Picture: Without Question (Credit: Wayne Marks)
Without Question Appeals As Attractive Longshot For WSB Met
David Mollett
When it comes to big races, punters love to try and pick out a longshot to trouble the leading fancies and this month’s WSB Met is no exception. My stab at the Jan 27 race is the Snaith inmate, Without Question, who is a 33-1 chance and 99-25 a place with the sponsors.
We’re talking here about a horse who finished just two lengths behind See It Again in last season’s Daily News 2000 and was then the subject of huge support (backed down to 8-1) for the Hollywoodbets Durban July. Unfortunately, he flopped in that race beating only two home with no explanation forthcoming for that poor run.
Without Question ran in Saturday’s Anthonij Rupert Wine Premier’s Trophy and finished four lengths behind stablemates Mucho Dinero and Pacaya so why should he turn the tables in the Met?
The answer to that question is that the four year-old was having his second run since October.
Pacaya also failed to fire in the Durban July and finished just two places above Without Question, but he was 3,5kg better off than weight for age in comparison to Without Question in the July and now in the Met they meet on weight for age terms (although on Saturday in the Premier Trophy Pacaya was 1,5kg worse off with weight for age compared to Without Question and beat him by 3,80 lengths).
Prior to Saturday’s Premier’s Trophy, it looked as if Drakenstein had got the best of the deal with Mucho Dinero, selling the son of Twice Over to Nic Jonsson for R1,4 million. He got R267188 back with the Gr 2 win.
Mucho Dinero and Without Question met in last year’s Cape Derby where the former wasn’t sighted and Without Question finished third. The handicapper has now increased Mucho’s rating from 99 to 110 (so officially he will be 3,5kg under sufferance with Without Question in the Met, as the handicappers dropped the latter from 120 to 117).
Obviously, four wins in a row is proof that Justin Snaith has discovered the reason for Mucho Dinero’s poor Cape Derby effort and you can get 20-1 from World Sports Betting and 16-1 from Lance Michael for the Met.
Turf Talk editor, David Thiselton, makes an interesting point by stating the Hollywoodbets Durban July could be “on the agenda” for the four year-old.
In contrast to WSB, Lance Michael is offering 2-1 about Charles Dickens for the Met which suggests the shrewd Gauteng bookmaker feels the King’s Plate winner might not accept for the Cape’s biggest race.
This is where backing a longshot is so attractive – if Charles Dickens misses the race the prices of all of the Snaith trio of Mucho Dinero, Pacaya and Without Question will shorten markedly.
It appears Cousin Casey wont make the trip to the Cape which means the usual situation of me giving my money to Lance Michael (many times last year!) won’t happen on this occasion.
That leaves Mike De Kock’s five year-old, Safe Passage, as the 15-1 third favourite and you had to love the gelding’s Betway Summer Cup run when finishing second behind Royal Victory.
With 4-1 a place available about Without Question for the Met, we must now hope for a favourable draw and perhaps a tip or two in the UK to take doubles with the son of The United States.
