DANCEWITHTHEDEVIL
JACK MILNER
IT’S Ladies Night at Turffontein on Tuesday evening and there will be no better place to be. The meeting not only stages the R1-million Empress Club Stakes but also offers a number of high quality races that will hopefully shed some light on feature races coming up on Champions Day at the end of the month.
Singer Garth Taylor will be at Turffontein to entertain the racing fans but much of the focus will be on the top-class field of fillies and mares who will be racing over 1600m for a Grade 1 title.
On paper it appears to be another case of David trying to slay Goliath, as St John Gray’s four-year-old Dancewiththedevil takes on the might of Mike de Kock. De Kock saddles five runners, headed up by highly rated British-bred filly Welwitschia. However, the “back up’’ runners are no slouches either and all have winning chances.
There is Sansui Summer Cup winner Flirtation, unbeaten in four starts at Turffontein. Then there is Alderry, who showed her class over this course and distance by capturing the Charity Mile, beating the colts. Fisani is currently in top form and showed that by winning the Grade 3 Jacaranda Handicap over 1800m at the end of last month. Finally De Kock has Headstrong, who is probably the weakest of the quintet as she has yet to win over the distance. However, she ran on strongly to finish second to Give Me Five in the Sycamore Sprint over 1160m earlier this month.
Welwitschia has only raced three times for two wins and a third to stable companion Igugu in the Grade 2 Gauteng Fillies Guineas over the course and distance. She is the only three-year-old in the field and, as she was bred in the northern hemisphere, is also around six months younger than the locally bred crop. As a result she will carry 55.5kg while the balance of the field all have 60kg.
This will be a real test for her and, had this race been six months down the line, she would have been very hard to oppose.
However, she could have her work cut out to beat Dancewiththedevil, who is in cracking form right now. The daughter of Modus Vivendi has won her last three starts, all over this track and trip, but it was her most recent win that makes her the runner to beat here.
She took on a strong field in the Grade 1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes and she came from near last to beat Earl Of Surrey by 5.50 lengths. The race was run at weight for age and, according to her rating, she had little chance of running a place, let alone winning. Dancewiththedevil received an 8kg penalty for that victory but as this is also at set weights that will not come into play, except to indicate that, on her current merit rating, she is the best weighted runner in this field.
It will be interesting to see what tactics De Kock adopts, as the faster the pace the better it may suit Dancewiththedevil. It might be prudent to have a more sedate pace but Gray has Engagement in the race and he might use her as pacemaker.
A decent gallop will also suit Flirtation, who will be ridden by Anton Marcus. She is no slouch but will be having her first outing since finishing unplaced in the J&B Met. Fisani goes particularly well for Gavin Lerena and he is back in the irons again.
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