Gimme A Prince (yellow colours closest) produced a powerful finish in the Gr 3 Cape Mile on Saturday and now has the L’Ormarins King’s Plate in his sights. (Picture: Wayne Marks).
Dean Kannemeyer was happy Gimme A Prince saw out the mile in his close up third in the Gr 3 Cape Mile on Saturday and the lightly raced dual Gr 1 winner will now be targeted at the Gr 1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate.
Gimme A Prince has only had fourteen starts despite being six years of age and this is due to “his legs always needing a bit of attention.”
His six wins include the Gr 1 Pongracz Cape Flying Championship over 1000m, in which he beat the former Equus Champion Sprinter Rio Querari by 0,30 lengths and a subsequent Equus Champion Sprinter Isivunguvungu by 1,55 lengths, as well as the Gr 1 Golden Horse Sprint over 1200m, in which he gave subsequent Equus Champion Sprinter Thunderstruck 6kg and a 0,90 length beating.
He had always struck as one who would go further and this was proved when he ran the champion colt Charles Dickens to 0,30 lengths in last year’s Gr 3 Hollywoodbets Matchem Stakes over 1400m, despite giving the latter half-a-kilogram.
In his five 1400m races to date he has won two of them, finished close to Charles Dickens in a Gr 3 as mentioned above, finished a 0,75 length second in the Gr 2 IOS Drill Hall Stakes and finished a 2,25 length fourth in this year’s Matchem when returning from a layoff of a week short of a year.
Last Saturday’s Cape Mile was his first attempt at a mile and he was drawn ten in a field of ten. He was duly dropped out to last by Craig Zackey and turned for home with about ten lengths to make up in the short Hollywoodbets Kenilworth winter course straight. He produced a flying finish and failed by just 0,35 lengths to catch last year’s WSB Met runner up, the Vaughan Marshall-trained Rascallion.
Rascallion had turned for home and run up the inside rail, although he was giving Gimme A Prince 1kg. The former Gr 2 WSB Guineas winner Zapatillas split the pair.
It was a fine LKP trial by Gimme A Prince and he will be fancied by many if drawing well on a course that has a longer straight.
The evergreen seven-year-old gelding Rascallion could also take his chances in the King’s Plate, a race he has avoided in the last two seasons in favour of the Gr 2 Anthonij Rupert Wyne Premier Trophy over 1800m, which he won two seasons ago. Rascallion won the Gr 3 Variety Club Mile last season, so he has now won two Gr 3s over that distance.
