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On Her Toes Wins K R A Fillies Guineas - 05-14-09
May 14 - Under clear skies in the coastal city of Durban in South Africa on Tuesday night this week, many of the country's top three-year-old fillies lined up at Greyville Racecourse for the R250,000 K R A Fillies Guineas (Gr 2), and after an exhilarating late effort, it was One Her Toes who proved triumphant.
Trained by reputable South African trainer Mike Azzie, On Her Toes leapt out of the starting barrier to quickly settle into a comfortable fourth behind early leader Sparkling Gem, who was followed by Jet Goddess in second and race favorite Mother Russia in third, who was happy to hug the rail in the 1600m race.
Following On Her Toes was She's So Cold and Consensual, with Goat and Dance With Al bringing up the rear. Coming into the straight, Sparkling Gem soon began to drop back, opening the way for a duel between Jet Goddess and Mother Russia, with On Her Toes a length behind and Consensual closing fast.
With just one furlong to go, talented jockey Gavin Larena aboard On Her Toes turned the filly out, putting her in the lead. Her biggest challengers were Consensual, who under South African champion jockey Anton Marcus, also increased her pace, while out of nowhere Dance With Al came storming up the inside.
As the finish fast approached, On Her Toes dug deep to maintain her lead, crossing the line first in a time of 98.32s, with Dance With Al - ridden by Bernard Fayd'Herbe - in second and Consensual in third. On Her Toes paid R15.50, a surprisingly high return considering her consistency and general form of late.
Owned by Team Valor International in partnership with Anant and Vanashree Singh, On Her Toes ran an excellent race and will no doubt have put a smile on the face of her trainer. Although she also won her last outing, the R150,000 Umzimkhulu Stakes (Gr 3) last month, she ran a far better race on Tuesday.
Arguably the biggest surprise of the K R A Fillies Guineas were the lackluster runs from both Sparkling Gem and Mother Russia. As the race favorite, Sparkling Gem was expected to sew up the race, but from the start looked to be unsettled. Mother Russia just seemed to run out of steam in the last furlong.
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