Tenango produced a devastating turn of foot to win easily and impressively at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday. (Picture: Wayne Marks)
Candice Bass Robinson talked about targets for some of her best horses’, including Tenango, Future Variety, Rainbow Lorikeet, Roccapina, Scarlet Macaw and Winter Snap.
Candice has an impressive up-and-coming sprinter on her hands, the four-year-old Tenango, who on Saturday at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth made it three wins from four starts after coming back from a nine-month layoff.
On Saturday, in a 1200-metre Class 3 handicap, Ian Longmore’s homebred Canford Cliffs gelding jumped from draw nine out of ten starters and sat off the pace early. Aldo Domeyer clearly had a double handful as the horse moved up into midfield during the race, although he was always nicely covered up.
Upon switching Tenango out for a run at the 400m mark the gelding took off and quicky put the field to bed, winning by two lengths under a tight hold.
The time told a story, too. It was just short of a second quicker than the previous race over the same course and distance won by Golden Destiny.
Bass Robinson was asked whether Tenango would travel to KZN for the Golden Horse Sprint.
She said she was not sure at this stage, one of the reasons being she doubted his merit rating would be high enough for him to qualify.
He won off a 98 on Saturday and even with an expected few points raise it would not be high enough for him to be a definite inclusion in the Golden Horse field.
Last year the lowest merit rating to qualify for the big 1200m sprint at Hollywoodbets Scottsville was 104, so he will is a border line horse at present as his merit rating looks likely to go up six points to that same mark.
However, Bass-Robinson said she was thinking of running him in the Gr 2 Khaya Stables Diadem Stakes, which is run over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on February 22.
If he runs well there he should book his place in the Golden Horse as his merit rating will likely get a sizeable hike if he finishes close up to the like of the 134 merit rated Gimme A Prince.
The risk is getting too high a merit rating.
Aldo Domeyer, who rode a treble on Saturday, said after Tenango’s win, “He has always shown us he is going to be a smart horse and I think the step up to the 1200m was right up his alley. I loved it that he switched off whenever I needed him to. The pace was fair but it did not really matter because whatever I asked him to do he did quite professionally. I think he is a decent little sprinter and he keeps on improving. We’re not sure how mcuh more he will improve, but I think there is a feature race there, the way he turns it on and the length of time that he turns it on for is quite impressive. It’s nice we could build him up like we have up until now, but I think it’s time we pointed him in that direction now (features) as there is no reason we shouldn’t.”
Tenango’s nine month break was for a wind operation, which has clearly been a success.
Domeyer said with him being more mature and more relaxed his breathing now sounded as clear as a whistle.
Domeyer concluded by saying he did not think he had asked Tenango for top gear in the race, which augurs well for feature races to come.
Bass-Robinson said Tenango used to be quite an uptight horse before the breathing operation, but said his temperament had changed since the operation and he was now a “gentleman”.
Bass-Robinson’s other good four-year-old sprinter, Future Variety, would be running in the Diadem and might be taken to Johannesburg for the Gr 1 Jonsson Workwear Computaform Sprint over 1000m at Turffontein on March 29. The big KZN sprints might be on the cards for him too.
She said Rainbow Lorikeet would be one defenite KZN campaigner, with the Woolavington 2000 being her chief target.
Scarlet Macaw, the Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas runner up, was also a possibility for KZN.
However, Candice admitted the three-year-old fillies looked a bit below par this season with the exception of her own Roccapina, whom had stepped up to 1600m for the Gr 1 Maine Chance Farms Majorca Stakes and run a fine third, having run a fine close up second in the Gr 2 Cartier Sceptre Stakes over 1200m before that.
Candice said Roccapina (One World) would not get more than a mile.
She is not sure yet whether Roccapina will be going to KZN yet for the Champions Season.
Her obvious targets if she did go would be the Gr 1 SA Fillies Sprint and the Gr 1 Ridgemont Garden Province Stakes.
She said Winter Snap, a What A Winter juvenile colt who won on debut, would definitely not be going to Durban.
She said, “He didn’t pull up too well after his win, so I will get him ready for the Nursery and then geld him and give him a break after that.”
