Silver Flyer
Gr1 Cape Premier Yearling Sale Cape Guineas over 1600m at Kenilworth on Saturday
Silver Flyer may have upped his game by a notch or two since being fitted with blinkers and can follow up on his impressive recent display in the Gr2 Dingaans by winning the Cape Premier Yearling Sale Guineas over 1600m at Kenilworth on Saturday, writes MATTHEW LIPS.
Silver Flyer always looked a useful prospect before being tried with the headgear in the Dingaans, but it was in that 1600m event at Turffontein three weeks ago that the son of Silvano put himself firmly in the front line of three-year-olds when running on strongly to beat White Line Fever by 2.5 lengths, with the rest of a very decent field strung out behind. Mike de Kock’s colt performed well enough in a slow-run Listed event over 1600m at Clairwood in October to suggest that he copes with left-handed turns, and the way in which that race mapped out didn’t really suit his style of coming from off the pace. Silver Flyer will again have his Dingaans partner Glern Hatt in the irons on Saturday and has a chance to record his first Gr1 success, but the race is thoroughly competitive and he certainly cannot be a confident choice.
Princess Victoria
Princess Victoria - respected Fillies Guineas winner
Princess Victoria was probably not as convincing a winner of the recent Gr1 Avontuur Estate Fillies Guineas as was largely expected, but that race was run at a crawl in the early stages and pacemaker Trinity House wasn’t a million miles away from being allowed to steal the race in what virtually became a sprint down the straight. Princess Victoria ran on well enough to eventually beat Trinity House by 1.25 lengths and is better than that, having appeared to have a ton in hand when beating a very similar field in a Gr2 event over 1400m on her seasonal debut. The daughter of Victory Moon faces male rivals for the first time since winning a Listed event over 1000m back in January, where she was very well treated by the conditions of the race. This will be the first time she faces the boys on a level playing field, and the handicappers have her rated inferior to the three best colts in the race. Glen Kotzen’s charge may still have a slight stamina doubt in a true-run mile, but on the other hand a half decent pace may suit her better than the dawdle of the Fillies Guineas and she remains one to respect even if this undoubtedly amounts to the stiffest test of her career to date.
Variety Club - expected very good account
Variety Club
Rated the equal of Silver Flyer by the handicappers is Variety Club, who ran on stoutly after being in touch throughout when beating Gimmethegreenlight by a head in the Gr2 Selangor Cup over 1600m on the Kenilworth winter course last month. He’d easily won the Gr3 Matchem Stakes over 1400m at Durbanville on his only previous appearance of the season, and he ought to give a very good account of himself again from the 5 draw. Whether anything he has done is an exact match for Silver Flyer’s Dingaans performance is a matter of opinion, but he seemed to run well above his then rating when he won the Selangor and is still on the upgrade. Joey Ramsden’s Var colt has an undeniable chance.
Gimmethegreenlight
Gimmethegreenlight is slightly worse off at the weights with Variety Club compared to the Selangor, but there should be little between them again. He is consistent, and was drawn wide when running on strongly to finish almost one length of the un-blinkered Silver Flyer in a Gr1 event won by Potala Palace on yielding ground over 1600m at Greyville in July. The Australian-bred import has looked rather unlucky on more than big race occasion and is certainly not without a chance of earning his reward on Saturday.
Divine Jet
Given the wealth of big race form on show it may be prudent to stick with those who have proven themselves at a high level, but there are some highly intriguing prospects amongst the less exposed runners in the Guineas field and topping the list must be Divine Jet. This handsome son of Jet Master has captured many an imagination with three emphatic wins from as many starts in much smaller races and has an almost effortless way of accelerating from off the pace. He did at least have a subsequent winner back in third when making light work of lifting an ordinary 1400m handicap in November and may easily prove capable of holding his own in this stronger company. He is drawn wide, but on the summer course that is less of a nightmare even if it still isn’t exactly an advantage. He gives the impression that he will stay 1600m and Dean Kannemeyer’s colt hails from a stable with a terrific record in the Guineas, but the fact remains that Divine Jet is being thrown in at the deep end for the first time and some caution is advisable.
Liancourt Rock and Depardieu
Divine Jet’s stable companions Liancourt Rock and Depardieu look held safe on the form of the Selangor Cup, where they were respectively beaten 3.30 lengths and a tick over six lengths into third and fourth. Liancourt Rock is the more lightly raced of the two, but he was comfortably beaten in the Selangor when racing in a Stakes race for the first time and there might be a cautionary measure in that fact for Divine Jet fans. Depardieu was well weighted when he beat Gimmethegreenlight by about a neck in a Gr3 over 1400m in October and looks no match for that rival at level weights, although he might enjoy the longer run-in on the summer course.
Astro News
Astro News has joined the stable of Greg Ennion since he fought on well after leading from some way out to beat Whiteline Fever by one length in the Gr3 Graham Beck Stakes over 1400m at Turffontein last month. He looks better than his well beaten eleventh behind Potala Palace at Greyville in July and possibly didn’t take to the softer going, but even on best form he appears to fall a few short of being a serious contender and Silver Flyer has his measure also on collateral form through Whiteline Fever. Nor has Astro News yet to convince that he stays this far.
Heavy Metal
Sean Tarry has always had a high regard for Heavy Metal and embarks on the long trip to Cape Town with a horse rated fully 25 pounds below the likes of Silver Flyer and Variety Club. Heavy Metal has shown very real improvement with each of his three starts, culminating in a very easy maiden win over 1400m at Turffontein late last month. He promises to make more improvement and he should enjoy going up to 1600m, but reputations aside he has an awful lot to prove at this level and we need to see more from Heavy Metal before we can consider him in a race like the Guineas.
Master Mascus
Joey Ramsden sends out three others in addition to Variety Club, but they all have plenty to find on current form at least. Master Mascus was beaten some ten lengths behind Variety Club in the Selangor and makes no appeal on that. He did get to within about a neck of Variety Club in the Gr3 Langerman over 1500m in June, but is now 2 kgs worse off and the Selangor form is much more recent and as such looks a more likely indicator of their relative merit. Silver Haven is a promising sort who had the widest draw in the Selangor, but he made no show and finished just behind Master Mascus. He can do better and was only beaten one length by Liancourt Rock at level weights over the Durbanville 1400m in September, but even that leaves him well short of being able to win the Guineas. The Balladeer needed seven tries to win a very ordinary maiden and has a forlorn task rated just 79. One can always hope that he’s in here as a pacemaker, but it’s impossible to imagine what else he can hope to achieve.
Blaze Of Fire
Much-travelled Port Elizabeth raider Blaze Of Fire has done well with frontrunning tactics in his last two starts, but the form of the Ready To Run Cup in which he finished third at Turffontein looks well short of this level and he was receiving 2 kgs from Soweto Slew when beaten a short head at Fairview subsequently. He has seemingly improved of late, but not nearly enough to impress as a threat here.
About The Pace
Blaze Of Fire may again attempt to make all the running, unless one of the stables with multiple entries has a pacemaker in mind. Hopefully, the Guineas will be run at a reasonable pace and not at the crawl which we witness in its fillies’ equivalent a fortnight ago. Silver Flyer’s Dingaans win appeals as the standout performance by any of the 13 runners and he is selected to win, although Princess Victoria could prove more than a match for the boys and warrants loads of respect. Variety Club and Gimmethegreenlight have rock-solid form and merit obvious respect, while Divine Jet has the capacity to be anything at all and would surprise almost nobody by proving too good for the lot of them. It promises to be a mouth-watering race, whatever the result. Please, just don’t let it turn into a farce.
