The Frank Robinson-trained Dynasty filly Olma will be using Saturday’s Gr 2 Tibouchina Stakes over 1400m at Greyville as a stepping stone into either the Gr1 Vodacom Durban July or the Gr1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes and has been thriving at Summerveld, as can be seen in the picture of her taken yesterday morning (Tuesday).

However, she faces a tough field and there was also bullishness from the Mike Bass and Brett Crawford yards.

Frank Robinson said, “She is doing exceptionally well, I couldn’t hope to have her in a better place. She has a wide draw but Piere Strydom is up, so he could take care of it.”

Olma is drawn 12 out of 12. The four-year-old filly acts equally well on turf as she does on polytrack and in a total of nine starts at Greyville, from 1400m up to 2000m, has won six of them.

She has been in the winner’s enclosure in her last three starts at the city track and this included comfortably beating the boys in the Gr 3 King’s Cup over 1600m on the poly.

Her exceptional turn of foot is one of the reasons she loves the tight track and the fashion of her wins over 1600m this season suggests she should be equally suited to the 1400m trip.

Olma’s last run in the Gr 1 Laurie Jaffee Empress Club Stakes over 1600m at Turffontein was disappointing. However, this is a part of a trend because of the five below par runs she has had in her career, she needed one of them and the other four have been on the Highveld. The classy filly has otherwise been a model of consistency.

However, the favourite for Saturday’s race is likely to be the Mike Bass-trained four-year-old Trippi filly Inara.

After winning the Empress Club Stakes, Inara was back at Turffontein two weeks later for the Gr 1 Premier’s Champions Challenge over 2000m and ran well below her best.

She was given a deserved “little break” and assistant trainer Robert Fayd’Herbe said she had come back from it well. He added she does not take much work, so should be fit enough.

Three-year-old Silvano filly Silver Mountain is also in the Tibouchina, her first start since disappointing in the Gr 2 Daisy Fillies Guineas.

Fayd’Herbe said the yard had got the better of Silver Mountain’s feet issues and, although she was not wintering very well, she was doing a lot better than she had been.

However, In his opinion Inara is at this stage a “much better filly” than Silver Mountain.

Inara’s class is proven by her status as a four-time Gr 1-winner and she started this season with two good wins over 1400m at the tight Durbanville course, so the course and distance on Saturday should not pose a problem.

Silver Mountain, as a horse with plenty of speed and a fine turn of foot, should be ideally suited to the Greyville 1400m if bouncing back to the form which saw her winning the Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas by five lengths.

Inara is the highest merit rated horse in Saturday’s race on 111, while Silver Mountain and Olma are joint-second highest on 107.

Inara is drawn wide in nine with Grant van Niekerk up, while Silver Mountain is drawn two with Bernard Fayd’Herbe up.

Brett Crawford could not separate his pair of four-year-olds, Alexis (Dynasty) and Cuvee Brut (Count Dubois), and felt they both had good chances.

Crawford’s runners have needed their first starts in KZN this season.

However, Alexis won well second time out over the Greyville 1400m. She loves Greyville and 1400m is her optimum trip, so she should have every chance from a draw of six under stable jockey Corne Orffer. She will likely be cherry ripe, although on paper off a merit rating of 100 she has a bit to do at the weights in the weight for ager plus penalties event.

Cuvee Brut has come out of her race at Scottsville on Saturday well. She was far from disgraced in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint, in which she was one of only two fillies, and finished a 3,4 length fifth to the brilliant Talktothestars.

She has proved to be equally good at 1400m and back in February won the Gr 3 Prix Du Cap over that trip at Kenilworth in fine style. She beat Alexis by 2,4 lengths that day, but was receiving 3kg and on Saturday she will only be receiving 1kg. She has a tricky draw of nine to overcome. However, she has the bonus of Anton Marcus up and this will be her third run of the SA Champions Season.

By David Thiselton