Horse Racing Reviews

A Daughters Legacy could fairly have been described for most of her career as something of a Cape winter specialist. Five of her first six wins came on soft or heavy ground, including her success at Gr 3 level in the Final Fling Stakes this past August, but the mare proved that she can more than hold her own on the good going (and, dare one say, against the tougher opposition) of summer when she won the Laurie and Jean Jaffee Victress Stakes over 1600m at Kenilworth on Saturday. It surely says much for the progress which A Daughters Legacy has made during the course of this year that she could only finish eleventh in a field of 12 in the corresponding race last season

Cask looks to be a progressive four-year-old and earned himself a tilt at the J & B Met when he unleashed an impressive late turn of foot to win the Midmar Premier Trophy over 1800m at Kenilworth on Saturday. Having his second start since joining trainer Stephen Page from the now-retired Mike de Beer, Cask coped impressively with a considerable step up in grade after appearing to be an unlucky loser on his seasonal debut over 1600m four weeks earlier.

The Magnolia Handicap for fillies and mares over the straight 1160m at Turffontein on Saturday went the way of the solitary three-year-old in a field of 15 when Fair Rosalind arrived with a perfectly delivered late run to land the spoils with considerable comfort. Fitted with blinkers for the first time after a disappointing last effort when well supported in a Gr 3 event

Doing things the easy way is not a concept with which Gibraltar Blue is well acquainted. Trying to bury her opposition from the start is much more her life’s philosophy, and she has the raw talent to make it work. She was at it again at Turffontein on Saturday, where she made every inch of the running to win the Ipi Tombe Challenge over 1600m on the standside course.

Freak of nature. Those are words which come easily to mind when thinking of Ebony Flyer, who looks to be potentially very special indeed and who on Saturday easily retained her spotless record when capturing the Avontuur Estate Fillies Guineas over 1600m at Kenilworth.

Never-in-doubt victory adds value to the half sister to dam of G1 Breeder’s Cup Juvenile winner Pluck

40/1 outsider The Apache produced a storming late run to land the spoils in this relatively early test of three-year-old talent.

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.

Cool as a cucumber, the son of Western Winter posts his Guineas ambitions