The Gr 3 Poinsettia Stakes tops Sunday’s card at Clairwood and this weight-for-age contest, to be run over 1200m, has attracted a quality field of fillies and mares.
 
One factor that is bound to complicate matters for form students is that many of the more proven runners in the line-up are returning from a break, having last been seen out during the Cape summer festival, and a lot will depend on the well-being of each of these runners, and her ability to race fresh, on the day.
 
Topping the merit ratings are the accomplished and charismatic pair of All Is Secret and Beach Beauty, with the latter arguably the country’s most popular racehorse, a position she has earned over four seasons of consistently brilliant performances, winning 15 races along the way and establishing herself as the champion female in the middle distance ranks. She completed a prestigious Gr 1 double during the summer when winning the Paddock Stakes and Majorca Stakes, showing she is as good as ever at the age of six. Her record shows that she races very well fresh and while this distance is on the sharp side, she showed her versatility when finishing second in this event to a certain Princess Victoria two years ago. At her best, she’ll be running at them late and cannot be left out of calculations.
 
The more obvious choice over this trip, though, has to be All Is Secret. A beautiful grey, she has the ability to go with her looks, having garnered three Gr 1 victories in her own right, to go with her victory in this race last season. Her biggest win came over this course and distance when winning the Mercury Sprint last July, claiming a notable scalp in the form of champion What A Winter. She was then rested for nine months and made a promising comeback when second to speed queen Via Africa in the KZN Stakes over 1000m. Via Africa’s brilliance is well documented, so there was nothing wrong with that effort and it boded well for All Is Secret’s winter campaign. Whether she is affected by the second-run-after-a-layoff syndrome is something that only the race will tell: some horses are susceptible to it, others are not, and trying to second-guess it is a thankless task. Assuming this does not affect her, she is surely the one to beat in this line-up.
 
Hammie’s Hooker has been taking on the likes of Beach Beauty over further and was not disgraced when placing in both the Paddock Stakes and Majorca Stakes. She has a nice turn of foot and has often had to contend with a difficult draw. This stiff 1200m up the straight should be to her liking and she will be a big threat if not inconvenienced by a short layoff.
 
Reflective Image is better than her tailed-off effort in the Majorca Stakes suggests. She was a good winner of the Sceptre Stakes at Kenilworth, also a weight-for-age contest over this trip, and she is certainly capable of a bold showing here if she regains her best form. She does need everything to go right for her, though, as she tends to come from off the pace, and there is little margin for error when it comes to timing her run.
 
Jet Belle is proving difficult to assess. One of the better middle distance fillies of her generation last season, she kicked off her current campaign with two storming sprint performances, one of which was a narrow second to Reflective Image in the Sceptre Stakes. She then failed when campaigned over slightly further in her next two starts, making for a rather confusing form line, given her strong performances up to 2450m last season and her supporters would have to go on the assumption that she is currently most at home over this sort of trip, in which case she would have a sound chance here.
 
Alascan Maiden is another one who sends out rather mixed signals. It’s probably a bit harsh to criticise her performances, as she has been racing in strong company since the early stages of her career and she has been there and thereabouts in nearly all her races without managing to win since her debut effort. She’s hinted at just enough ability to make the placings here at her best.
 
Lanner Falcon and Jet Supreme both have some decent feature race form to their names and are certainly not out of place in this line-up, but are likely to find this on the sharp side and to be using this as a prep for other tests over a more suitable distance.
 
The balance all have some decent form to their names, but without suggesting they can trouble the bigger guns under the conditions of this race.
 
All Is Secret should be hard to peg back at her best, while Beach Beauty adds an interesting dimension to the race: we don’t know if she still has six-furlong speed at this advanced stage of her career, but we do know she has the class to blow them all away if she puts it together over this shorter trip. All of Hammie’s Hooker, Reflective Image, Jet Belle and Alascan Maiden must be considered for trifectas and quartets.