Bilateral came from the clouds to win the Golden Slipper, going away. She may take some beating, given a true run race.
The 2yo Fillies Championship goes down to the wire in the final Gr1 feature of the season.
Previous Gr1 winners Carry On Alice (SA Nursery), Alboran Sea (Allan Robertson) and Bilateral (Golden Slipper) all have solid claims to the title. Although Bilateral beat the other two fillies in the Golden Slipper, things look anything but cut and dried. The race distance (a mile on turf) could well be the deciding factor. It will be most interesting to see how the bookies price up!
Carry On Alice took on the colts in the SA Nursery over 1160m at Turffontein, and beat them pointless.
She tried to repeat the feat in the Gold Medallion, up the 1200m straight at Scottsville, again against the colts. That time she found one too good for her in Guiness, but given the way things panned out for her in the race she might have been an unlucky loser. The 1400m Golden Slipper on July day at Greyville was next, finally against her own sex. The betting suggested a race in two, Carry On Alice at 22/10 and Alboran Sea favourite at 5/4 in a field of fourteen. The draw mattered, with the start virtually on the bend, and Alice was forced to race wide, never getting into the hunt. A race to forget.
Things could be hairy again this time, with draw 12 not exactly an advantage. More serious for her could be the distance. A mile looks just about the limit of her stamina, so all may depend on the early pace and whether she settles.
Alboran Sea followed a winning debut with a good victory in the Allan Robertson Fillies Championship, the race for which her much fancied stable companion Majmu (winner of the SA Fillies Nursery) was a late withdrawal. Her 12/1 starting price belied her ease of victory.
Alboran Sea is one of three Gr1 winning fillies, all looking for a win in the Thekwini Stakes to secure the 2yo champion title.
Alboran Sea started favourite next time out, in the Gr1 Golden Slipper, over 1400m on July-day. Everything went wrong for her. She missed the break, was bumped, raced wide, yet managed to overcome all that and with a furlong to go looked the winner. Her earlier exertions took their toll, though, and she was passed by Bilateral close home.
Luck in the running and all that. Given a less troublesome passage she might not have lost, and the chance to prove that is here. The extra distance hopefully will not be a problem – her full brother Trafalgar Legacy raced in SA and Singapore, winning up to 2000m.
Bilateral came from the clouds to win the Golden Slipper, going away.
There had been nothing in her previous five starts (which yielded one win, over a mile) to suggest that she was capable to win in the way she did. Her 50/1 starting price was ample evidence of that. Perhaps the daughter of freshman sire Lateral needed time to come into her own, with her stamina making the difference in the Golden Slipper. The racetime was only marginally slower that the one of Afrikaburn in the colts equivalent, the Golden Horseshoe, forty minutes later. Which would suggest that Bilateral may take some beating, given a true run race.
The Thekwini Stakes has had its fair share of surprises in the past. Future champion Gypsy’s Warning winning at 16/1, with Mother Russia in third. Another future champion, Sun Classique, had been denied victory a year earlier. Two year olds often make rapid improvement at this time of year, fooling the odds-makers.
That said, in the two most recent years the wins of All Is Secret and Along Came Polly were hardly any surprise.
So on to the opponents who face the fancied trio.
Pine Princess finished right behind stable companion Alboran Sea in the Golden Slipper, less than a length behind winner Bilateral, and running on well. Her starting price of 25/1 appears to be further evidence of Alboran Sea having run below best. That said, the extra 200m should suit Pine Princess, her dam a winner up to 2000m. Delpech swops the Golden Slipper ride on Pine Princess for Alboran Sea.
Same Jurisdiction hit the headlines with a good win in the 2yo Million race over 1300m on July day, beating the useful Beckedorf. That was her second win from 3 starts and a career-best effort. The daughter of freshman sire Mambo In Seattle jumps in at the deep end here, and it’ll be interesting to see whether she gets the mile. If she does she should improve on her rating. Her stable companion Littleblacknumber ran no sort of race in the Golden Slipper, when refusing to settle. Her form before that had been quite consistent, but she looks held by Pine Princess and stable mate Samejurisdiction here.
Grey Light is a daughter of US champion sire Tapit, and is out of a daughter of champion sprinter Harry’s Charm. She won on debut, which for her trainer Ramsden usually means future black type (his 2yo’s normally need a run on debut). She improved the next time, finishing fifth in the Golden Slipper, beaten 4 lengths and running on. She could well improve further over this distance, assuming she doesn’t starts slowly (as she did on her first two outings).
Banbury won on debut, and followed up with a close second to Pine Princess over 1450m at Clairwood, after attempting to make all the running. The daughter of Horse Chestnut will be suited by this distance, but looks unlikely to turn the tables on Pine Princess, on 2kg worse terms than when she ran second to her.
Seven Grand has shown a tendency to start slowly in her five starts to date, including in the Golden Slipper where she never got into the hunt. If she can be persuaded to jump on terms she’ll probably improve on her rating. That said, both her sire and dam were best over less than a mile, and this distance could pose a problem.
Bilateral’s stable companion Lemon Tea, also a daughter of freshman sire Lateral, was a reserve runner for the Golden Slipper, and subsequently ran third to Kileigh over 1500m at Clairwood. She looks to have it all to do here – but then so had her paternal half sister Bilateral before the Golden Slipper…
Run For Revelry finished a nose in front of Lemon Tea behind Kileigh last time out, but didn’t have a clear passage. She could turn the tables on Lemon Tea, but seems less likely to take a hand in the finish here.
Gauteng visitor Middle Earth takes a huge step up in class. A one-time winner, she hasn’t been out of the first three in her five starts to date, but it’s hard to imagine that she can feature here. Blinkered first time, she has the services of Marcus for owner Jooste & partners.
Fellow Gauteng-visitor Pennington Sands is an equally unlikely contender for top honours.
In summary, a real chance for Alboran Sea to cement the 2yo fillies championship. On ratings, she ran some way below best in the Golden Slipper, not surprising given the trouble she encountered. Her then-conqueror Bilateral ought to be thereabouts again if the pace is a true one, together with Pine Princess. A big contender should be Carry On Alice, but there must be a doubt about her staying the mile if the pace is on. Grey Light, despite her coat colour, could be the dark horse.
