Saturday’s 10-race Highveld meeting at TAB Turffontein on 31 October is packed with quality, with the Grade 2 Allied Steelrode – Onamission Charity Mile the headline act, supported by a pair of Grade 3 contests for three-year-olds and three Listed races.
While the Charity Mile’s community initiative ensures that the day ultimately has many winners beyond the racecourse, there are plenty of attractive betting propositions for punters, with the powerful stables of Sean Tarry and that of Mike & Mathew de Kock dominating the feature-race landscape.
Race 4, the Grade 3 Starling Stakes for three-year-old fillies, sees eight of the 12 runners representing the Tarry and De Kock stables.
De Kock’s Flower Island, a last-start winner of the Grade 2 Fillies & Mares Joburg Spring Challenge, renews rivalry with Tarry’s Get Up. There is unfinished business between the pair: Get Up defeated Flower Island in the Grade 2 Alan Robertson at the end of their two-year-old campaigns, before Flower Island avenged that defeat with a winning three-year-old reappearance.
Get Up is now 1kg better off for a 2-length defeat and enjoys a better draw, so there should be little separating the two again. Tarry, however, throws five runners at the race, with Alice B Toklas, Secretary Bird, Griselda and Within Reach joining Get Up to provide the yard with plenty of firepower.
De Kock’s trio is headed by Flower Island, with Good Day Sunshine and new stable recruit In Hot Water (formerly with James Crawford in the Western Cape) completing the De Kock trio.
Flower Island and Get Up look the principal protagonists, although the depth of the race makes it one where exotic players may want to go wide.
The three-year-old males take centre stage in Race 5, the Grade 3 TAB Graham Beck Stakes over 1400m, where Fish Tales sets the standard. This unbeaten Heavenly Blue colt, a last-start winner of the Grade 2 Umkhomazi Stakes at Hollywoodbets Greyville at the end of his two-year-old campaign, makes his first appearance for the De Kock stable after switching from James Crawford’s barn.
There is considerable scope for improvement from Fish Tales as a three-year-old, and his pedigree suggests the additional 200m should be firmly in his favour. Perhaps even more significant for punters is that, of De Kock’s four runners, stable jockey Callan Murray has opted to partner Fish Tales, despite the colt’s awkward 11 draw. That is a notable vote of confidence.
The big one is Race 7, the Grade 2 Allied Steelrode – Onamission Charity Mile over 1600m, where De Kock launches a four-pronged assault against a strong Tarry coupling that is made up of the two Grade 1 winners in the field, Cosmic Speed and Grand Empire.
The latter has a score to settle with the De Kock-trained Splittheeights. During their highly productive three-year-old campaigns, Splittheeights chased home Grand Empire in the Grade 1 SA Classic over 1800m, having previously beaten Tarry’s charge in the Grade 2 Gauteng Guineas over this same 1600m course and distance.
Grand Empire has the advantage of a comeback run under his belt and should strip fitter for it, but his 18 draw is an obvious concern. Splittheeights, by contrast, has landed gate 4, is unbeaten over the course and distance and Murray gets back in the irons. With just 53.5kg on his back, the De Kock inmate appears attractively weighted.
The only question mark is fitness, though the yard’s assessment is that the lightly raced Vercingetorix colt is not yet 100%, but fit enough to acquit himself competitively. Given his course-and-distance record, favourable draw and weight, he nevertheless looks good value to make a winning return.
And then there is Race 8, the Listed 4Racing Java Stakes over 2400m, where De Kock-trained Curious Girl rates one of the day’s strongest exotic-bet anchors. The filly, winner of last season’s SA Derby, is unbeaten in two starts over the TAB Turffontein Standside track. She made an encouraging seasonal return in the Michaelmas Handicap over 1900m at Hollywoodbets Greyville earlier this month. The step up to 2400m is ideal and she is the best-weighted runner in the lineup. With fitness already established and the extra 500m tailor-made for her, Curious Girl has plenty going for her.
Clive Robinson
