Captain Of All – the best sprinter
Beaten Durban July favourite Legal Eagle and Tsogo Sun Sprint winner Captain Of All are now officially the best horses in the country following the handicappers’ decision to drop Futura for his fourth under top weight last Saturday.
Legal Eagle has been left unchanged on 120 despite finishing behind Futura when he ran off his old mark of 112. In effect he met the Queen’s Plate and Met winner on terms 4kg better than weight-for-age.
The handicappers caused some surprise, and attracted criticism, when raising Legal Eagle 4kg for his Jubilee Handicap win previously.
Tellina now a 112 after July third
But Ken Nicol explained yesterday: “Legal Eagle stays on 120 as we can’t really judge him on his July run. He found some interference and it’s a short run-in. Futura ran to 119 in the Met and we gave him an extra half-kilo because of the ease of his victory. He ran a good race on Saturday but we have now taken that half-kilo back.”
Power King has been raised 1.5kg to 109 and runner-up Punta Arenas 1kg to 111. Third-placed Tellina has gone up 2kg to 112.
Majmu, winner of the Avontuur Cape Fillies Guineas and the Jaffee Empress Club, disappointed and has been left on 114. She could now be facing retirement.
Mike de Kock said on his website: “It is Sheikh Hamdan’s policy to retire all his fillies to stud at the end of their three-year-old careers and she is due to be exported to Shadwell in the UK. We will, however, be discussing her future with him. She has racing left in her.”
De Kock believes she may not have stayed the trip in the July – “She got into a challenging position and just didn’t kick on as strong as we expected. She had a good preparation, she pulled up physically fine after the race, there are no excuses. Perhaps she is simply at her best up to a mile.”
Michael Clower on www.goldcircle.co.za
