Hollywoodboulevard wins Gr2 Fillies Mile (JC Photo)
The KIC Fillies Mile for three-year-olds over 1600m appeared to present last season’s Gr 1 winning juvenile Happy Archer with an excellent opportunity after she’d run on well to finish second under top weight on her seasonal debut in a Gr 3 over 1400m three weeks earlier. She went off as the 7/10 favourite in a field of ten, with Hollywoodboulevard and Without Malice the joint 7/1 second favourites ahead of 15/2 chance Nova Zembla.
Happy Archer proved to be most disappointing. She was prominent in the early stages, sitting up in second as Carey’s Qui set the pace, while Without Malice also raced handy in third ahead of Nova Zembla and June Bug. Hollywoodboulevard met with some early traffic problems and brought up the rear of the field. Carey’s Qui continued to lead for a long way down the straight as Happy Archer came under pressure and began to back pedal disappointingly from a long way out. Without Malice was the first to loom up and challenge Carey’s Qui for the lead, but she had absolutely no answer to the finishing kick of Hollywoodboulevard, who made rapid headway from the tail of the field to lead 200m out and who drew right away in the closing stages to beat Without Malice by four lengths. Carey’s Qui was another 2.5 lengths away in third, but Happy Archer faded to nothing and was beaten 12 lengths into seventh spot after perhaps racing a little closer to the early pace than normal.
Hollywoodboulevard had won the valuable (but non-black type) Ready To Run Cup over 1400m, beating red-hot favourite Igugu by one length, and her impressive display on Saturday will make Igugu’s many fans very happy indeed ahead of the latter’s clash with unbeaten Ebony Flyer in this weekend’s Avontuur Estate Cape Fillies Guineas. Hollywoodboulevard was ridden in the Fillies Mile as she was in the Ready To Run Cup by Willie Figueroa, who obviously knows how to get the very best out of Charles Laird’s Australian-bred import. The daughter of outstanding sire Street Cry earned some hugely important black type with this win and in some ways it was more valuable than her success in the much more richly endowed Ready To Run Cup. This was a third win from seven starts for the R900 000 graduate of the 2009 Ready To Run Sale, and it took her career earnings to R979 675.
KIC Fillies Mile (SAf-G3) (11/27)
Turffontein, South Africa, November 27, R275.000, 1600m, turf, good, 1.36.60 (CR 1.35.44).
HOLLYWOODBOULEVARD (AUS), 58.0, b f 3, Street Cry – Soneria (AUS) by Filante (NZ). Owner Mrs I Jooste and Mr M J Jooste; breeder Cescastle (Pty) Ltd (AUS); trainer C S Laird; jockey G Figueroa (R171.875)
Without Malice (SAF), 58.0, b f 3, Jet Master (SAF) – Al Nibari (SAF) by Al Mufti
Carey’s Qui (SAF), 58.0, b f 3, Qui Danzig – Victoria’s Star (SAF) by Al Mufti
Margins: 4, 2½, nk
Also ran: Checcetti (SAF) 58.0, June Bug (SAF) 58.0, Silent Call (SAF) 58.0, Happy Archer (AUS) 58.0, Giggs (SAF) 58.0, Nova Zembla (SAF) 58.0, Candy Cotton (SAF) 58.0
