Met Runner Eight On Eighteen Can Make History

Picture: Justin Snaith draws barrier position ten for the only three-year-old in the Gr 1 R5million WSB Met, Eight On Eighteen. (Cape Racing). 

The final field and draw ceremony for the Gr 1 R5 million WSB Met was done on Wednesday evening at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth and the field of 17 includes the three-year-old Eight On Eighteen.

Three-year-old winners in both the L’Ormarins King’s Plate and WSB Met are rare and it would probably be a first in history, and definitely a first in the last 80 years, for respective three-year-olds to win both the King’s Plate and the Met.

The Vaughan Marshall-trained three-year-old One World colt One Stripe won the King’s Plate on January 4 and the Justin Snaith-trained Lancaster Bomber colt Eight On Eighteen will attempt to make it a historic three-year-old double on January 25.

Eight On Eighteen drew ten and will be ridden by champion jockey Richard Fourie.

Eight On Eighteen is the 9/2 second favourite with the sponsor.

The 3/1 favourite is Oriental Charm, who drew well in three and his Hol.ywoodbets Durban July-winning jockey JP van der Merwe remains aboard.

The Brett and James Crawford-trained Oriental Charm will be out to become just the eighth horse in history to have won both the July and the Met.

Last year the odds-on favourite See It Again fluffed his lines and he fluffed his lines again in this year’s L’Ormarins King’s Plate, but the Michael Roberts-trained star nevertheless remains the joint second favourite with the sponsor at 9/2. Piere  Strydom is aboard and this legendary rider has an important engagement at the Vaal tomorrow (Thursday) as he has four rides, his first meeting since bruising and cutting himself in a bad fall on 31 December, a fall which caused him to miss the ride on See It Again in the L’Ormarins King’s Plate.

Green With Envy was predicted to be a strong Met favourite in the latter part of last season as he blossomed into a fine middle distance horse, winning both the Gr 1 Splashout Cape Derby and Gr 1 Daily News 2000 and also winning the Gr 2 WSB Guineas in between. It did not pan out well for him in the July and he then ran a shocker in his seasonal reappearance in the Gr 2 WSB Green Point Stakes, fading out to last and beaten 11,75 lengths by the impressive winner Oriental Charm. He has a cloud hanging over his head and will need to bounce back, but he is still a 5/1 chance. He drew nine, which is of little consequence, as his favoured style is to be dropped out before running on strongly in the latter stages under regular pilot Craig Zackey.

The only female in the line up, four-year-old Red Palace, has impressed a number of times and has won a Gr 2 over this trip before. She will be ridden by top jockey Gavin Lerena and is a 12/1 shot with the sponsor. She and Green With Envy give trainer Dean Kannemeyer a lively chance of winning the Met.

The tough Vaughan Marshall-trained Rascallion was runner up last year and comes off a good win in the Gr 2 Anthonij Rupert Wyne Premier Trophy over 1800m. He is fancied by many but has unfortunately, like last year, drawn wide. He was drawn 11 out of 13 last year and is drawn 16 out of 17 this year. The sponsor have him at 14/1 and he will be ridden by Sean Veale.

Of the others, one who makes some longshot appeal is the Brett and James Crawford-trained Zapatillas, who is out at 66/1 with the sponsor.

On Cape Mile and King’s Plate form he comes out better than Oriental Charm, at least over a mile, and he will stay this trip. However, he is drawn widest of all . Luyolo Mxothwa rides.

Montien ran a cracker in the King’s Plate to finish runner up and this Piet Botha-trained five-year-old gelding would be a big runner if it was over a touch shorter. However, the going is fast so perhaps it will be easier for him to see it out and he is another who is capable of causing an upset.

Those are the ones who make most appeal.

The final field is shown below and below that are the final fields for the Gr 1 Maine Chance Farms Majorca Stakes and Gr 1 HKJC World Pool Cape Flying Championship: