Eleven Runner-Met But It’s A True Championship

Justin Snaith draws barrier position two for the defending champion Eight On Eighteen (Chase Liebenberg Photography) 

Defending WSB Met Champion Eight On Eighteen landed a plum draw of two at the Barrier Draw Ceremony in the Racing Pavilion at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Tuesday evening.

Only eleven runners have been declared for the big weight for age event over 2000m, but it will be a true championship race and by world standards is a big field for such a race.

Reigning Equus Horse Of The Year Eight On Eighteen has never been defeated over 2000m and all three of his runs over this trip have been in Gr 1s, winning the wfa WSB Met by half-a-lengths, the Splashout Cape Derby by 1,50 lengths and the Daily News 2000 by 3,80 lengths.

Eight On Eighteen now gets a chance to avenge his defeat to The Real Prince in the Hollywoodbets Durban July, a 2200m handicap of sorts  in which he faced the latter on terms 2,5kg worse than weight for age.

He has since been defeated by The Real Prince in the Gr 1 wfa L’Ormarins King’s Plate over 1600m, but that was over a distance short of his optimum and it was his first run since the July too, so he likely needed it.

The Real Prince was defeated on wfa terms in a middle distance race after the July, when Gladatorian beat him narrowly in the Gr 1 wfa HKJC Champions Cup over 1800m.

See It Again, a former Cape Derby and Daily News 2000 winner, was a 1,60 length third in the Champions Cup and was a 0,25 length third to The Real Prince in the King’s Plate after flying up late.

Gladatorian was finishing fast in the King’s Plate too and was only beaten 3,95 lengths.

He will now have his third run at the course and at the age of six he looks likely to relish the easy 2000m of Hollywoodbets Kenilworth. His pedigree, coupled with the fact he has won a Gr 2 over 1200m on top of his Gr 1 over 1800m, suggests he will relish the course and distance too.

So, the intense weight for age rivalry between Gladatorian, The Real Prince and See It Again is set for its latest renewal and the reigning Equus Horse Of The Year Eight On Eighteen joins the fray alongside the like of Garrix and Sail The Seas, while Gr 1 wfa winner over a mile, Cosmic Speed, ventures beyond a mile for the first time.

The Piet and Elbert Steyn-trained Garrix went close in the Gr 2 Ridgemont Green Point before possibly running a flat race in the King’s Plate. He finished like a train in the Green Point and should be mature enough to step up to 2000m having won the Gr 3 Legal Eagle Stakes over 1800m as a three-year-old last year before failing by a shorthead in the Listed Pocket Power Stakes over 1950m.

Sail The Seas beat Eight On Eighteen and Cosmic Speed in the Gr 2 WSB Guineas and he was a close fourth in the recent King’s Plate. Over 2000m he was beaten only 1,50 lengths by Eight On Eighteen in last year’s Gr 1 Splashout Cape Derby.

Looking at the draws of the five aforementioned Gr 1 winners, Cosmic Speed has drawn one, Eight On Eighteen is in barrier position two, Gladatorian drew four, The Real Prince drew six and See It Again drew ten.

The two most likely pretenders Sail The Seas and Garrix drew three and five respectively.

Native Ruler and Okavango are capable of running good races, although their tasks at wfa level are tougher than they have been in the races they have won or gone close in.

Okavango and Native Ruler were beaten 4,05 lengths and 4,35 lengths respectively by Eight On Eighteen in last year’s Daily News 2000.

Native Ruler ran a cracker in the July, where he was a somewhat unlucky 3,95 length sixth, while Okavango was a 6,20 length ninth. However, Native Ruler was on half-a-kilogram better terms than weight for age with the winner The Real Prince, while Okavango faced The Real Prince on weight for age terms, so they have a few lengths to find.

They will also now be respectively 3kg and 2,5kg worse off with Eight On Eighteen from the July and the latter only lost the July by a neck, so they effectively have many lengths to find to match Eight On Eighteen.

If Okavango’s chances looks difficult on the basis of the aforementioned form, then The Equator’s chances look positively forlorn, because he was beaten 4,25 lengths by Okavango when the latter won the Gr 2 Anthonij Rupert Premier Trophy over 1800m on L’Ormarins King’s Plate day and they now face each other on the same terms in the Met.

A below par Native Ruler was beaten 5,10 lengths in the Premier Trophy and he will need to bounce back.

That leaves the Gr 3 Cape Mile winner Legal Counsel, who is quite an interesting runner because he has won over 1800m before and in the King’s Plate he went way too fast in joint second with the favourite Jan Van Goyen and whilst the latter faded away tamely to be beaten 9,10 lengths, Legal Counsel managed to stay on well enough go be beaten only 4,45 lengths and in fact he was only a neck behind  Eight On Eighteen and was 1,50 lengths ahead of Garrix.

He is thus the dark horse of the race.

Legal Counsel is drawn seven.

Native Ruler, The Equator and Okavango have drawn eight, nine and eleven respectively.

The final field for the WS Met is shown below: