De Kock’s filly on track to win again
SECOND LEGS: SA TRIPLE CROWN AND TRIPLE TIARA
Takingthepeace’s late charge won her the first leg, Gauteng Fillies Guineas.
South Africa’s richest series of races for three-year-olds – the SA Triple Crown and the Wilgerbosdrift SA Triple Tiara for fillies – gathers momentum on Classic Day at Turffontein this afternoon when both second legs will be run.
A likely R5 million TAB Pick 6 pool is boosting interest in the mega race meeting and top trainer Mike de Kock has a potential Triple Tiara winner on his hands in Takingthepeace, a shrewd buy at R280 000 as a yearling. She’s already earned about R800 000 with four victories in eight career starts and produced a sustained late charge to win last month’s 1 600m Gauteng Fillies Guineas, the first leg of the Triple Tiara.
That was her first start beyond 1 400m and the way she finished indicates that she will be even better suited to the 1 800m journey of today’s Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic. Yesterday, she was 9/2 joint favourite with stablemate Silver Thursday, who she beat narrowly in the Gauteng Fillies Guineas, and Folk Dance.
There’s a R1 million bonus for winning all three legs of the Triple Tiara and Takingthepeace will have that firmly in her sights if she wins today.
There’s no danger of the R2 million SA Triple Crown bonus being won this afternoon because first-leg winner Monks Hood is headed to Hong Kong to join the stable of former top SA trainer Tony Millard. That leaves his victims in the first leg of the series to fight over the spoils in today’s SA Classic. First-leg runner-up Surcharge was 22-10 favourite yesterday. But he faces tough opposition from the De Kock trio of Noble Secret, Royal Crusade and Like A Panther. Noble Secret and Royal Crusade were closed behind Surcharge in the Guineas and Like A Panther will probably beat them all if he can reproduce his third to Tap O’Noth in the Cape Guineas at Kenilworth back in December. Get top jockey Piere Strydom’s views on the race in Form Focus.