Gold Circle Pty (Ltd)

Today's Racing :

Casey’s cool with a hot pace

David Thiselton
The Grade 2 Post Merchants over 1 200m to be run tonight (Friday, June 18) at Greyville is always an intriguing affair and its roll of honour is littered with top class horses. The speedy sorts that possess a telling kick hold the trump cards in this event although classy sorts that stay further have also won. A prerequisite for the latter, though, is that they have a good turn of foot.The Darryl Hodgson-trained Casey Cool makes plenty of appeal as he looks tailor made for a large field Graded race sprint at Greyville. This six-year-old Casey Tibbs gelding is a big strong horse who needs cover and must be held up until the last minute at which stage he produces a powerful burst of speed.
It would be preferable if he was better drawn, although this race is always run at a blistering gallop due to the size of the field and this will give him a chance of settling in behind the lead. Kevin Shea will be suited to him and if Casey Cool is handy enough he could be right there at the line. The Dennis Bosch-trained Noble Heir has staked a claim to be Equus Sprinter of the Year this season, having won the Grade 1 Computa-form Sprint in her last start.
Andrew Fortune once said she was the quickest filly he had ever ridden around the Greyville turn, but the downside was that she appeared to be better at 1 000m. However, not only has she begun to show signs of staying on over 1 200m, but in the Computaform Sprint over 1 000m she had a rare slow start and surprised everybody by quickening past the field from the back and winning easily. This opens up new possibilities for her. The Mike Bass-trained Gaultier absolutely thrives in Durban and Bass had felt he would have a good chance in the Drill Hall Stakes but he drew wide and was withdrawn. He didn’t settle well in the Golden Horse in his last start and was drawn on the wrong side. This time he’s drawn well and should be able to get cover and settle. He has won his only start at Greyville, over 1 000m. His stablemate Fort Vogue is the Vodacom Durban July second favourite and some might write him off as not quick enough, but he catches the eye more and more the older he gets and as a sort that is now oozing class it is not incredibly far-fetched to imagine he could join Mowgli as a horse to win both the Merchants and the July. However, his wide draw will make it a very tough task. Bush Pirate is a versatile horse who has done well at Greyville and his close 2,6 length finish in the Weight-For-Age Cape Flying Championship would suggest he is very well handicapped here. This could be a shrewd placement by Joey Ramsden. The Wendy Whitehead-trained Two Tone produced an incredible late finish when winning his last start here over 1 000m. He is unfortunately the reserve runner and will have to rely on one horse coming out, but like Casey Cool he looks tailor made for this race. Morroccan showed pace throughout in the Golden Horse Casino Sprint for a good third, but will probably have a hard task finding another gear here as he will have to use up some fuel to overcome his wide draw. Mythical Flight used to have fantastic early pace and the ability to kick in the final stages, but he seems to have lost his edge in both departments. However, this will be his first ever start around a turn in South Africa so he might appreciate not having a long straight in front of him and could possibly find some of his old zest. The seven that make the most appeal are Casey Cool, Noble Heir, Bush Pirate, Gaultier, Cyber Case, Clearly Silver and Thunder Key, although Two Tone must be included if he gets a run.

\| All information on these pages are (©) Copyright Gold Circle Pty (Ltd) 2002 \| site map
(This site is best viewed at 1024 X 768)