Trainer Mike de Kock won the SA Triple Crown last year with Malmoos and will be looking to take the second step towards winning it again this year with Safe Passage.
By the same token trainer Sean Tarry will be hoping Rain In Holland can keep her chances alive of capturing the SA Triple Tiara for fillies.
Both horses won their respective first legs, the Grade 2 Gauteng Guineas and Grade 2 Gauteng Fillies Guineas and the second leg, the World Sports Betting SA Classic and Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic, will be run over 1800m on Saturday at Turffontein.
De Kock-trained Safe Passage added the Grade 2 WSB Gauteng Guineas to his Grade 2 Dingaans win in November and has been priced up at 14-10 to triumph in the SA Classic.
His trainer has always believed he is even better over this type of distance and having won his last five races this Silvano gelding could prove very hard to beat.
S’manga Khumalo has ridden him to victory in his last two starts and he is back on board again.
Stablemate Aragosta look his main danger. He lost ground at the start in the Gauteng Guineas but stayed on resolutely to finish fourth. He is, however, unbeaten in both of his starts over 1800m which includes the Grade 3 Sea Cottage Stakes. He is far better than his last run suggests and will finish a lot closer to his stable companion on this occasion.
A number of eyes will be on unbeaten Zeus but in reality, he will have to run quite a bit above his current merit rating of 99 if he is to trouble the likes of Safe Passage.
Rain In Holland has also been priced up at 14-10 but the bookmakers still have a lot of respect for Desert Miracle who is on offer at 16-10.
The latter went off at a very short price to win the Fillies Guineas but after hitting the front quite a long way from home, faded out late to run third.
She is questionable over 1800m and will have to be ridden with a lot of patience.
Clive Robinson
