Surprises dominate Guineas Day

There is a lesson to be learned when it comes to horseracing – expect the unexpected.

The outcome of the Grade 2 Gauteng Guineas and Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas over 1600m at Turffontein on Saturday was expected to be almost a foregone conclusion. Quid Pro Quo was talked about as being a shoo-in for the Fillies Guineas while the other race was being billed as “Greaterix v Fire Attack part 3”.

It all started going wrong on Saturday morning when trainer Alec Laird had to pull out Fire Attack after the colt was diagnosed with a virus. That seemed to make Greaterix the horse to beat, as long as he saw out the distance.

However, the final outcomes did not match the expectations.

Firstly, Barend Botes-trained Quid Pro Quo did not exhibit the mind-blowing energy she produced when winning the Dingaans last year. She did not break that well and failed to deliver her usual finishing spurt. She did run on late under Piere Strydom and although moving up to within a neck of Spumante Dolce, she could not get past her less experienced rival.

In the end Spumante Dolce (7- 1) held on to beat a fast-finishing VJ’s Angel by a neck with Quid Pro Quo the same distance back in third.

Spumante Dolce, a three-part sister to Hollywoodbets Durban July winner Sparkling Water, got the newly formed father and son team of Mike and Mathew de Kock off to the ideal start, giving them a Grade 2 victory on the opening day of their joint venture.

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Mary Slack, owner of Wilgerbosdrift, was on course to receive the winner’s trophy for a filly she bred and a race she sponsored. The filly was well handled by Raymond Danielson, who admitted that he loved the filly.

“When Quid Pro Quo moved up to her she kicked again.

“She’s not strong yet. Quid Pro Quo I think is a lot stronger than she is at the moment.

“I love this filly. I think she’s pretty smart.”

Strydom, as expected, was clearly disappointed with the defeat. “She got left, and she just didn’t have that finishing burst she had last time.”

The general consensus was that this was a typical second run after a layoff and she will be back.

The attention then moved on to Greaterix and it was going to be interesting to see whether the De Kocks could pull off a Guineas double. But, despite having to withdraw their No 1 contender in Fire Attack, the race still went to Alec Laird when Parisian Walkway (25-1) came back to get the better of Greaterix in a close finish.

And to give Laird another boost, Aristotle, having his first run for the stable, finished third with Legend Of Arthur in fourth.

Diego de Gouveia took Parisian Walkway into the lead from the off and he continued in front until they had around 150m to run. That is when Greaterix (8-10) and Muzi Yeni moved up on his inside and took over, looking all over a winning team. But De Gouveia kept going relentlessly to get his mount to the front close home and win by 0.40 lengths. There was almost four lengths back to third-placed Aristotle.

“He’s a galloper, he wants further. When he works, he often goes to the front and he loves it and he’s relentless in front and it’s hard to pick him back in the gallops at home,” said De Gouveia.

“We obviously decided to have him as close as possible, today he led with ease, skipped at the right time and showed great tenacity in the win.”

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Laird, while delighted with the victory, was clearly frustrated by having to pull Fire Attack out of the race at the last moment.

“You can’t believe the emotions I had to go through, having to scratch Fire Attack, he’s such a lekker horse,” said Laird. “Both Parisian Walkway and Aristotle will be going for the SA Classic, Fire Attack will also be ready and he will add a third string to our bow.”

Going into the first leg of the SA Triple Crown and Wilgerbosdrift SA Triple Tiara there were questions as to whether any runner would be able to win all three legs. However, that is now a possibility as both Parisian Walkway and Spumante Dolce will stay the 1800m of the SA Classic and Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic as well as the 2450m of the SA Derby and Wilgerbosdrift SA Oaks. The second leg will be run at Turffontein on 1 March.

It was also a great day for both Ryan Munger and Gavin Lerena. Munger, who has got out of the cold Canadian winter to have a busman’s holiday in South Africa is in brilliant form and came away with four winners while Lerena was in his usual dominant mode and had three victories.