THE debate about which racehorse is the best three-year-old in the Eastern Cape continues, but Perfection is quickly gaining enormous support in this regard.
Perfection was a sensational winner of the East Cape Guineas, a race for three-year-olds over 1 600m, last Friday on the Fairview Polytrack.
In the process he beat, or shall we rather say demolished, two very capable Cape Town visitors, much to the delight of the Fairview faithful.
Port Louis and King Regent were no match for the local star and this victory indicated that the classy-looking Perfection could be a force on the national stage.
Perfection had JP van der Merwe in the saddle, and was trained by the jockey’s father-in-law and the champion conditioner in the province, Gavin Smith.
In the race, Perfection was eager to get to the front early on and Van der Merwe didn’t waste any time getting going in the short Poly straight.
Van der Merwe is very impressed with Perfection, and Smith stated that the rangy gelding is getting stronger and more mature as he continues his career.
It will be a jump in distance for Perfection, but he will probably be aimed at the R350 000 WSB Derby over 2 400m on Friday, May 12.
The Sophomore Challenge of Nelson Mandela Bay consists of the Ibhayi Stakes, the Guineas and the Derby.
There is a bonus to the connections of a horse that wins all three races, but that won’t happen as Khaya’s Hope won the Ibhayi Stakes and Perfection the Guineas.
Although the bonus is out of door, the Smith stable could still make it a clean sweep in the Challenge if they can win the Derby.
Khaya’s Hope, who is also trained by Smith, beat Perfection in the Ibhayi Stakes, but did not run in the Guineas.
Although it is beginning to look as if Perfection is the one to follow, Khaya’s Hope still has many supporters in the debate about the best three-year-old.
Khaya’s Hope has already won two of the big races in the province this season, the Racing Association Stakes, and the Ibhayi Stakes.
Smith also has the three-year-old sprinter, Cruise Control, in his care, and he is another Fairview horse with a huge fan club.
It is still early days with Cherry Ano, but he is another Smith-trained three-year-old to keep an eye on – unbeaten after three starts.
The Smith stable certainly find themselves in a wonderful position with talent like this in their care.
Although the locals had plenty to cheer about with Perfection winning, they were a bit disappointed that the Western Cape raider, Countdown, was too fast for the opposition in last Friday’s other big race, the Sprint Cup.
This coming Friday’s meeting is again on the Poly surface.
