Alistair Cohen
An interesting card awaits racing fans at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth today, perhaps easier on the eye than the Grade 1 meeting a week earlier in terms of being kinder to solve. Three Tigers comes into race 6 over 1200m well weighted against a field of highly regarded rivals.
His record is pleasing despite the fact that he has possibly underdelivered, being a one-time winner from six starts but the company he has kept and the weight turnarounds with those horses puts him right into the picture. His last effort came in the Sophomore Sprint at this course over 1200m and he was anything but disgraced finishing 2,45 lengths behind the seriously exciting Green Gateway. He finished a length behind All The Rage and he finds himself 1,5kg better off which should be enough to turn the form around.
Muzi Yeni steps aboard for Michelle Rix. Rix has her yard in good spirits at the moment while Yeni continues to do good deeds around the country. Three Tigers could be upwardly mobile. If he can finish as close as he has through his career, he could have the potential to be competitive, in time, at a higher level.
All The Rage is held in high regard. He is a good horse with a bright future. It would be harsh to judge him on his most recent run behind Green Gateway when 9/10 favourite. He had to shoulder top weight and he failed to be at his best. That could all remain relative because of Three Tigers’ positive weight advantage but he is not worth ruling out. He had been impressive prior and was on the minds of many racing aficionados. Aldo Domeyer takes the ride for Candice Bass. The yard has been quiet but one of this quality can turn around overnight.
KwaZulu-Natal-based horses have shone around the country this season and the expectations are that Cognac is capable of being a force. Stuart Ferrie trains this son of Rafeef who started his career with two eye-catching wins before coming unstuck in his last run. He carried 62kg in his last run and gave weight away to grizzled older horses in only his third run. Ferrie’s first two runners in Cape Town would be an unfair gauge. I Am Giant ran a mighty second last weekend in the Grade 2 Splashout Merchants while Gladatorian was off colour in the Grade 2 Ridgemont Green Point Stakes.
Keep an eye out for Empire State. He has a good record and his best is good enough to win. Stable elect Domeyer has gone with All The Rage so Gareth Wright gets the ride. Empire State has not run since May. He had a gallop at this course around two-and-a-half weeks before this race though to brush off the cobwebs.
Rix has Handsome Prince in race 4 over 1500m. A combination of cracking form and facing a field either returning from a rest, looking for further or testing the waters past a sprint, Handsome Prince could be in the right place at the right time. Wright gets the ride. He has done duty in his recent runs which have been hugely encouraging. His penultimate start he finished second behind Grade 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas fourth-placed, Gimmie Rules giving 4,5kg. His last run yielded a superb third behind Major Master who went desperately close to winning a Grade 3 last weekend.
Marseilles should take all the beating in race 1 over 1000m. The form of his debut has produced two winners. Catwalk King and Champagne Castle finished behind him and they subsequently did the business. Marseilles finished ahead of them both. Unless a first timer is of high quality, he should win.
I Am Sam caught the eye on debut when he finished third, 3,75 lengths behind Loving Prague over 1200m at this course. He runs in race 2 over the same track and trip. He had no chance of finishing third through the race, languishing a long way behind. He did some good late work and any ideas about racing should be embedded. Gavin Lerena is carded to Peter Muscutt.
Goodnessgraciousme is a tentative pick in race 3 over 1500m. She is mysteriously a one-time winner with some major efforts to her name. Perhaps good quality horses help her raise her game. Her last three runs have produced results to Swiatek and Major Master who have feature race performances to their names. Her opposition contains rivals who are trying this trip with no evidence of stamina or younger horses who have ability but seem short of confidence, possibly like she is. Andrew Fortune rides for Justin Snaith.
Some highly regarded three-year-olds clash in race 5 over 1800m. Coco’s Hero is given the verdict but it will not be easy with 62,5kg to carry. He has won three races in succession and he is getting better, stronger, wiser and more impressive with every run. He was playful and he had a hot streak in him just a few months ago but he has matured and filled out beautifully. Future Free provides huge opposition. The half-brother to Eight On Eighteen was well beaten by Regulation in his last run over this course and distance. Regulation won a Grade 3 last Saturday and he has any amount of progress to come. The form has worked out well. Expect a good tussle.
Du Maurier gets a chance to return to winning ways in race 7 over 1200m. She has been costly to follow not giving her best performance in some weaker races but there were signs of life in her last run. She finished less than a length behind Match That over this course and distance. Match That surely has some wins ahead of her. That must stack up well in this lowly D Stakes where she gets a sex allowance.
Disting, Tanneron and Artiste all make appeal in race 8 over 1200m. Disting has the best turn of foot in the field so if she is not too far back on a fast-running track, she could be hard to stop. Winner of the Listed Laisserfaire Stakes over 1100m last month, she found a late finish again in her last run, the Grade 3 World Sports Betting Southern Cross Stakes over 1000m. Tanneron and Artiste have her held at the weights but Disting has an added distance to race over which could favour her.
Got The Look was rewarded for consistency in her last run when she exited the maidens and she might have found the right landing spot in race 9 over 1200m. Bass and Domeyer combine yet again.
