Paul Peter has freshened up Fort Ember and expects her to have a big shout in the Grade 2 WSB 1900 on a course she loves.

Peter said, “She loves the climate down in Durban and grows an extra leg at Greyville. I feel she will gel with Strydom and punters must put her in.”

Fort Ember

Peter said the pace was too hot for her last time out in the Grade 1 Premier’s Champions Challenge over 2000m at Turffontein and she was unable to overcome her wide draw.

That race was just two Saturdays ago so there would be a concern for some that this race has come too soon.

However, Peter has freshened her up and she did “extremely well” in her last bit of work yesterday (Wednesday) when not asked to do too much as he wants to keep her fresh to prevent her from going “flat”.

He said, “She came out of the Challenge sound. She is looking better than she did before that race.”

Fort Ember has at last cracked a good draw of three.

She has a fine record at Greyville, having won both the Grade 3 Flamboyant Stakes over 1600m and the Grade 2 Gold Bracelet over 2000m.

Furthermore, she is the best weighted horse in the 1900, being 2,5kg better off than any other horse according to official merit ratings.

She proved she can mix it with the boys in this season’s Sansui Summer Cup, where she finished second.

If she does well in the 1900, the Vodacom Durban July will be her next target.

By David Thiselton