Putney Flyer – stays well, is fit and carries a galloping weight
The Cape staying ranks remains a sparsely populated competition zone. Only six runners pitch up for today’s R250 000 CTS Gr3 Chairman’s Cup run over the Kenilworth 3200m. It is a poor show for the decent stake offered and quite amazing that the racing operator managed to secure a sponsor.
Trainer Joey Ramsden touched on the concern in his column a week ago that this race could well possibly not attract enough entries to go ahead. With six runners carded, it doesn’t take a mathematics degree to work out that two scratchings could blow it right out of the water.
The lack of depth in the staying ranks is a subject for debate for another day – but the problem looks to have deep seated roots that go beyond the obvious and possibly right back to the mating planning stage.
Ramsden Runner
Lack of pace could be undoing of Coltrane
Ramsden saddles the topweight Coltrane, and it is unusual for the Milnerton conditioner to have just one string to his bow in a race of this nature. Maybe he feels it is enough to win it.
Coltrane has come good since winning the Cape Summer Stayers in a shock result in December and was unlucky in the J&B Urban Honey Stayers last time where a frustratingly slow pace dictated by eventual winner Kingston Mines led to his downfall.
The pace bogey could play a role again in this small field.
The Flyer
The progressive Trippi filly Shingwedzi stayed on well over 2800m last time
The Mike Bass-trained Trippi filly Shingwedzi ran a cracker in the race won by Kingston Mines – she flew late for third and appears to be crying out for the distance.
Putney Flyer ran a low-key race in the Urban Honey Stayers but finished only 3,80 lengths behind. The pace would also not have suited him but he meets Coltrane (7,5kgs) and Shingwedzi (8,5kgs) on substantially better weight terms.
Veteran Gerrit Schlechter knows him well and will give him ever chance.
Stamina Test
Glen Kotzen – tries further with Gone Baby Gone
The Glen Kotzen-trained Gone Baby Gone has yet to win since changing ownership out of a dispersal sale in July 2014.We note he has since changed ownership again.
The former Mike De Kock-trained son of Greys Inn looked reasonably promising when going fourth in the SA Derby – a Gr1 race later described as ‘weak’ that year by the champion conditioner.
Gone Baby Gone ran a poor race on his return to action in the Algoa Cup in October last year and, in his defence, he has yet to be tested over ground in his subsequent three starts.
His pipe-opener was a 9 length unplaced run behind Captain America over a mile on Met day and he should relish the 3200m test on Saturday under just 52,5kgs.
The Snaith’s ‘miracle horse’ (see the story below) Lorenzo Marques has his seventh run after a long break and while not disgraced as he has steadily improved, he looks well held by Coltrane on his penultimate run – a fourth placing in a Pinnacle Stakes.
Mike Stewart’s Count My Luck is in under serious sufferance and has not won a race in over 30 months. It is difficult seeing the 8yo find the necessary energy to win a race of this nature.
The Survivor – Lorenzo Marques
Lorenzo Marques – quite a story behind this guy
One of the six runners in Saturday’s Gr3 Chairman’s Cup is the 7yo Sillvano gelding Lorenzo Marques, a one-time winner whose life story makes for interesting reading.
Bred by Adv Altus Joubert out of the Oaks-winning Coastal mare, Victoria Bay, he was a R90 000 purchase by Basil Marcus Racing at the 2009 National Yearling Sales. T
The colt had 2 starts for Marcus before making his way across to the Snaith yard in Philippi. He flourished in their care, breaking his maiden under Bernard Fayd’herbe on 27 November 2010 and earning a fistful of place cheques, including a 2nd in the EC Derby and a minor placing in the Cape’s Winter Derby.
He travelled to KZN for the Durban season and took his place in the 2011 Gold Cup.The day’s going is officially recorded as ‘very soft’.
300m from home Lorenzo Marques’ tendon went in his near fore and jockey Greg Cheyne eased him out of the race.
After a year’s break he was back and despite struggling with his soundness, Lorenzo Marques ran a few more nice races, earning 4 more place cheques before vet, Dr Dave Timpson warned that the tendon wasn’t going to stand much more racing. The connections called it a day and placed him with the REHORP programme for rehoming in June 2013.
Jono Snaith
Jono Snaith takes up the story “We didn’t hear back and presumed he’d found a good home. We got a call from the SPCA to say that they’d an issue with one of the horses they rehomed for us and asked whether we could help. We drove out to the farm to take a look and the horse looked shocking – condition, feet and coat. My father basically got into physical fight with the owners as we were loading him. The SPCA system fortunately ensures that there’s a contract in place, so we could get him out of there. We couldn’t do anything with him in that state, so the plan was to bring him home, feed him up and get him looking and feeling good, before finding him another home. He’d been out in a paddock with some friends for a while and was obviously starting to feel better about life, because he broke out one day and went galloping down the road and all over the farm. That afternoon we brought him in for Dave Timpson to look at in case he’d got hurt. Dave checked him over and said the horse was sound as a bell. When we told him who it was, he was completely shocked and said he couldn’t believe it was the same horse. He suggested the time was definitely right to start looking for that new home. My dad had been standing quietly by listening all this and decided to put him back in work – you know my dad!”
Lorenzo Marques had his first start in 16 months in at Kenilworth on Wednesday, 29 October last year.
