Racing can be sublime theatre, on an off the track, but no matter that most were willing the filly Silver Mountain to victory, letting sentiment influence sound reasoning can be fatal when it comes to punting. And so it proved as Noah From Goa stamped the Dingaans form in the Gr1 Grand Parade Cape Guineas at Kenilworth yesterday and the diminutive favourite Silver Mountain fell victim to some bullying tactics by her male rivals.

Anthony Delpech rode the perfect race on Mike de Kock’s gelding, tracking the pace and making his move at just the ride moment. But it was not all plain sailing. “He struggled around the turn and was always on the wrong lead. It just goes to show what a good horse he is. He knows how to win,” he commented post-race.

After the scratching of Rabada earlier in the week Anton Marcus replaced Donovan Mansour on Selangor winner Hard Day’s Night and as is Marcus’s want, he pushed forward early to make the pace with Budapest and Noah From Goa tucking in behind with Brazuca also handy.

Silver Mountain broke well enough but was shuffled back to midfield.

Hard Days Night and Budapest both folded tamely leaving Noah From Goa clear early in the straight and he stuck to his guns, just as he had in the bruising Dingaans battle.

Silver Mountain looked to have got bullied by her bigger male rivals when being shuffled back in the early running and turned for home out of her ground. She did quicken to threaten briefly before running out of puff inside the last furlong.

Candice Robinson, who saddled Silver Mountain for her father Mike Bass, was philosophical. “We would have liked to have seen her race closer in the early stages and she got a bump on the bend. We may not have beaten Mike’s horse but with better luck I think she would have finished closer,” she said. Under the circumstances it was a great run.

Brazuca looked buried a furlong out but was doing his best work late to snatch second ahead of Nassa, the pair relegating Silver Mountain to fourth.

“The draw killed us,” said Brett Crawford of third-placed Nassa. “We would have sat next to him (Noah From Goa) and it would have been a different race but it was a good run under the circumstances.”

Noah From Goa has only one blemish on his record in six outings and given the manner of victory the Guineas/Investec Derby double is on the cards for the son of Tiger Ridge although Matthew de Kock, standing in for his father Mike, was cautious in his response. “He’s had a hard season and we’ll see how he pulls up tomorrow. There are some nice races in the Cape season but we will see.”

There was some cheer for Duncan Howells as Same Jurisdiction pulverised some high class opposition in the Grand Play Conditions Plate. A labour dispute forced him to scratch all his Greyville runners on Friday night and forfeit his trip to Kenilworth.

But Same Jurisdiction warmed up for either the Paddock Stakes of the Majorca Stakes, still to be decided, in superb fashion as Anton Marcus asked her to stretch 300m out and she responded with a telling run to leave the opposition struggling.

Weight, too much of it, is a curse that most jockeys have to contend with, not more so than Bernhard Fayd’Herbe. Staying alive on the sniff of a burger from Burger King to keep his weight under 60kg, there a few finer in the saddle and his talents were on display as he got Heartland home in the Cape Premier Sales Jets Master Stakes (L) in a bruising battle with Smanga Khumalo and Silicone Valley. Heartland gave his rival 6kg and when Silicone Valley slipped his field it looked all over. But Fayd’Herbe, biding his time in a pocket on the rail, squeaked through a gap at just the right moment. Heartland, a full brother to Cape Derby winner Jackson, looked a certain winner as he charged home but Silicone Valley was not done. Khumalo extracted more from his mount when challenged but just not enough as Heartland got up to stave off the unkindest cut of all – for now at least.

Justin Snaith relinquished his championship title to Sean Tarry last term but things are looking bright nearly half-way through the current season. Snaith leads the log with 89 winners, R1 million and 25 winners ahead of Tarry, and there have been ominous signs for his title rivals as he has already palmed the first two juvenile scurries of the season and bagged four winners on yesterday’s card.

Var Ahead got the ball rolling last Saturday and Snaith and stable rider Fayd’herbe struck again in the first yesterday as The Merry Widow had too much toe for the opposition. It was the first leg of a treble for Drakenstein Stud as the Dean Kannemeyer-trained filly Impala Lily showed the benefit of experience as she got home ahead of debutant Leisure Trip in a tight finish to the third and Same Jurisdiction rounding off a memorable day.

At Turffontein Dominic Zaki, who handed in his trainer’s brief last week, gave an emotional farewell speech on Thursday but had one more fish to fry as he signed off on a winning note at the same venue yesterday.

Apprentice Craig Zackey, who has been riding as first call rider for the yard for the past few months and who comes out of his time at the end of January, showed just why he is a rising star. Showing nerves of steel, he timed his run to perfection on the aptly named Last Battle to give Zaki the perfect send-off.
– Andrew Harrison