Cape Racing
A cross-country array of sprinting talent will load up for the Pongracz Cape Flying Championships (WFA) (Grade 1) with six trucking down from the Highveld, two from KZN, plus one from the Eastern Cape taking on seven locals in a fascinating 1000m dash.
Based on official merit ratings, the Jozi invaders comprising magnificent mare Princess Calla; last year’s Cape Flying victor Bohica; Computaform winner, Master Archie and Golden Horseshoe hero, Alesian Chief come out on top.
Yet such is the spread of recent, quality form from around the country that simply homing in on the “best weighted” category might not solve the puzzle and P6 players may need to cast an even wider net to advance.
Isivunguvungu is a credit to Peter Muscutt’s conditioning skills (he also saddles Battle Force) and this progressive gelding is a contender after unluckily just missing at his first Cape Town dip. Cruise Control has been flashing raw speed in a succession of Fairview blitz jobs, but now confronts far stronger oppo.
What to make of the seven Cape-based entries? Gimme a Prince shapes up as a potentially high-class speedball, having narrowly lost a tune-up run to re-opposing Resonate (himself formidable over these shortcuts) in the Southeaster Sprint, and then breezily winning the Merchants.
Cosmic Highway has battled through a stop-start schedule over the past year yet his win 336 days ago in the Khaya Stables Diadem Stakes, marked him as one of SA’s finest sprinters.
Rio Querari’s last win was a spectacular display in the ’21 Computaform Sprint but an arthritic joint has since reduced the athletic ex-champ to portly- pensioner status.
Stiptelik has twice been out-finished by Princess Calla; Surjay faces a tough task on these terms whilst Hithemhardsunshine is a three-year-old lurker with plenty of scope (he was practically the equal of Charles Dickens at 2).
M/A Azzie upset here with Bohica in ’22 and, together with Master Archie, also sends out Bartholdi (an excellent 2nd to Alesian Chief in the Horseshoe) plus Supreme Warrior, pipped by Zapatillas in the KZN Guineas but who may turn out best over sprints.
