Karel Miedema is statistically-speaking more impressed by the cream of the three-year-old crop this season than he was at this time last season.
Mark Van Deventer has also given the pair Sandringham Summit and Main Defender (pictured above fighting out the Gr 3 Betway Graham beck Stakes – JC Photos) high speed scores.
The highest AR (ability rating) Miedema has given last season Equus Champion Three-year-old Charles Dickens in his career is a 117 for his win in the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge and the second highest he has given him is 115 for his L’Ormarins King’s Plate second place finish.
However, the highest he gave him in a three-year-old event was 110 and went to that score for both his Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas and Gr 2 WSB Guineas wins.
The highest rating he gave for a three-year-old the whole sesason last term was 120 for See It Again’s second place finish in the Hollywoodbets Durban July.
However, See It Again’s highest rating in a three-year-old event was also 110 for his win in the Gr 1 Daily News 2000.
This season Miedema has already awarded a three-year-old a 117 AR and it was in a three-year-old event too.
He gave Sandringham Summit a 117 for his Gr 3 Betway Graham Beck Stakes runner up finish and Main Defender, who was receiviing 1kg, was awarded 115.
However, the depth of the crop is still in question to date with GimmeAnotherChance, third in the Graham beck, being given a 101 AR, while Tail Of The Comet was given a 103 for his Cape Racing Sale Ready To Run Stakes victory and Questioning was given 98 for his Gr 3 Cape Classic win. There is still a long way to go in the season though.
In Charles Dicken’s crop there was not only See It Again but also Cousin Casey, who was given 112 twice by Miedema last season, and also At My Command, who was given 106 twice, and Without Question, who was given 107 once, as well as Dave The King, who was given 109 three times, and Anfields Rocket, who was given 105 twice, plus others.
Mark van Deventer was also impressed with Sandringham Summit and Main Defender. He wrote the below article about the whole weekend’s racing, although his performance of the season to date in his speed analysis is Main Defender’s victory in the Gr 2 Betway Jo’Burg Spring Challenge.
Hitting the Highveld heights
Main Defender (speed score 108) and Sandringham Summit (s/s 108) fought out an epic at Turffontein in the G3 1400m Graham Beck Stakes on Saturday with Tony Peter’s runner gaining a narrow margin revenge over Sandringham Summit, who was coming back after a rest.
Both three-year-olds are high class thoroughbreds (Main Defender, by Pathfork, hit an awesome fig of 115 last time when trouncing Thunderstruck) and future clashes between the pair will be brilliant to watch. They have by far the highest speed ratings of any three-year-old in the country.
Dyce (s/s 107) ran a borderline G1 number when romping in the Golden Loom. Lucky Houdalakis has done a great job patching up this fickle sprinter who goes like a boeing when all parts are in working order.
Houdalakis doubled up with Egyptian Mau (s/s 98) in the Starling Stakes. Both were smoothly piloted by Craig Zackey. The filly was not yet fully wound up, so she should improve on this already fine score and is one to follow through the Highveld season. Odds on favourite White Pearl (s/s 97) tried hard but could not match strides with the daughter of Fire Away in the closing stages.
Course specialist, Puerto Manzano (s/s 99 +, has run 108) won the G2 Charity Mile in a clustered finish from Cousin Casey, Bless My Stars and Winchester Mansion. The first six finishers were within little more than a length of each other.
Playing at home, the JJ van Vuuren trained Summer Cup hero has now won seven of 17 starts with five places at his favourite track. Even if the final adjusted time was a few ticks slower than expected for this class of race, it was still a sterling performance to win over a distance short of his best and from a wide draw (16.)
See It Again (s/s 100 +) made his seasonal return at a rainy Greyville and, though a mile is the low range of his distance propensity, the 1 to 4 odds on choice had no dramas in passing pacemaker, Cape Eagle. See It Again’s future engagements over middle distances are eagerly awaited.
Questioning took out the Cape Classic G3 at Durbanville with a score of 96 +. He won full of running and is making good progress under Vaughan Marshall’s care, despite being quite a temperamental character. He has now won three of four starts and seems certain to achieve bigger figures in the near future.
