Green Plains a good bet

Green Plains makes her return to racing following 100-day lay-off and Sean Tarry’s charge looks set to make a winning comeback in Race 7 at Turffontein tomorrow, a Pinnacle Stakes for fillies and mares over 1200m on the Inside track.

This four-year-old daughter of Gimmethegreenlight has a record of five wins and five places from 14 starts.

Those wins include a victory in the Grade 3 Pretty Polly Stakes as well as the Grade 2 SA Fillies Nursery and Camellia Stakes.

She finished a 1.25-length second behind Brave Mary in the Grade 1 Allan Robertson Championship in 2017 and with those performances to her credit, looks way be er than her opposition in this event.

Green Plains has only raced once on the Inside track and that was in a Pinnacle Stakes over 1000m, which she won far more easily than the 0.90-length mar-gin suggests.

With a couple of Graded races coming up over the next few months she is not going to be at peak fitness but while Tarry will have left something to work with, he does not bring grossly unfit horses to the race-track.

In addition, considering her main two rivals, Schippers and Folk Dance, are also coming back from breaks of similar periods, Green Plains has to be a banker in all bets.

Apprentice Luke Ferraris takes the ride and, what is a great asset over this course and distance, she jumps from No 1 draw.

Schippers looks the main threat. Based on merit ratings both she and Folk Dance are 2.5kg out with Green Plains but what she does have in her favour is that she has won both of her races over the course and distance.

Gavin Lerena takes the ride and they are drawn No 7.Folk Dance is probably better over a little further but she has won over 1200m although that was early in her career.

She should be nice and fresh in her comeback so the distance may not be a problem. Apprentice Dennis Schwarz takes the ride and she is drawn No 8.

And, at the Fairview turf track, Mary O’ Reilly could wear the Listed Lady’s Pendant.The form of the Grade 2 Sceptre Stakes over 1200m at Kenilworth could well point to the winner of the Listed Lady’s Pendant over the same distance at Fairview today.

The Kenilworth feature was won by top three-year-old filly Clouds Unfold and a number of fillies who ran behind her are lining up at Fairview.

Third in that race was Freedom Charter, also from the Bass-Robinson yard while fifth place went to Port Elizabeth-trained Mary O’ Reilly. Only 0.45 lengths separated the pair and on this occasion Mary O’ Reilly is 1.5kg better off.

Freedom Charter has to be the biggest threat to the local hope as she has a decent record over 1200m with two wins and a third from four runs.

Carlita also contested the Sceptre Stakes and she finished ninth, beaten 5.30 lengths.

That puts her 2.30 lengths behind Mary O’Reilly but she is 1kg worse off and on that basis will need to improve vastly.

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