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Posted 2014-07-24 22:20:13  
AFRIKA BURN AND ALBORAN SEA SET FOR JUVENILE HONOURS

 

The two-year-old ranks get a final stab at Gr 1 glory for the current season with the running of the Premiers Champion Stakes and Thekwini Stakes, both over 1600m, at Greyville on Saturday. Inevitably, punters will be relying primarily on the formlines from Vodacom Durban July day, when the Golden Horseshoe and Golden Slipper, both Gr 1 events over 1400m, were run, and it's no surprise to see many of the protagonists from those races taking on each other again.

The fillies take first strike in the Thekwini Stakes and the first three from the Golden Slipper will resume rivalry here. Alboran Sea was a hot favourite that day but ruined her chances at the start. She recovered to be within striking distance turning for home and duly kicked into the lead when asked, but was ambushed by the electrifying late run of Bilateral, who caused a 50/1 upset on the day.

Bilateral's effort must not be underestimated, as she was badly drawn and came from a long way back that day. She's well drawn now and should be even happier over this longer trip, over which she scored a runaway maiden victory. However, that last run did come somewhat out of the blue, relative to her earlier form, and she will be under some pressure to confirm the result with Alboran Sea, who clearly was affected by her slow start that day and looks set to make amends here.

Pine Princess finished third in the Golden Slipper and ran a blinder from a hopeless draw, having travelled wide throughout. She stayed on really well at the end and is much more favourably drawn now, a factor which could see her reversing the form with the pair that beat her home three weeks ago.

Carry On Alice was the disappointment of the Slipper, dropping out from a wide draw and getting going far too late to make any impression. She's miles better than that but will once again have to contend with a poor draw. The extra furlong may be in her favour, though, and she's worth another chance.

It's hard to the see the winner coming from outside the above quartet, although the likes of Banbury, Grey Light and Same Jurisdiction have shown just enough to suggest they could be worth including in the larger quartets here.

Moving on the Premiers Champion Stakes, Afrika Burn is likely to be all the rage following his scintillating victory in the Golden Horseshoe. The son of Trippi was nowhere to be seen as the final furlong approached, but he turned it on in fine style as he scythed through up the inside to win going away. He's unbeaten in three, well-drawn and, unless there's a serious improver in the field, looks hard to oppose here.

Anjaal, fourth in the Horseshoe, looks the main threat. He looked a winner at one stage in that race, only to be outpaced late, and he is looking for more ground. The extra furlong could see him going a lot closer here and he looks a big runner.

Harry's Son looked a contender in the straight in the Horseshoe but ducked in at a crucial stage. He still managed to stay on for third and is once again well-drawn. Piere Strydom stays on board and he should be in the shake-up.

Jayyed is still a maiden but did nothing wrong in the Horseshoe when fifth and is another one looking for more ground and cannot be ignored here.

Mljet has reeled off two wins in a rowin fine style and looks a horse with a future. This is his acid test but he could well prove to be up to the jump in class and he is another one who merits serious consideration.

Imperial Gold, an easy winner on debut, could turn out to be anything and cannot be written off from a good draw.

Fire Horse has shown promise by scoring two fluent wins and also jumps from a good draw. He now needs to show that he can handle the rise in class.

The rest look held on exposed form in a race that could well prove to be something of a re-run of the Golden Horseshoe. Afrika Burn is taken to confirm the good impression he mad in that race, but Anjaal will be a big threat and should get a lot closer over this trip. Harry's Son, Jayyed and Mljet look set to fight out the minor placings. 

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