Some might have felt that Majmu let the crop down on Saturday by finishing runner up in the Gr 1 R2 million President’s Champions Challenge over 2000m, but that is probably only due to both the enormous reputation she had  before the event and the fickle nature of the South African racing public. In reality she carried a Gr1 penalty, as opposed to the victor  Wylie Hall who only carried a Gr 2 penalty, so if the performance was equated to weight for age terms she actually put in a marginally better performance than the winner – she was beaten 1,25 lengths over 2000m on 1,5kg worse terms than weight for age.

Wyle Hall was considered by many as unlucky to have been demoted in the Vodacom Durban July at the expense of the Equus Horse Of The Year Legislate last year. He ran on just a one point lower merit rating than Legislate in the July, which puts into perspective just how good a horse he is. Furthermore, Wylie Hall looks to have come into his own this season, while Majmu, having her second run after a layoff, might have run a slightly flat race by her standards on Saturday.

When Majmu won the second Gr 1 of her career in the WFA Empress Club Stakes over 1600m, her runner-up was fellow three-year-old filly Trophy Wife and another three-year-old filly, Tamanee, was third. Tamanee was the only three-year-old in Saturday’s WFA Gr 2 Gerald Rosenberg Stakes over 2000m and she duly thrashed them by 3,75 lengths. The tough and ever improving Trophy Wife has consistently finished second to the brilliant Siren’s Call this year in Johannesburg’s big three-year-old fillies races.

Siren’s Call was ever so unlucky to fail in her bid to win the Triple Tiara on Saturday when losing a shoe at the start of the Gr 1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Oaks over 2450m and then pipped in the final stride by Pine Princess. Pine Princess has joined Majmu as the only female to have beaten Siren’s Call to date. Pine Princess has always been looking for the Oaks trip and considering the strength of her crop she will be a leading contender for the Gr 1 eLan Property Gold Cup, if she takes that route.

Majmu beat Trophy Wife by three lengths in the Empress Club and in her previous start over that trip she beat Inara by 2,5 lengths in the Gr 1 Avontuur Estate Fillies Guineas. Inara then went on to win two WFA Gr 1s in succession against older females, the Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes over 1800m and the Klawervlei Majorca Stakes over 1600m. Furthermore, she only just touched off her top class three-year-old contemporary Cold As Ice in the Majorca.

Cold As Ice was denied the opportunity of facing Majmu in the Cape Fillies Guineas when bursting through the stalls, dumping her jockey and running back to the parade ring. However, she followed up by beating older fillies in both the Listed Laisserfaire Stakes over 1100m and the Gr 2 Sceptre Stakes over 1200m. Her respective runner ups in those races were Rosier and Double Whammy, both three-year-old fillies.

Three-year-old filly Alboran Sea proved herself the best sprinter in the country on Saturday by winning the WFA Gr 1 Computaform Sprint over 1000m against older males, having also beaten them in the WFA Gr 1 Cape Flying Championship over the same distance. However, on Saturday she was hard pressed to beat her contemporary three-year-old filly Carry On Alice, who had finished third in the Cape Flying despite having been made to stand in the stalls for ages while others were backed out after a horse had broken through the front gates.

The time on Saturday also told a story, 55,59, just 0,63 seconds outside the course record despite the race having been run in soft going, a phenomenal performance by both fillies. It is hardly surprising that the rest of the field, which included no fewer than five Gr 1-winning older sprinters, were four lengths behind the winner and strung out like the washing.

The luckless Same Jurisdiction, who was a Gr 1 winner as a two-year-old, was only just touched off by Siren’s Call in the Gr 1 SA Fillies Classic. She would have preferred faster going, so has to be considered right up with the best of the crop. Same Jurisdiction is probably better over a mile, but she had no sort of luck in the Gr 2 Gauteng Fillies Guineas.

One Fine Day, who was a Gr 1 runner-up against the boys as a two-year-old, is also right up there and impressed in her last win over 1400m at Greyville.

Cape Fillies Guineas third-placed Double Whammy is unfortunately sidelined as she is also full of class and the promising Cape Fillies Guineas fourth-placed Jet Set Go hasn’t been seen out since that race.

There are many others of good quality such as Rich Girl, who likely needed her last two starts, Smart Call, Bilateral, Lazer Star and Banbury and others like Alexis, Bichette, Cuvee Brut, Patchit Up Baby, Silver Class, Alice Springs, Flame Cat and Olma who could still make their presence felt at the top level.

The older generation of the racing fraternity, and for that matter of any sporting code, usually regard the gladiators of their heyday as all conquering but they would be hard pressed to name a three-year-old fillies crop as good as this one.