Princess Victoria
Gr2 Fillies Championship at Kenilworth last Saturday
It is one of racing’s many truisms that the best two-year-olds very often don’t make the best three-year-olds. However, the signs are at least highly promising that last season’s champion
juvenile filly Princess Victoria has gone the right way after she sauntered to a facile victory in her first appearance of the current term at Kenilworth last Saturday, writes Matthew Lips.
The Choice Carriers Fillies Championship over 1400m proved to be little more than a paid gallop for the dual Gr1 winner and Princess Victoria is likely to start as the hot favourite for next month’s Gr1 Avontuur Estate Cape Fillies Guineas.
Princess Victoria was starting for the first time since she easily won the Gr1 Golden Slipper at Greyville on Vodacom Durban July day, but she towered over her dozen rivals in this level weights contest for three-year-old females and she started as a prohibitive 9/20 favourite. She looked outstanding in the canter past, and the writing was truly on the well for her opponents even before the race started. Improving Thunder Dance was supported from an ante-post call of 10/1 to start as the 11/2 favourite, with Trinity House – the only horse to have ever beaten Princess Victoria in a race – the 15/2 third choice of punters.
Princess Victoria hopped out very smartly, but was then eased back into fourth spot at the rail as first Ocean’s Swift and then Alpha Lady went off to show the way at a pace that was by no means frenetic. Madame Rooney and Thunder Dance raced prominently as well, with Trinity House just behind Princess Victoria. The favourite was right on the heels of the leaders turning into the straight, appearing to become momentarily cramped for room against the fence but quickly angling around horses to have a clear run down the 400m winter course straight. She was clearly in control from a long way out as she cruised into the lead soon after turning in, and Sean Cormack hardly had to move a muscle except to look over his right shoulder around 100m for non-existent opposition as Princess Victoria ambled her way to a two lengths success.
Trinity House stayed on well to finish second in her first appearance she was beaten 6.25 lengths behind Princess Victoria in the Gr1 Allan Robertson Championship at Scottsville in May. She was far from disgraced, but she is flattered by her proximity to the winner. Thunder Dance had every chance before finishing half-a-length further adrift in third, with Miss Ipanema running on to be another length away in fourth. They were all racing for minor money, though, and to the naked eye it appeared that Princess Victoria could have won by a much wider margin had her jockey so desired. Her trainer Glen Kotzen has a real cracker on his hands here and will be greatly relieved that to date the inevitable offers to purchase Princess Victoria for telephone number sums have been turned down.
There is every reason to believe that Princess Victoria will stay the 1600m of the Fillies Guineas, even though she has yet to try it. She relaxes nicely in her races, and can unleash a terrific turn of foot in the blinking of an eye when asked to do so. There may be some as yet unexposed stars waiting in the wings to take her on in 2012, but barring accidents it’s hard to imagine that Princess Victoria will be beaten at level weights by any member of her age and sex as early as next month’s Fillies Guineas. The best horse sired to date by the prematurely deceased Victory Moon, Princess Victoria is the fourth foal, fourth winner and first Stakes winner produced from unraced Rakeen mare Platinum Princess. Her second dam Platinum Lady (by Centaine) didn’t win beyond 1400m and that could be the one possible source of doubt over Princess Victoria’s ability to stay a mile, but on the whole one feels that she most likely will.
Princess Victoria was bred, and is still part-owned, by Maine Chance Farms and was a R325 000 purchase from the 2010 National Yearling Sale. She has now won five races in succession since finishing one length second behind Trinity House on her debut in January, earning R881 635 in stakes.
Choice Carriers Fillies Ch’ship (SAf-G2) (11/5)
Kenilworth, South Africa, November 5, R200.000, 1400m, turf, good, 1.26.87 (CR 1.24.00).
1- PRINCESS VICTORIA (SAF), 58.0, b f 3, Victory Moon (SAF) – Platinum Princess (SAF) by Rakeen. Owner P G de Beyer, G A Jaffee & M H, R C & L H Jaffee and Maine Chance Farms; breeder Maine Chance Farms (SAF); trainer G S Kotzen; jockey S Cormack (R132.609)
2 -Trinity House (SAF), 58.0, b f 3, Captain Al (SAF) – National Vixen (SAF) by National Assembly (CAN)
3 -Thunder Dance (SAF), 58.0, b f 3, Jet Master (SAF) – Shadow Dancing (SAF) by Fort Wood
Margins: 2, ½, 1
Also ran: Miss Ipanema (AUS) 58.0, Dark Journey (SAF) 58.0, Ocean’s Swift (SAF) 58.0, Super Elegant (SAF) 58.0, Alpha Lady (SAF) 58.0, Madame Rooney (SAF) 58.0, Sarasini (AUS) 58.0, Blouberg Beach (SAF) 58.0, Daintree Dancer (AUS) 58.0, Topsy Turvy (SAF) 58.0
