Tempted in a tight finish from Moon Spun
The Debutante for two-year-old fillies over 1200m at Scottsville on Thursday also produced a largely unexpected result when Tempted just held off Moon Spun in a driving finish. Both started as 16/1 outsiders in a field which was reduced to nine by the withdrawal of runaway course-and-distance debut winner Venetian Lady, writes Matthew Lips.
Lavish Gal had finished second in a Gr 3 over 1000m at Clairwood eleven days earlier and was well supported to start as the 28/10 favourite to give trainer Jeff Freedman a same day Gr 3 double after the earlier success of Silver Age in the equivalent race for males. To Go West and Salsabeel had both easily won at maiden level over a bit more ground in their most recent start and were the 33/10 joint second favourites, with narrow debut winner Sugar Berry Babe supported at long odds to go off at 7/1 from an ante-post call of 20/1.
Tenacious Tess was an early leader, but Stern Line and Lavish Gal also showed plenty of speed from the break. To Go West was very much in touch as well, with Salsabeel and Tempted just behind the pace. Tenacious Tess soon weakened, and with Lavish Gal not finding much more from 200m out it was Stern Line who led as Tempted moved up to challenge. The latter gradually got the better of Stern Line, but then had to be hard ridden by Sean Veale to repel a late challenge from Moon Spun, who finished strongly from off the pace but whose effort came just too late. She failed by a head to collar the winner, but the runner-up may be the filly to follow out of this formline. She had run extremely green when narrowly winning a weak looking Greyville 1300m maiden second time out, but her Debutante effort represented very considerable improvement over that form and Moon Spun is definitely going the right way as she slowly gets the hang of what racing is about.
Stern Line was far from disgraced in only her second career appearance and finished three-quarters of a length further back in third, with To Go West (who probably needs more ground) 1.75 lengths behind her in fourth. Lavish Gal appeared not to see it out and is arguably most effective over 1000m, but Sugar Berry Babe was never a factor and finished last.
The Gr 1 Allan Robertson Fillies Championship over the same course-and-distance on May 28th promises to be a considerably stronger race and the Debutante form probably isn’t up to that level, but Tempted seems likely to be aimed at that contest anyway. She has nothing to lose, for sure, and she did appear to improve going further than 1000m for the first time after she had finished a well beaten fourth in a minor non-black type Feature over the shorter distance in the more recent of her two previous outings.
Tempted is trained by Mike Miller, who has won more races with two-year-olds than any other KZN-domiciled trainer this season. She is a daughter of Jallad out of the Argentine-bred Southern Halo mare Tempter, who won two races over 1000/1200m including a Listed event when trained in South Africa. Tempted was knocked down for R120 000 at the 2010 Equimark Vintage Yearling sale, but still races in the colours of her breeders Gary and Cecil Baitz, who paid R45 000 for her dam when she was in foal with Tempted at the 2008 Grandwest mare and weanling sale. Tempted has won twice from three starts and earned R161 650 in stakes.
Debutante S. (SAf-G2) (5/5)
Scottsville, South Africa, May 5, R184.000, 1200m, turf, good, 1.10.22 (CR 1.07.00).
TEMPTED (SAF), 58.0, br f 2, Jallad – Tempter (ARG) by Southern Halo. Owner Dr G Baitz and C Baitz; breeder J D Jaffee (SAF); trainer M D Miller; jockey S Veale (R122.000)
Moon Spun (SAF), 58.0, b f 2, Black Minnaloushe – Dreaming Gold (SAF) by Golden Thatch (IRE)
Stern Line (SAF), 58.0, b f 2, Captain Al (SAF) – Dust Me Down (SAF) by Sportsworld
Margins: nose, ¾, 1¾
Also ran: To Go West (SAF) 58.0, Lavish Gal (SAF) 58.0, Salsabeel (AUS) 58.0, London Queen (SAF) 58.0, Sugar Berry Babe (SAF) 58.0, Tenacious Tess (SAF) 58.0
