There is a doubt about second favourite Rabada in Saturday’s Grand Parade Cape Guineas. Mike Azzie expects to make a decision about Anton Marcus’s mount today, writes Michael Clower.
Rabada – may not travel
He said on Monday: “Rabada did very well after his second in the CTS Ready To Run Cup and he was going along nicely but I wasn’t happy with his final gallop last Thursday.
“He was a little distressed afterwards so we took a blood test. The picture wasn’t too bad – there were one or two small things we had to tweak – and we are going to give him a blitz in the morning and reassess him.
“We will be taking on Silver Mountain who I think is something special and I don’t want to go down to Cape Town if I am not happy with the horse.”
Rabada, as short as 15-4, is the highest-rated horse in the race – jointly with Silver Mountain who receives 2.5kg – and the Ready To Run Cup at Turffontein at the end of October was his first outing since landing the Premiers Champions Stakes at Greyville three months earlier.
Azzie said: “He was in need of the run when he ran second (to Champagne Haze) that day. Things hadn’t gone his way in the build-up. They pulled up some of the tracks and he missed crucial work when I needed to give him a bit of stamina work and the track was not available. As a result he went into the race underdone.”
