Top 3yo. The well weighted Festival Of Fire looks cherry ripe to score her first Gr1 win when she contests the Gr1 L Jaffee Empress Club Stakes at Turffontein on Friday evening
Champion trainer Mike De Kock holds a very strong three cornered hand in the R1 million Gr1 L Jaffee Empress Club Stakes to be run over a mile under lights at Turffontein on Friday evening. A top class field of ten female racers line up to pay tribute to two characters who shaped the history and rewrote the record books in our recent past.
Phumelela are to be lauded for acknowledging the human and equine legends of the past, and while Friday evening’s ladies night is seemingly world’s away from the tradition and decorum of the Jaffee era, they certainly knew how to party then. And doubtless, the new generation will do it in their own unique way at Turffontein.
Remembering
Laurie Jaffee, whose father founded Premier Milling, has probably contributed more to racing than anyone else over the past 50 years. He was granted his colours in 1959, and quickly made his mark with one of his early successes a win in the Summer Handicap with King’s Guard.
Jaffee held numerous top positions in the industry. He was a former head executive steward of the Jockey Club, a past chairman of the Johannesburg Turf Club and Transvaal Racing Club, and life vice-president of both.
He owned numerous top horses, including Durban July winner Ilustrador, Bush Telegraph, the stallion Jallad and champion filly Empress Club. But it was another July victor, London News, winner of the Greyville race in 1996, who gave Jaffee perhaps his most memorable day in racing when the horse powered to a ground-breaking win in the QEII Stakes in Hong Kong the following year.
Jaffee passed away in 2008 at the age of 85. The brilliant Empress Club, a former South African Horse of the Year was bred in Argentina and imported as a yearling by Jaffee to South Africa. She won 15 of 20 races, including eight Gr1 races, and was a five-time South African champion.
Following her importation into the USA, she won the 1994 Gr3 Hillsborough Handicap at Bay Meadows.Empress Club sadly died suddenly on 19 December 2004 at the Beck family’s Gainesway Farm near Lexington.
Humdinger
The evening’s feature should be a humdinger. The sole visitor is Brett Crawford’s Jet Master filly Thunder Dance, who ventures into the bull ring as the best weighted horse in the race and with the credit of a Gr1 win to her name.
Crawford may have been buoyed by the memory of the success of another Cape visitor in recent years. Justin Snaith scored a stunning victory with Vodacom Durban July dead heater Dancer’s Daughter in 2009, and a victory for the Capetonian is not beyond the realms of belief, despite the De Kock stranglehold.
Thunder Dance has not run since Met day, when finishing 4 lengths behind Blueridge Mountain in the Majorca Stakes, and will likely need the outing.
Tradition
Found Form. The gallant grey Ilha Bela has regained her best form and Delpech rides her. Watch her if the going comes up soft
De Kock won the race last year with Europa Point for Wilgerbosdrift Stud and Iha Bela will be looking to continue that fine tradition this year.Whatever the case, the De Kock coupling may be the Pick Six banker option on a tough card.
Ilha Bela appears to have found her form feet very nicely with two wins from her last three starts. This was after a flat effort in the Summer Cup, where she ran a forgettable thirteenth.
Her most recent effort was a narrow defeat at the hands of Cherry On The Cake in a Conditions Plate over 1800m at Turffontein, and we saw how that one went on to win the Jacaranda Handicap in good style.
The 3yo Festival Of Fire comes in under Thunder Dance as the next best rated runner in the field, and on the basis of the question marks against the Cape visitor, is our first choice.
The daughter of Kahal has won 5 of 8 starts and her sole try at a mile delivered a fifth place finish to her star stablemate Rumya in the Cape Fillies Guineas. Festival Of Fire showed her wellbeing by winning her last outing against her own sex, after an unsuccessful attempt at the Hawaii Stakes. It niggles that Delpech may have opted to ride Ilha Bela, but Robbie Fradd is more than a capable replacement and she will be running at them late.
Sizzling
Big Threat. The De Kock coupling is a powerhouse and Acacia Handicap winner Amur Affair gets the services of Anton Marcus again
Anton Marcus won the Acacia Handicap in sizzling style on Amur Affair, and he rides her again tonight. Amur Affair ran a 3,50 length fifth to Slumdogmillionaire in the Gr1 Horse Chestnut, but will be a more serious proposition against her own sex here. If One goes further back, her course and distance form is top class, and her great second to General Sherman in the Listed Wolf Power stands out in relevance.
Sean Tarry’s excellent mare Happy Archer lost her form since just prior to her blank Cape campaign earlier this year, and while Piere Strydom is not a man to be ignored, it is difficult suggesting that she could suddenly bounce back to form in this top company.
Stretched
Weiho Marwing’s Eskimo Inn is a 4yo who looks stretched on the handicap, although the daughter of Greys Inn has won 2 of her last 4 starts,and is fit and well. St John Gray has taken the solid Australian bred Queen’s Command over from Glen Kotzen, and owner Michael Leaf is enjoying a dream run at the moment.
She will jump at double figure odds though, and must be considered a longshot at best. Gary Alexander’s Classic Illusion has pulled the outside 10 draw and the three time winner looks held in this company.
Robbie Sage’s Kalami ach-ieved a career best second in the Gr1 SA Fillies Classic in 2012 behind Dennis Drier’s Bambina Stripes, but has failed to deliver at this level since. She is possessed of a powerful finish though, and is capable of kicking the quartet out to touch if things go her way.
Festive Night
The evening promises top class horseracing, and this race looks to be a natural highpoint. An interesting observation over the past decade shows that the going often comes up soft, so that may be a factor to take cognisance of.
While Thunder Dance is weighted to win, we are more inclined towards one of De Kock’s three local stars. There won’t be much between Festival Of Fire, Amur Affair and Ilha Bela.
But we are going all the way with De Kock and with the well weighted 3yo Festival Of Fire and Robbie Fradd. Festival Of Fire is selected to win at the expense of Amur Affair, with Ilha Bela for third.
