The Class! Bambina Stripes is recapturing her better earlier form and gets the nod
As the only Gr1 winner in the field, Dennis Drier’s Bambina Stripes could be the value in the R135 000 Listed The Scarlet Lady to be run over 1800m at Scottsville on Sunday. The race is something of minefield of a Pick 6 opening leg.
Sunday, Bloody Sun-day! That could be the shout from the popular exotic bet’s legion of loyal followers who will have to go wide for a better ride in a race that looks very likely to throw a curved ball at anybody who happens to look.
History
The thirteen strong field of fillies and mares presents us with genuine no standout runner and we are having to go back in the history books to find the Argentinian bred Bambina Stripes as our first choice.
One has to go back over a year to recall a terrific win by the daughter of Equal Stripes, who stormed up to win the R1 million Gr1SA Fillies Classic run over 1800m at Turffontein.
That was her third win in her first five starts, and the world seemed her oyster. But racing often dishes up teasers for fairytales. Bambina Stripes went wrong thereafter, and only returned to winning ways on 22 March 2013. That was after an abortive Cape campaign, where little went right.
Dennis Drier certainly found the right race at Greyville though, and she won the Progress Plate over 1300m in good style. Bambina Stripes was subsequently beaten at 7-10, when battling to get going when beaten 1,75 lengths by Bermuda Sloop in a Pinnacle Stakes over 1500m at Clairwood. She was reported lame on the off hind after that race, which would have accounted for her poor showing.
Sweet Form
Bermuda Sloop meets her again on Sunday. And the Dean Kannemeyer yard is in a sweet vein of form. A five time winner, Bermuda Sloop has always been a smart daughter of Captain Al who has threatened to win something decent.
She is 1kg worse off with Bambina Stripes and will not be allowed the run of the race that she was last time out. If not strange at her first try at Scottsville, she has the class to go close. Hijacked is coupled for Pick 6’s with Bermuda Sloop, and the daughter of Jet Master won her first race for Dean Kannemeyer after leaving Greg Ennion earlier.
Kevin Shea rode the proverbial pearler to burgle that slow run MR 86 over the Scottsville 1950m, and the irony is that she has a great turn of foot if switched off in a faster run affair. The veteran jockey stays with his ride, but she is poorly drawn at 13 and will need more than a dollop of luck from there.
Traveller
Vaughan Marshall’s Europe To Africa ran on strongly in that Pinnacle Stakes won by Bermuda Sloop, and is 1kg better off with Bermuda Sloop for a 0,75 length beating. The 1800m here will be far more to Europe To Africa’s liking though, and the engagement of a jockey called Anton Marcus endorses the ‘must include’ view.
The Glen Kotzen stable have commenced turning out their Champiosn Season contenders and the coupling of the trojan Beloved Betty and the Goldmark filly Golden Dawn are both likely to need a run.
It is worth noting that Bernard Fayd’herbe rides Beloved Betty, and the daughter of Spectrum ran some crackers on the fringes in the Cape Sizzling Summer Season. She is a good filly. Golden Dawn has her first KZN outing.
Bass Jets
The Mike Bass Jet Master coupling of Shimmering Jet and Daily Flight are both fair sorts on their day. Shimmering Jet has been in the province since last season and has turned her career around with four wins from her ten starts here. Glen Hatt rides the four-time winning Daily Flight, who comes off a ten week rest and has her first KZN run.
Class
If over her soundness problem at her last start, Bambina Stripes is the class and our selection to beat Bermuda Sloop and Europe To Africa. Don’t ignore Beloved Betty who has the ability to upstage the whole lot.
