Tevez seen winning the Gr2 Merchants
Tevez and Normanz will join a three-pronged revenge assault in next month’s Computaform Sprint after finishing first and third in the itsarush.co.za Pinnacle Stakes at Kenilworth on Saturday.
But seemingly they will need the weather on their side if they are to lower the colours of Mike de Kock’s new sprinting star.
Derek Brugman said: “I am a bit concerned because in Jo’burg they go like the clappers, but hopefully we will get a bit of rain there and the ground won’t be as hard as it normally is.
“We may also see Captain Of All coming from Durban for the race and hopefully one of the three will be able to tackle Alboran Sea and set the record straight after the way she grabbed us here in the Cape Flying Championship.”
Tevez appeared to score every bit as easily as both the weights and the betting suggested he should, surging to the front inside the final 200m and easing up before the line, but seemingly things looked rather different from the back of the 2-1 favourite. Grant van Niekerk reported: “I was off the bit for much of the way and then all of a sudden he took hold of it and I then had to find my way through gaps.”
Normanz seen winning the Golden Horse Sprint
It was a rough race. Silver Salver, Happy Forever and Olympian all suffered interference and the last-named came back with cuts on his right hock. Runner-up Promicing Polly ran way above her rating but the real stars were Normanz and Malan du Toit.
The Charles Laird four-year-old went into the pens like a lamb and came out them as if he was a reincarnation of Pegasus. Even Robert Redford could take a leaf out of the celebrated horse whisperer’s book.
Indeed, as Brugman pointed out, there should be more to come from the gelding when he is trained for the race rather than the stalls but the Mike Bass-trained winner is also expected to show improvement at Turffontein.
Candice Robinson explained: “He’d had a break and he was blowing pretty hard afterwards so he will probably run again in the Pinnacle on April 6. He and Fly By Night will be flown to Jo’burg on the day of the Computaform Sprint.”
Excerpt from www.goldcircle.co.za
