Former jockey great and now KZN’s leading trainer Garth Puller reckoned the cream would rise to the top in Saturday’s Grade 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas, despite the role draws and a strong South Easterly breeze would play.
The south-easter is forecast to be blowing at 23 to 26 knots at race time on Saturday
This wind blows diagonally across the straight from the inside out.
It is thought to be one of the reasons for “The Cape Crawl”, with jockeys reluctant to lead because they would then be running into the teeth of the wind without cover.
However, Puller said, “The south-easter was actually more of a factor at Milnerton and that was the best Guineas … it was an easier course than Kenilworth and was a sprint-miler Guineas. You needed sprinting speed and the ability to see out the mile. It was very seldom that horses who were not in the first five turning for home won the race, although Young England was one who did do it. So you initially needed to go faster at Milnerton and the wind will never worry a top horse.”
However, he added Hollywoodbets Kenilworth was a harder course, so despite the wind not being as big a factor, horses were able to come from off the pace.
He predicted, “The quality will come through. The pace will be on as it as it is a big field and the outside horses will be going forward trying to find positions. The two favourites are both drawn wide and will want the pace to be on as they are both able to come from off them.”
He continued, “Charles Dickens is one of the few horses I have seen who has not settled perfectly yet still kicks on so well. They have also been teaching him to settle. He is a very good horse.”
Puller made his comments about the yard teaching him to settle on the grounds of him being dropped out to last in his most recent race against older horses. He made one or two awkward movements with his head early on before settling very well.
Puller added, “Charles Dickens actually reminds me a lot of a horse I rode in the Guineas called Man Of Property (Royal Prerogative). He broke down a week before the Guineas so didn’t work for a week. He still ran and finished second to Turncoat (beaten a quarter of a length) and never ran again.”
He concluded, “The cream will come through on Saturday.”