Champery could have the edge

There is some interesting racing at Fairview on Friday and topping the card is the Listed Lady’s Pendant over 1200m for fillies and mares.

Some Cape Town-based trainers love these feature events in Port Elizabeth as it enables their fillies and mares to pick up some Black Type, which could have an impact on their stud value. So it is not surprising the likes of Justin Snaith, Glen Kotzen and Candice Bass-Robinson have brought runners from Cape Town to contest this event.

The race is run at weight-for-age plus penalties and the best handicapped runner is Clear Sailing. This six-year-old mare came to Port Elizabeth from KwaZulu-Natal and has performed well since arriving in the yard of Alan Greeff. She has won three of her last four starts with her lone defeat in that run coming on the Polytrack where she finished second behind Jo Malone over 1200m.

Last time she showed lots of courage when holding off Acaciawood by the narrowest of margins and a victory for Clear Sailing would not be out of turn.

However, Snaith and jockey Gavin Lerena team up with Champery and if this filly can repeat her last run when a 2.05-length fourth behind Live Life in the Grade 2 Sceptre Stakes over 1200m at Kenilworth, she will be very hard to beat.

Live Life was one of the stars of the Cape summer season and after that race went on to beat the boys in a race carrying a stake of $500,000, also over 1200m at Kenilworth.

Our Destiny finished another two lengths behind Champery In the Sceptre Stakes but a run earlier finished just 2.95-lnegths behind Snaith’s star filly, Bela-Bela in a Conditions Plate over 1400m and prior to that beat Live Life in a Graduation Plate by 1.25 lengths, giving her 1kg.

The only other two fillies to have a realistic winning chance under the weight conditions are Victoria Lavelle, another runner from the Snaith stable, and Felicity Flyer. She is trained by Bass-Robinson who is the conditioner of Live Life and obviously feels her charge will be competitive in a race of this nature.

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