The 3yo Marinaresco won last year’s Champions Cup, which clinched the Champion 3yo title. Can the July-winner follow up, a year later, for another Champion’s title?
Marinaresco wins the 2016 Champions Cup
The R1 million Gr1 Champions Cup is run on day one of the inaugural Gold Cup Festival of Racing, a four day celebration of music, lifestyle, fashion, food, family and high-class horseracing at Greyville Racecourse – aptly dubbed the Theatre Of Champions – from 27 to 30 July.
The festival culminates with the end of the SA Champions Season and the possible crowning glory of the season’s best.
The sensational 2017 July winner, Marinaresco has enjoyed something of a love-hate-admiration relationship with the racing public ever since departing his Cape home base last season for KZN, with the first two legs of the Cape Winter Series in the bank.
Marinaresco is dwarfed by The Conglomerate in the 2016 July
Beaten a quarter length by The Conglomerate in the 2016 July, he came out and sealed the sentimental victory of the season for his retiring trainer in the Mike & Carol Bass Champions Cup. He beat three solid handicappers in Judicial, No Worries and Saratoga Dancer – names that probably underline the average standard of the season’s final Gr1.
But the Equus judges saw it differently. And while hindsight is an exact science, and possibly swayed by a touch of emotion (they’re human?), Marinaresco was crowned Champion 3yo Colt At our national awards a fortnight later – beating SA Triple Crown winner Abashiri, Cape Guineas winner Noah From Goa and Daily News 2000 winner Rabada.
Drill Hall thriller – the winner Marinaresco is unsighted one off the rail
After defeats as a 4yo in the Green Point Stakes, the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and the Sun Met, Marinaresco popped up from nowhere ten months later to grab a last gasp season icebreaker in the Drill Hall Stakes. Tactics were blamed for his dismal subsequent Gold Challenge showing, but he was king of the turf on July day when getting up in the dying strides to shade SA Derby winner Al Sahem.
Now for the Champions Cup on Saturday week – and another title?
Marinaresco (118) is a serious candidate in the Champion Middle Distance (1800-2200m) and Champion Older Male category, and a win on Saturday would clinch the first title. Without that, he shares a Gr1 and Gr2 success apiece with our absent highest rated galloper, the globetrotting Sun Met winner Whisky Baron (120).
Bull Valley – two Gr1 wins
Last Saturday’s Mercury Sprint winner Bull Valley (116) has two Gr1 successes and a Gr3 to his credit, and holds the edge over both Marinaresco and Whisky Baron in the Older Male Category. But Bull Valley seems more apt as Champion Sprinter – not forgetting that his stablemate Carry On Alice (114) is also a dual Gr1 winner this term – and the more popular choice, we’d guess.
Bela-Bela – takes on Marinaresco in Champions Cup next weekend
And if she doesn’t get Champion Sprinter, then there’s the Bela-Bela (112) factor to bump in the Champion older Filly/Mare category. Also a dual Gr1 winner this term, the flying daughter of Dynasty could cut them all down to size in her Champions Cup swansong, to change the complexion of the speculation and debate!
In the end, there are no laid-down set parameters for Equus – do two Gr1’s and a Gr3 beat two Gr1’s and a Gr1 runner-up berth, for instance?
Provincialism and emotion have got to play a role – they’d be lying if they said it didn’t!
