Picture: Piere “Striker” Strydom after winning the Gr 2 WSB Green Point Stakes on See It Again

Cape Town has come alive as revellers roll in for one of the country’s biggest social occasions, the WSB Cape Town Met, while racing fans brace themselves for a day of top class thoroughbred action with the added attraction being that it is a World Pool event.

Piere “Striker” Strydom is in the mother city at his Air B&B, which is just a street away from Groot Constantia, the oldest wine estate in the country.

There could hardly be a more relaxing environment in which to prepare for his ride on the Met’s long odds-on favourite, the Michael Roberts-trained See It Again.

The Twice Over colt is not the only hot favourite he is riding on the day.

He has been dieting to make the weight on the Tony Peter-trained filly Bavarian Beauty, who is 18/10 favourite for the R7.5 million Gold Rush. As a filly she gets a 2,5kg allowance and carries 57.5kg.

Piere is not under any stress to lose just one more kilogram, because he has been on the diet for two weeks already.

The pressure of being on a 5/10 Met favourite would in normal circumstances be immense, but the 57-year-old Strydom has been known for his ice cool temperament throughout his career … and he also believes age is an advantage rather than a disadvantage.

He said, “It is a benefit because I know what I have to do, I know what I must do … it doesn’t always happen, but I know what I’ve got to do, so I see my age as a benefit.”

He admitted See It Again’s draw of eleven out of 13 was a bit of a concern.

He said, “I don’t see a lot of pace so that’s going to be a concern, because being drawn wide when there’s no pace you either have to go forward or back … if you just go along at the pace you want to go you might he caught wide. So the draw is definitely not a good thing.”

See It Again started off his Cape Summer campaign with a scintillating victory in the Gr 2 WSB Green Point Stakes over 1600m and among the defeated was the country’s best miler Charles Dickens.

However, Charles Dickens exacted revenge in no uncertain terms when beating See It Again by 2,75 lengths in the Gr 1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate, the country’s premier weight for age mile.

See It Again is a middle distance horse ideally suited to the 2000m distance of the WSB Cape Town Met and beyond, but Piere was naturally a touch disappointed to have not confirmed the Green Point form.

He said, “I was a little bit disappointed … I thought he would go through and finish his race off, but it looks like he hit a little bit of a flat spot there. He had a lovely position and when my frontrunners faded away I obviously found myself up there, but I still didn’t press the button until the 400m mark and there was at that stage just two lengths between the whole field.”

It was still a fine performance by a horse not suited to a mile and the pundits did not waste time in saying he would be a short price for the Met.

Piere spoke about the great job Michael Roberts had done in preparing See It Again for each of his races in Cape Town, with the help of Paddyy Kruyer, in whose yard he is staying.

Piere said about the Gold Rush favourite Bavarian Beauty, who also jumps from a tricky draw of ten, “She must have a chance. The only concern is the travel from Jo’Burg and the left hand turn … the others have got all the experience of a left hand turn. But I think she is one of my better rides.”

He said the Gareth van Zyl-trained Asiye Phambile had run “a great race” last time when beaten just 0,30 lengths into second in the Gr 2 Cartier Sceptre Stakes over 1200m at odds of 33/1, but he said he could not see her troubling them in the Gr 1 weight for age City Of Cape Town Majorca Stakes over 1600m against a top class field, which includes the Equus Horse Of The Year Princess Calla and the dual Gr 1 winner Beach Bomb. However, this Hollywood-owned What A Winter filly is a progressive sort and she might surprise him again.

Striker is not overly bullish about the chances of the Sean Tarry-trained Thunderstruck in the Gr 1 World Pool Cape Flying Championship and said, “I would have preferred it if it was being run over 1200m and obviously Isivunguvungu needed the run last time. I’m hoping for a place and will obviously be very grateful if he wins over the 1000m course and distance again.”

See It Again will be attempting to make it two years in succession that owner Nick Jonsson’s cyclamen, spectrum green and white colours have crossed the line first in Cape Town’s biggest horse race. He won last year’s renewal with the Justin Snaith-trained Jet Dark, who, like See It Again, was bred by Drakenstein Stud. Jonsson has three other runners in the race but his chief hope of retaining the trophy is with See It Again.

Striker concluded by saying he had initially battled to get rides after his comeback, but more than a year-and-a-half down the road he seems further away from retirement than he was then.

He explained, “Since picking up the ride on See It Again in last year’s Cape Derby, due to my horse being scratched, things just started happening for me and now that I’ve had a few winners I’ve had job offers.”

He said as long he was still in that situation he would just be taking it “day by day”.

Picture: Michael “Muis” Roberts poses with the WSB Green Point Stakes trophy. See It Again will be out to make it three Gr 1 wins in thee starts over the 2000m distance on Saturday at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth (Image: Wayne Marks)  

Michael Roberts has been arriving at Milnerton in the early hours and after leaving at around 11 a.m. he has returned in the afternoon at 3:00 p.m. to make sure no stone is left unturned in the preparation of hot favourite See It Again for Saturday’s WSB Cape Town Met.

The superstar Twice Over colt is staying at Paddy Kruyer’s yard.

“It is all systems go, nothing more we can do, it is now in the lap of the Gods. Now we hand it over to the pilot!” said Roberts.

Michael said See It Again would have come on from his L’Ormarins King’s Plate run.

He said, “People got a bit carried away because he won the Green Point so well, and even me, I was a little bit surprised, because it was a stepping stone race. The horse is not really a miler and he still beat the rest of them in the King’s Plate to be second. I would have liked to have seen more daylight between us and the third and the fourth horse. But he is very well. He’s well, he looks well, he looks good in himself.”

Regarding Piere Strydom’s concerns about the wide draw and the lack of pace, Michael said, “Before any horse race there are opinions that this one will go or that one will go, but at the end of the day it is all a bit of guess work.”

He said specifically about Saturday’s race, “Owners and trainers have orders they are going to give to the jockeys, but looking at the race there is no obvious strong pace. But I’m not really concerned. I don’t think the pace will be the cause if something had to go wrong.”

Michael said there had been a lot of Met talk around the training centre and he said about the Capetonians. “They have been very nice, rooting for him, and they have been complimentary, which can sometimes be unusual!”

When asked about the main danger, he replied, “I think truthfully speaking the danger is the running of the race. If we get a nice pace, a nice clean run race and there is not any stop and go … I can’t pinpoint a horse … or lets put it this way, I am not frightened of another horse.”

Royal Aussie was only 1,25 lengths behind See It Again in the L’Ormarins King’s Plate, but Michael said, “Yes but I know we ran at least ten pounds below our best, in my book. That is me, nobody has told me that, I know in my heart that that wasn’t my horse’s run. It was just because of the way the race unfolded. Piere was in the right place, everything went right but I never anticipated the leaders would fold so quickly. They folded like they were shot at the top of the straight. As everybody knows my horse has never won from up there. Every race, from his maiden onward, he loves coming through horses. As I said earlier this is just my view of him not having put more daylight between him and the other horses, it is not about him troubling the winner, I mean the winner on the day was at his best and we know what he can do over 1600m.”

Michael added, “But now we are going into our territory.”

Michael concluded, “Any Gr 1 race is hard to win … if they were running it on paper we would come home smoking. I won’t stick my neck out yet, but I know how good this horse is and he’s shown how good he is. He’s been a bit unlucky but he is a very good horse … I will take on any horse in the country with him!!”

See It Again wins last years’s Gr 1 Splashout Cape Derby over the course and distance of the WSB Cape Town Met (Image: Wayne Marks) 

Graeme Hawkins (Gold Circle)

At around 4/10 with the sponsors, See It Again is the red-hot favourite to land the spoils in the R2-million World Sports Betting Cape Town Met over 2000m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth – the shortest priced market leader in 25 years! So how have odds-on favourites fared over the years in Cape Town’s premier event beyond a mile?

Way back in 1967 the mighty Sea Cottage was a beaten 5/10 favourite in the Cape Met, won by Ding Dong with James Maree aboard, and In Full Flight was a beaten 8/10 favourite in 1973 when third behind Gold Flame. But back then the race was a Handicap and both Sea Cottage and In Full Flight were conceding plenty of weight to their rivals.

The record books reveal that odds-on favourites have fared much better since the race was changed firstly to a Conditions race and even more recently a Weight-For-Age contest.

Horse Chestnut justified 5/10 favouritism in 1999, winning by an astounding 8 lengths, and he was followed by victorious odds-on shots Yard-Arm (8/10) in 2004, Pocket Power (7/10) in 2008 and Igugu (8/10) in 2012. See It Again is the first odds-on favourite to face the starter since Anthony Delpech’s famous win on Igugu twelve years ago and I am fully expecting the son of Twice Over to get the job done with a minimum of fuss. The form book, the Handicapper’s Ratings and the fact that he is unbeaten over 2000m all point to an emphatic victory for Michael Roberts’ charge and there can be no logical reason to expect otherwise.

It’s curious that despite stellar careers in the saddle, Michael Roberts and Piere Strydom have each won the Cape Met only once. Roberts won on Sledgehammer in 1975 while Strydom’s sole Met success came aboard Angus in 2003, twenty-one years ago! Now they combine as trainer and jockey in a bid to notch up their second Met victory and few will have any complaints if See It Again delivers for owner Nick Jonsson who is also “on the double”, having won the race last year with Jet Dark.

With a R1-million Quartet carryover adding huge betting interest to the WSB Cape Met, who will chase See It Again home? I fancy the Justin Snaith inmates Royal Aussie, Mucho Dinero (also owned by Jonsson) and Pacaya to make up the frame but all of Rascallion, Al Muthana, Without Question, Double Superlative and Montien could find their way into a top four finish. Quite frankly the minor money is up for grabs and the Quartet is possibly not as straight forward as may first appear – even with a ready-made banker!

The 11-race programme, which gets under way at 11:55, also features the R1,5-million World Pool Cape Flying Championship (Gr 1) over 1000m and the R1-million City of Cape Town Majorca Stakes (Gr 1) for Fillies and Mares over 1600m. The former features a re-match between Isivunguvungu and Thunder Struck who recently finished one-two in the Winchester Mansion Sprint on King’s Plate day.

They meet again on the same terms but with the benefit of that run under the belt – his first since July – the Hollywood Syndicate-owned Isivungvungu should be able to reverse the order with Sean Tarry’s runner, but that’s no foregone conclusion! The presence of Bereave, Surjay and highly rated Dyce adds depth to the quality of the field and all need to be considered for inclusion in Pick 6 permutations. With a TAB carryover of R2-million, and being a World Pool race meeting, the Pick 6 is expected to reach a massive R10-million.

Beach Bomb and Princess Calla renew rivalry in the Majorca Stakes. Beach Bomb got up to deny Princess Calla in the last few strides in a slow-run Cartier Paddock Stakes (Gr 1) over 1800m three weeks ago and there should again be little to choose between the pair. Princess Calla will appreciate stepping back to 1600m and perhaps this time she will have the measure of Beach Bomb.

Red Palace was a couple of lengths further back in fourth, but she may have done better had she gone forward to dictate the pace in the Paddock Stakes. Prior to that the daughter of Potala Palace had finished second in the colts’ Guineas behind Snow Pilot and a repeat of that effort would render her very competitive here.

Lightly raced multiple Grade 1 winner, Make It Snappy, has been sidelined for a year and it would be a remarkable training feat by Brett Crawford if the daughter of Dynasty was to find her way to the winner’s circle. Her stable companion, Happy Chance, ran out of her skin when a close third in the Paddock Stakes behind Beach Bomb and Princess Calla and she cannot be lightly dismissed. Both Make It Snappy and Happy Chance race in the colours of the Hollywood Syndicate.

Crawford also saddles At My Command in the first leg of the Pick 6 carryover, a Cape A Stakes over 1400m. At My Command held an entry into the Cape Met but runs here in preference and he should prove a tough nut to crack. He is very well weighted in terms of the conditions of the race and although Quasiforsure, Silver Operator, Underworld and to a lesser extent Captain Fontane all warrant utmost respect, I am expecting At My Command to come out on top from a decent draw.

Winter Cloud rates the one to beat in the fifth race, the R200 000 Olympic Duel Stakes (Listed) over 1200m, with Hunting Trip, Shantastic and Distant Winter the principle dangers. The richly endowed R7,5-million Cape Racing Gold Rush is billed as the eighth race on the card and not surprisingly the race has attracted a maximum field of sixteen three-year-old graduates of the Cape Premier Sale.

The Tony Peter-trained Bavarian Beauty has made the trip from the Highveld and is far and away the best rated runner in the line-up. She won a Grade 1 race as a juvenile and was an emphatic winner of her only start as a 3yo this season. Piere Strydom retains the ride, but Bavarian Beauty has a tricky draw in what is likely to be a rough race and her best option may be to go forward from the start. To add to the intrigue, this will also be her first foray around a left-handed turn.

If she fails, then any kind of result can be expected as many are unproven or as yet untested over 1600m. Bavarian Beauty aside, only Willie John and Infrared have won over 1600m while Rapidash has twice finished second over the trip. Tail Of The Comet is classy and could prove his last two starts over 1600m were all wrong and not a reflection of his true ability. Sunshine Day is worthy of a mention and must be considered for Trifecta and Quartet permutations.

Bavarian Beauty comes with a big reputation and gets the vote to justify her position at the top of the boards, but I am more nervous than confident.

Hollywoodbets have put on a Racing Stars Punters Challenge for WSB Cape Town Met day.

This is in addition to the exciting Punters Challenge for all Hollywoodbets account holders which has an estimated Jackpot of R3 million, with R400,000 guarunteed.

There’s also a massive *R200 000 to be shared by the top 50 on the leaderboard and a must-be-won prize of *R200 000 for the punter/s who selects the most winners on the day.

*Amounts subject to Bet Slip bonus rules

The Racing Stars Punters Challenge has the following amounts allocated:

Individual Top 5 on the leaderboard:

And a further R1 000 to the person who picks the most winners on the day.

Last vear the Punters Challenge most wins prize of R100,000 on Met day was won by Dinell Pillay.

Snaith Racing invited many from the racing fraternity to their annual “Beach Day” this morning.

It traditionally takes place the day before the WSB Cape Town Met on Sonwabe Beach and gives the invited an opportunity to see some of ther stable stars stretching their legs from close up.

Their famous grey lead pony “Ice” was the star of the show judging by the pictures taken of the event (see below).

Click on the links below to listen to Trainers’ comments on their WSB Cape Town Met meeting runners.

Interviews done by Cape Racing’s Vicky Minott

GLEN KOTZEN 

CANDICE BASS-ROBINSON

VAUGHAN MARSHALL 

SEAN TARRY

ADAM MARCUS

BRETT CRAWFORD

Picture: Rishi Persad (via X)

Alistair Cohen and visiting British presenter Rishy Persad discuss the World Pool innovation and the different types of bets that will be available to Tote punters on WSB Cape Town Met day and also the massive size of the pools.

The World Pool means Tote betting on Met day is co-mingled with many other jurisdictions and this leads to massive Tote pools.

The Tote dividends are consequently strong for all World Pool bet types.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO ON THE WORLD POOL

Michael Roberts only won one Met as a jockey, on the Fred Rickaby-trained Sledgehammer in 1975.

Piere Strydom has also won only one Met, on the Brett Crawford-trained Angus in 2003.