Do It Again and White River may follow him home.
Marshall, not a man given to mistaking his geese for swans, has been talking of this colt being a possible Guineas winner since he first saw a racecourse and he has won three out of four, albeit in workmanlike rather than spectacular fashion.
He is 9-2 favourite yet this is a doubtful honour – seven of the last ten Guineas favourites have been beaten – and the 14 draw is difficult to say the least.
Rocket Countdown (7-1) surprised everybody in the Selangor but, as his trainer said here on Wednesday, he won the race fair and square. He has also won his last three and is clearly on the upgrade. Interestingly the SA horseracing computer says he will win from Do It Again and Tap O’Noth with White River fourth.
Captain And Master
Only three horses have completed the Selangor-Guineas double in the last ten years but three times during that period the Guineas winner had finished second or third in the Selangor.
White River was only beaten half a length despite trying to bite the winner and victory would come as no surprise but, if the favourite is to be beaten, Do It Again (also a 13-2 chance) looks a better bet. He had won his previous two and he might well be going into this unbeaten had he had a clear run in the Selangor. He also lost ground at the start that day.
Bold Respect (8-1) had a terrible draw to overcome in the Lanzerac Ready To Run and he should confirm the placings with the again badly-drawn 16-1 shot Pack Leader and Sir Frenchie (12-1), although it’s worth noting that the last-named had to be switched twice.
Sean Tarry runs three headed by Ready To Run disappointment Wonderwall, 14-1 and the mount of Piere Strydom. But how on earth do the handicappers rate him seven points better than anything else in the race?
Captain And Master (9-1) only managed sixth in the Selangor and 20-1 shot Purple Diamond seventh in the Ready To Run. It’s hard to envisage either turning the tables on the leading locals.
Mike de Kock, like Marshall, is bidding for his fifth Cape Guineas. Both 10-1 chance Sir David Baird and Like A Panther (12-1) have top jockeys and have the form to run well but neither stands out as a likely winner.
Undercover Agent (8-1), on the other hand, was only beaten three-quarters of a length by Tap O’Noth in the Cape Classic and Brett Crawford believes he has found out why the colt failed to reproduce his best in the Selangor when “he hung in the straight and never really got galloping properly.” He also believes that he has corrected the niggles that caused this.
Cot Campbell has apparently been working in a way that makes a mockery of his 25-1 price but he looks held on his Cape Classic run.
Last Winter is a 20-1 chance for the Sun Met and those odds could tumble if the Dean Kannemeyer stable star keeps his unbeaten record in the Forus Premier Trophy. Anthony Delpech’s mount meets class opposition for the first time in his life but, on the way he won at Durbanville and on the amount he appeared to have in hand, he should win.
By Michael Clower
