Adam Marcus is optimistic that a deliberate pruning policy, coupled with his recent rich vein of form, will enable him to up the quality of his stable.
A first and last race double at Kenilworth on Saturday took his tally to 12 winners in the last 14 weeks but he is setting his sights more in line of those of father Basil and uncle Anton, explaining: “I am aiming to expand and hopefully these recent winners will encourage more big owners to back me – I have yet to get any of the big Cape Town ones but I am hopeful of doing so.”
He has slimmed the string down to 30 expected to pay their way, leaving room for the new intake, but one that will be staying is Red Rascal who made a winning debut under Aldo Domeyer in the opener after being backed from 9-2 to 9-10 and despite not having had a racecourse gallop.
Adam Marcus
Marcus said: “He has a long way to go to reach where we think he will get – we think very highly of him.”
Greyville is where Andre Nel is going with Silver De Lange who Anthony Andrews delivered through the racing equivalent of the eye of a needle in the TAB Telebet Handicap. The gap between the outside rail and stable companion Kampala Campari was being squeezed like an orange as he shot through it and his mount received a hefty bump in the process.
Nel said: “He will go for the staying races in Durban. He is an up-and-coming horse and I ran him here to see if he was going to be good enough to go.”
Paul Barrett recently teamed up with Ian Robinson and Francis Carruthers to buy Meliora from trainer Glen Puller (at the gelding’s R50 000 sale price plus training costs since) and they recouped R50 000 at the first time of asking when Piet Botha delivered the 6-1 chance late for a comfortable win in the Tabonline Maiden.
No surprise, though, because these owners collect winners like a philatelist collects stamps. Barrett has had 151 in 24 years and this was number 99 in ten years for Robinson including, of course, that million dollar race with Illuminator.
Ken Truter and wife Jane have had too many to keep count but the male half of the partnership was kicking himself after Domeyer completed his double on the Vaughan Marshall-trained Vincente in the Supabets Handicap, saying: “He might have won more races sooner had I not insisted on him not being gelded before!”
Greg Cheyne was also in double form – on Bendy Bullet for Eric Sands and Marcus’s Elusive Touch – while Andrews got into the same act by winning the Interbet Handicap on Samsara for his parents and Greg Ennion.
The expected Brett Crawford bonanza proved an expensive illusion – for punters as well as the trainer – and hot favourite Spring Man didn’t even make the frame behind MJ Byleveld on the Paddy Kruyer-trained Earth Hour in the Play Soccer Handicap. He was hanging from 400m out.
By Michael Clower
