The Turffontein Saturday nine-race meting is headed by a MR88 Handicap for three-year-olds which looks to be a stepping stone for one or two decent sorts into the forthcoming Gauteng classics.
Yakeen looks to be classy and hard to beat in this race. In his second start in October he just failed to beat older horses over 1700m and he should have matured and strengthened since then. Delpech is aboard and they can beat stablemate Alshibaa considering they are getting 2kg from him. Alshibaa is well regarded and having won his first two starts and then running below par in the postponed Dingaans, he ran a cracker last time in third in the Listed Secretariat Stakes behind the top class Majestic Mambo. Aurora Australis has his second run after gelding and makes most appeal of the rest.
Corne Spies (Supplied)
Corne Spies has been as lethal as usual in the early season two-year-old races and has two well-bred first-timers in the first two races, so another two-year-old double looks on the cards for him. The first of them is called Rule The Sky, is a R375,000 Var half-brother to Grade 3 winner Jet Aglow, and the second of them is Miss Khalifa, a R250,000 Sail From Seattle half-sister to the three-time winning stakes-placed Fortissimus.
Punters can get through the first leg of the PA with Hero’s Honour, who went close over 1160m last time and, being by the excellent late sire Await The Dawn, will relish the step up in trip to 1600m here. Manhattan Cocktail is an interesting first-timer here, as he has the same sire as Whisky Baron, Manhattan Rain, and his dam by Charge Forward placed in her only start and is a three-quarters sister to a horse who has won from 1200-2400m, including a Group 2 and a Group 3, and is also a half-sister to another Group 2 winner.
The first leg of the Pick 6 over 1600m should see Shukamisa going close as he is a handy horse with a good kick and he has a good draw. He has second-time blinkers on and ran well with the headgear on from a wide draw last time. He is by Silvano so will be improving all the time and the Ormond Ferraris yard are starting to hit their straps as they had an impressive winner during the week.
Yakeen is tipped to be a banker in the second leg of the Pick 6 but the risk averse can also include Alshibaa and as these two are liking having preparation runs the like of Aurora Australis, Harlan County and Full Of Attitude could also be considered for those hoping for a train smash.
In the second leg of the Pick 6, a staying event over 3200m, Arte is coming into her own like a typical daughter of Ideal World, Casino has always been considered a fair staying in the making and Just A Jet is a talented but enigmatic type who can never be ignored.
In the next leg Vicomte has some class and packs a strong finish so will relish the slight step up to 1160m. However, he does have quite a low draw which might be against him, so Boatswain and Mujallad can be included.
In the next leg the improved Lauren Of Rochelle and the talented The Tin Man, who unfortunately has a breathing issue, can dominate the race and are taken as the only two horses in the exotics.
The last leg of the Pick 6 is the toughest race on the card. Gaisge Gold is tipped to win having done well over this trip the last time he was drawn this well. Just A Gigolo has ability if things go his way and Strydom remains aboard. Flexible Fugitive took well to blinkers last time and will be in the shake up too as his low draw will suit his likely front-running effort. However the suggestion is to go as wide as possible in this race.
By David Thiselton
