Candice Bass-Robinson will have urgent discussions with Gaynor Rupert and Kevin Sommerville this morning to decide on the Met day target for Fillies Guineas fifth Santa Clara who had no problem in landing the odds in the Tab Telebet Handicap at Kenilworth on Saturday.
The Milnerton trainer said: “We have three options – the Bidvest Majorca, the CTS 1600 and the Cape Derby. I am leaning towards the Derby. I think she will get the trip and the race doesn’t look that strong – either that or the sales race but that is very strong and she is drawn badly.”
Today is also important in Brett Crawford’s quest for the answers to what went wrong with Mushi Sterek in the Interbet.co.za Handicap. The 9-10 shot started going backwards after only 300m and she finished some 60m last. “She went exactly a furlong and then she wouldn’t raise a gallop,” said a mystified Anton Marcus.
The veterinary examination requested by the stipes found nothing but senior stipe Ernie Rodrigues said: “It was too bad a run for something not to be wrong and we have asked the trainer to report back.”
Brett Crawford, more concerned than anybody, went straight to the racecourse stables after the race. When he eventually re-emerged, seemingly completely baffled, he said: “There has to be a reason. You can’t win a race by five lengths and then run like that. I will get her scoped and also get my vet to check her out.”
Could it be something in the filly’s mental make-up? After all, she is known to be far from easy. “I don’t think so,” said the trainer. “She is very forward and all the time we are trying to slow her down.”
Another possibility is her tender mouth. When she won so impressively first time out Marcus said that he had never before ridden a horse with such a sensitive mouth. For most of that race he sat motionless with his hands on her withers and the lightest possible hold on the reins.
On Saturday she was tossing her head about as she went down to the start with a companion. Maybe, despite her rider’s best efforts, she had felt pain in her mouth on debut and she was remembering it.
The winner, almost unnoticed in all the fuss over the favourite, was the Keagan de Melo-ridden Evelina who has won three of her last four for Andre Nel. It wasn’t all puzzlement for Crawford either as he went home with a treble.
Joey Ramsden saddled two for the opening two-year-old race and won with the 13-1 outsider of the pair, the Donovan Dillon-ridden Double Alliance. Stable companion Ibra (third) was found to be making an abnormal respiratory noise. There must be a bug going round because no less than six other runners during the day were found to be suffering from the same complaint.
Piet Steyn’s problem was a wonky knee. He had it replaced last Wednesday and so missed seeing Brave Tiger justifying favouritism in the Tabonline.co.za Maiden. Satchmo Mathen, who owns the appropriately named Amazing Satchmo in partnership with Glen Kotzen, had an even more-needed tonic when Liam Tarentaal brought the colt home in front in the mile maiden. Mathen is recovering from a triple bypass operation.
Justin Snaith elected to spend the afternoon with his Met day armada and so father Chris deputised, successfully saddling Stan Becker’s Hurricane Silva for the 1 400m maiden. Snaith snr recalled winning two Mercury Sprints and the 1992 Gilbeys at Scottsville with Signor Amigo for Becker.
Greg Cheyne, successful on Brave Tiger and St Vladimir, has less pleasant memories of the star sprinter – “He went through the rails with me at Clairwood when I was an apprentice and broke my back!”
By Michael Clower
