Amawinner

Amanee

Amanee stepped up to 1600m for the first time and showed considerable improvement on her previous form when she won the Thekwini Stakes for two-year-old fillies at Greyville on Sunday, writes MATTHEW LIPS.

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Amanee had previously finished behind several of the same rivals when admittedly not well drawn in the Gr1 Golden Slipper over 1400m at the same course four weeks earlier, but she came out trumps in a race from which Golden Slipper winner Princess Victoria was absent and credited champion trainer Mike de Kock with yet another Gr1 success in the process.

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It was Amanee’s hitherto unbeaten stable companion Ilha Bela who started as a well supported favourite to make it three wins from as many appearances, but the splendidly-bred daughter of Fort Wood and champion racemare Ilha da Vitoria proved to be a serious disappointment. Ante-post favourite Felix The Cat had chased home Princess Victoria in the Golden Slipper and went off as a 5/1 chance, with Amanee starting at 15.2.

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The going was still rated good to soft after the heavy rain which had forced the meeting to be postponed by 24 hours, and it probably had a considerable effect on the day’s results. Be that as it may, Jeter ensured a decent enough gallop on the sticky going and set the pace from Hidden Beauty and Extra Zero with Madame Rooney and Ocean’s Swift next in line just ahead of Ilha Bela, who was saving ground on the rail. Amanee and Felix The Cat were further back in the 13 runner field, with Star Factor and Reed Dance at the rear.

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Ilha Grande found virtually nothing when asked for an effort and it was quite evident from early in the straight that the market leader would not play a serious role in the outcome. Felix The Cat had been drawn one from the outside and was hooked wide out to begin a very promising looking challenge, with Uptothemoon coming forward to challenge as the pacesetter faded. Madame Rooney was well within striking reach of the action coming to the last 200m, but Amanee had now delivered a storming challenge as well and the race soon developed into something of a match between her and Felix The Cat.
Felix Coetzee threw everything at his four-legged namesake, but Amanee gradually wore down Felix The Cat in the final stages and went on to win by a long head, leaving the original favourite to finish second at the highest level for the second time in less than a month. Felix The Cat had finished more than five lengths in front of Amanee in the Golden Slipper and was done no favours this time by her wide draw, but Amanee and Kevin Shea appeared to win the Thekwini fair and square, if only by a narrow margin.

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Uptothemoon had finished fourth in the Golden Slipper and went one better here, taking third prize from the worst of the draw, but she proved no match for the two that beat her inside the final 100m or so. Madame Rooney finished an honourable fourth, but Ilha Bela weakened to finish with only a couple behind her and may not have taken to the softer ground. In truth, though, she had generally beaten very ordinary rivals in her two previous starts and it remains to be seen whether she is truly a Graded race filly, despite being bred to potentially be a champion. Miss Ipanema had her supporters after she’d unleashed a terrific turn of foot to win a minor Greyville 1400m event earlier in July, but she was never seen with a chance here.

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Australian-bred Amanee could stay even further than 1600m at three on the evidence of this run and could be a progressive sort who will continue to do well in the new season. She has the pedigree to be a good horse, for sure, being by the highly successful Pivotal out of Woodman mare Moon Is Up, who was Gr3 placed in France. Owned by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum, Amanee has won three times from six starts for stakes of R434 810 and has now fully vindicated the support which saw her start as a 9/10 favourite when she made her racecourse debut in the Gr2 SA Fillies Nursery at Turffontein in April.