Owner Mary Slack has two first-timers running in Race 2 over 1200m on the inside track at Turffontein on Saturday and Betway Ambassador Mike de Kock considers them both as good prospects. Wearingofthegreen is a four-year-old by Kingman and Greenhouse is a daughter of Danon Platina.
Mike said: “They are both capable fillies, very nice. It’s not ideal for me to run them in the same race, but I didn’t want to take them to the Vaal because Wearingofthegreen can get a bit quirky. She is a four-year-old out of a Galileo mare and will need further than 1200m, but she runs on well. She’ll be finishing this race off strongly and will be best suited if the pace is on.
“Greenhouse is a daughter of SA Fillies Classic winner Orchid Island from Wilgerbosdrift’s Ilha Da Vitoria family. She shows more early speed than Wearingofthegreen. In this race I am not going to pick between the two, or try to predict where they will run. I think both will be competitive, with Wearingofthegreen the stronger finisher on what we’ve seen in work.
Jaham was a little disappointing when beaten into fourth by The Cane Train in a 1600m race recently. He tries 1800m in Race 4 and Mike said: “He probably needs to be gelded, he can get a bit naughty. But he is improving and will like the extra, I’d include him in the Pick 6.” The popular bet looks winnable on paper.
Mike has two runners at HWB Greyville on Sunday, starting in Race 4 over 1600m, where four-year-old filly Forgiveness (Serino Moodley) takes on a field of well-performed male runners. Forgiveness was rested after running below her best in the Oaks Trial last March, but her comeback run over 1400m on 22 August showed that she’s not far of peak fitness. “She’s a decent filly and she has a handy weight here. Her last run was impressive and I think she can finish in the money again.”
Mike has always thought of Trois Trois Quatre as a horse with the ability to win his way through the divisions – he has won four so far and there are more wins to come. He’s in Race 5 over 1800m, returning from a short rest and the trainer said: “Trois Trois Quatre is well held on the form of his last run, but he ran well below his best that day. He is working well and actually looking better than I’ve seen him in a while. He could be in the first three.”
