Trophy Wife looks set to give Sean Tarry and S'manga Khumalo another winner when she runs in Race 2 at Turffontein today.
Champion trainer Sean Tarry looks unstoppable at the moment and the excellent stable form can continue at Turffontein tomorrow when he saddles 11 runners at the meeting.
Whether he can have another five winners, as was the case on Saturday, is questionable, but the successful combination of Tarry, owner Chris van Niekerk and jockey S’manga Khumalo are confidently expected to win Race 2 with Trophy Wife.
This daughter of Tiger Ridge has matured into a really decent four-year-old after a respectable three-year-old career where she often found the odd runner too good in Grade 1 races – but they turned out to be top-class competitors.
She went down three lengths to Majmu when second in the L Jaffee Empress Club Stakes over 1600m at Turffontein and then found eventual J&B Met winner Smart Call and Pine Princess 2.25 lengths too good in the Woolavington 2000 at Greyville.
She was rested from May until November when, after a pipe-opener, she ran in the Ipi Tombe Challenge over 1600m. She was still in need of the run when a 2.25-length fourth behind Smart Call but since then she has won two Pinnacle Stakes races, one over 1450m on the Inside track and the second over 1600m on the Standside track.
She runs in an Allowance Plate for fillies and mares today, this time over 1800m, and she is the best handicapped runner by at least 2.5kg. The filly next best handicapped is London, who could go very close based on form.
The pair have met twice – in the Ipi Tombe Stakes and in the Pinnacle Stakes over 1450m – and on the weight turnover in both races Paul Peter’s charge must have a chance.
London finished 0.50-lengths ahead of Trophy Wife in the Ipi Tombe and is 6.5kg better off. However, when they met in the Pinnacle Stakes race Trophy Wife, despite a similar weight disadvantage, went on to finish 3.50 lengths in front of London. This time the four-year-old daughter of Rebel King is 3.5kg better off which should bring the pair a lot closer together.
However, the additional 350m will work strongly in Trophy Wife’s favour and it would be a shock if the positions are reversed over this trip.
Tarry had four runners in this race but Intergalactic, who won on Saturday, and Run For Revelry, have been scratched. His other runner is Inaninstant, a runaway victor of a Maiden Plate last time.
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