Sparkling Water, tipped below to run second, is out to make it two wins from three starts at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth. She is pictured above winning the Grade 2 New Turf Carriers Western Cape Stayers over 2800m at last year’s WSB Met meeting in her first appearance in Cape Town (Chase Liebenberg).
Make It Snappy has much in her favour
Andrew Harrison (Gold Circle)
The last three-year-old filly to win the WSB Cape Town Met was Oh Susanna back in 2018, the first time that the race was run at WFA. It can be argued that she faced a substandard field relative to what faces Make It Snappy at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth tomorrow but she has a lot in her favour.
Like Oh Susanna, Make It Snappy comes off victory in the Gr1 Paddock Stakes in a field that included runner-up, hot favourite and multiple Gr1 winner Captain’s Ransom, Triple Tiara winner Rain In Holland, Hollywoodbets Durban July winner Sparkling Water, Group winning Marina, the latter trio also lining up in Saturday’s field.
Given the conditions of the race, Make It Snappy meets her female rivals at similar weights and strictly on their Paddock Stakes efforts, all three will need to make a few lengths improvement if they are to peg back their younger rival but the trio are handled by the best trainer’s around so they cannot be written off lightly.
Make It Snappy also gets lumps of weight from her male rivals barring Gr1 Cape Guineas runner-up Cousin Casey who has to conceded 2.5kg.
Cousin Casey went into the Guineas on the back of a five-race winning streak but proved no match for Charles Dickens who swept past in a common canter and he was hard-pressed to hold off At My Command who fluffed his lines in the Gr3 Politician Stakes last Saturday.
The Guineas was also run at almost a second slower than the filly’s equivalent and given Cousin Casey’s wide draw he will be hard-pressed to match Make It Snappy.
This leaves the older male brigade who meet for the umpteenth time. Jet Dark, Kommetdieding, Golden Ducat have generally been the three principals in the country’s top features over the past three seasons and one must now add Al Muthana to that list.
Ricky Maingard’s runner flew under the radar when upsetting Charles Dickens in the Gr1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate, most forgetting his victory in the Gr1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge where then under the care of Mike de Kock, he finished ahead of Linebacker and Jet Dark. However, Al Muthana has not finished in the frame in four starts beyond a mile. That said, Maingard is a maestro, having won this race with ‘miler’ Wolf Power and with Piere Strydom booked there is no shortage of experience in the camp.
Kommetdieding and Jet Dark finished one-two in last year’s event and there is very little between the two which ever way you slice the form. There was a neck between them in the recent King’s Cup with Jet Dark just ahead, but the extra 400m is more in the favour of Kommetdieding.
The two have drawn one gate apart and sandwiched between them is Sparkling Water. Mike de Kock’s filly simply paralysed the field in the Hollywoodbets Durban July but has a bit more to do here given the weights.
She ran way below par in the Gr1 WSB Summer Cup at Turffontein back in November but there was a lot to like about the way she was finishing off her race in the Paddock Stakes behind Make It Snappy.
Anthony Delpech, syndicate manager for the Hollywood Syndicate, owners of Make It Snappy was of the opinion that Sparkling Water may be their biggest danger. “I like the way she ran in the Paddock Stakes,” he said. “I think that she has been prepped for this race.”
Delpech was stable jockey to De Kock for many years so will be well aware of how the De Kock stable operates.
Not having seen Make It Snappy in the flesh, Delpech confirmed that she is a giant of a filly and with only 51.5kg to shoulder from a good draw he was hoping for the best.
Keagan de Melo will be aboard Make It Snappy with her regular ride, Louis Mxothwa, not able to make the weight. De Melo was confident that he would make the 51.5kg required. Speaking at Scottsville on Wednesday, he said the had plenty of time to take off the weight gradually and would be spot on come tomorrow. He was cautiously optimistic about his mount’s chances. “We will be happy with a first four finish,” he said.
With 18 runners due to face the starter, there could well be traffic congestion but given her style of running and being a big filly with a light weight from a plum draw, Make It Snappy has much in her favour and is taken to get home ahead of Sparkling Water, Kommetdieding and Jet Dark with Al Muthana the dark horse once again.
