Clive Robinson
Pashasha is not the easiest word to define, because it’s street talk, slang, or as we call it in South Africa, tsotsitaal.
Its meaning is very positive: good, awesome, no-worries, and usually accompanied by a thumbs-up gesture.
Well, on Thursday 21 July, Pashasha gets the thumbs-up when she lines up in Race 6, a FM 91 Handicap over 1600m.
Trained by Roy Magner, this three-year-old Byword filly has seemingly perfected the art of running second – finishing in that position in six of her 11 runs.
In her penultimate – where she finished runner-up yet again, she was beaten only half a length by Snow Palace, the latter going on to win twice more.
Judged on that formline, Pashasha looks like she’s ready to go all the way for only the second time in her career.
She goes into the contest carrying joint-bottom weight, with the added benefit of 1,5kg claiming apprentice Kaidan Brewer in the saddle, and jumping from gate 3.
Her last outing before a rest was over 2000m, and returning to her favourite distance she looks to have all the stars aligned. The 65-day rest should have given her enough time to rest and recuperate, without too much ring-rust settling in.
For bettors, the good news is that she is expected to jump at around 10-1, offering great value.
She does, of course, take a big leap up in Class, but she is expected to swim, not drown.
The same can be said of the biggest danger – the Brett Crawford-trained Halloween.
After threatening for quite some time, this Silvano four-year-old finally got it right to record her second career win last time out in a Class E contest. Now up to Class B, she faces a sterner test.
Stuart Pettigrew’s Gilded Butterfly is another expected to show up on the day. She tries the distance for the first time, but having won both over 1450m and 1500m, the little bit extra should not be to her disliking.
In six runs she has never finished further back than third and must be respected.
These three are expected to fight out the finish and a boxed trifecta is perhaps the way to go.
