Plate race conditions set to favour Kilauea

With the start of the Highveld Autumn season just a few weeks away, the quality of the local racing is looking good. There is a decent card at Turffontein tomor­row on the Inside track and there will be a Pick 6 Megapool on offer to entice bettors even further.

The pool will kick off with a carryover of R392,769 and is esti­mated to reach R2.5 million. How­ever, as this is a stand-alone local meeting it would come as no sur­prise to see it rise even further.

The most interesting event looks to be Race 6, a Conditions Plate for fillies and mares over 1450m. As a Plate race one first has to look at the best handi­capped runners and in this case Polyphonic is the standout run­ner. Had this been a handicap Alec Laird’s charge would have to give 3kg and more to the other runners and with 52.5 to carry she has to be a significant runner.

However, she has not raced since contesting the Grade 2 Ipi Tombe Stakes over 1600m in No­vember in which she finished a 0.40-length second behind In­tergalactic. Laird could have big­ger fish to fry later in the season and one would assume the Grade 1 L Jaffee Empress Club Stakes would be on her menu.

As she could be in need of the run one could look to the second-best weighted runner who is Kilauea from the Dave Nieuwen­huizen yard. She has only raced once over this course and distance and that was in the Grade 2 Joburg Spring Fillies Challenge in which she finished fourth, beaten just 1.50 lengths by Mella Maria. Bella Sonata finished second, beaten a head, but Kilauea is now 2kg bet­ter off with both of those fillies.

In addition, Nieuwenhuizen raced his charge in blinkers for the first time in her last race and she ran a cracker over 1400m on the Standside track, going down a head to Crystal Glamour. The win­ner is now 4kg worse off and looks unlikely to confirm that form.

The interesting runner could be Shaama from the Mike de Kock yard. She was a top two-year-old but after some disappointing three-year-old performances the Australian-bred filly was rested for 11 months. She came back well last month to beat Paree by 0.35 lengths over 1200m and if not neg­atively affected by a second run after the lengthy layoff she could be a factor in this field.