In Step. Formation (Gavin Lerena) charges clear to win the Emerald Fillies Handicap (JC Photos)
St John Gray’s superbly consistent Sarge mare Formation made it a double in the R150 000 Listed Emerald Fillies Handicap run over 1450m at the Vaal on Saturday.
Registering her second win in this race, Formation showed again that she has very few opponents who can match her prowess on the sand in her peer group. She gave the well supported younger Dolomiti a galloping lesson, after admittedly briefly looking under a measure of pressure late in the race.
The race was run quite simply with S’manga Khumalo taking the impressive and longstriding Dolomiti out to lead them. She was chased by Formation, with the rest well strung out behind.
At the 400m marker the Varsfontein Stud bred Dolomiti was still going nicely, but Gavin Lerena had been biding his time on Formation and he moved the 6yo mare through down the inside as she made up ground methodically.
At the 300m marker, Formation was clearly going best of all and she drew off to win easily by 4,75 lengths in a time of 89,51 secs.
Dolomiti ran second, while Break Of Dawn was a further 1,75 lengths back in third.
Formation was bred by St John Gray’s Graystone Stud,and is trained and owned in the white and green silks.
Gray also trained her sire Sarge.
Formation is from her sire’s third.Besides the stakes placed six-time winning Shuffles from Sarge’s first crop, Formation is by far her sire’s top horse.
Formation is out of the very smart five-time winner, Polonaise (by Centenary).
She has won on sand and turf and registered her eighth win from twenty five starts, with thirteen places and R731 720 in prize money.
