A whole host of promising three-year-olds step out on another 10-race card at Cape Town’s country course, Hollywoodbets Durbanville, on Tuesday 10 October and bettors are likely to find themselves laughing all the way to the bank by backing four of these talented sophomores, two of whom are of particular interest and whose progress it should pay to follow.
Andre Nel, as the retained trainer for prominent owner-breeder Sabine Plattner, has taken the wraps off a number of exciting sorts recently with most – if not all – of them boasting impressive pedigrees being by proven sires and/or out of well-performed race mares.
Debut winner La Divina and hat-trick seeking Candy Town are cases in point and both recent scorers look to have bright futures.
Well-bred La Divina, a Vercingetorix filly out of useful Lohnro mare Lohnromance – who won her first two starts but was then found wanting in three feature-race outings before being retired – knew her job first time out and was impressive in justifying market support by easily accounting for experienced form rivals over 1000m.
She ought to have come on appreciably with the benefit of that outing and is open to any amount of improvement stepping up to 1600m in Race 7.
While there are stamina doubts on her dam’s side, Silvano’s sire-son Vercingetorix could provide the necessary staying power for La Divina to confirm the encouragement of her first-up sprint success by being competitive over the extra 600m. She is worth an each-way bet in a wide-open Class 4 event for fillies and mares.
Querari filly Candy Town, who is out of a well-bred Captain Al mare (Captain’s Flame) who won five of her first seven starts including Listed and Grade 3 races, caught the eye on debut in soft conditions at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth where she finished third behind two experienced rivals – and the promise of that introduction was enhanced by no fewer than four subsequent winners to have come directly out of that race.
Candy Town made the expected improvement with that experience under her belt to win her next start from start to finish over 1250m in her first outing at Durbanville, with jockey Corne Orffer hardly required to loosen the reins. That modus operandi was repeated just 27 days later as she led throughout on the way to a dominant 2.50-length victory over 1000m, the course and distance of Race 9 in which she makes her reappearance bidding to complete the hat-trick and preserve her 100% track record.
Palo Queen, runner-up to Nel’s charge last time, and Winter Rainfall, who won the race when Candy Town made her debut, renew rivalry and on better weight terms so should pose a threat. However, judging by the manner and the ease of her most recent victory, her progress is unlikely to be halted by a resultant seven-point penalty and top-weight of 62kg.
Nel and Orffer team up in Race 8 with lightly raced four-year-old Go Like Flo who despite being open to improvement over 1400m in her first start out the maidens, looks up against it as Justin Snaith and Candice Bass-Robinson both saddle a trio of talented three-year-olds with Fillies’ Guineas ambitions.
Among The Clouds and Red Moon Rising have strong claims for the Snaith yard but are drawn wide, so it could be worth siding with Bass-Robinson’s charge Rainbow Lorikeet who is improving and was a winner over course and distance last time out. Stablemate Callmegetrix, who also won over 1400m when last seen, is an exciting prospect and another to keep an eye on.
Dean Kannemeyer-trained Teflon Man revealed his potential in an encouraging three-start juvenile campaign and confirmed that promise on his three-year-old debut last month. Drawn widest of 11 runners that day, the son of Querari made up good ground in a pleasing 1000m reappearance – clocking an impressive 21.7 seconds from the 400m mark to the finish – to be beaten just 2.65 lengths.
Kannemeyer’s colt would have blown away the cobwebs and tightened up for that run, so will have more to offer when he lines up with improved fitness on his side in Race 10 with the step up to 1250m also expected to unlock further improvement from the flashy grey colt.
Cliff Robinson
