In Form. The smart 4yo Jallad gelding Villa Del Largo is bang in form and could be the Snaith stable elect
With inclement weather having ravaged the Cape for weeks on end, the formbook is likely to offer little shelter or guidance to the racing starved locals. The R88 000 Racing Association Pinnacle Stakes run over the Kenilworth 1200m straight heads a tough looking Saturday nine race programme. The exotics could prove something of a lottery.
Besides the likely heavy and testing state of the racing surfaces and the consequent inc-reased weighting of the suitability factor and the impact of the draws, the fact that many of the yards would have been unable to work their charges due to waterlogged training tracks, also needs to be considered.
That doesn’t necessarily prove of great value to us, as some horses may respond positively to a lack of work, while others operate out of varying training centres with individual facilities impacted on at different levels.
As one example, trainer Dean Kannemeyer went on record at his Milnerton yard this week saying that it had been some two decades since he could recall water at the levels seen in the recent past at the training centre. Kannemeyer literally grew up on those tracks and is not a man given to exaggeration or dramatization. Four local racemeetings have been affected by the merciless winter this year so far, at the time of going to print.
Across The Board
Capable. The Captain Al gelding Terminator will be ridden by Snaith stable jockey Richard Fourie and should not be underestimated on his best form to date
The topliner on the Kenilworth Saturday pro-gramme sees a mixed bag field of eight runners going to post. Three of the runners hail from Milnerton yards, three from the Snaith Phillipi operation and the remaining two are from private establishments. Justin Snaith comes in fresh off his Equus Special Achievement Award of last Wednesday, and has a strong hand as he sends three runners to post.
Snaith in fact sends out the only two runners with any genuine scope in the race in the 4yo’s,Terminator and Villa Del Largo.Villa De Largo is the higher rated of the two and is bang in form. The Fred Crabbia owned son of Jallad, a true course and distance specialist, slammed Moonlight Gambler at his last outing over the Kenilworth 1200m six weeks ago.
He showed smart forward ability there and impressed as he was in touch for much of the journey before drawing away to win readily. Muzi Yeni rides him, while recently returned Snaith stable jockey Richard Fourie jumps aboard Terminator. We have no insight as to whether that was the trainer or the jockey’s call, and whether the choice has any significance at all. Whatever the case, Terminator won a cracker over 200m further last time when going from end to end in a Pinnacle Stakes to beat the capable M’Lord’s Throat.
Athlete
He is a lovely athletic animal who could now start showing some of the promise that saw him considered good enough to line up in the 2012 Gr2 Selangor Cup. He didn’t earn there, but was not disgraced either as he finished just over two lengths off King Of Pain and Capetown Noir. The eight time winning gelding Cap Alright is the third of the Snaith trio, and returns from a tough KZN campaign.He, like Terminator, is a son of Captain Al.
Cap Alright was outgunned in the Golden Horse Casino Sprint and the Merchants, and returns to the scene of some of his greatest triumphs, after a 71 day rest. Cap Alright could strip fresh and enthusiastic under top 4kg claiming apprentice Girish Goomamy, and could surprise as he is weighted to win this on the weight terms of the race. When Cap Alright starts rolling, he often doesn’t throw in the towel and as said, this is his home ground.
Rare Ride
Milnerton based owner trainer Bill Prestage sends out a coupling of General Assembly and Moonlight Gambler. The National Assembly gelding General Assembly has won 7 of his 29 starts and sees Stuart Randolph taking a rare ride for the Prestage yard. A course and distance winner, General Assembly gets the blinkers after losing his form recently. He has rather worryingly faded at his last two course and distance runs.
The Indigo Magic gelding Moonlight Gambler loves the going at the moment, but is not getting any younger and at eight years of age ranks second only to the Stewart veteran on the pension scales. Moonlight Gambler is a kilo worse off with Villa Del Largo on his penultimate start when running on but 2,25 lengths adrift.
Private Property
The two runners from private establishments are Andries Steyn’s Jamie Lee Jet and the 11yo Royal Chalice gelding, Copa De La Rey. Jamie Lee Jet returned from an eight month rest at the last Cape meeting of last season, and ran on well to finish third behind Gallus in a MR74 handicap over the course and distance.
He is a course and distance winner in heavy going at a similar time of the year, and if not flat at his second run after a rest, will warrant consideration under a claiming apprentice.
Pensioner
The golden oldie blast from the past, Copa De La Rey, hails from Mike Stewart’s Noordhoek training establishment at The Dunes. He was scheduled to run this past Wednesday at Kenilworth. The gelding must be the oldest horse in training in South Africa and is something of a wet weather specialist, who deserves consideration, if he comes racing with some of his old spark and enthusiasm.
A winner of 11 races, Copa De La Rey once ran off a merit rating of 107, and is a multiple course and distance winner. He gets the benefit of apprentice Denies Lee’s claim and comes in with just 47,5kgs on his back. While a factor on the going, it is rather sobering to note that Copa De La Rey has not won for four years and may have forgotten how and where to go.
Stayer
The Miesque’s Approval gelding Putney Flyer returns to trainer Darryl Hodgson from his Gauteng sojourn where he had four runs for Weiho Marwing. The 5yo is largely a staying sort and ran a fair fourth at his last run in the Gold Vase behind Kolkata. While he could run well fresh and wears the blinkers, he should be caught short for pace here and appears unlikely to threaten the acknowledge speedsters.
Snaith Grip
The race looks to lie in Justin Snaith’s hands. Villa Del Largo and Terminator are two relatively young horses, amongst a fairly tired lot of older regulars. Cap Alright will bounce out from the stalls and be rolling from the jump. He is well weighted and could win it if bringing his better game to the track.
