Garden Of Eden (closest) showed plenty of resolve to get up on debut on Saturday. (Picture: Wayne Marks)
The exciting Turf Talk Syndicate-owned Garden Of Eden is Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas bound.
The Duke Of Marmalade three-year-old has only had one start, for one win, so it is too early to start talking her up to that level, but trainer Paul Reeves rates her highly enough to have that iconic race as her ultimate goal.
He said, “She came out of the race beautifully. I think we have something special in her.”
The Riethuiskraal Stud-bred filly beat a good maiden field over 1400m on her debut at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Saturday, despite jumping from a tricky draw of nine out of 14 and being green.
Paul said about the plans for her, “I am going to head for the Gr 2 Western Cape Fillies Championship over 1400m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on November 9. That’s the way to go I think. There are other possibilities but in most of them you end up taking on older horses and giving them weight and I don’t want that.”
Paul confirmed that the ultimate dream would be for her to run well in the Fillies Championship and then take her place in the Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas on December 7.
He was asked tyo compare her to the best he had trained and he said. “I’ve had some nice fillies before like Sea Cat and Helen’s Ideal and she is in line with them at the moment.”
Sea Cat won five times, three times at Listed level, and was fifth in both the Gr 1 Cape Fillies Guineas and Gr 2 KRA Fillies Guineas. Helen’s Ideal was a six-time winner who won twice at Listed level and was fifth in the Gr 1 Cape Derby and third in a Gr 3.
Paul concluded, “Garden Of Eden has got a lot of quality and I think she can only go forward.”
Devon Ashby was aboard on Saturday and would concur as he said afterwards it was only her ability that got her home as she had been very green.
Reeves also rates the other Turf Talk Syndicate filly, Heritage Ridge (Querari), who finished third in a maiden in her third outing on Saturday. He does not put her in the same class as Garden Of Eden but believes she has some wins in her.
