Turffontein’s Inside track stages a compact seven-race card on Saturday, but there is no shortage of betting interest, with several highly rated fillies returning to action and trainer Sean Tarry holding particularly strong cards at opposite ends of the programme.
Tarry should strike first in Race 1 over 1000m with The Bachelorette, a well-related three-year-old daughter of William Longsword who has already shown enough to suggest she can open her account.
She caught the eye when second on debut over this trip, only to disappoint when seventh of eight over 1200m three months later. However, she bounced back to something closer to her best when fourth over this distance against male opposition last month following another 12-week break.
That comeback should have sharpened her considerably, and a return to female-only company could see The Bachelorette take another step forward. She looks a worthwhile opener.
Tarry’s second major contender comes in Race 6 over 1200m, where stable companion Perfect Sky makes her eagerly anticipated seasonal reappearance.
The beautifully bred Vercingetorix filly, a R1.7-million yearling purchase, ended a promising juvenile campaign with a determined second to Equus Champion Two-Year-Old Filly Palace Of Arvenia in a Grade 2 over this distance. She improved with a hood fitted last time and retains the headgear in her comeback.
Perfect Sky is unlikely to be fully wound up with bigger targets surely in the programme, but she has enough class to make her presence felt immediately. She won’t need to have improved much during her nine-week absence to make a winning reappearance.
There is another pair of particularly appealing fillies to keep on the shortlist, although there is some uncertainty over the jockey arrangements at the time of writing. Gavin Lerena suffered a fall at last Tuesday’s Vaal meeting and it remains unclear whether he will be able to fulfil his riding commitments on Saturday.
Clive Robincon
