Strawberry Bear is unbeaten in two starts over 1400m at Hollywoodbets Greyville including the above 1200m handicap last November and the recent Grade 3 Byerley Turk (Picture: Candiese Lenferna).
Strawberry Bear thrilled his part-owner and assistant trainer Sterling Miller when finishing a narrow second over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Greyville in a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1200m on Saturday and the aim is to now keep him campaigning at his favourite course.
Sterling said, “He was badly out at the weights and is all heart, so I wasn’t at all disappointed he was beaten. There is a rule about not being able to gallop horses at Greyville who have run there before and this is not ideal for a three-year-old, it is a nuisance, and this forced us to run him in this race.”
Strawberry Bear, carrying 58kg off a 106 merit rating, was 3,5kg under sufferance with the best weighted horse, the 118-rated Good Traveller, and he was 1kg out with the winner, the Vaughan Marshall-trained 105-rated Look For Hounds, who beat him by 0,60 lengths.
Sterling said, “Strawberry Bear will be going for the KZN Breeders Million Mile, provided he draws well. The 1600m will stretch him but the jockeys who have ridden him, including Tristan Godden, believe he will get a mile.”
He added, “The back up plan is the Grade 2 Post Merchants over 1200m also at Hollywoodbets Greyville. That race will be strong. but he likes Hollywoodbets Greyville and that is why we have that race as the back up.”
So Strawberry Bear is unlikely to be seen in the Grade 1 Golden Horse Sprint at Hollywoodbets Scottsville.
The Miller yard have some two-year-old feature prospects.
Romance In Rome has two his last two starts impressively and this Danon Platina colt will be aimed at the Listed Gatecrasher Stakes over 1400m at Hollywoodbets Greyville.
What A Winter colt Winter Games, who won second time out over 1200m, is a horse they believe will be better as a three-year-old, but he will also be aimed at the Gatecrasher and so will Potala Palace colt Ninety Nine Heros, who was tried in the Grade 3 Godolphin Barb on debut.
Exciting two-year-old filly African Folklore will go for the Listed Devon Air Stakes over 1400m at Hollywoodbets Greyville and so will Epic View (Red Ray), Lady Lacewing (Danon Platina) and Sovereign Grant (Gimmethegreenlight).
Sterling thinks the Allan Robertson will be a touch strong for these fillies.
However, he hopes to qualify the two aforementioned colts for the Grade 2 Durban Golden Horseshoe over 1400m on Hollywoodbets Durban July day and he hopes to qualify the fillies for the Grade 2 Golden Slipper over 1400m on the same day.
