Entisaar powers home to beat Frosted Honey and Varumba (JC Pics)
The Australian-bred More Than Ready filly Entisaar proved her Gr3 Pretty Polly Stakes defeat all wrong as she came home strongly to win the R400 000 Gr2 SA Fillies Nursery to open the Champions Day programme at Turffontein on Saturday.
The 1160m contest was run in sticky conditions with ample kickback demonstrating the impact of the overnight rains. This no doubt played against the likes of Pretty Polly winner Speedy Suzy who battled to get into her stride.
Recent maiden winner Varumba came for inspired betting room support and vied for favouritism with Entisaar at the top of the betting boards, but a tardy start and subsequent rush forward cost her in the final 300m where she had little to come.
On the flipside, Entisaar (who drifted from odds-on to 18 to 10) was always going well down the inside as debutante Khaleesi and Mela Maria showed the way, with Speedy Suzy flashing briefly.
At the 400m, Mike De Kock’s Entisaar and the Vaughan Marshall trained Varumba came together, but there were no shadows on the superiority of Entisaar who stretched clear and won by 2,50 lengths hanging, to score her second stakes win.
Her winning time was 68,52 secs and she was a second winner on the day for Avontuur-sponsored Anthony Delpech.
Frosted Honey got going too late and she could still develop nicely over ground as she mature.
Varumba disappointed her backers and Bipot punters by only hanging on for third.
Entisaar has won 2 of her 3 starts, with her second placing in the Pretty Polly Stakes behind Speedy Suzy looking all wrong now.
She has earned R383 750 in stakes to date.
The winner races in the blue and white silks of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum and was bred in Australia by Echo Beach Bloodstock, Vic
She is by More Than Ready (USA) and is the first winner for the Gr3 placed Catbird mare, Purrpurrlena (AUS), a daughter of stakes-winner Magdalena.
She was purchased by Shadwell for A$300,000 from the draft of Vinery Stud.
_________
Gr2 SA Fillies Nursery (SAf-Gr2)
Turffontein, South Africa, April 25, R400k, 1160m, turf, soft, 1.08.52
1 – ENTISAAR (AUS), 58.0, b f 2, More Than Ready (USA) – Purrpurrlena (AUS) by Catbird (AUS). Owner Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum; Breeder bred in Australia; trainer MF de Kock; jockey A Delpech
2 – Frosted Honey (SAF), 58.0, ch f 2, Western Winter (USA) – Honeytrap (FR) by Primo Dominie (GB)
3 – Varumba (SAF), 58.0, b f 2, Var (USA) – Muamba (ARG) by Pure Prize (USA)
Margins: 2.50, 0.60, 1.50
