Fortune out to put Cup near-miss behind her

This week, trainer Ashley Fortune came close to winning her first “major” when Majestic Mozart finished runner up to Flying Carpet in the Summer Cup at Turffontein.

Fortune might get a small measure of compensation at her home course at the Vaal on Thursday, when she saddles several horses with good chances of winning. Despite the big-race disappointment, she and her in-form team will be confident in their talents and determined to get some vengeance on fate.

In a twist of irony, a few of Fortune’s better fancied runners will be partnered by jockey Calvin Habib, who rode such a well-judged race on Flying Carpet to deny her in the Cup. Indeed, Habib has been a regular aboard Fortune’s horses in recent months – as he has been on Tarry’s.

The first Fortune-Habib collaboration on Thursday is in the first race, with Full Royalty, a three-year-old filly who makes her second trip to the races following a decent debut early in November. The daughter of Louis The King ran fourth that day, after being slow away but showing some zip in the middle stage of the 1200m contest, and is likely to be a lot sharper this time.

The trainer and jockey will have high hopes in Race 4, a Middle Stakes over 2400m, with ultra-consistent galloper Un Deux Trois. Habib knows this “ATM” well and she is as honest as they come.

Fortune has engaged three “appies” for an FM75 Apprentice Handicap, the fifth on the card. The two 4kg-claimers have outside chances, but it is champion apprentice Kyle Strydom who’ll carry most stable expectations on likely favourite Abalus.

Those three runners are probably Fortune’s “most likely”, though she does have fair cracks later in the piece with the likes of Bella Chica, Edward Longshanks and Capetown Affair.

SELECTIONS

1: 12 Full Royalty, 7 Sing Girl Sing, 14 Putting Green, 5 Fashionigma

2: 4 Corapi, 1 Rampage, 3 Tabebuia, 2 Boleto

3: 2 Flying Bull, 5 Bey Suyay, 1 Nordic Rebel, 3 Fifth Of July

4: 4 Un Deux Trois, 3 Southern Song, 8 Masaaken, Traveling Wilbury

5: 4 Abalus, 6 Vuitton, 1 On Cue, 11 Mercer Girl

6: 4 Muleta, 2 Cold Feet, 8 Captain’s Run, 1 Bella Chica

7: 4 Midnight Badger, 6 Gin And Tonic, 5 Successful Secret, 3 West Coast Lover

8: 6 Fantasy Flower, 4 Life Goes On, 2 Blue Eyes, 5 Lulu’s Boy

9: 2 Dark Travel, 3 Sergei, 1 Global Player, 3Elusive Swann

Pick 6: 3,4,6,8 x 1,4,6 x 1,2,4,8 x 4,5,6 x 2,4,5,6 x 1,2,3 (R1728)

PA: 2 x 3,4,8 x 4 x 2,4 x 4,6 x 2,4,6 x 2,3 (R72)