My Best Shot is an easy winner of the Friendly City Stakes (Pauline Herman Photography)
The Gr 1 Allan Robertson Championship winner Direct Hit had no easy task in her reappearance today over 1200m at Fairview, as she was coming back from a three-and-a-half month layoff and was going to be required to run to a mark of about 114 to beat a couple of decent 100-rated older females, and yet she made it look easy despite not jumping well.
Later, Greeff’s East Cape Horse Of The Year My Best Shot beat a good field with consummate ease in the Non-Black Type Friendly City Stakes over 1800m and that gave Greeff and Richard Fourie a four-timer on the day.
Direct Hit was carrying 61kg in her first race as a three-year-old, the same weight carried by the 100-rated older pair Sweetie Darling and Ellorix, while the 95-rated Montelana was carrying 59,5kg.
Direct Hit would have received 6.5kg from the older horses in a weight for age race and the latter had had the benefit of recent runs.
She was thus going to have to run to a 113 rating to tie with the 100-rated pair, presuming they were going to run to their ratings.
The Canford Cliffs three-year-old filly jumped awkwardly but quickly made up the leeway and went to the front with her wonderful action that makes the opposition look ordinary.
In the latter stages the others closed in on her but she found extra to win cosily by 0,75 lengths from Sweetie Darling.
She will come on a ton from the run.
Her season ahead is very exciting for the Alan Greeff yard and for breeders and part-owners Ridgemont and for part-owner Devin Heffer.
Richard Fourie revealed in the winning interview Direct Hit had had an 800m gallop recently and was “very aggressive (in the gallop).”
“She is full of energy at the moment and just wants to get going,” he added.
He continued, “She has filled out and matured, which is good news for all of us.”
Direct Hit was aggressive going down today too, which is why Fourie took her for a long canter before loading. He calmed her down as much as he could.
She does not like being in the gates and Richard said she was up against the front of the gate, so came out “a bit sluggish”.
He said she was relaxed in the early stages until seeing a stable companion alongside her.
“She then latched on to me and said ‘it’s let’s go time” and she bolted with me! By the 400n mark she had already had enough. It was just her ability that carried her through.”
There was a fair to strong tailwind and she stopped the clock in 67.66 seconds.
The proximity of the 83-rated Alesia’s Love, who carried 56,5kg, does put a bit of a dampener on the form as she was beaten only 1,25 lengths. It begs the question whether there could have been a different outcome without the tailwind.
However, Direct Hit did win easing up in the end, despite being out of petrol, and the main points to take out of it are the growth and strengthening up that happened during her layoff and her wonderful action having shown no change from last season.
She will be hard to peg back at the highest level when she is at her peak.
Direct Hit opened at 1/6, but drifted out to 1/3 by the off and she did not give her supporters too many anxious moments.
In The Friendly City Stakes the Fire Away gelding My Best Shot relaxed beautifully in midfield and showed his customary turn of foot at the right time to run away a comfortable 2,25 length winner from Global Ally with Royal Aussie third. The 116-rated My Best Shot was officially 2kg under sufferance with Royal Aussie, so it was a good performance, although it has to be said the latter is stretched by a mile.
Earlier, the well bred Greef-trained What A Winter three-year-old filly Sports Fan, who is out of the crack racehorse Hammie’s Hooker (Trippi), won a 1000m handicap ultra impressively off an 82 merit rating, cruising in by 3,25 lengths. She is owned by Peter Moor, who also owns the Greef-trained Equus Champion Golden Palm as well as her unbeaten Gr 2-winning stablemate Anotherdanceforme, so Peter has an incredibly exciting season ahead of him with that trio of Greeff-trained three-year-old filly stars.
Tara Laing scored a double on the day.
Fourie rockets into joint second place on the national jockeys log, joining Calvin Habib on 24 wins, eight wins behind Craig Zackey, who had a blank today.
Fourie has achieved it at a strike rate of 24%.
Greeff is also on 24 wins, at 18.75%, and Tara Laing is on six wins at 15.79%.
