Blue Route - well drawn and ultra consistent
Zimbabwe’s unbeaten ace Control Freak gets her chance to prove she is in anything remotely like the same league as her world class predecessor Ipi Tombe when she has her first start on this side of the Limpopo in Saturday’s Betting World Gauteng Fillies Guineas at Turffontein (standside). Given that many of her most likely looking rivals are either drawn wide, returning from a rest, unsure to stay 1600m or a combination thereof, and seeing as the field is bereft of any obvious stars, Control Freak may be the way to go even if in truth we don’t really know what to expect, writes MATTHEW LIPS.
Control Freak
Control Freak - quickens effortlessly
What is known is that Control Freak (who has cracked an excellent 4 draw) is undefeated from eight starts in Zimbabwe and that she has been even more impressive in her last two attempts over 1600m than she was when racing down the Borrowdale Park straight course earlier. She has in all likelihood been beating very little since she’s been stretched out to a mile, but the daughter of Tamburlaine has simply toyed with what opposition her adopted country (for she is South African bred, after all) has thrown at her. Whether Lisa Harris’ filly deserves to be the joint highest merit rated runner in the Fillies Guineas only the race itself will show, but she has twice beaten Wishful Eye and a few other formerly SA-trained horses in sprints and that at least must have given the handicappers some inkling of where Control Freak stands in the scheme of things. She may just be a cut above this lot, and we’ll take out chances with her,
Bluroute
Mike de Kock has saddled the winner of this race in the past three years and sends out a trio of fillies in his bid to land the honours for a fourth successive time. The best of them may be ultra consistent Bluroute, who has not finished worse than second from five starts. The form of her last effort behind Wagner in a Listed handicap for 3yos over 1400m has not worked out particularly well, but the imported daughter of Dubai Destination got to within half-a-length of Katy’s Lane in a Gr3 over 1400m in November. She is 2kgs worse off with that rival here, but Bluroute has fared a whole lot better than Katy’s Lane in the draw department and that could allow her to turn the form around.
Ilha Bela and Salsabeel
Also representing the De Kock team are Ilha Bela and Salsabeel. The former has been in good form in recent fillies’ and mares’ handicaps and is capable of a strong late run, but she has plenty to prove at this level and was beaten more than six lengths behind Katy’s Lane on identical weight terms in a Gr3 over this course-and-distance last November. She will need to improve considerably on that, even with Marcus up and the 2 draw. Salsabeel was drawn wide when she finished strongly from a mile behind and was beaten a long head by Queen’s Command in the Gr3 Flamboyant Stakes over 1600m at Greyville in January. They did all finish in a heap, though, and the form may not be good enough for these.
Katy’s Lane
Katy’s Lane would have an obvious chance if Piere Strydom can navigate her across from a very wide draw. Tyrone Zackey’s filly has not been beaten from four starts since she finished third on debut last April and finished strongly when winning successive Gr 3 events on this course at her last two starts. She returns from a three month absence, but she has won when racing first time back from an even longer lay-off and goes well fresh. She will be doing her best work late, and if not caught too far out of her ground from her rotten barrier she may well prove too smart for a field like this.
Zeroalso
Uptothemoon has Zeroalso been rested three months since she was outpaced late and was beaten 1.25 lengths by Katy’s Lane on identical weight terms over this course-and-distance. She twice reached the frame in Gr1 races during the last KZN winter season and certainly looks a possible threat, but she is another who has been cursed with a poor draw.
Hidden Beauty
Rated equal to Control Freak by the handicappers is Hidden Beauty, who has been the very easy winner of two conditions races over 1000m on sand from as many starts since joining the Sean Tarry yard. She won the Gr2 Fillies Nursery over 1160m last April and is highly effective on grass, but she has achieved her 101 mark in sprints and is far from certain to run to such a rating at a mile. She met with some interference but nevertheless weakened after racing handy when well beaten in a Gr1 at Greyville the only time she went this distance, where she finished some five lengths further behind Uptothemoon. The Victory Moon filly has plenty of speed in the dam’s side of her pedigree and the feeling persists that she is best suited to sprinting, but it could be argued that she is the proven class horse of the field and she could very well win if she does cope with the distance.
Go Indigo
Go Indigo is yet another who can be given a respectable chance on form but who has drawn wide. Leon Erasmus’ filly is on the upgrade and ran on well when she gave Extra Zero 2kgs and a 1.5 lengths beating in a recent Gr3 over 1450m on the Turffontein inner course. The way she runs on over shorter makes it quite possible that she will be even better at 1600m, a distance which she tries for the first time, and she needs to be considered despite the draw.
Extra Zero
Extra Zero is probably at her best over less than 1600m and seemed to lack extra late when beaten 3.25 lengths behind Katy’s Lane the last time she went this distance. Riding plans suggest that stable companion Hidden Beauty is preferred, and Extra Zero has (you guessed it) an unfavourable draw to overcome.
Shadows In The Sun
Shadows In The Sun looks held safe on form having twice finished unplaced behind Katy’s Lane and having been beaten 2.25 lengths behind Go Indigo on 2 kgs better terms than these last time out. Her mother won the equivalent of this race eleven years ago when it was run at long since defunct Gosforth Park, but Shadows In The Sun has to find lengths on exposed form to have any chance of following suit.
Mary’s Pride
Control Freak is not the only unbeaten filly in the race and will be joined at the gates by Mary’s Pride, who has won twice from as many tries over sprint distances. She drew clear easily after leading throughout when she easily won a very ordinary handicap over 1160m second time out and could be almost anything, but she has not raced for 16 weeks. The daughter of Jet Master is out of a sprinting mare and the speed she has shown in her two outings makes it far from certain that this step up to 1600m will suit her, but if she has inherited the necessary stamina from her sire she could prove a match for the more exposed runners in this line-up.
Awesome Beauty
Awesome Beauty has consistent recent form, but looked to have every chance when beaten two lengths into third behind Go Indigo over 1450m last time and now meets that opponent on 2kgs worse terms. Mount Carmel has twice finished unplaced in Gr 3 races won by Katy’s Lane and seems comfortably held. Solarium has not started since she set the pace before finishing 2.75 lengths third behind Katy’s Lane over 1450m on the inner course back in May. She will need to step up on that first time out after a 39 week lay-off and the daughter of Var is by no means sure to appreciate going this far for the first time.
Rose Garden
Rose Garden should have been penalised several pounds more than the maximum allowable six pounds when she ran on well and beat Kalami by almost one length over 1600m on the inner course first time out of the maidens, but even a “true” mark of around 86 rather than the official 81 leaves her with a lot to find to win in this league. Kalami is consistent, but she was earlier beaten one length behind Ilha Bela on the same terms as these and both she and Rose Garden look well short of what will be needed here. In any case, Kalami is drawn the widest of them all.
Tresco and Schooner
That leaves the reserve runners and stable companions, Tresco and Schooner. Both need to improve plenty on exposed form, with Tresco having been beaten two lengths on identical terms behind Rose Garden last time out. They would make little appeal here, irrespective of which horses came out to allow them into the final line-up.
About The Pace
It’s hard to know just who will set the pace. Mary’s Pride has usually front-run in sprints and it’s possible that she will do so again, especially as there is a risk that she will race keenly in her first try at a mile. Hidden Beauty may also not be easy to kept bottled up over this distance, Solarium raced from the front last time, and Extra Zero’s wide draw might see her revert to the frontrunning style which has previously attempted but discarded in more recent starts. The size of the field will hopefully lead to a decent pace, though. Control Freak has shown that she can quicken effortlessly over this distance, and while she almost certainly faces a much sterner test this time she is selected to win ahead of Bluroute, the poorly drawn pair of Katy’s Lane and Go Indigo, and the somewhat dubious stayer Hidden Beauty. Who ever said that even level weights races should be easy to unravel?
