Abashiri chasing Triple Crown
AN OUTSTANDING weekend of racing is ahead of us with Derby Day at Turffontein tomorrow sporting a R5-million Pick 6 in which champions like Abashiri and Legal Eagle will be in action followed on Sunday by the opening meeting of South Africa’s Champion Season at Scottsville with four feature events.
Abashiri, a beautifully-bred son of Go Deputy from the Mike Azzie stable, is bidding to win the final leg of the SA Triple Crown when he lines up in the R2-million, Gr1 SA Derby. A win will see the R2-million Triple Crown Bonus handed over to owners Adriaan and Rika Van Vuuren and there is little doubt that the entire racing community will be behind him as he is driven to become just the third horse to win it after Horse Chestnut and Louis The King.
With a few tricky races in the exotics, most punters are likely to be banking Abashiri and Legal Eagle, the latter looking very hard to beat in the R4-million Gr1 Premier’s Champion Challenge.
In the Champion’s Challenge, however, Capetonians are likely to be rooting for their two challengers, the Brett Crawford-trained Captain America and the four-yearold Trippi filly Inara from the Mike Bass stable. Legal Eagle looks to have everything in his favour to give Sean Tarry yet another major feature win but don’t rule out the ‘Capies’, with their two very good horses. Can the filly do it? I am sceptical about that but she has had her one winning run on the Highveld and at least she should be in the final scramble to the line.
Tarry could be in for another great afternoon with winning chances throughout the day partic- ularly in the two juvenile events, the SA Fillies Nursery and the SA Nursery.
Once again he puts his classy filly Carry On Alice up against the boys in the World Sports Betting Computaform Sprint where she ran second last year to Alboran Sea.
She has gone up against the boys in the Mercury Sprint where she finished second and the Cape Flying Championship where she managed third place.
Getting just 2,5kg from some top speedsters is not going to be easy but she is capable and with the form the stable is in she has to be given a very strong chance. Two KwaZulu-Natal runners, Barbosa and Muscatt, are in this race with chances and for a bit of a roughie, the three-year-old Trippi gelding African Ruler could give a fair amount of cheek.
The Tarry steamroller could get underway in the SA Fillies Nursery where Exquisite Touch and Myfunnyvalentine look the most likely contenders for the winner’s cheque. Exquisite Touch has won both her races with authority and could win and Myfunnyvalentine was impressive in winning convincingly on debut.
A similar situation exists in the SA Nursery where Cloth Of Cloud and Rightful King have been extremely impressive in the races they have won.
Cloth Of Cloud in particular has literally demolished her opposition, last time in the Pretty Poly Stakes. Rightful King shed his maiden by more than five lengths after losing a length at the start and will be right there tomorrow.
If there is a danger to the pair it could come from the Mike de Kocktrained Silvano colt Janoobi that has won his last two races.
It is funny how on big days big horses seem to produce big performances and the Tarry runner Trophy Wife is not without a chance in the Gerald Rosenberg Stakes where the Ormond Ferraris-trained Marmalady is the one to beat in my book.
Trophy Wife has had trouble getting away from the gates in recent races but I could see her getting away well and if so, she could win.
Where the Tarry stable could be at its weakest in the features is in the Wilgerbosdrift SA Oaks where the Kahal filly Witchcraft is the only stable runner. She shouldn’t have problems with the distance but she did not impress in the Fillies Classic and the widest draw will not enhance her chances.
The Judpot filly Juxtapose from the Ferreira stable ran a gutsy race to win the Classic and if she stays the trip she could be the one to beat.
Princess Varunya from the Kom Naidoo yard will have no problem with the distance and has a big chance and it will be no surprise if the Distorted Humour filly Estimation has the last laugh.