King Pelles is the defending Gold Cup champion and the favourite (Candiese Lenferna Photography)
The Gr 3 World Pool Gold Cup is shaping up to be one of the most exciting renewals in recent times and if the best of the entries stand their ground it will be a season defining stayers’ championship.
Three former winners have been entered, last year’s winner King Pelles, the 2024 winner Master Redoute and the 2023 winner Future Pearl.
Two former runner ups are there too, last year’s runner up Holding Thumbs and the 2024 runner up Shoot The Rapids.
Add the Justin Snaith-trained trio Ahead Of The Facts, Native Ruler and Magic Verse to the mix and it has the makings of a thrilling contest.
King Pelles showed his class in the Hollywoodbets Durban July, splitting the dominant three-year-old males and finishing a 1,55 length third. He was used as the line horse so remains on 122. Native Ruler on 121 is carrying 60kg in the Gold Cup while King Pelles’ weight is still pending, but with the compressed weight structure he might carry 60kg too or 60,5kg at the most. King Pelles has an unusually good turn of foot for a horse who gets two miles and managed to carry the topweight of 60kg to victory last year.
Ahead Of The Facts showed a magnificent turn of foot when winning the Gr 3 Durban Gold Vase and went from about second last to third in a matter of strides. He proved he will get the Gold Cup trip too as he was being eased at the line. The Gold Cup has always been his target, so might come on from that run a bit too, so will be dangerous carrying 58,5kg off a 116 merit rating.
Master Redoute and Shoot The Rapids come into the reckoning based on the Gold Vase form as they will be 1,5kg and 1kg better off with Ahead Of The Facts respectively for a half-a-length and a 1,30 length beating.
Shoot The Rapids is capable of some fine performances as he proved when runner up two years ago despite going too fast near the front. This season he won the RA Stakes at Turffontein Standside by 9,50 lengths and has been right there in his last few starts, inlcuding a 1,30 length third in the Gr 3 Lucky Fish Winter Stakes and a 1,30 length third in the Gold Vase. He is set to carry 59kg which puts him in with a chance although he has landed a wide draw.
Master Redoute had had a fine preparation and should make a bold bid carrying 58.5kg.
Holding Thumbs will be 1kg better off with Ahead Of The Facts for a 3,40 length beating. He is a gallant sort who is capable of a strong finish, but he has unfortunately drawn very wide.
Future Pearl has a lot of class and although he has not run a place since winning the Gr 3 Tabgold Derby over 2400m two years ago he loves Holywoodbets Greyville and showed signs he could still have what it takes when finishing 4,50 lengths back in the equivalent of that race this year, the Gr 3 Lucky Fish Winter Stakes. He will be 2,5kg better off with Native Ruler for that 4,50 length beating and he should have come on from the run.
Native Ruler won the Winter Stakes in impressive style and ran a good sixth in the July. That was the same position he finished in the July last year, but he ran off a two point higher merit rating this year and, furthermore, had the conditions of the race been the same as last year he would have finished fourth.
Magic Verse is an interesting entry as he was a comfortable winner of the July consolation race, the Gr 3 Magical Zulu Kingdom 2200. He finished a 0,75 length second to Holding Thumbs in the Gr 3 Cape Of Good Hope Chairman’s Cup over 2500m on LKP day and he wasn’t disgraced in the Gr 3 New Turf Carriers Western Cape Stayers over 2800m when beaten 5,55 lengths by Ahead Of The Facts, He will face Holding Thumbs on half-a-kilogram better terms from the Chairmans and will face Ahead Of The Facts on 1,5kg better terms.
Johnny The Thief finished second in the July consolation, beaten 1,40 lengths, and faces Magic Verse on 1,5kg worse terms due to the compressed weight conditions.
Jazz Cafe is an interesting lightweight as the winner of the Gr 3 Lucky Fish Winter Fillies Stakes as that was her first attempt at a staying trip and she beat the SA Derby winner Curious Girl.
Enflame has won five out of his last seven starts and they have been exclusively over staying trips from 2400m to 3200m, so he has a chance if finding his Highveld form, although the concern is his well below par effort at Hollywodbets Greyville in the Winter Stakes.
Continentalexpress has some good staying form, although he was beaten 5,50 lengths in the Lonsdale Stirrup Cup over 2400m when stepping up to stakes race company.
He was almost three lengths ahead of Vihaan’s Bomb in the latter race and the latter takes his place in the Gold Cup after finishing fourth in the Gold Vase.
Chill In The Air was well beaten in the Gold Vase, but did beat Vihaan’s Bomb in the Lonsdale Stirrup.
It will be interesting to see whether there will be any supplementary entries considering the small size of the field.
The Highveld four-year-old Erupt gelding Corrupt won well over 2600m at Turffontein Inside on Thursday off an 84 rating and this progressive sort would be up with the other bottom weights in the Gold Cup if given a chance.
