Stormwatch just holds on from a fast-finishing Wish List (Picture: Wayne Marks)
The Eric Sands-trained Wilgerbosdrift Stud-homebred three-year-old Vercingetorix filly Stormwatch was a notable winner at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Sunday.
She was given a peach of a ride by Richard Fourie to narrowly deny the Justin Snaith-trained Legislate filly Wish List in the Lucky Fish New Fortune Class 4 event for fillies and mares over 1400m.
Fourie sat in the box seat from draw two, while Wish List was one out and two back.
Fourie didn’t waste time going for home coming off the false rail, knowing of Wish List’s closing speed.
Meanwhile, Wish List was forced to switch to the middle for a run, but was soon closing in rapidly under Gavin Lerena.
However, as usual Fourie was able to extract extra from his mount in the finish, with a deft change of whip hand helping his cause.
Stormwatch denied Wish List by a head with the rest of the field beaten six further length, so they could both be Gr 1 WSB Fillies Guineas candidates.
Progressive young horses can defy the form book, because they can show any amount of improvement, and the Justin Snaith-trained four-year-old Pomodoro filly Swiatek did just that on Sunday.
The Klawervlei Stud-bred filly had won her previous two starts but looked to be up against it in the Join The Race Coast Turf Club Middle Stakes over 1400m, because she was 1,5kg worse off with Kamchatka (Erupt) for a mere head beating over the same distance at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, although Kamchatka did now have the widest draw of all in a six horse field compared to pole position the previous time.
Swiatek had come from last in that previous start and was in fifth place on the rail on Saturday, tracking her stablemate Goodnessgraciousme, while Kamchatka raced on the quarters of the leader with no cover.
Swiatek turned it on in style halfway down the straight and raced away to an impressive 2,50 length victory, from Goodnessgraciousme who narrowly beat Kamchatka to give Snaith the exacta.
Snaith will now be looking for a feature race for Swiatek.
In the last race the Greg Ennion-trained three-year-old Pathfork gelding Sardinia Bay showed blistering speed with a seemingly effortless action and overcame draw six to get to the front comfortably.
Rattlesnake challenged down the inside approaching the 200m mark, but Fourie had left plenty in reserve and Sardinia Bay won easing up by 1,75 lengths.
He could be a decent sprinter in the making.
Fourie rode a treble on the day, while Craig Zackey and Vaughan Marshall had individual doubles.
Zackey leads the championship on 26 wins achieved at a strike rate of 15.66% and he is five clear of Serino Moodley on 21 (19.27%).
Fourie has climbed rapidly to sixth place with 15 wins at 23.08%.
