriatrix 8-1 Bavarian Beauty
16-1 Humdinger
25-1 and upwards others
Jonsson Workwear Computaform Sprint
28-10 Dyce
11-2 Golden Sickle
6-1 William Robertson
14-1 Mover And Shaker, Rulership 18-1 Iphiko
20-1 and upwards others
TAB SA Derby
5-2 Purple Pitcher
7-2 Marauding Horde
5-1 Pure Predator
13-2 Hotarubi
12-1 Mondial
14-1 Presley, George Handel, Twenty Drachma’s
25-1 and upwards others
World Pool Premier’s Champions Challenge
11-2 Cousin Casey
6-1 Dave The King, Royal Victory 7-1 Puerto Manzano, Winchester Mansion
9-1 Without Question
10-1 Son Of Raj
14-1 Zeus
15-1 Litigation
18-1 Street Art
20-1 and upwards others