Silver Mountain has the enormous riches of the CTS Million Dollar (R14.3 million) in her sights after annihilating the opposition in the World Sports Betting Cape Fillies Guineas and in the meantime she could also take on the colts in Saturday week’s Grand Parade Cape Guineas.

Candice Robinson opened up the fascinating prospect of the latter option, saying: “It’s a possibility. She has a great draw (2) and there is nothing else for her before the Million Dollar. We will discuss it.”

Sadly Mike Bass did not feel well enough to come and watch his fourth Fillies Guineas triumph – one that so emphatically put an end to his run of three successive seconds – but wife Carol said: “I think this could be the best filly we have ever had.”

Certainly the daughter of Silvano provided a notable highlight in the annals of two famous Robertson studs – the Mike Sharkey-managed Highlands which bred her and Andreas Jacobs’ Maine Chance which bought her for R1.3 million.

But, perhaps above all, it was a triumph for Aldo Domeyer who buried the demons that threatened to destroy him. Watching him repeatedly, and professionally, looking back to his left as he sought to get into a position without murdering the opposition, it was hard to believe he had been feeling under severe pressure ever since the Choice Carriers four weeks earlier.

“There was a lot at stake for me and I’d been having sleepless nights,” he revealed. “I’d also been struggling to eat and drink and I lost so much weight as a result.”

He turned to religion and there, apparently, he found salvation – “I prayed and prayed, and that gave me the sense of calmness I was looking for.”

He certainly had it when he turned for home – “It was then just a question of choosing the gap and, when I did, she kept extending away from them while I was looking at the big screen waiting for Bela-Bela. But she didn’t come and, even if she had, my filly had too many answers.”

Seemingly the nerves are now dead and buried and not even the prospect of collecting a R600 000 percentage on January 23 is going to bring them back: “All the money in the world couldn’t bring me more happiness and satisfaction than winning this Fillies Guineas.”

Discussions on future plans will also take place between Glen Kotzen and his former bosses Ralph and Val Rixon following 100-1 chance Our Destiny’s second, albeit five lengths back. “She is bred to be a sprinter,” said a beaming Kotzen. “But I’m jumping with excitement. Everybody kept saying ’why are you running her?’”

The Bass team also has to decide on plans for third-placed Taffety Tart (Grant van Niekerk: “Again no excuses”) while Anglet, a neck away fourth, would have finished a whole lot closer had Raymond Danielson not been forced to ease to avoid Gareth Wright. He was unshipped near the 1 000m mark as Valediction was squeezed and clipped Silver Mountain’s heels.

Indeed this was why Domeyer couldn’t find Bela-Bela (fifth) on the big screen. “Valediction fell in front of me,” reported Piere Strydom who won the last two races for Justin Snaith. “Maybe I would have finished second but the winner was way too good.”

Anton Marcus on seventh-placed A Time To Dream also had a hard luck story, saying: “My saddle slipped back and I wasn’t fully able to assist her.”

Noor was a big disappointment for the many punters who seized on her as if she was the equine equivalent of the money-blowing machine that so fascinated racegoers. Her price plunged from 9-1 to 28-10, pushing the favourite out from 5-10 to 9-10. She finished sixth.

Anthony Delpech said: “Maybe that is as good as she is but it was her first time against top fillies.”

Flying Ice (eighth) returned fatigued and, while the vets could find nothing wrong, Sean Cormack reported that something was amiss with Well In Flight (ninth).

By Michael Clower