The countdown continues to the CTS $500 000 sprint and $500 000 mile on Sun Met day and as expected there were some big movers after the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate Festival Of Racing over the past weekend.
The connections of the likes of Magical Wonderland and exciting Var colt Talk Of The Town have some, not too difficult, decisions to make!
Magical Wonderland showed her preference for the sprint track when bulleting home in the Gr2 Sceptre Stakes on Friday.
A few hours earlier, the Var colt Talk Of The Town, won his first start over a mile with ease. Anton Marcus rode an aggressive race on the Backworth Stud-bred chestnut and said afterwards that if he had to ride the race again, he would have stretched them more early on. It was only an MR 80 Handicap but new owners Ken and Jane Truter and the Avontuur Stud team must be very excited.
Both Magical Wonderland and Talk Of The Town are ex-Mayfair Speculators runners.
The two Sun Met day events – run over 1200m and a mile – are restricted to eligible graduates of the 2016 Cape Premier Yearling Sale held on 21 and 22 January 2016, the CTS March Yearling Sale held on 19 and 20 March 2016 and the Emperors Palace Select Yearling Sale held on 21 April 2016.
The What A Winter colt Dutch Philip, who runs in Saturday’s Gr2 Diadem Stakes at Kenilworth, continues to top the CTS 1200 log (per 10 January) with Gr1 winner Sand And Sea – a runner in the Listed Sophomore Sprint on this coming Saturday in second position.
At current rates of exchange, the total prize money on offer is over R12 million.
