Paton’s Tears for the beloved country

A highly competitive line-up of fillies and mares will face the starter in the topliner at Saturday’s Standside meeting at Turffontein. Ante-post betting of 5-1 an 11-strong field tells the story of Race 7, a FM95 Handicap over 1400m.

The top weight is the remarkable Rouge Allure who never runs a bad race, is as sound as a bell and turns out gutsy performances, month in-month out, for trainer Stephen Moffatt. The seven-year-old mare already has 11 wins to show for her 81-race career.

A load of 61.5kg and a wide draw on the Turffontein bend are the negatives for this hardy soul, though she remains a must for Pick 6 perms.

At the other end of the age scale is three-year-old Paton’s Tears, trained by Lucky Houdalakis for Wilgerbosdrift. This filly has three wins from 10 outings and looks primed for further success.

The daughter of Coup De Grace was considered good enough to be shipped to Durban for the SA Fillies Guineas in early May. That excursion didn’t turn out well as she flopped in the race and probably didn’t travel well.

Back home, the canny Houdalakis team gave her a gentle settler in a Progress Plate over a distance short of her best and she put up a decent showing in fourth place.

Confidence restored, Paton’s Tears looks set to go again. At a time when author Alan Paton’s novel Cry, The Beloved Country is being repeatedly invoked, she would be a serendipitous winner.

But it won’t be easy. All of Spice Market, Sultanah, Cordillera, Anne Boleyn and Louis Gem have recent form to commend them.

This whole weekend’s racing is fairly low-key, ahead of the 2020/21 season finale at Greyville on the last day of July – giving everyone a chance to draw breath before bidding farewell to a momentous period that we’ll all remember for the rest of our lives.

SELECTIONS

Race 1:

8 Shimmerlindt, 6 Manaajim, 1 Quick Run, 5 The Bomb Dotcom

Race 2:

10 Who’s That Star, 8 Prince Of Fire, 5 Chase Your Dreams, 2 It’s Raining Men

Race 3:

7 Tuscan Winter, 5 Bowie, 4 Crown Guardian, 2 Chief Of State

Race 4:

1 Sea Virescent, 5 Lucy In The Sky, 7 Successful Secret, 12 Blue Eyes

Race 5:

1 Mariposa, 5 Amplify, 2 Munabha, 3 Lucky Shamrock

Race 6:

5 Sekhmet, 1 Big City Girl, 4 Soul Of Wit, 6 Florida Keys

Race 7:

3 Paton’s Tears, 6 Spice Market, 7 Sultanah, 2 Cordillera

Race 8:

9 Dance Lesson, 8 Galaxy Riders, 1 Chloris, 2 Snow Symphony

Race 9:

5 Eskimo Pie, 7 Fifth Of July, 2 Samurai Jack, 6 Call Me Master

Pick 6:

1,5,7,12 x 1,2,3,5 x 1,4,5 x 1,2,3,4,6,7,10 x 1,2,8,9,10 x 5 (R1680)

PA:

7 x 1,5 x 1 x 1,5 x 3,6,7 x 1,8,9 x 5 (R32)

Kenilworth Saturday

Best: Race 4 No 8 Gem King

Value: Race 7 No 5 Super Duke

Scottsville Sunday

Best: Race 7 No 6 Willow’s Wish

Value: Race 6 No 1 Seventh Gear