After a super Saturday of Gr1 speed thrills, Scottsville returns to earth today with a lower quality typically midweek programme. The topliner is loaded with class though and reads like a who’s who of unfulfilled dreams and broken hopes of what could have been.
Hype and expectations of winning the mythical World Cup abound in horseracing and a glance at the R100 000 Allowance Plate field that heads the eight-race programme, includes a good few names that one would have hoped to see on the SA Champions Season honour roll.
Heartland
Topping the weights and the class horse in the field is the Dynasty gelding Heartland, a handsome R2,2 million full brother to Highlands stallion, Jackson.
The 4yo – now gelded – has his second run of the 2016 SA Champions Season, after pulling up lame when running handily but fading last time behind Paterfamilias.
Heartland earned a passport into the 2016 Gr1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate with a hard fought and gutsy victory in the Listed Jet Master Stakes.
He did not run a bad race in SA’s premier mile, finishing 6 lengths back to champion Legal Eagle – at weight for age!
He would need to recapture his Gr3 Byerley Turk winning form of 2015 to feature here, but with Anthony Delpech up he must be a big runner.
Lineker
His year younger stablemate Lineker is another horse with a story that outstrips his current form.
The son of Star Witness is owned by Michael Leaf who bounced back just a few months after his Vodacom Durban objection trauma of 2014 to lay out a cool R1,1 million and sent the horse to the very stable who had conquered his gallant Wylie Hall.
Lineker quickly repaid Leaf’s sportsmanship with a great win in the BSA Ready To Run Cup but his form has tapered negatively since.
He is obviously following the same programme as his stablemate and ran a no show 11 lengths behind Paterfamilias – when possibly needing it.
Budapest
Another horse with a great tale to tell is the Gavin Van Zyl-trained Budapest, who scorched to a shock 4,25 length win in the R2,5 million Lanzerac Ready To Run Stakes at Kenilworth in 2015.
The son of unheralded stallion Lithuanian, who stands at Jannie Meyer’s Rietvlei Stud in Mossel Bay, was bought for just R160 000 following a story that Cape breeder Spencer Cook just loves to tell.
Budapest sadly failed to build on his major payday with a no show behind Noah From Goa in the Cape Guineas but then showed good toe when third just a half length behind last Saturday’s Daily News third-placed Mambo Mime in the Byerley Turk.
That form is looking decent and he showed dogged determination staying on well.
His unplaced effort last time behind Captain Alfredo in the Listed In Full Flight was not his run, but it was on the short side and he will be more comfortable here over the 1400m – probably his best trip.
Beat The Retreat
Alistair Gordon’s stakes placed Beat The Retreat was unplaced in his last two feature outings but his early form suggested he would be competitive against better.
The son of Argonaut may be worth another chance on his stakes placed earlier showing.
Nineteen Fourteen is a course and distance winner and ran on well for a 2,35 length fourth behind Paterfamilias last time.
The son of Rebel King warrants quartet inclusion.
Glen Puller (right) and brother Garth – Purple Mountain switches yards
Purple Mountains was exposed at feature level in the Cape Summer Season and showed up well in the Gr2 Selangor Cup.
He moves from Chris Puller at Milnerton and has his first run for brother Garth – and is likely to need it after 17 weeks on ice.
Gavin Van Zyl will be keen to get Budapest back into the winner’s enclosure and if he can beat off the Snaith duo, it could well be win number 3 for his game son of Lithuanian.
Beat The Retreat looks best of the rest.
