CRESCENT TO SHINE IN THE HINTERLAND
Graeme Hawkins
Unbeaten in his last nine starts, Crescent (Danielson) is all the rage to land the 1400m Hinterland Cup (G3) at Champs de Mars on Saturday. Raymond Danielson has a wonderful opportunity at this meeting to surge past the suspended Manoel Nunes in the race for the Jockeys’ Championship, as he also partners the red-hot favourite New World in Race 3, the opening leg of the Pick 6.
The first of 8 races is due off at 10:30 SA time and the nature of the fields suggests that the “players” should have the upper hand over the “layers”.
Race 1: (10:30) – BM25 Handicap – 1400m:
Flag Champ debuts on the Island for the Vicky Ruhee stable and he would not have to be overly special to beat his five rivals in this low-grade handicap restricted to Mauritian jockeys and apprentices. His preparation has been positive and with the experienced Swapneel Rama in the saddle, the 4yo son of Canford Cliffs could strike first up. River Hawk is limited but has won three times from ten starts locally and represents the powerful Gujadhur team. Dinesh Sooful retains the ride following a narrow victory over Kola Tonic last month. San Andreas, who drops in class, and Kaisarrisa should fill up the minor placings.
Betting: 11/10 Flag Champ; 3/1 River Hawk; 7/1 San Andreas, Kaisarissa; 10/1 and better the balance.
Selection: (1) Flag Champ, (4) River Hawk, (2) San Andreas, (3) Kaisarissa.
Race 2: (11:05) – BM25 Handicap – 1400m – (1st Leg Place Accumulator):
A small but competitive field lines up for the opening leg of the Place Accumulator. Kola Tonic (Schwarz) has been a model of consistency and gets the nod but the 5yo son of What A Winter can expect plenty of cheek from all of Midnight Flyer (Danielson), New York City (Ramsamy) and Cape Cannery (Juglall). Midnight Flyer was below best last time but rates a huge threat on his previous effort. New York City is 1,5kgs better off with Kola Tonic for a two-length beating over 1650m in July and the step back in trip could favour New York City. Cape Cannery has shown some promising signs but his most recent effort was disappointing.
Betting: 16/10 Kola Tonic; 22/10 New York City, Midnight Flyer; 5/1 Cape Cannery; 40/1 Alpenhorn.
Selection: (3) Kola Tonic, (2) New York City, (1) Midnight Flyer, (4) Cape Cannery.
Race 3: (11:40) – BM46 – 1500m – (1st Leg Pick 6):
New World (Danielson) has won four on the bounce and the improving 4yo son of One World is obviously the one to beat, and is not surprisingly very short in the market. The presence of newcomer Arbitration (Schwarz) adds a touch of interest but the 5yo son of Vercingetorix, last seen at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth in January, may need just one run to bring him to his peak. Opague (Curatolo) was a good winner of his penultimate start when beating the talented Summer Snow and there were excuses for his below-par effort last time. Though 9yrs of age, the Vincent Allet runner could again surprise. Comedy Club has been placed in all four starts this season but without ever threatening to land a serious blow.
Betting: 4/10 New World; 5/1 Arbitration; 10/1 and better the balance.
Selection: (6) New World, (3) Opague, (5) Arbitration, (7) Comedy Club.
Race 4: (12:15) – BM56 Handicap – 1650m:
Only four runners line up for this mid-division Handicap and the Carl Hewitson-trained Brave Bomber will take all the beating. With Manoel Nunes serving a suspension, Tejesh Juglall gets the opportunity to pilot the 5yo son of Lancaster Bomber to victory. But, as bitter experience has often taught us, there is seldom such a thing as a one-horse race and We Have Touchdown and Menelaus are not without some claims. We Have Touchdown will be partnered by visiting rider Mukesh Kumar and the 5yo son of Gimmethegreenlight will be having his peak run on the Island. Menelaus was a touch disappointing last time but was runner-up behind Bugalugs and Spelling Bee prior to that.
Betting: 4/10 Brave Bomber; 17/10 We Have Touchdown; 12/1 Menelaus; 66/1 Colour My Fate.
Selection: (2) Brave Bomber, (1) We Have Touchdown, (3) Menelaus, (4) Colour My Fate.
Race 5: (12:50) – Middle Stakes – 1365m – (1st Leg Jackpot):
The early market suggests a boat-race between Spirit’s Unite (Ramsamy) and the promising Secret Passage (Mansour). The latter has won his last three starts and the 5yo son of Futura is very highly regarded by the stable. Spirit’s Unite failed narrowly behind Stated last time and could go one better here but Secret Passage appears to be a progressive type and is slightly preferred. Just Var, stable companion to Secret Passage, may be the pick of the balance.
Betting: 13/10 Secret Passage; 15/10 Spirit’s Unite; 15/2 Daring Dash, Moonlight Trader; 10/1 and better the balance.
Selection: (4) Secret Passage, (3) Spirit’s Unite, (5) Just Var, (2) Moonlight Trader.
Race 6: (13:25) – The Hinterland Cup G3 – 1400m:
Crescent (Danielson) is bidding for his tenth consecutive victory and the sway-backed son of Legislate is not surprisingly at very restricted odds to fend off his three rivals. Royal Wulff (Curatolo) is 1,5 kgs better off with Crescent for a 1,75-length beating last month and the 9yo son of Crusade showed he has lost none of his zest for racing with a fast-finishing second behind Formagear two weeks ago. Air Raid (Corrales) makes his local debut following a career in South Africa that failed to reach the heights expected of the son of Lancaster Bomber.
Betting: 4/10 Crescent; 4/1 Air Raid; 9/2 Royal Wulff; 33/1 The Mauritian.
Selection: (1) Crescent, (2) Royal Wulff, (3) Air Raid, (4) The Mauritian.
Race 7: (14:00) – BM36 Handicap – 1400m:
Eight runners line up for this BM36 Handicap but the clear favourite is the promising 4yo Blackjack Randall (Mansour) who has cracked a neat draw. Blackjack Randall has had a busy season with 2 wins and 3 places to show for his 5 starts since making a winning debut at Champs de Mars on 25 April. Military Force (Schwarz) has plenty of upside and the 4yo son of Act Of War should make his presence felt while Paved With Gold (Danielson) has won his last two starts but arguably takes on stronger here. Ignore Unsung Hero’s last run over 1850m which was patently too far for the 5yo son of Master Of My Fate.
Betting: 7/10 Blackjack Randall; 7/2 Paved With Gold; 6/1 Military Force; 8/1 Unsung Hero; 12/1 and better the balance.
Selection: (6) Blackjack Randall, (3) Military Force, (5) Paved With Gold, (8) Unsung Hero.
Race 8: (14:40) – BM36 Handicap – 1850m:
All About Love (Mansour) has been a very consistent place-getter but has yet to win from 7 starts in Mauritius. He is ideally distance suited here and could finally pay a visit to the winner’s circle. Lomu (Schwarz) is improving with each and every run and the 4yo son of Captain Of All could follow up on his recent 1650m victory over Indigenous. Zacatoo (Kumar) races beyond 1500m for the first time and this extended trip could be exactly what the son of Act Of War is looking for – could be the lurker in the pack. Iditarod Trail and High Key, both from the Shirish Narang team, have claims on their best form.
Betting: 11/10 Lomu; 2/1 All About Love; 11/2 Zacatoo; 10/1 and better the balance.
Selection: (1) All About Love, (2) Zacatoo, (5) Lomu, (4) Iditarod Trail.
Betting correct at 17:00 on Thursday 17 September.
Suggested Pick 6 (Races 3-8):
6 x 1,2 x 3,4,5 x 1 x 3,6 x 1,2,5 (R36)
