Paul Peter’s Grade 2 Senor Santa Stakes winner Smorgasbord (Twice Over) is being targeted at the Grade 1 Golden Horse Sprint over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on June 4.

The Peter yard might have another string to their bow in that handicap event as they have inherited the classy David Ferraris-owned  Captain Fontane (Captain Al).

Peter said about Smorgasbord, “From day one we always thought he was a top horse. He won first time out and then ran second in the SA Nursery. He then ran second to Rain In Holland and we were disappointed at the time but looking at it now it was a good run. But we always felt he wasn’t giving of his best so we gelded him and he came back and won his first start and then ran third and then won the Senor Santa. But he is just a totally different horse since we gelded him. He really needed the gelding, they were massive, and the owners kindly obliged.”

On Saturday Smorgasbord was officially the third worst weighted runner in the field off his 106 merit rating and was 4kg under sufferance with the best weighted Celestial Love.

He was able to sit behind the pacemaker Captain Oupie on the outside before kicking on well to win by half-a-length under Warren Kennedy in a time about half-a-second outside the course record despite the officially soft underfoot conditions.

Peter continued, “I think he is a top horse. He’s  got such a good temperament, he’s laid back and he’s got a good turn of foot.”

He added, “Funnily enough his half-brother Afraad (Dynasty) goes 3000m and being by Twice Over you’d think he would stay, but he has just got too much natural speed. I think he takes a lot after the dam side. His dam was by Var.”

Peter recalled the purchase of the Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein Stud-bred Smorgasbord at the BSA National Yearling Sale of 2020, “At that time Twice Over wasn’t fetching big money and I really liked him as a specimen at the sale. I spoke to Harry Willson and he said, ‘Well he’s your pick of the sale, you must get him.’ Laurence Wernars also came in. Really I didn’t think he was going to go for R460,000 and they were so kind they said if you want him, go. So we got him for R460,000 and that now looks like a good bargain buy. I think he will go on from here.”

He continued, “He’s doing nothing wrong over sprints and he just gives us the impression that if he does go extended he will go to a 1400m, I don’t think he will get more than that. He is not a big rangy horse, he looks like a typical sprinter.”

Peter added,  “He’s won a Group 2 now,  who knows, maybe he can win a Group 1. He should come into the Golden Horse with a decent weight.”

The handicapper raised him four points to 110, so it looks as if the fifth-placed Captain Oupie was used as the line horse. He was half-a-kilogram better off than the latter at the weights and beat him by two lengths.
 
It was fortunate True To Life was not used as the line horse as Smorgasbord was 3.5kg under sufferance with her and beat her by 1,50 lengths.

Off 110 he will come in with close to bottom weight in the Golden Horse and Peter said he was unlikely to take part in the Grade 1 wfa Computaform Sprint, so he is not likely to be much higher than 110, if at all higher, by the time of the race. 

Peter does not think Smorgasbord was leniently treated by the handicapper and said, “He was drawn on the outside and just about everything on the outside was winning … you know Turffontein after the rain. So it does flatter him a bit but still he got the job done.”   

The legendary trainer Ormond Ferraris is officially the assistant to Paul Peter so it makes sense for David Ferraris to have sent Captain Fontane there if they have a Highveld campaign in mind.

The four-year-old Captain Al gelding was unbeaten in four starts for Garth Puller in KZN and stood in what looked to be a deep hole in his first start in Cape Town when looking to be going on to win. 

That might have explained his two subsequent disappointing runs but he is not one to be forgotten about as Ormond, who first took out his license an amazing 70 years ago in 1952, is likely to get him back to his best.

Picture: Smorgasbord beats Warrior’s Rest in the Grade 2 Senor Santa Stakes ridden by Warren Kennedy (JC Photos).