The most amazing betting odds about a Gr 1 runner in recent times must be what bookmakers offered about the Candice Bass-Robinson-trained WSB Cape Fillies Guines runner up Scarlet Macaw.
The 20/1 opening price seemed generous, but on race day she had drifted out to 67/1, which was simply ridiculousconsidering the form of the race, although it was welcomed by dedicated form studiers.
Candice commenting on it today (Monday) said, “I wasn’t worried about the odds. Nobody gave her any hope whatsoever, why, I don’t know.”
She confirmed she had noticed the piece of form that had Scarlet Macaw finishing in front of the fancied Beware The Bomb on paper and added, “Yes but people do not notice that, they just see a cheapy little Horizon filly, they don’t look properly.”
The Hemel ‘N Aarde Stud-bred filly had faced the strongly fancied Beware The Bomb two runs before the Cape Fillies Guineas over 1400m and had lost to her by only a length and in the Cape Fillies Guines Scarlet Macaw was 1,5kg better off.
Furthermore, Scarlet Macaw had been very impressive in her next start when quickening superbly and storming past a field of older horses to win a 1400m handicap as she liked, albeit off a merit rating of only 88.
The latter race had taken place on the same day as the Cape Fillies Guineas’ biggest pointer, the Gr 3 Western Cape Fillies Championship, and she had only run a time 0,11 seconds slower than the winner of that race, Mon Petit Cherie, although she was carrying 2kg less than the runners in that race.
However, one of the main factors that made the price hard to believe was her being an inmate of the Candice Bass-Robinson yard, a yard know for their prowess in peaking horses at the right time and who have been delivering Gr 1 winners for decades.
Scarlet Macaw had a perfect trip from draw two, finding cover in a handy position under Kabelo Matsunyane and she then continully found more in the straight to emerge as the only threat to Fatal Flaw in the last 200m.
She was eventually beaten two lengths.
The yard elect, Symphony In White, overraced early and had a bumping match with Beware The Bomb as they waited for Fatal Flaw to come accross ino the lead, so she did well to finish fourth.
Candice selected Scarlet Macaw at the BSA Cape Yearling Sale last year and landed her for a mere R50,000.
She said she had had substance and that had been the chief attractive point.
The Bass yard did train her sire Horizon and also her damsire Tobe Or Nottobe.
Candice recalled the Dynasty colt Horizon to have been unlucky not to have won the July in 2017, when finishing a 1,2 length sixth to stablemate Marinaresco.
He had earlier won the Gr 3 Politician Stakes and finished third in the Gr 1 Daily News 2000, but after that season he had had some unsoundness issues.
Candice is not sure whether Scarlet Macaw will get further than a mile, because although her sire should bring some stamina her dam was a sprinter.
He said she had already exceeded expectations, so she was in no rush to map out her future.
She is owned by the Bass’s Centenary Syndicate and is giving a lot of people a lot of fun.
