Gold Circle Pty (Ltd)

Today's Racing :

The great Pocket Power

David Thiselton
Pocket Power has become a legend in South Africa, but also has a big
following overseas, and is particularly loved in Australia where TV presenters always refer to him as “the great Pocket Power.”
In last Saturday’s L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate he beat a field of horses that, excluding his own wins, had won seven Grade 1s between them, a fine feat for a seven-year-old. He is once again helping his phenomenal sire, Jet Master, towards the Sire’s Championship - which would be his fourth in succession.
There were some other eyecatching displays on Queen’s Plate day.
Kapil was unable to match Pocket Power’s burst, but ran on all the way to the line and will be a contender in the J&B Met.
Fabiani ran a fine race and was perhaps a touch unlucky not to get third on his own after taking a slight bump from the passing Pocket Power near the finish.
The mile might be his best trip though, while his stable companion Big City Life has the Met as his main target and would have come on further for this run.
Strategic News ran a tremendous race, quickening well to join the leaders at
the 200m mark, before running out of
puff late and finishing a 2,25 length fifth.
The hard luck story of the race was for Forest Path who was squeezed out between Big City Life and a fading Gaultier.
However, the main danger to Pocket Power in the Met, besides the Charles Laird trio Dan De Lago, Oracy and Smart Banker, could be last Saturday’s Grade 1 Paddock Stakes winner, the small bay four-year-old Mike de Kock-trained filly Mother Russia, who won impressively especially considering she had undertaken the arduous journey from Johannesburg during the week.
Politician Stakes
In other races on Saturday Karl Neisius extracted a resolute finish from Irish Flame to claim the Listed Politician Stakes over 1 800m and this added to the Dean Kannemeyer yard’s impressive Summer Season haul. Kannemeyer’s charge could be heading to the Cape Derby next.
Gold Circle director Hassan Adams had a fine day too as two horses he owns won impressively, the Justin Snaith-trained Maureen De Lago giving weight away
and running out a comfortable winner of a Juvenile Plate over 1 000m, and the Darryl Hodgson-trained Comet Chaser scoring a facile victory in a MR85 Handicap over 1 000m.

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