Lucky Fish Cape Derby Attracts Classy Entry Of Nine
Star Choice and Happy Verse, one-two in the Gr 3 HKJC World Pool Politician Stakes, will renew their rivalry in the Gr 1 Lucky Fish Cape Derby (Picture: Wayne Marks)
The Gr 1 Lucky Fish Cape Derby to be run over 200m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on February 28 has attracted a class entry of nine and if they all stand their ground it will be a humdinger of a race.
At the head of the list is a filly, the Justin Snaith-trained Gr 1 Cartier Paddock Stakes winner Wish List, who is merit rated 115.
The Maine Chance Farms-bred Legislate filly will get a 2,5kg gender allowance so will effectively be 3kg well-in considering the second highest rated horse in the race is the Gr 3 HKJC World Pool Politician Stakes winner, the James Crawford-trained 114-rated Querari colt Star Major.
Wish List is bred to go this trip and further being by Cape Derby and July winner Legislate out of SA Oaks winner Wind Chill, who is by stamina influence Silvano, and the Snaith’s number one rider at present, Andrew Fortune, will be aboard.
Wish List has drawn well in barrier position two so should settle well behind cover before using her fine turn of foot in the straight.
Star Major is also out of a Silvano mare, the one-time winner over 1900m Star In The Sky, and the latter is in turn out of a Galileo mare. It was little wonder he relished the step up to 1800m in the Politician Stakes and this progressive type should relish a further 200m too.
Star Major has drawn in pole position.
The third highest rated entry is the Snaith-trained 113-rated Happy Verse, who is by Vercingetorix out of a Giant’s Causeway mare. He was a 0,40 length runner up in the Politician Stakes carrying joint topweight together with Star Major and three others. He should enjoy the trip and has a fine turn of foot, so has a chance under Gavin Lerena.
The Vaughan Marshall-trained 105-rated Better Man was a 3,15 length third in the Politician Stakes, but was receiving 1,kg from the first two. However, this One World gelding is out of a Horse Chestnut mare and has always given the impression he would get better as he got older and went over further. He is drawn nine but should be staying on strongly and his trainer will be out to land a third Cape Derby.
The 105-rated Piet and Elbert Steyn-trained Potala Palace gelding Pay The Palace was one of the joint-topweights in the Politician Stakes and finished a 4,15 length fourth. He is yet another entry who is out of a Silvano mare. His dam Northern Ballet’s five wins included two over staying trips and one of them was a Non-Black event over 2500m.
Possibly the most exciting entry is the Snaith-trained Note To Self, as this rangy Futura gelding won effortlessly over 2000m on WSB Met day and looks to have a lot of scope for further improvement. He is out of a mare by stamina influence Judpot and Richard Fourie will be aboard.
The Candice Bass-trained Viva’s Liberte is by Vercingetorix out of the Gr 1 Woolavington 2000-winning Jet Master mare Viva Maria and he has always struck as one who would develop with time into a classic horse. He will be a big runner over a step up in trip he should relish, although he will have to overcome a tricky draw of eight.
The Paddy Kruyer-trained Ignite The Fire is a big rangy type who can do better than last time when setting a fast pace over 1800m. He is by Fire Away out of a speedy Trippi one-time winner and still has to prove he stays this trip. He is up against it off an 88 merit rating.
The Marshall-trained United Front stayed on well behind the promising Foudre over 1600m last time, but being 83-rated and being by One World out of a National Emblem mare whose seven wins were from 1200m to 1400m there are questions.
The Lucky Fish Cape Derby entries are shown below:
LUCKY FISH CAPE DERBY (Grade 1)
For 3-year-olds
No Apprentice / Female Sex Allowance
| 1 | Star Major | (3C) | 60 | 114 | A | James Crawford | |
| 7 | Happy Verse | Accepted | (3C) | 60 | 113 | A | Justin Snaith |
| 9 | Better Man | (3G) | 60 | 105 | A | Vaughan Marshall | |
| 3 | Pay The Palace | (3G) | 60 | 105 | A | Piet / Elbert Steyn | |
| 5 | Note To Self | Accepted | (3G) | 60 | 96 | A | Justin Snaith |
| 8 | Viva’s Liberte | (3G) | 60 | 95 | A | Candice Bass | |
| 4 | Ignite The Fire | (3G) | 60 | 88 | A | Patrick Kruyer | |
| 6 | United Front | (3G) | 60 | 83 | BAT | Vaughan Marshall | |
| 2 | Wish List | Accepted | (3F) | 57.5 | 115 | A | Justin Snaith |
Fire Attack Is Back On Track
Fire Attack holds off The Ultimate King to win the Gr 3 Betway London News Stakes (JC Photos)
The Alec Laird-trained Fire Attack burst back into prominence on Saturday at Turffontein Standside and appropriately it was in a race named after a horse Alec Laird trained, London News.
Fire Attack came into the Gr 3 London News Stakes over 1800m on Saturday under a cloud as his preparation for his first big target of the season, the L’Ormarins King’s Plate, had gone awry and he then finished last in that race.
However, what gave his connections and supporters hope on Saturday was the stablemate of Fire Attack, Sunset Riot, annihilating the opposition in a handicap over 1400m in his second run after returning from his own disappointing Cape Town campaign.
That race happened just two runs before the London News Stakes.
However, it still did not see Fire Attack’s status as the best weighted horse in the race converting to favouritism.
Instead it was the Betway Summer Cup runner up Olivia’s Way, who was half-a-kilogram under sufferance with Fire Attack according to official merit ratings, who started 9/4 favourite with Fire Attack at 28/10 and the Ultimate King 33/10.
Willy Meet Again led from the off and Fire Attack sat on her quarter without cover.
Olivia’s Way was content to sit at the back of the six-horse field.
Willy Meet Again opened up a lead in the straight, but was soon being chased by Fire Attack, BusstopinHounslow and The Ultimate KIng with Olivia’s Way starting to make progress from the back.
However, Fire Attack was going the best and held on by a neck from The Ultimate King with Olivia’s Way in third, beaten two lengths.
It was a fine preparation for Fire Attack’s defense of his Gr 1 Premier’s Champions Challenge crown, a 2000m weight for age event that is to be run in seven weeks time on 4 April at Turffontein Standside.
A R450 000 National Yearling Sale purchase, Fire Attack has now won four of his 17 starts with eight places for stakes of R2 532 800.
The Fire Away colt is owned by Messrs G A Basel, G C Cornwall, L Clark & Canine Solutions CC (Nom: Mr D C O’Driscoll).
The other notable happening at the meeting was Sean Tarry scoring a second successive four-timer at a Highveld meeting as he did the same at Turffontein Inside on Thursday.
He had 21 runners for the eight wins at those two meetings and it signals his intent to make his annual charge in the second half of the season, which usually sees him significantly closing the gap on perennial rival Justin Snaith.
Mocha Blend Aimed At Two More Jo'Burg Gr 1s
Mocha Blend wins the Gr 1 Betway Summer Cup (Candiese Lenferna Photography)
Frank Robinson is readying his Betway Summer Cup winner Mocha Blend for a Johannesburg campaign.
The Summerveld trainer was left with a string of mainly young unraced horses when his chief owner Sid Moodley switched his horses to the Nathan Kotzen yard recently.
However, he still has the Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein-homebred Mocha Blend and is looking at running her in both the Gr 1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes, a weight for age mile at Turffontein Standside on March 7, and the Gr 1 Premier’s Champions Challenge, a Gr 1 wfa race over 2000m on April 4 at Turffontein Standside on April 4.
Among his babies is a Rafeef filly who is the first foal of Mauritzfontein’s homebred champion Summer Pudding.
This filly will be making her debut in about a month’s time and as she has been getting rave reviews from everybody who has clapped eyes on her, the debut is much anticipated.
Mocha Blend is merit rated 117 so will at present come into the R10 million Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Durban July carrying 54,5kg, if going on See It Again being the 62kg topweight off his 130 rating.
However, is she wins either of those races her rating will likely increase substantially.
Mocha Blend is currently a 17/1 shot in the July ante-post market with the sponsor.
Frank said she had been doing very well.
Frank is sure to build up his string again as a much respected horseman, who learnt the ropes from one of the best, Herman Brown Senior.
One Stripe Likely To Avoid Dubai, Holds 2 USA Entries
One Stripe winning recently at Gulfstream Park ((Photo by Ryan Thompson/Coglianese Photos)
The Drakenstein Stud-bred One World colt One Stripe is in good shape and has been entered for two races in the USA , the Gr 2 Muniz Memorial Classic over one mile and one furlong in New Orleans on March 21 and In the Gr 1 Maker’s Mark Mile on April 10 at Keeneland.
Both races are on the turf and follow One Stripe’s excellent run in the Gr 1 Pegasus World Cup over one mile and one furlong on the Gulfstream Park turf where he flew late under Gavin Lerena to be narrowly denied by stablemate Test Score last month.
One Stripe appeared to relish the step up in trip from a mile, so the Muniz Memorial Classic should suit him.
He should be equally at home over a mile in the Maker’s Mark Mile, although it would be no surprise to see him increase in trip after that as Motion had intimated after the Pegasus World Cup that middle distance races would be sought after for him.
One Stripe is currently back galloping daily and worked four furlongs in 50,80 seconds on Sunday.
One Stripe is entered in the Gr 1 Dubai Turf on Dubai World Cup night, but looks unlikely to run.
Test Score is also entered but is at the moment having a break.
Motion said after his Pegasus World Cup win he would likely aim Test Score at $1 million Turf Classic (G1) going over a mile and one furlong on the Kentucky Derby (G1) undercard on May 2.
That might end up being a race to consider One Stripe for too.
Forever Young Takes The Kindly Gap And Gallops Into History
Picture: Forever Young wins the Saudi Cup for the second year in succession | Mathea Kelley/Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia
Forever Young was ranked third in the world in the Longines World’s Best Horses ratings in November last year behind the Irish-bred France-based Calandagan and the Irish-bred England-based Ombudsman, but it will be no surprise to him go to number one in the world following his second successive win of the world richest race, the $US20 million Saudi Cup, which was run on Saturday over 1800m on dirt at the King Abdulaziz Racetrack in Riyadh.
Forever Young is by a son of the legendary sire Deep Impact, Real Steel, and showed off his impressive stride, not to mention his courage, when fending off the Bob Baffert-trained Nysos to win by a length.
Baffert was magnanimous in his praise of Forever Young and likened taking him on to “King Kong taking on Godzilla.”
However, what is a touch surprising is nothing has been said about the pacemaker Banishing drifting off the rail turning for home which allowing a boxed in Forever Young to run through a dream gap on the rail.
South Africa’s Hall Of Fame jockey Michael Roberts once said, “I can tell you that in England if you were in contention and let a winner through down your inside you were often booed in the weighing room.”
Pat Cosgrave was actually given a six month ban in Dubai back in 2014 for allowing Vercingetorix through on the rail in the Gr 1 Jebel Hatta, but it was later reduced to four months and the BHA actually decided to not recognise the ban at all.
The difference between the Cosgrave case and the one in the Saudi Cup was Banishing was not a stable mate of Forever Young’s, unlike the horse who Cosgrave rode who was Vercingetorix’s stablemate, and Banishing was not serious contender at 100/1 odds, unlike the Cosgrave mount who finished third.
Roberts did say in the aforementioned article, “if I felt my mount had no chance, I would let another jockey through on my inside and expect him to do the same for me at a later date in a similar situation. But if I had a chance, even a place chance, I would hold my position and would not give an inch.”
In a US$20 million race which has prize money all the way down to tenth, it might still have been viewed by some as an uncompetitive move by jockey Adel Alfouraidi as Banishing finished eighth.
However, the majority of the racing public would probably prefer to praise the jockey for allowing one of the world’s best horses to have a clear run, which led to a fair result.
Forever Young now has career earnings of 4,560,834,500 Japanese Yen, which is the equivalent of US$ 29,736,679.31.
That means he is still marginally behind the earnings of Hong Kong-based Romantic Warrior as the highest earner in history as Romantic Warrior’s earnings at current exchange rates are US$ 30,722,028.04.
Brett Crawford's Numbers Increasing And He Wins Again
Gor Gor, appropriately with the pink colours on Valentine’s Day, provided Brett Crawford with his 16th win in Hong Kong in the first race at Sha Tin on Saturday and he was ridden by Karis Teetan (HKJC)
Brett Crawford has had the least number of runs in the season out of all the trainers in Hong Kong, just 141 in all, and the 16 wins he now has gives him the fourth highest strike rate on the island of 11.35%.
However, it will probably not be for long that he has the least number of runs, because his numbers have increased to close to 70 horses and he had eight runners at the Sha Tin meeting on Saturday, the first time he has had that number at one meeting.
His first season in Hong Kong is generally being described as “incredible” and when he recorded his 16th win on the island on Saturday with Gor Gor, who won the first race, it was the tenth time his former Cape Town stable jockey Karis Teetan had been in the saddle for one of his wins.
Crawford has gained a reputation for turning horses around after arriving in his yard, usually without so much as a barrier trial beforehand.
Gor Gor was having his second run for the Crawford yard.
He had finished last in his first two runs of the season before joining the Crawford yard and had never finished closer than ninth in his previous five-race career.
He finished fourth on debut for Crawford before winning on Saturday.
Click here to read a report on the whole meeting
Crawford has an entry in the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Cup and two entries in the $HK 26 million Hong Kong Derby.
Some Decent Times Recorded At Durbanville On Saturday
Caribbean Gold won a Class 4 over 1000m easily (Pic – Wayne Marks)
Sporting Post’s Sectional Timing Report for Saturday’s Hollywoodbets Durbanville Meeting
The runners with the highest merit ratings on the Valentine’s Day card at Durbanville on Saturday contested the Normandy Syndicate Progress Plate over 1400m.
In what proved to be the second fastest of the three races over the distance, the uneasy favourite JET FORCE (13/10 out to 18/10) was weighted to win, and class did tell.
After passing a second TC02 test, drawn widest of the eight, the Master Of My Fate gelding raced seventh for most of the journey and was easily six lengths off the front running outsider Green Planet turning for home.
He quickened well after receiving a few reminders 400m out, and flew up late to win going away. Without data from races three and four, Jet Force recorded the fastest 400m to finish time of the afternoon.
On a day when the course was running very fast, the quickest of the three 1400m races, albeit by just 7/100th of a second, was the Hollywoodbets Bright Future Class 4 event in which the 25/1 shot SHOW OFF (ridden by replacement rider Gareth Wright) was a very unlucky loser.
In what proved to be the quickest of all of the races between the 1000m and 600m poles, another outsider San Pedro (33/1) set a brisk pace.
Running on from seven lengths behind the frontrunner, James Crawford’s charge quickened well at the top of the straight and taking the shortest way home went for a rails run.
He was badly baulked twice between the 350m and 270m marks and flying late did very well indeed to get to within half a length of the winner BOOGIEFIED. Andre Nel’s charge also finished well and had the rest comfortably beaten.
Despite the traffic problems, Show Off still recorded the fastest 400m to finish time in the race. Interestingly, Boogiefied (15 weeks) and Show Off (24 weeks) were both returning from a layoff.
Going: Good
Penetrometer: 22
Rain: Last 24 hours Nil – Last 7 days 5mm
Irrigation: Last 24 hours 5mm – Last 7 days 55mm
False Rail: 1m out back straight with 3m spur at 550m
Wind: 26-39km/h South Easterly cross wind
Course Variant: 2,72s fast
The Jazz Syndicate C Stakes (fillies) was by far the quicker of the two 1600m races on the card, and in what proved to be a thriller, the well supported AMAYAH (8/1 into 9/2) registered her second career victory.
The deposed joint favourite Elusive Gift made the running and racing at a good pace she soon had the field well strung out.
Confidently ridden by Juan-Paul van der Merwe meanwhile, Candice Bass’ charge sat some six lengths away in sixth.
Racing just in front of her, the runner up Lark’s Song also ran on stoutly in the straight and it looked as if she had done everything right on striking the front 50m out. The daughter of Vercingetorix ran on the stronger below the distance though and got up in the dying strides.
By just 13/100th of a second the Race Coast Incentives – Hwb Class 4 (f) was the quicker of the two 1000m events.
Drawn widest of the eight, CARIBBEAN GOLD (33/10 out to 8/1) was strongly ridden by replacement rider Sean Veale on leaving the stalls and was two lengths clear at the top of the straight.
The pack did begin to close in as they approached the 300m marker, but when asked for more she responded gamely and quickly drew clear again to score by two and a quarter.
Interestingly, the two drawn widest in the Lucky Fish Turf Luck Class 5 (f&m) also made the running.
The faster of the two 1250m races on the card, albeit by just 19/100th of a second, the winner LADY LOOK ALIKE came from five and a half lengths off them. The 5yo Var mare ran on strongly in the straight and under a well-judged ride from Luyolo Mxothwa, she struck the front 50m from home.
Fastest Times:
1000m (2) Caribbean Gold 59,20
1250m (2) Lady Look Alike 75,51
1400m (3) Boogiefied 83,19
1600m (2) Amayah 96,02
Today's Question
Which trainer has had the most wins in Hong Kong history?
The picture is of the subject
FIELDS, Wednesday, 18 February
Hollywoodbets Scottsville
Today’s Question Answer
John Moore retired with 1,734 Hong Kong wins.
