Slumdogmillionaire - very smart prospect
Slumdogmillionaire has looked like a smart prospect since the first day he appeared in public and on Saturday he put up one of the grittiest displays of frontrunning that we will see all season to win the SA Classic over 1800m at Turffontein (standside course), writes MATTHEW LIPS
On merit ratings at least, Gimmethegreenlight towered above his 15 rivals in South Africa’s richest race for three-year-olds and an impressive win over 1400m on the same track earlier in March saw the Cape Town visitor start as a well supported 17/10 favourite. Slumdogmillionaire had all sorts of things go wrong before he finished third in the Gr 2 Gauteng Guineas five weeks earlier and was the 7/2 second choice of punters, with few backers giving either of those who had beaten Slumdogmillionaire in the Guineas – Golden Chateau and Brooks-Club – much hope of doing so again. This pair started at 18/1 and 22/1 respectively, but the much-vaunted Potala Palace had his supporters and went off at 15/2 from an ante-post call of 14/1.
Slumdogmillionaire wasted little time in coming across from his 11 draw and set a decent enough pace on the good-to-soft ground, with Gimmethegreenlight keeping his market rival firmly in his sights and racing within two lengths of him in second spot. Potala Palace, Golden Chateau, E-Jet and Winter Mischief were next in line as Slumdogmillionaire steered them into the straight.
Gimmethegreenlight soon made his move and briefly took up the running coming down the lane, but his effort began to peter out more than 200m from home and Slumdogmillionaire was soon back in front and going for broke. Potala Palace also started to lose touch inside the last 200m, but Pomodoro was starting to storm home with a strong challenge wider out and Silver Flyer was also getting into the action between rivals and running on strongly. However, the post came in time for the courageous Slumdogmillionaire, who was driven out by Marthinus Mienie to hold off Pomodoro by a steadily diminishing head, with Silver Flyer little more than half-a-length further away in third. E-Jet was always thereabouts and put up a career-best effort to finish fourth, 1.25 lengths behind the third.
Gimmethegreenlight appeared not to really see out the stiff Turffontein 1800m on sticky going and was beaten 4.5 lengths into seventh, with Potala Palace three-quarters of a length ahead of him in sixth after again leaving the impression that he may not really have the heart for a proper scrap. Golden Chateau never looked like keeping his Triple Crown aspirations alive and was beaten around 4.5 lengths behind the winner in eighth place.
Pomodoro and Silver Flyer both put up storming performances to finish where they did. Both will have won their share of friends for the Gr 1 SA Derby over 2450m on April 28th, and this return to form by last November’s easy Gr 2 Dingaans winner Silver Flyer was especially pleasing. Mike de Kock’s colt suffered from a bout of colic shortly after finishing second in the Gr 1 Cape Guineas in December and was nowhere near his best when he finished 11th in the Gauteng Guineas, but the son of Silvano is clearly on the comeback trail.
Slumdogmillionaire may well also be targeted at the SA Derby, a race his trainer Gavin van Zyl won last year with Seal. A striking son of deceased sire Strike Smartly, Slumdogmillionaire was racing for only the fourth time and created a real impression when he won on debut last December before running out the 5.75 lengths winner of an 1800m Listed race at only his second appearance the following month. There looks to be plenty of as-yet untapped potential in this very nicely named colt, who to the surprise of very few ran well above his 100 merit rating and who showed that he has the guts for a fight to go with his obvious ability and good looks.
There is every reasonable chance on pedigree that Slumdogmillionaire will stay the Derby distance and he is very much a horse on the rise. He is the seventh foal and sixth winner of Australian-bred Last Tycoon mare Make A Million, who won only one race over 1400m but who is also the dam of Gr 2 3000m Gold Vase winner Cycad and dual 2400m Listed winner Trade Specialist (both by Fort Wood). His dam is a half sister to Australian Gr 1 winner Runyon, who stayed 2400m himself.
Slumdogmillionaire was bred by Gavin Schafer at Mauritzfontein Stud and was purchased for R550 000 at the 2010 National Yearling Sale. His three wins from four starts have earned him stakes of R1 478 125.
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