Picture: Buffalo Storm Cody impresses again. (JC Photos).
At Turffontein Standside on Saturday the Tony Peter-trained Buffalo Storm Cody stamped himself as a Gr 2 Golden Horse Sprint contender to reckon with when putting in his second fine performance in succession.
On March 20 on Turffontein Inside the son of Buffalo Bill Cody had his first run as a gelding and after looking a picture of alertness and well being in the preliminaries he romped home by 8,25 lengths under Gavin Lerena. On Saturday he had a tougher task in the Non-Black Type Mythical Flight Sprint for three-year-olds and he knuckled down in the final stages to pull clear and win by two lengths under Lerena after being backed in to 4/10, although he was receiving 2kg from the runner up Mount Pinatubo.
The Golden Horse Sprint has been downgraded to a Gr 2 event and it has a benchmark of 52kg equals a 106 merit rating. Buffalo Storm Cody ran off a 102 merit rating on Saturday and he probably ran close to a 110, considering the spread out nature of the finish in the small field. As three-year-olds get 1,5kg in May he will carry 52,5kg in the Golden Horse as things stand, presuming he is raised to 110, nigalthough he might have another outing before then and incur a further merit rating increase.
There was an interesting winner of the first race at Turffontein over 1160m, the Mike de Kock-trained Gimmethegreenlight filly Jingleberry, who was bred by Blue Sky Thoroughbreds and is owned by Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein.
She is out of the Western Winter mare Strawberry Line, who is a full sister to Gr 1 Cape Guineas winner Solo Travellers, and she displayed a fine turn of foot to come ftom off the pace to win comfortably under Gavin Lerena.
The Lucky Houdalskis-trained Heavenly Blue gelding Royal Force put up a fine performance to win a strongly contested Graduation Plate over 1400m under Piere Strydom. He 98 rated horse carried the same weight as Aristotle, rated 113, and Grand Crescendo, rated 114, and beat them comfortably to the surprise of Houdalakis and Strydom so should pay to follow as he can only get a six point raise.
