Mike in pole position for Guineas Day
After decades at the top of his profession, Mike de Kock has earned the right to focus on elite competition. And, boy, does he know how to find and develop superior equine talent for big races.
The De Kock mastery of quality horseflesh is on display on Guineas Day at Turffontein today.
His runners dominate the betting for both the WSB Gauteng Guineas and the Wilgerbosdrift Fillies Guineas – the first legs of the prestigious Triple Crown and Triple Tiara.
De Kock landed last year’s Triple Crown with Malmoos and he has two outstanding candidates this time in Safe Passage and Aragosta. But it’s in the fillies’ contest he appears to have leg 1 in the bank, with Desert Miracle.
She sits at 6/10 in the ante-post market – a remarkable situation for a threeyear-old filly racing against fellow youngsters at a stage of volatile maturation.
The daughter of Dynasty has always been way ahead of others of her generation, amassing four wins and three seconds in less than a year.
De Kock has two other beautifully bred, precocious runners in the 1 600m Grade 2 race: Bold Act and Clafoutis. Both already have three wins on their record and would be worthy Guineas champs if the stable star were to falter.
The main danger appears to be Sean Tarry-trained Rain in Holland, who won five on the trot as a juvenile and has returned from her spring holidays with three feature-race thirds.
She should be raring to go and gets the services of visiting Cape ace Richard Fourie.
Fourie switches allegiances to De Kock for the Guineas, renewing acquaintance with Aragosta, on whom he landed the Sea Cottage Stakes in impressive style a fortnight ago.
Aragosta’s main threat is Safe Passage, winner of the Dingaans two months ago. S’manga Khumalo, yet another bloke in fine form, rides as he goes for a fifth win on the trot.
The De Kock pair will not have things their own way, with all of Joey Soma’s Red Saxon, Corne Spies’ William Robertson, Johan Janse van Vuuren’s Outofthedarkness and Prince of Fire, and the Azzie team’s Supreme Warrior having bright claims.