Juvenile fillies open the South African card

Juvenile fillies take to the dirt track in South Africa this week in the local bred opener for the day. Unfortunately, only three of the four runners is a local bred, the other being a Kentucky import.

So far this season, I have bred 14 juveniles. Of those, only 3 have been fillies (yes, 11 colts and 3 fillies). Two of them ran recently and need a rest, so I only have one to enter here. Fortunately, two other trainers had fillies ready to race but that’s not enough to fill. Two fillies (a SAf and a Ken) took on the boys in a full 8 horse race on Tuesday, missing out on a likely easier task here.

(1) PAVLOVIC (Ky)                                                             [9/1]

2 y/o filly by Infield Shift x Medallist x Ally Runner

(0) 0 – 0 – 0 ($0)

Computer (N/A), C. Meza (9.8%-31%)

I know nothing about the pedigree of this filly. The betting suggests that the stallions used must be right at the bottom of the Kentucky ladder since she is by far the biggest outsider against SAf-tags that are usually the longer priced horses in open races. It would only cost 30 points to breed this horse now (Friday morning).

(2) HAVE A P (SAf)                                                             [3/2]

            2 y/o filly by A. P. Arrow x Mountain Cat x Clever Trick

            (1) 0 – 0 –0 ($0)

            Universal Stables (13.6%-39.6%), E. Eberhard (17.1%-49%)

A. P. Arrow was a multiple Gr1 placed Gr2 and Gr3 winner in the USA and stands at Summerhill Stud for R25 000. His first crop are currently yearlings. This filly made her debut on the turf four weeks ago when she raced towards the back of a maximum 20 horse field in the early stages before staying on to finish 7^th, passing six in the final quarter, beaten less than four lengths. She could certainly come on from that run, may take a liking to the dirt, and has a top class rider aboard. Have A P is a half-sister to Daylami Zest, a filly that I bred last year. Jacklad and I, were both briefly managers of the mare.

(3) BIG WHIZZER (SAf)                                                  [7/2]

            2 y/o filly by A. P. Arrow x Wild Event x Noalcoholic (Fr)

            (1) 0 – 0 – 0 ($0)

            Deep Rock Stables (3.1%-13.9%), J. Palacio (9.0%-30%)

Here we have another A. P. Arrow filly but her debut six weeks ago was very poor. She started at long odds, showed a bit of pace early on and faded very badly, ending up last of 13 by more than 18 lengths. The switch to dirt, and the run under her belt, will need to have a big impact for her to challenge the likes of Have A P.

(4) JET ALLY (SAf)                                                            [4/5]

            2 y/o filly by Jet Master (SAf) x Almushtarak (Ire) x Machiavellian

            (0) 0 – 0 –0 ($0)

            The SAF Connection (14.2%-42.2%), M. Lingard (10.2%-34%)

Jet Master was a brilliant racehorse, winning 8 Gr1’s in South Africa from 6 furlongs to a mile (total of 17 wins from 24 starts), and he has proven to be equally superb as a sire. He has been Champion Freshman Sire and Champion Sire of Juveniles as well as Champion Sire four times in succession, while currently leading the log again (though only narrowly from Captain Al). Jet Master’s current stud fee is R150 000 and his son, Pocket Power, has surpassed his feats on the track, racking up 9 Gr1 wins. This filly is out of Madam Ally, a twice Gr1 placed dual stakes winner. She makes her debut here and could justify her short odds if she runs to her pedigree but the two previous foals out of Madam Ally have been unimpressive.

Summary:

This looks a match race between Have A P and Jet Ally. While the latter is the favourite, being by a multiple Gr1 winning sire and out of a dual Gr1 placed mare, it might be safer to side with Have A P. She has the advantage of having had a decent enough debut, and she has a top rider aboard. Perhaps a box exacta of the two is the way to go, though the payout isn’t going to be great.