Candice Bass-Robinson has won more two-year-old races in Cape Town than any other trainer this season and at Kenilworth on Saturday Clouds Unfold produced a truly devastating burst of speed to suggest she could be up there with star stable companion Nous Voila.
The What A Winter filly went past Western Angel as if the Allan Roberton-bound filly was standing still while previous winner Racine was beaten six lengths into third. Furthermore the Drakenstein homebred is out of a mare by the Arc winner Montjeu so she should stay well enough to be a Fillies Guineas candidate.
Her trainer said: “She is not a fast early type but she has always shown that she has a lot of ability. However she is a little bit hot temperament-wise so I will keep her here for the winter and she will go for the Nursery in June.”
Grant Van Niekerk
Western Angel leaves for Durban this week together with Magical Wonderland and Our Mate Art while Live Life and Ollivander were among those who went last week.
Joey Ramsden has won almost as many two-year-old races (seven) and he had the first three in the TAB Telebet Juvenile Plate with evens favourite Twist Of Fate quickening away from Lucky Dancer and Temp The Tiger.
With the possible exception of Charles Laird, Ramsden has suffered more than any other trainer from the collapse of the Jooste racing empire and he has seen most of his stable’s big names depart leaving a string of empty boxes.
However he has the ability and the proven record to bounce back and, almost as important, the sort of larger-than-life character that appeals to so many owners. Fortunately for South African racing he is determined to rebuild to his former strength in this country despite a recent visit to Australia sparking off wildfire-like rumours that he is going to move there (“If you haven’t heard them then you are just about the only person who hasn’t”).
His sometimes unconventional approach very nearly paid off when he elected to run two-year-old Yolta against the older horses in the Betting World Maiden even though she received less than half the official weight-for-age allowance.
The R2 million buy (still part-owned by Mayfair Speculators) started favourite but was squeezed out at the start and had an impossible amount of ground to make up in the straight. Even so she was beaten less than half a length into third behind Kamaishi who made all under Richard Fourie for Mike Robinson.
Ramsden said: “I thought she was good enough despite getting such a pathetic amount of weight and if she had jumped on terms she could have won by ten lengths.”
She was ridden by Grant Van Niekerk who won the first two races and then won two more for Justin Snaith. “He is riding out of his skin,” remarked an understandably full-of-admiration Chris Snaith.
Van Niekerk has been riding like a man inspired all this year but perhaps the most remarkable aspect of his 2018 riding is that it has been interference and .suspension-free. He used to spend almost as much time in the boardroom as the stipes and at one stage last season he was banned three times in a week. “It was costing me too much so I took a step back and worked on it,” he explained.
According to Tabgold the Paddy Kruyer-trained Earth Hour set a new mile class record when clocking 1 min 39.81 sec under M.J. Byleveld in the Interbet.co.za Handicap although it is nearly four seconds slower than Legislate’s course record.
By Michael Clower
