The Frank Robinson-trained Dynasty filly Olma deservedly earned bold black type for the first time when comfortably winning the Gr 3 Flamboyant Stakes over 1600m on the Greyville turf on New Year’s Night under a faultless ride by Ian Sturgeon.
Robinson’s contention that he had overestimated the four-year-old’s ability to stay was proven correct.
She raced hard on the steel after Sturgeon had expertly placed her in the box seat in the eleven-horse field behind Cassey O’Malley, who sat in second place in the running and wasn’t interested in chasing the good pace set by Lertasha.
There might have been one or two anxious moments in the stands when Lertasha skipped about three lengths clear as they entered the straight.
However, the punters who had backed Olma in from 7/2 to 16/10 were breathing easily seconds later as she showed a blistering turn of foot and made up the deficit in a matter of strides before opening up a three length lead and showing no signs of stopping.
It was race over by the 200m mark and it was left to the Doug Campbell-trained Lala to run on strongly for a two length second and then there was a 2,75 length gap back to Cassie O’Malley who just touched off Brown Sugar and Lertasha for third. Olma’s market rival In Other Words was dropped out from a wide draw and was just too far out of her ground as she ran on well but could only manage sixth place. The disappointment was the third favourite Sabaha, who seems to be a temperamental sort and to date hasn’t lived up to her early promise.
Robinson had always believed Olma would come into her own as a four-year-old being a light-framed filly. He secured her for R450,000 at the National Yearling Sales and, despite it being revealed that she had cysts on her stifle at the time, he said she had turned out to be one of his soundest horses in training.
She is owned by Russians Ruslan and Aslan Bifov and was bred by Vaughan Koster’s Cheveley Stud.
Robinson said he would likely give Olma a break now, but she will be a filly to be reckoned with in the Champions Season.
Later in the meeting the Tony Rivalland-trained New Zealand-bred three-year-old Rip Van Winkle filly Killer Woman proved herself one to be reckoned with too when slamming a decent bunch of males, all bar one of whom were older horses, in a six-horse field Graduation Plate over 1800m after showing a superb turn of foot. The win completed a double on the night for Delpech. The three-year-old fillies crop appears to lack depth countrywide this season, so Killer Woman could be a contender for a race like the Gr1 Woolavington 2000.
The Michael Roberts-trained three-year-old Ashaawes filly Durban Blues did well against some of the best fillies of her age in KZN last season and got off the mark on Friday night in her sixth career start in a 1600m fillies and mares maiden under Brandon Lerena. The win gave the Roberts yard a double on the night, ending a lean spell, and it was the first leg of a treble for Lerena. Durban Blues looks to have the scope to go on and win more races.

At Kenilworth yesterday the Listed Sophomore Sprint over 1200m provided a good preparation or qualifying race for a number of CTS Million Dollar contenders and it was the Mike Bass trained Elusive Fort gelding Ernie who pulled clear late in the race to win under Grant Van Niekerk and ensure his place in the lucrative 1400m event’s final field. Illuminator was a borderline case for qualifying according to the last Million Dollar log so gave his connections hope by finishing second. The dual Gr 1-winner Seventh Plain had to concede lumps of weight to the whole field and ran a fair third, although his backers would have been disappointed as he started hot favourite. Psycho Syd was the only runner who doesn’t qualify for the CTS Million Dollar and finished fourth, while borderline cases Forward Drive and Western Prince did their chances of getting in the field no favors by finishing well beaten as did the hopeful Astrapi. Tar Heel looks to have qualified for the race already as he was high up on the last log but yesterday’s race will add to the doubts over his stamina as he was well beaten in fifth place after being prominent early.

In Johannesburg yesterday Grant Maroun pulled off a fine training feat when the six-year-old Mullins Bay gelding Viking Hero ran on strongly to win the Gr 3 Lebelo Sprint over 1000m under Karl Zechner. At this time last year the sprinter was a battling one-time winning handicapper merit rated only 68. However, he then reeled off three wins on the trot and followed that with four more seconds, so came into yesterday’s event merit rated 88. He carried only 54kg yesterday due to the presence of 100 merit-rated One Man’s Dream. Zechner timed his run, made towards the outside of the nine horse field, to perfection to win by a quarter-of-a-length from Tiger Territory with Mod Barley a further 1,5 lengths back in third.
Earlier, an eye catching performance was put in by the Sean Tarry-trained Right Approach colt Lunar Approach who came from third in the running in a MR 93 Handicap for three-year-olds over 1400m and hit the front early in the straight before powering clear to win by 3,5 lengths under S’Manga Khumalo from the lightweight Neuf de Pape and second topweight Rikitikitana. The favourite, the Gary Alexander-trained Champagne Haze, was having his first run since easily winning the R2,5 million CTS Emperor’s Palace Ready To Run Cup and was carrying top weight of 61,5kg from the widest draw of all in the six horse field, so the price of 5/10 seemed way too short against these promising sorts.And so it proved as he was never in it and finished fifth, but he will no doubt bounce back and be a contender for the Autumn classics along with Lunar Approach.
The Alexander yard had consolation later when the Seventh Rock filly Crystal Glamour, who was runner up in only her second outing in the R2,015,000 Bloodstock SA Ready To Run Cup, put in a sterling performance to win a MR 89 Handicap over 1400m for three-year-old fillies. Andrew Fortune had to bring her wide around runners to take the lead and she then held on bravely in the straight to win in a tight three way finish from the promising Jungle Mist and the topweight Juxtapose. All three are likely to make there presence felt in the Autumn classics.

By David Thiselton