Picture: Jet Dark beats Kommetdieding in the 2022 Gr 1 HKJC Champions Cup (Candiese Lenferna Phorography)
The pair that should have finished one-two on paper, Princess Calla and See It Again, did finish one-two in the Gr 1 HKJC Champions Cup last year and it was the same the year before with Jet Dark and Kommetdieding.
Princess Calla was merit rated 127 to See It Again’s 131 last year, but she received a 2,5kg gender allowance, which put her half-a-kilogram better off and she duly won by 1,30 lengths.
Jet Dark on 130 and Kommetdieding on 128 were the two highest rated in 2022 and Jet Dark prevailed by a quarter of a length.
This year the three highest rated horses, and thus the best weighted trio, are See It Again on 131, Dave The King on 127 and Flag Man on 126.
Michael Roberts seemed bullish about See It Again’s chances and he is not only doing well but he jumped well in the Hollywoodbets Durban July. If he is able to jump as well it should see him having better luck than last year when ending up too far back. He is drawn widest of all though.
Dave The King is the best fit for the perennial comment about this race suiting horses who come in fresh and are not coming out of a tough July run. This year there is only three weeks between the July and the Champions Cup, which has given the July horses one week less to recover than they had last year, which could be another factor in Dave The King’s favour. Furthermore, he finished just a shorthead behind See It Again last year and is known to have improved with the gelding he has had since, as it has seen him settling better in his races.
Flag Man was the subject of bullish comments by trainer Gareth van Zyl today, who said, “He is very well. I haven’t been to Summwerveld in just over a week, so my Dad’s been putting the finishing touches on him and he sent some pictures through today and he’s really looking fantastic.The feedback from Serino and from my Dad is that the July hasn’t emptied him out at all and he’s ready to give it his best.We don’t want to use him as much as we did in the July, preferably.It seems like there will be a good pace in this race, which will allow all horses to run on. Flag Man isnot an over-raced horse, hedoesn’t have a lot of mileage in his legs.”
The next two in the ratings are Cousin Casey and Royal Victory, who are both merit rated 125.
Sean Tarry said he had never had Cousin Casey better and he is drawn in pole.
Royal Victory is said by trainer Nathan Kotzen to be very well and he added, “He pulled up sound and has not left a grain of a cube since the July and he’s nice and fresh.”
This will in fact be Royal Victor’s peak run, considering he only had one run into the July. Nathan said the draw of eight was not ideal but he added that could allow Muzi Yeni to ride him “colder than he did in the July.”
Double Superlative is rated 124, unusually low for a WSB Met winner. The yard said he was likely a run short of his best going in to the July, so he should now be cherry ripe.
Barbaresco is rated 122, but is a very interesting runner because the distance of the July might have blunted his finishing speed. He finished very strongly in the Daily News 2000 and this 1800m trip might just be ideal.
Purple Pitcher (120) has a lot of courage and is hard to pass once in front, but he was off the bit some way out in the July and might prefer a more galloping track like Turffontein Standside.
Hluhluwe (116) has flattered to deceive over middle distances, so he has a bit to prove. However, he has not had much luck at all during the Champions Season, so could still step up to the plate.
