Search

show me:

SOUTH AFRICA: Classic Day At Turffontein

3 minute read

South African racing will be absorbed with Triple Crown and Triple Tiara fever on Classic Day at Turffontein this weekend.

Centre stage will be the Geoff Woodruff-trained Tellina and the Ormond Ferraris-trained Cherry On The Top as they bid to land the R1 million SA Classic and R1 million SA Fillies Classic over 1800m respectively after their wins in the Gauteng Guineas and Gauteng Fillies Guineas.

There is feast of racing this weekend with three G1s at Turffontein on Saturday followed by Clairwood on Sunday where the win pool for the Listed Easter Handicap has been given a R120 000 boost by the operators as a gesture of goodwill to punters affected by the recent controversial incident involving My Sanctuary.

The Clairwood meeting will also feature Gold Circle’s intriguing new 600m race, The Easter Dash.

Tellina and Cherry On The Top are favoured to keep their Triple Crown and Triple Tiara bids alive.

Tellina is in good heart according to Woodruff who declared all of his big race contenders “well, fit and sound” for Classic Day.

Tellina ran on from near last to win the G2 Betting World Gauteng Guineas and should relish the extra furlong on pedigree, considering his full brother won over 3000m in France.

Jockey Robbie Fradd speaks highly of the Silvano colt, whose chances of completing the Triple Crown benefit from the credentials of his five-times champion trainer.

Tellina is drawn well in seven, the same draw he had in the Guineas, and from that gate Fradd should have plenty of options.

Woodruff has a strong second string in Gauteng Guiness third Killua Castle, a progressive Australian-bred colt buit poorly drawn in gate 16.

Woodruff’s third runner Sabadell finished 4,25 lengths back in the Guineas.

He appeals as a horse with plenty of scope for improvement and considering he finished a two lengths second to the top class The Hangman in the Dingaans he could be one of the dark horses in Saturday’s race.

Bernard Fayd’herbe, who rode him in the Guineas, keeps the ride, but they have a tough draw of 15 to overcome.

Fayd’herbe has also kept the ride on Woodruff's Gauteng Fillies Guineas second-placed Do You Remember in the SA Fillies Classic.

Woodruff was not surprised by her good Guineas run and described her as “very good filly”.

Woodruff also runs Approachable in the G1 HF Openheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes over 1600m. He has a chance as this is his best trip and that he was staying on strongly when second in the G2 Hawaii Stakes over 1400m to Whiteline Fever at level weights.

He opposes the Mike de Kock-trained Galileo’s Destiny, who was flying late over the shorter trip in the Hawaii and is now having his third run after a rest from a good draw with Anton Marcus up.

Cherry On The Top won the Wilgebosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas with such authority that there seems little doubt that she will get the 1800m trip, although pedigree doubts will persist about whether she will stay the 2450m of the SA Oaks in the Triple Tiara’s final leg at Turffontein on April 27.

Danger looms on Saturday in the form of the Alec Laird-trained Orator’s Daughter, an unbeaten Australian-bred grey by Oratorio who looks likely to relish the step up in trip considering the way she has pulled away impressively in the closing stages of her last two 1400m runs.

It will be her first start around the turn, but Anton Marcus will be up and those taking the short odds about Cherry On The Top won’t be resting easy.


Racing and Sports

Think. Is this a bet you really want to place?

For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit www.gamblinghelponline.org.au