Jack Milner
Seven quality fillies and mares are carded to go to post for the R1.25-million HSH Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes.
The Grade 1 race over 1600m will be run on the Standside track at Turffontein on Saturday.
The one runner missing from the field is Princess Calla, who will not be back to defend her title, however, trainer Sean Tarry does have two other representatives in Marigold Hotel and Under Your Spell.
Topping the field, however, is Mike de Kock-trained Desert Miracle, who earlier this year upset hot favourite Captain’s Ransom to win the Grade 1 Majorca Stakes over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth.
She comes in as the best-weighted runner and will have Craig Zackey in the irons.
De Kock also has the always-reliable Humdinger who does not know how to run a bad race.
The daughter of What A Winter has run 12 times for the De Kock yard for four wins and seven places. S’manga Khumalo takes the ride for the first time.
Feather Boa has to be one of the unluckiest fillies in racing as she has been touched off in her last three races, which included the Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas and SA Fillies Classic, as well as a recent Pinnacle Stakes won by Humdinger, with Marigold Hotel in second over 1400m at this course. Just 0.15 lengths separated the three so it could be tight between the trio this time.
Mike and Adam Azzie send out last year’s Ipi Tombe Stakes winner Gimme A Shot who last ran in the Grade 1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes and may have been a little unlucky as she suffered some serious interference at a vital stage of the race.
The seventh runner is Grade 3 Starling Stakes winner Miss Daisy. The Billy Ruiters-trained runner was supplemented into the field and has some excellent form to her name.
Final field for the R1.25 million HSH Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes (Grade 1)(For fillies and mares at weight-for-age) over 1600m.
1 - 5 DESERT MIRACLE (M F De Kock) C Zackey 60.0 - 124
2 - 7 UNDER YOUR SPELL (S G Tarry) L Mxothwa 60.0 - 114
3 - 4 HUMDINGER (M F De Kock) S Khumalo 60.0 - 108
4 - 6 MARIGOLD HOTEL (S G Tarry) R Fourie 60.0 - 107
5 - 1 GIMME A SHOT (M/A Azzie) J P v'd Merwe 57.5 - 113
6 - 2 FEATHER BOA (S T Pettigrew) K de Melo 57.5 - 108
7 - 3 MISS DAISY (B B Ruiters) R Munger 57.5 - 108
Same Trainer: (1, 3) (2, 4)