Fillies on the prowl
Light weight should do it for Bold Fortune. DISTANCE: LIGHT OF THE MOON TO SHOW HER STAYING POWER AT THE VAAL
Two fillies who contested Graded races will be tested against male opposition on the Vaal Classic track tomorrow. Although she won her maiden over 1200m at Fairview, Light Of The Moon has clearly been looking for distance. She transferred to the Highveld after three runs at the coast and joined Barend Botes’ and Yolandi Vosloo’s Vaal stable last October.
She made her debut for the yard in January and began to race over further. In her third local race Light Of The Moon lined up in the Listed Ormond Ferraris Oaks Trial over 2000m which she managed to win by a head, beating Princess Kesh.
Botes and Vosloo had faith this three-year-old daughter of Futura was still a lot better than that win and put her in the Grade 2 Wilgerbosdrift SA Oak over 2450m where she took on Triple Tiara-seeking Rain In Holland at level weights.
While Sean Tarry’s charge proved too classy in the end, Light Of The Moon gave a lot of cheek before going down by 0.75 lengths, but was still 6.50 lengths clear of third-placed Evening Primrose.
Tomorrow she will line up in Race 5, a Middle Stakes over 2400m, where she meets an field of battle-hardened males and a five-year-old mare.
Light Of The Moon was penalised 16 points (8kg) for her Oaks second but as Rain In Holland then went on to win the Grade 2 Gerald Rosenburg Stakes and is rated 118, the 92 merit rating for Light Of The Moon indicates there is still quite a bit meat on that bone. Muzi Yeni teams up with her again and they should dominate this race.
Bold Fortune who runs in Race 6, a Pinnacle Stakes over 1800m, finds herself in a similar situation. She last raced in the Grade 1 HSH Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes over 1600m where she was beaten 7.75 lengths by Princess Calla.
Stuart Pettigrew’s charge is carded to carry just 54.5kg and is already the best-weighted runner by at least 3kg, but that is swelled even further by the 4kg claim of apprentice Siyanda Sosibo. Off that weight she will prove very hard to beat.