Class Stayer. Aquanaut Handicap winner Seal is a top class stayer and goes for a hat trick of wins in the Gr3 Caradoc Gold Cup
When Seal stormed home to win the Gr1 SA Derby close on two years ago, great things were predicted for the emerging stayer. Trainer Gavin Van Zyl only recently genuinely appears to have found the winning touch with the son of Silvano who bids for a hat trick in Saturday’s Gr3 Caradoc Gold Cup run over 2850m.
A glance at his form statistics might have many feeling that we are being a touch harsh on the 5yo, but after bursting onto the scene as he did with that outstanding Gr1 win in 2011, his record since is more okay than brilliant.
Courage
In the ensuing two years Seal, has managed four wins, two of which were in the past seven weeks. Fair enough, he did register wins in the Listed Wolf Power run over a mile, and the Gr2 Gold Vase, and it is probably the recent achievements that should concern us.
Seal’s win in the Listed Aquanaut Handicap run over 2450m at the beginning of March, was a display of gritty courage, and outstanding jockeyship from Striker Strydom, who is an integral part of the revival.
Running handily and lumping a hefty 63kgs, Seal was always up with the action and then stayed on courageously to beat Canterbury Tale and Soul Master. He showed similar fight and tenacity in his previous win a month earlier in a 2200m Pinnacle Stakes at this track.
The frightening aspect for his opposition on Saturday, is that Seal comes in on far better terms and we know that he gets every inch of the 2850m.
The Aquanaut Handicap collateral form points heavily in favour of Seal, and every one of the eight opponents whom he beat there and meets again on Saturday, have some improving to do or a magic trick to conjure up in the absence of that.
Sting In The Tale
Masterful. The Java Handicap winner Soul Master is always a threat over the ground
Mike De Kock’s Canterbury Tale was beaten 0,75 lengths by Seal in the Aquanaut and meets the Van Zyl soldier on 6kgs worse terms here at his first attempt this far. The son of Greys Inn is no slouch, but Seal has his measure. It is interesting to note that De Kock trained the winning exacta in the corresponding race last.
Third in the Aquanaut was Geoff Woodruff’s Soul Master, who will be partnered by Bernard Fayd’herbe.
The son of Jet Master finished 1,25 lengths back in third in the Aquanaut, and meets Seal on the same terms. Soul Master ran third in this race last year behind Atyeb, so could give Seal something to think about if Fayd’herbe can make up the deficit.
Unproven
Mike Azzie’s Masai Warrior is unproven over this ground, but the son of Wolfhound is no pushover having won 7 races from his 37 career starts. Masai Warrior ran fourth in the Aquanaut and meets Seal on 3kgs worse terms for that 3,25 lengths shortfall. That will make it tough for him.
Ormond Ferraris and Nooresh Juglall are a serious combination on big and small days, and they team up with another Silvano, in the consistent S’IL Vous Plait.
The 5yo ran fifth and 3,75 lengths back in the Aquanaut, and comes in here 1,5kgs worse off with Seal. As a winner over 2600m, he will stay this trip and there is not much between him and Seal on his penultimate start over 2200m.
Solid Finish
St John D Gray’s Yer Maan is another game gelding and a winner of 4 of his 18 starts. Yer Maan has a good finish on him, but that was lacking when he ran sixth and 5,25 lengths behind Seal in the Aquanaut. Karl Neisius gets aboard on Saturday, but Yer Maan has a 4 kg negative swing in the weights to deal with. That puts him under all sorts of pressure.
The likely pacemaker in this event is Weiho Marwing’s 4yo filly Avenue Of Gold,who has to make up six lengths and a 3,5kgs weight turn against her from the Aquanaut Handicap.
Sealed
Seal is a confident first choice here. As the Gr1 winner, and the proven class in the race, he also appears to be fit and well and given the fact that Piere Strydom knows him, we are confident that no amount of strategizing by his opposition will catch him short.
Avenue Of Gold will set the pace, and Piere will thus have a nice lead. S’Il Vous Plait and Canterbury Tale could do the chasing home, while Soul Master seldom runs a bad race.
