Cape Fillies Guineas looks a thriller

This season’s emerging three-year-old picture looks as intriguing as ever and it swims into greater focus at the weekend with the running of the Grade 1 World Sports Betting Cape Fillies Guineas over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth.

The excitement of the recent Dingaans and Betway Fillies Mile in Joburg has barely abated before the Cape Town young guns step out to strut their stuff and invite animated inter-provincial comparison.

The 13-strong field for Saturday’s Fillies Guineas looks highly competitive and the addition of a couple of lively visitors from the Highveld and Gqeberha adds mystery to the mix.

The much-heralded Gimme’s Countess is likely to be the punter’s choice despite letting them down in a stepping-stone race, the Grade 2 Cape Fillies Championship, recently. The Dean Kannemeyer-trained filly was badly drawn in that contest and it was arguably on the sharp side, so she will be forgiven.

But that result brings the likes of Mon Petit Cherie, Beware The Bomb and Symphony In White – all of whom finished ahead of Gimme’s Countess – sharply into the reckoning.

Kinda Wonderful, Little Suzie and Whistle The Tune were just behind and are also likely to prefer the extra ground of the Guineas.

Up-and-coming young trainer James Crawford raids from Joburg with Fatal Flaw, who has two victories and four seconds from her six outings – including close brushes with emergent World Of Alice and phenomenal Quid Pro Quo.

The ever-game Allan Greeff takes a drive down the eastern coast road with Splicethemainbrace, a winner of five of six starts on her home track at Fairview.

Grade 3 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas, R1.25m, Grade 1, 1600m
(No & draw, name, weight, MR, trainer, jockey):

1 Mon Petit Cherie 60 108 BJ Crawford/JI Crawford Richard Fourie
2 Scarlet Macaw 60 93 Candice Bass-Robinson Kabelo Matsunyane
3 Beware The Bomb 60 107 Justin Snaith Grant van Niekerk
4 Little Suzie 60 103 Justin Snaith Sean Veale
5 Goodnessgraciousme 60 88 Justin Snaith Corne Orffer
6 Kinda Wonderful 60 104 Eric Sands Gavin Lerena
7 Whistle The Tune 60 103 Glen Kotzen Chad Little
8 Splicethemainbrace 60 108 Alan Greeff Gareth Wright
9 Mai Sensation 60 99 Lucinda Woodruff Juan Paul vd Merwe
10 Symphony In White 60 107 Candice Bass-Robinson Aldo Domeyer
11 Gimmie’s Countess 60 111 Dean Kannemeyer Craig Zackey
12 Hope Chest 60 82 Piet Steyn Ashton Arries
13 Fatal Flaw 60 110 BJ Crawford/JI Crawford Piere Strydom