Siren’s Call to take on boys

DURBAN - With her place in the Vodacom Durban July virtually secure, filly Siren’s Call will take on the boys in the R2-million, Grade 1 Daily News 2000 at Greyville Racecourse on Saturday, leaving arch-rival Majmu to do battle with Cape star Inara in the R1-million, Grade 1 Woolavington 2000 on the same day.

Siren’s Call, from the in-form Sean Tarry stable, is currently in seventh position on the July Log and a strong showing in the finish of Saturday’s race will surely cement her place in the race over 2 200m at Greyville.

She faces a tough task, however, in spite of having won the Gauteng Fillies Guineas (Grade 2) and SA Fillies Classic (Grade 1) and finished a narrow second to Pine Princess in the SA Oaks.

She will come up against some very smart colts and geldings including the second, third and fourth in the SA Derby – Deputy Jud, French Navy and Ertijaal— the last-named having also beaten the Cape superstar Act Of War in the Investec Cape Derby.

Siren’s Call will have stable companion French Navy, winner of the SA Classic, among her opposition and they are drawn alongside one another towards the outside of the field at Nos 13 and 14 respectively. Exciting Australian-bred colt from the Joey Ramsden yard, The Conglomerate, is drawn a lot better at No 7.

The Conglomerate is from the powerful Ingrid and Markus Jooste team which last weekend won two of the four Grade 1 sprints at Scottsville.

The colt had won the Politician Stakes before moving to Durban where he thrashed the opposition in the KRA Guineas, producing a powerful finish that indicates that the 2 000m of Saturday’s race will be right up his street.

The Mike Azzie team of Amsterdam, second in the SA Classic, and Deputy Jud who was third in the SA Classic and second in the SA Derby, are likely to be formidable players in Saturday’s race.

The Woolavington 2000 should produce a fantastic finish with Majmu, Inara, Pine Princess and Tamaanee locked in a massive battle for the winner’s cheque. Majmu is the highest-rated filly in the country and after three impressive wins in Gauteng and the Cape was a gallant second to Wylie Hall in the President’s Champions Challenge over 2 000m at Turffontein last time out.

Inara, from the Mike Bass stable, was beaten by Majmu in the Cape Fillies Guineas but went on to win the two top Grade 1 races for fillies in the Cape, the Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes and Klawervlei Majorca Stakes. She was second in the KRA Fillies Guineas when likely to have been in need of the run after a twomonth break.

Backing up Majmu from the Mike de Kock stable and herself an accomplished staying sort with the SA Oaks title under her belt is the Captain Al filly Pine Princess. She was well beaten by Siren’s Call in both the Gauteng Fillies Guineas and the SA Fillies Classic but came into her own in the softer conditions of the Oaks where she only just got the better of Siren’s Call to deny the Tarry runner the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara. - Gold Circle