The big question in the Gr 1 Betting World Cape Flying Championship on Saturday is whether the country’s highest rated sprinter Trip To Heaven will find the 1000m trip too sharp.

The brilliant five-year-old Trippi gelding is likely at his best between 1200m and 1400m and tends to lose a couple of lengths at the start.

He lost two lengths as usual in the Gr 2 Diadem over 1200m last time and also appeared to peck. He then moved over from the inside to the perceived better going towards the outside, so was probably a good six lengths off the lead in the initial stages. However, he hit the front just before the 200m mark, using his phenomenal turn of foot, and went on to win by 3,75 lengths. Over this trip and with the same luck in running he could mow them down again, albeit later in the race. The wind at this stage is predicted to be a gentle south westerly breeze and it might not be necessary for jockeys to seek protection from the wind on the Standside. If that is the case, Trip To Heaven’s number two draw might not be a disadvantage.

S’Manga Khumalo will not be aboard Trip To Heaven as he has been declared to ride the three time Gr 1-winning filly Carry On Alice, who is drawn seven. This would be a concern for supporters of Trip To Heaven, because it implies Carry On Alice is the stable elect. Betting World duly have her as 33/10 favourite with Trip To Heaven 7/2. Carry On Alice is the reigning Computaform Sprint champion, which is run over the quickest 1000m sprint in the country at Turffontein. She has failed twice to win the Cape Flying Championships, beaten into a close up third both times with Khumalo up both times. However, the current fast conditions at Kenilworth will aid her cause and this her third run after a layoff.

The Sean Tarry-trained pair might fight it out.

However, Rivarine is still unexposed and could be a big threat, while a number of others are capable of winning it on their day led by Red Ray, Talktothestars and Gulf Storm.

By David Thiselton

Justin Snaith has entries in every one of the 13 races at Saturday’s big Sun Met meeting and asked whether he could go close to the world record eight winners he scored on this day last year, he replied, “You never know.”

He kindly commented on every one of his runners:

Race 1 (MR 96 Handicap over 1200m): “Cuban Emerald was unlucky last time, he had to come from a long way back, and I expect a better race this time. Captain Swarovski has a big weight, but is down in class, blinkers were a bad idea last time and he should run a better race. Fire Master ran a flat race last time, but will be competitive on best form in what is a very competitive race.”

Race 2 (Listed Princess Charlene Of Monaco Foundation SA Summer Juvenile Stakes over 1000m): “Kasimir by Captain Al makes his debut and is very nice two-year-old, I think he has Dutch Phillip to beat and should be in the firing line.”

Race 3 (R1 million Kuda Sprint over 1200m): “Sir Frenchie could well fight out the finish, he will be very good at 1200m and I think he is one of the horses to beat. He was very green on debut, but has put up a good gallop and will run a big race. I think the Sean Tarry and Mike de Kock runners are the ones to beat. Lacerta has a small chance, but it is very competitive. Henry Tudor will be much better over this 1200m and could be in the money. Varside could place.”

Race 4 (US$500,000 CTS Sprint over 1200m): “Sergeant Hardy is very well and is the horse to beat. Red Light Girl will be better suited to this 1200m (dropping down in trip) and is a nice horse for a place. Le Havre plays up in the stalls, but if he gets it right he could run a big race and could be the dark horse.”

Race 5 (US$500,000 CTS Mile): “African Night Sky is my value bet on the day. He would have won last time if he had not been taken out. Copper Force is doing well at home, but it is a big ask from that draw.”

Race 6 (Gr 1 R1 million Betting World Cape Flying Championship over 1000m): “Jo’s Bond has been saved for this race, she may be outgunned, but she won a good race last time (beating Carry On Alice by 0,5 lengths on 2kg better terms than here) and we are taking our chances. Captain Alfredo has a bit to do, this is a very strong field.”

Race 7 (Gr 1 R1 million Klawervlei Majorca Stakes over 1600m): “A lot of horses who would normally run here are in other races, so it has opened it up. Star Express is having her third run after a rest and is primed and ready. A Time To Dream needs a bit of luck from the draw, it’s a very hard race and we would just be hoping for a place for her.”

Race 8 (Gr 1 R1 million Investec Cape Derby over 2000m): Zodiac Ruler is an out and out stayer, we have been waiting to send him over this 2000m trip. He disappointed in his last start and might be heading for gelding soon, but he could be the dark horse.”

Race 9 (Gr 1 R5 million Sun Met over 2000m): Bela-Bela put up the gallop of the day. She is doing very well and will be in the firing line. It’s My Turn is a very big runner, we have prepped him for this race. He did not have a gallop into the Politician and we have galloped him into this race. He had a late start to the season and is getting better and better with every run. Baritone, we are just hoping for a half-decent run.”

Race 10 (Gr 2 The Blue Label Cape Stayers over 2800m): “Ovidio is doing very well and I think 4/1 is a crazy price (he is now 13/10 with Betting World). If anything can give Ovidio a go it will be Krambambuli, he has never tried this trip but I don’t think it will be a problem, you don’t need to stay to win these sort of races in South Africa, our staying races are relatively weak. Captain Splendid disappointed last time, he had gone quiet on me, and I have changed his training to wake him up and hope he improves.”

Race 11 (MR 95 Handicap over 1600m): “Richard (Fourie) had the choice of ride here and chose Lineker. He has been very consistent lately and was unlucky last time in a slow run race and he was a little bit strong. He will go close, it’s just whether he is good enough on the day. Fifty Cents had a good run in the Queen’s Plate, he was not disgraced, and I am expecting a nice run, he will fight it out, he has a good chance, this race will be about who is best on the day. Overshadow was very disappointing last time, the jockey said he was not moving well (reported ‘felt amiss’) but I couldn’t find a lot wrong. His work has been good and with Anton up he has got to be a runner, I am expecting a good run. Star Chestnut is consistent and it was a bit far last time, back to a mile he could win, although it’s one of the most competitive races on the day.”

Race 12 (MR  90 Handicap for fillies and mares over 2000m): “Nima is the one to beat if running anything like she did last time. Fear Not is doing well and if running to best form could easily surprise. Evoke Emotion needed her last run and could run into the money. Northern Ballet stays well and has a place chance. Katies Joy had a good run last time and should run a similar race so has a place chance.”

Race 13 (MR Handicap for fillies and mares over 1400m): I am very strong in this race. Twinkle Toes has a good chance if she runs to form, they changed it to the last race and Piere Strydom has to get a flight home, which is the only reason there is no rider declared yet. Gimme Six had a very good gallop and could be the filly to beat. Secret Seven also had a very good gallop and could also be in the shake up. Fortissimus disappointed last time and will need luck in running. Miss Hyde is very competitive and is tough and consistent, but it’s a tough race. She has a small each-way chance and could be a nice horse for the PA.”

Conclusion: “My best bets on the day are Sergeant Hardy and Ovidio and my sneaker is African Night Sky.”

By David Thiselton

In the build-up to The Sun Met celebrated with GH Mumm there was a chance for a trio of Miss South Africa semifinalists to get up close and personal with a few of the thoroughbred stars involved in the R5-million spectacle at Kenilworth Racecourse on Saturday.

As part of the promotional efforts that have gone into this, Africa’s richest raceday, Ade van Heerden, Chante Holloway and Callie-Jo Bouman all spent time with Whisky Baron and Captain America, the two entrants from the Brett Crawford stable for the 2000m Grade One race at the beach in Muizenberg.

“It was really cool to be that close to the horses and watch them during the morning. They were calm and relaxed the whole time and it was a really great experience,” Bouman said of the morning.

It’s not unusual for a number of the Cape Town-based trainers to take their horses out to the beach for some time in the sun, work on the sand and the icy cool waters of the Atlantic is great for the legs. And after their workouts the horses enjoy nothing more than a roll in the sand, something that caught the models off guard.

“I’ve seen dogs roll like that but never a horse! It’s amazing to watch them and see how happy they were. It was really good to see this side of them,” added Bouman.

Given the short time left until raceday it’s only natural that excitement levels are ramped up and Bouman, who will attend the races for the first time, is eager to see what the day, and the sport of horseracing, has to offer.

“I’m excited. I’ve never been racing before, so just to share in this experience is going to be amazing. Seeing all the horses and the fashions is also going to be great. I’m really excited to be part of this and of course with Sun International involved it’s going to be really special.

And the Belville resident found that picking a horse for the big day was relatively simple given that’s she is currently pursuing a law degree.

“I had a look at the names of the horses and Legal Eagle definitely stood out for me,” says Bouman.

Tickets for The Sun Met celebrated with GH Mumm start from just R150 for general access and can be purchased from Ticketpro and the official after-party presented by GUESS includes some of the biggest names in South African music including Mi Casa, Euphonik, Sketchy Bongo, Goodluck, Kyle Deutsch and Shekhinah.

Racing. It’s a Rush

Bela-Bela has huge public appeal in the R5-million The Sun Met celebrated with Mumm (Grade 1) over 2000m at Kenilworth on Saturday. She’s only the 11-1 sixth favourite in the race, but this pretty-as-a-picture grey captures the imagination of many. She’s the only female in the field and she’s hugely talented.

Her trainer Justin Snaith is happy to draw a comparison with another more famous grey filly – his one-time charge Dancer’s Daughter, who dead-heated for first with Pocket Power in the Durban July in 2008 and went on to run a neck second to him in the Met in 2009. That was one of the affable Cape trainer’s near misses in a race he has yet to win.

He said: “Our bloodstock agent John Freeman was crazy about Bela-Bela at the National Two-Year-Old Sale, and so was my dad Chris and brother Jono – the team who select my horses so well. When we lost her to the Kalmanson’s Varsfontein Stud in the bidding process John suggested we go right over and ask Susan Rowett if I could train her. Jono did and the rest is history, as they say. And Bela-Bela’s an absolute darling.”

He said he’d got the same feeling when Dancer’s Daughter came in. “They are very similar horses, two peas in a pod. In fact I’ve never seen two good fillies so similar. And I train them the same, keep them happy, give them grooms they trust and love – and grooms who love and trust them. They get put in paddocks with their mates in the afternoon and go to the beach. We treat them like the champions they are.”

Snaith is not a romantic when it comes to his horses and knows Bela-Bela has a tough task in the Met, with Legal Eagle being so much better weighted under the conditions.

However, he said: “Make no mistake, she’s a very good filly – the best filly in the country – and she can beat a good colt any day of the week. She’s doing well and I think she will be in the firing line.”

Bela-Bela, of course, is a dual Grade 1 winner, having beaten her own sex in both the Woolavington 2000 last year and the Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes this month.

She was very young the last time she found herself pitted against the best males in the Durban July last year and, under sufferance at the weights, ran a great race to finish only 2.65 lengths off winner The Conglomerate.

“Now she’s six months older and stronger. I thought she put in the best workout of the day on Thursday last week when all the Met runners had public gallops. She had no grass gallop into the Paddock Stakes and will strip a much fitter horse on Saturday.

“She’s just chilling this week and will have her final sprint-up tomorrow (Thursday) morning. She’s ready,” said Snaith.

Bela-Bela is not the only horse he will be counting on in the Met. He also sends It’s My Turn and Baritone into battle alongside their prettier stablemate.

He warned against the belief that Bela-Bela is Snaith Racing’s stable elect because “in the Met anything can happen”.

It’s My Turn won last year’s Investec Cape Derby, which was held a week before Met Day, surprising his trainer. “He’s always surprised me, this horse,” admitted Snaith. “First in the Derby and then when I took him to Durban in the Daily News 2000, when he shouldn’t have got beaten. He then ran fourth in the Durban July when things didn’t go his way. He’s pulled up beautifully with every run and there’s no reason he shouldn’t surprise us again.

It’s My Turn has put in two nice preparatory runs in the preliminaries, placing behind Whisky Baron over 1500m and 1800m respectively.

“He’s the dark horse in the race,” said Snaith. “He had to have a fetlock operation after finishing fourth in the Durban July last year and his whole programme has been driving towards the Met.

“He only had one gallop on his own going into his first run back and no gallop at all going into the Peninsular Handicap next time and he’s getting better and better.

“He’s definitely underrated compared to some of the horses in the race and he’s got the right jockey in Piere Strydom, who knows him well.”

“He’s an uncomplicated fellow with a nice draw and will run his race. He could easily be in the shake up.

“Baritone is a hard horse to assess and has it all to prove, but if you give Captain America a chance, you’ve got to give him a chance.”

Snaith saddled a record eight winners on Met Day last year and with 38 runners at this meeting he could again have a great day. When asked if there was a possibility of a repeat, he joked: “I’d be happy with half that.”

So who does he like most of all his runners? “Ovidio is my best bet in the R400,000 The Blue Label Telecoms Cape Stayers (Grade 2) over 2800m and African Night Sky has a good eachway shout in the $500,000 CTS Mile.”

TABNews

Ken Truter has been appointed chairman of the National Horseracing Authority. Truter replaces outgoing chairman Andrew O’Connor.

A prominent Cape Town businessman, Truter is currently retired and is mainly involved in property investment.

He is a UCT graduate and has been a successful horse owner and entrepreneur for many years and held numerous directorships within the business and horseracing landscapes.

He is a passionate racehorse lover and has been keenly involved in various industry initiatives.  Truter has been a racehorse owner and breeder since 1979 and in 2000 was named as the Western Cape Owner of the year.  He is currently Chairman of the Western Cape Equine Trust.

Besides enjoying ownership in a number of great horses, his highlight as a breeder, was as a shareholder of the High Season Stud that bred Champion Jay Peg.

The NHA and its Board thanked O’Connor, for successfully leading the organisation through some turbulent times over the last two years.

By Andrew Harrison