Katy's Lane
Gr3 Starling Stakes at Turffontein last Saturday
Tyrone Zackey pulled off a very smart piece of training when Katy’s Lane returned after a 23 week lay-off to win the Starling Stakes for three-year-old fillies over 1400m at Turffontein (standside course) on Saturday. Even the booking of Piere Strydom to ride Katy’s Lane for the first time didn’t entice most punters and Zackey’s charge went off as an easy-to-back 8/1 chance in a maximum field of 16, writes Matthew Lips.
There were numerous promising types but no previous Stakes winners in the line-up and it was Pebble Eyes, an impressive winner of her only start over 1200m on Turffontein’s inner track three weeks earlier, who went off as the well backed 2/1 favourite from an opening call of 7/2. Jackodore had looked unlucky when failing narrowly behind well weighted Uptothemoon in a plate race over 1160m in October and was the 9/2 second favourite despite harbouring a few stamina question marks on pedigree. Also in the line-up was Magic Smoke, the unbeaten winner of two races over 1600m.
Amazing Grace set a decent pace from the start and showed the way ahead of Altair and Shadows In The Sun, with Bluroute next in line as both Pebble Eyes and Jackodore bided their time since way off the action. Katy’s Lane was also given a waiting ride and was well adrift as Amazing Grace brought them into the straight. Shadows In The Sun was one of the first to try and launch a challenge as the pacesetter weakened, but it was Blueroute who came to the front well inside the final 200m as Jackodore loomed up on the inside fence and Katy’s Lane produced a storming run wider out. Bluroute was well supported beforehand and gave her backers a thrill when still leading well inside the last 100m, but Strydom had timed Katy’s Lane’s challenge to absolute perfection and she gunned down her rival in the last strides to win going away by half-a-length.
Amur Affair ran on strongly from off the pace to finish only a neck behind her stable companion Bluroute in third, a particularly fine effort after starting from the widest gate of all. Jackodore was another length away in fourth and appeared to have every chance, but she might not have quite seen out this stoutly-run 1400m on the testing standside course. Magic Smoke was beaten 3.5 lengths into sixth after also being unfavourably drawn and could prove a very interesting prospect when tried over at least 1800m. She might even have the makings of an Oaks filly, and while that is still a long way away she is bound to improve on the bare form of Saturday’s effort.
Katy’s Lane had won twice in succession by healthy margins after finishing third on debut last season, all three of those races being on the Turffontein inner course. She won her maiden by 3.25 lengths over 1600m and the 1400m of the Starling Stakes is probably her absolute minimum trip. She seems likely to step back up to 1600m for the Gr 3 Fillies Mile on November 26th and may well come on with Saturday’s run under her girth. There were no proven stars in the Starling Stakes line-up, but she did the job nicely while perhaps not being completely fine-tuned and she is a very decent filly by the looks of things.
A daughter of the now Zimbabwe-based Royal Academy horse Tamburlaine, Katy’s Lane is the 11th foal and somewhat remarkably the 11th winner by nine different sires produced from Lustra mare Beautiful Piper, who won two races up to 1200m and who is also the dam of recent Vaal sand Listed winner Follow The Piper. Bred by Cheveley Stud and an inexpensive R35 000 purchase from the 2010 National Two Year Old Sale, Katy’s Lane’s three wins and one place from four starts have earned R202 000 in stakes.
Starling S. (SAf-G3) (11/5)
Turffontein, South Africa, November 5, R165.000, 1400m, turf, good, 1.24.56 (CR 1.21.41).
KATY’S LANE (SAF), 58.0, b f 3, Tamburlaine (IRE) – Beautiful Piper (SAF) by Lustra. Owner Mr K P & Mrs N M Backos and messrs D Bothma & F C Bothma; breeder Cheveley Stud (SAF); trainer T Zackey; jockey P Strydom (R103.125)
Bluroute (AUS), 56.0, b f 3, Dubai Destination – Nimphidia by Nijinsky Amur Affair (SAF), 58.0, ch f 3, Tiger Ridge – Weston Fair (SAF) by Western Winter
Margins: ½, nk, 1
Also ran: Jackodore (SAF) 56.0, Shadows In The Sun (SAF) 56.0, Magic Smoke (SAF) 58.0, Mount Carmel (SAF) 58.0, Altair (SAF) 56.0, Paschal Moon (SAF) 58.0, Pebble Eyes (SAF) 56.0, Amazing Grace (SAF) 56.0, Tresco (SAF) 56.0, Thembi (SAF) 56.0, Star Factor (SAF) 56.0, Goddess Athena (SAF) 58.0, Little Venice (SAF) 56.0
