Bright Green Runs At Hollywoodbets Durbanville Today
Dean Kannemeyer is never one to be too hard on his two-year-olds and has a phenomenal record in Cape Town’s leading three-year-old event, which this year will be known as the Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas and it will carry a stake of R2 million.
He is upbeat at present as he has a horse, the Drakenstein Stud-bred Gimmethegreenligtht colt Bright Green, who could qualify for the Guineas and make a bid to put the Kannemeyer name on the trophy for the tenth time.
He said, “He drew 15 on July day and I wasn’t going to run him, but we then decided to use it for the experience and hope he finished the race off well. He finished very well and I then put him away. As a physical specimen he has matured and has improved tremendously.”
Dean lamented the quarantine requirements when moving a horse from KZN back to Cape Town and said after getting over that hurdle the African Horse Sickness vaccines then still had to be done.
He said, “Time flies and before you know it here we are in October already.”
He said he had been able to give Bright Green one gallop at Durbanville, although he felt he might still be short of a gallop going into tomorrow’s (Wednesday’s) race.
The good looking bay runs in a Middle Stakes event over 1400m at Hollywoodbets Durbanville, where he has drawn well in two out of a field of ten who are still standing their ground.
“He is a nice up and coming horse with potential, but we still have to qualify him for the Cape Guineas. My horses are not yet stripped but they do have programs ahead.”
Bright Green is officially only half-a-kilogram under sufferance off his 104 merit rating tomorrow.
However, Kannemeyer is wary of hard-knocking Brett Crawford-trained pair Port Louis and Silvano’s Dasher.
Bright Green is entered in the Grade 3 Cape Classic on October 22.
Kannemeyer said it might come too soon after tomorrow’s race, but said he would monitor him before a decision was made.
Bright Green is owned in partnership by Fieldspring Racing and Mary Slack’s Wilgerbosdrift Stud.
Kannemeyer has won the Cape Guineas two or three times for Fieldspring and once for Slack, so he is very happy to be training for them in partnership.
Another well-bred three-year-old in the Kannemeyer yard is Cheeky Laddie, who is also by Gimmethegreenlight and is out of Grade 1-winning Captain Al mare All Is Secret.
He won on debut over 1200m at Hoillywoodbets Scottsville, but nevertheless said his next start over 1250m at Hollywoodbets Durbanville (on October 1) had been “way too sharp”.
However, he said he still had a lot to do to qualify for the Cape Guineas.
Meanwhile, the yard’s star older horse Waterberry Lane can now look forward to a campaign over his correct distance, sprint-mile trips, with his Hollywoodbets Durban July run having proved he has stamina limitations.
Five-year-old Pomodoro gelding Russian Rock won Dean his sixth Cape Guineas a couple of seasons back and he ran a good fourth in his seasonal reappearance in the Grade 3 Hollywoodbets Matchem Stakess over 1400m.
Other Kannemeyer-trained horses to look out for this season are the lightly raced four-year-old Gimme A Prince, a winner of three out of four so far; the also relatively lightly raced four-year-old Gimmie A Star, who has won three out of seven; three-year-old filly Gimmeafirst; Pas De Nom, a three-year-old colt who has won both of his starts since being stepped up to 1600m and beyond; five-year-old Silvano’s Timer is held in high regard and returned from a long layoff to win twice in the KZN Champions Season, including the Listed MWOS Darley Arabian; Rex Union, who finished a narrow third in the Grade 3 MWOS Gold Cup; Dawnofanewday is a futura filly who is coming into her own and she is one to continue following in KZN.
The Kannemeyer yard have not been in the top ten on the national log for a few seasons, but have not been far off in recent seasons and they can look forward to a good 2022/2023 term.
