Parisian and Spumante still in Triple hunt

Both the 2025 Triple Crown and Triple Tiara remain “live” following the release of nominations for the upcoming SA Classic and the Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic.

Gelding Parisian Walkway and filly Spumante Dolce, winners of their respective 1600m Gauteng Guineas heats earlier this month, are both entered for the Triple second legs, due to be run over 1800m on Classic Day at Turffontein on 1 March.

Alec Laird-trained Parisian Walkway had his merit rating hiked a dizzying 20 points for that Guineas triumph but has again been allotted the same weight as many of the horses he beat that day – due, of course, to the Classic being a three-year-old even-weights affair.

His stablemate Aristotle, a surprise third in the Guineas, reopposes, as do the better-fancied Legend Of Arthur, Bacchus and Chestnut Bomber.

Revenge on the minds of others

However, Greaterix, narrowly beaten into second by Parisian Walkway, won’t be seeking revenge. Instead, trainers Mike and Mathew de Kock have opted for the Grade 1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes on the same card.

This indicates the team reckons Greaterix is a better prospect over the mile of the co-feature.

However, revenge will be on the minds of connections of VJ’s Angel, Quid Pro Quo and Fiery Pegasus, who were relegated to second, third and fourth by Spumante Dolce in the Fillies Guineas.

Once more, the talented trio are drawn wider than the precocious De Kock filly, but not to the same disadvantageous degree. The extra 200m trip of the Fillies Classic will also give heart to the challengers – particularly the phenomenal Quid Pro Quo who looked nigh unbeatable before the Fillies Guineas.

The Horse Chestnut entry list is headed by the appropriately named Main Defender, 2024 winner of the race.

Last year, Tony Peter’s mercurial four-year-old walloped a couple of Equus Horses of the Year – Dave The King and Princess Calla – and has a distinct liking for Turffontein. He won’t be far from the centre of the debate.

Other interesting entries among a speedy-looking Horse Chestnut bunch are Gareth van Zyl’s KwaZulu-Natal sprinter Imilenzeyokududuma, Sean Tarry’s enigmatic Lucky Lad, Corne Spies’s iron horse William Robertson and Joey Soma’s late developer Back In Business.

FIRST ENTRIES
(draw, name, weight MR, trainer)

SA CLASSIC, 3YO, Grade 1, R1.5m, 1800m:

1 Confederate 60 107 Fabian Habib
2 Legend Of Arthur 60 109 Sean Tarry
3 Chestnut Bomber 60 106 J A Janse van Vuuren
4 Parisian Walkway 60 121 Alec Laird
5 Fire Attack 60 111 Alec Laird
6 Don’t Cry For Me 60 101 Sean Tarry
7 Miss Scaletta 57.5 98 Paul Matchett
8 Aristotle 60 113 Alec Laird
9 Grey Jet 60 96 Weichong Marwing
10 VJ’s Angel 57.5 119 Tony Peter
11 Busstopinhounslow 60 95 Grant Maroun
12 Bacchus 60 101 Fabian Habib

Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic, 3YO, Grade 1, R1.25m, 1800m:

1 Willy Meet Again 60 107 Lucky Houdalakis
2 Hat’s Queen 60 96 Tony Peter
3 Olivia’s Way 60 110 Roy Magner
4 Bakwena 60 97 J A Janse van Vuuren
5 Too Late My Mate 60 100 Alec Laird
6 Queen Of Love 60 99 Roy Magner
7 Gerbera 60 88 Sean Tarry
8 Sensoria 60 84 Robyn Klaasen
9 Spumante Dolce 60 119 Mike / Mathew de Kock
10 VJ’s Angel 60 119 Tony Peter
11 Miss Scaletta 60 98 Paul Matchett
12 Quid Pro Quo 60 118 Barend Botes
13 Fatal Flaw 60 115 BJ Crawford/JI Crawford
14 World Of Alice 60 108 Sean Tarry
15 Fiery Pegasus 60 115 Joe Soma
16 Care Forgot 60 98 Barend Botes

HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes, WFA, Grade 1, R1.5m, 1600m:

1 White Pearl 57.5 114 Mike / Mathew de Kock
2 Barbaresco 60 125 J A Janse van Vuuren
3 Cosmic Speed 57 116 Sean Tarry
4 Back In Business 60 114 Joe Soma
5 Fire ‘N Flames 60 101 Kobus Roux
6 Main Defender 60 130 Tony Peter
7 Texas Red 60 110 Robyn Klaasen
8 Lucky Lad 60 125 Sean Tarry
9 Imilenzeyokududuma 60 114 Gareth van Zyl
10 Greaterix 57 120 Mike / Mathew de Kock
11 Busstopinhounslow 57 95 Grant Maroun
12 William Robertson 60 125 Corne Spies