The Cape Town Combo. Dean Kannemeyer and Karl Neisius Are the Cape Royal Team.
The KZN weather will hopefully play ball as the power pairing of Dean Kannemeyer and Karl Neisius step out under lights at Greyville on Friday evening with the smart sprinting 3yo Cape Royal, who takes on eight rivals in the delayed R135 000 Listed In Full Flight Handicap run over 1000m.
The race promises a spectacle of speed, and the barrier draw and early toe should play a major role in the outcome.
The brilliant but ill fated In Full Flight, in whose honour this race is named, made his debut over the course and distance of Friday evening’s race on 13 February 1971.
By New South Wales out of First Swallow, he was bred in 1968 by the late Godfrey Gird, then of Maine Chance Farms.
He won four out of his six starts as a 2yo, and as a 3yo his remarkable record continued.
He was beaten only once in 10 starts – when he ran third to Sentinel and Elevation in the South African Guineas at Greyville.
His wins included the Summerveld Free Handicap by 1½ lengths from Sentinel, a Sprint Handicap at Pietermaritzburg which he won by 4½ lengths, and the Bull Brand Jockeys’ International. In the latter race, ridden by visiting jockey, Fernando Toro, he stormed away to win by 5½ lengths, with Elevation, Sentinel and Full Stretch in the placings.
In January 1972, he held off Sentinel to win the Swazi Spa ‘Holiday Inn’ Stakes run at Kenilworth over 1400 metres by a short head. On a cold and blustery day at the beginning of February these two protagonists once again fought out the finish of the Cape of Good Hope Guineas, which ended in a thrilling dead-heat.
The pinnacle of In Full Flight’s career was winning 1972 Durban July by 1¼ lengths from King’s Guard and Pedlar. Trained by David Payne, who at 24 was the youngest trainer ever to saddle the winner of the race, he was ridden by the then 28-year-old Raymond Rhodes.
In Full Flight won three more races before his untimely death as a 4yo. These included the WFA Woolavington Cup at Clairwood by 5½ lengths from Sentinel, William Penn and Force Ten, and a thrilling finish in the Champion Stakes won by a neck from William Penn with Mazarin a head behind.
His final victory was at Kenilworth. Starting at odds on from a draw of 15, he won the 1400m Somerset Plate by a length from William Penn.
His last race was the 1973 Benson and Hedges Metropolitan Handicap in which he was defeated by the 14-1 outsider, Gold Flame with Force Ten second.
In Full Flight’s death from a ruptured lung only a few days after the Met was a great loss to racing. He won 11 feature races, and stakes of R123 620 – a bargain for owner Norman Ferguson who had bought him at the 1970 Yearling Sales for just R3 500.
Form
Dean Kannemeyer and Karl Neisius have had a dream start to their Champions Season assault, and Cape Royal was put on public view with probably the most well paid grass gallop in recent South African racing history.
He won the Easter Dash run over 600m at Clairwood at level weights at the end of March in super style.
Class! The smart 3yo Cape Royal looks the part in Friday evening’s Listed In Full Flight Handicap.
That was his first outing since a disappointing 7,30 lengths behind What A Winter in the Gr1 Cape Flying Championship at end of January.
He had won 4 of his previous 7 starts, and has matured into a serious young sprinting prospect.
The Easter Dash would have brought Cape Royal along nicely, and he should make them gallop if adapting to the right handed turn.
Threat
The biggest threat to Cape Royal could possibly be found in the form yet another smart Cape 3yo.
Mike Bass’ classy Tevez, a son of Caesour who died earlier this week after an illustrious career at stud,has probably proven an overall disappointment when reflecting back on the early days.
He has not won since the dark days of the Cape winter, when he won his second and third start (the Sophomore Sprint) in promising style.
Tevez’ return to action at Scottsville last a fortnight back was a good one. He showed good pace, before being overpowered late by the highly rated Barbosa.
Tevez carries just 52kgs, and will strip a far fitter horse. If he adapts to the right handed turn, and the new experience of the lights, he could outrun them all.
Quiet Start
The Vaughan Marshall raiding team have had mixed results with their KZN campaign in these early stages. While it is not to be unexpected that their runners will need an outing or two to settle in, they have only had one winner from their first nine runners.
They are represented by the Gr3 Cape Nursery winner, The West Is Wide, who has his first run since being rested for 76 days after an unplaced effort on Met Day behind shock winner The Plunderer.
The Southeaster Sprint winner is lightly raced, but has a stamp of class about him and will be ridden for the first time by Sean Veale in the absence of MJ Byleveld, who suffered sore ligaments after a fall in PE last Friday. (Byleveld is back in the saddle on Saturday).
Local Heat
Dennis Drier and Sean Cormack are the hot KZN combination at the moment, and they team up with the Hussonet gelding Tipo Tinto, who goes for his fourth win in a row.
After winning 2 of his 3 outings during the Cape Sizzling SummerSeason, he bounced back to action after a ten week break at his first start on his return to his home province, when holding Divine Jet to a short head over the Clairwood 1000m.
That form will assist Karl Neisius in drawing some collateral conclusions in terms of Cape Royal, but it also tells the rest of us that Tipo Tinto is very well. He is a serious threat from his 1 draw.
Camel Man
Justin Snaith’s perpetual motion machine Cap Alright appears to have finally cracked the nod for his first Champions Season campaign.
The 5yo son of Captain Al has won 8 of his 43 starts and seldom puts in a moderate effort. Cap Alright has shown speed and run third at his last four starts. Interestingly three of those runs were behind Champion What A Winter, so were not bad efforts at all.
Cap Alright ran third behind Cape Royal at level weights at the fourth of those mentioned starts, and is now 4kgs worse off with the Kannemeyer flyer.
While they may go a touch quickly for him here, he has run over the Arlington and Fairview 1400m tracks in days gone by, and will thus not find the right handed Greyville turn too strange.
Napping
Gavin Van Zyl’s Wild Type is a son of the recently deceased Strike Smartly out of a Fort Wood mare, and has won his 8 races from 1200m to a mile. One would thus consider that this event may prove a second or three too quick for him.
Wild Type will be ridden by Anthony Delpech from the widest draw, and it is of some concern that he has not run since end January in the Marula Sprint, where he pulled up lame. His fitness may be in question.
Hopefuls
Lake Arthur commences his Champions Season campaign and returns from a rest of 153 days.
The son of Jet Master can gallop on his day, but is yet to be tried over the minimum trip, and may find the 1000m on the sharp side. That said, he hails from a training establishment with world class facilities and may come out fighting fresh to grab a place.
Garth Puller sends out the long priced coupling of Jinzo and Tetelestai, who are both course and distance winners and are no slouches, having won 18 races between them.
Both have drawn well, and Tetelestai, who really runs for apprentice Keagan De Melo, appeals as a quartet kicker if things go his way on the night.
Flight Plans
This race will be run in great haste. With plenty of speed on his inside, Karl Neisius will be able to give Cape Royal a chance from his 7 draw, and he has the turn of foot to run at them late.
Dennis Drier’s Tipo Tinto and the lightly weighted promising Tevez should give him most to think about.
