CHAMPION filly Entisaar will be lining up in the R400 000 Gr2 Choice Carriers Championship at Kenilworth on Saturday. Mike de Kock will be making the trip to Cape Town to saddle Sheikh Hamdan’s filly for the race.
He said on Thursday: “Entisaar hasn’t raced over 1400m yet but we have a feeling she will enjoy it. The programme for three-year-old sprinting fillies in Gauteng is not great, it’s better in Cape Town so we’ll try her over the extended sprint in the Choice Carriers. If she shows a liking for the extra, we’ll prepare for the Cape Fillies Guineas. If she doesn’t, we’ll leave her in town for the sprint features.”
Mike was confident of a big run on Saturday and said: “I can tell you that Entisaar is very well!”
Here is a shortened preview of the race from Sporting Post:
The Cape Summer Of Champions heat is on and the running of the R400 000 Gr2 Choice Carriers Championship at Kenilworth on Saturday is a sure sign that things are hotting up. The race has been won by some of our best 3yo fillies, and the 2015 renewal looks to deliver something special again.
The honour roll down the years of this prestigious Gr2 race speaks for itself, with names like Mother Russia, Captain’s Lover and Princess Victoria shining brightly.
And ironically, it will be the champion Princess Victoria’s half-sister Princess Royal, who will carry the flag for a hometown victory in the face of a powerful out-of-province strike by Mike de Kock.
Entisaar is very well for the race.
The daughter of More Than Ready has not run for 24 weeks since winning the Gr1 Allan Robertson Championship – her third stakes victory in four starts-when beating Princess Royal a length.
In third place there was Saturday’s Gr3 Starling Stakes victress Made Dubois.
Entisaar is the standout class in the race and everything points to her stamping herself on the local scene at her first start around the turn.
Princess Royal will be ridden by the hot in-form Andrew Fortune and returns from an 18 week break following a fifth 2,60 lengths behind Chestnuts ‘N Pearls in the Gr1 Golden Slipper on July day.
The Listed Devon Air Stakes winner Flying Ice made a quiet Cape debut when under 2 lengths off Petala last time. The daughter of Go Deputy has drawn wide, but her overall form is difficult to fault.
Silver Mountain is an exciting sort, having won 2 from 3 but has drawn wide and looks to have a tough ask. Grant Van Niekerk rides stablemate Taffety Tart, a recent impressive maiden winner.
Justin Snaith’quartet is headed by the exciting Gr3 Kenilworth Fillies Nursery winner Petala. Star Express has drawn wide but has won 2 of her 5 starts and must have a running-on into the place money chance. The other two look to have some ground to make up.
At the level weight terms of the race, it is difficult envisaging anything else spooking the top few.
That is, with the exception possibly of the lightly tried Icy Fire, who represents the 2014 winning jockey-trainer combination.
The daughter of Western Winter has pulled a paint draw and, as a course and distance winner, could outperform her official rating. She has run on strongly at all of her 3 starts and must go into calculations.
Dennis Drier and Sean Cormack team up with the poorly drawn, Well In Flight. The daughter of Just As Well has won two races from three starts, with an aggregate six lengths win margin, but this will be tougher.
All said and done, the visitor Entisaar looks difficult to oppose and she is the choice to beat Icy Fire and Princess Royal.
