Something of a revelation after starting the season as an 84 rated two-time winner, Justin Snaith’s Mucho Dinero beat ten 2024 WSB Cape Town Met entries to grab the lion’s share of the cheque in the R450 000 Anthonij Rupert Wine Gr2 Premier Trophy at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday.
Mucho Dinero and Grant van Niekerk led by the Justin Snaith Team (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
The 4yo son of Twice Over (Observatory) has been labelled a 2024 Hollywoodbets Durban July target horse by the astute Snaith team, and he stepped up off his 99 rating to finish powerfully and beat a decent field on tough terms.
With a mixed bag of pace throughout the race, Mucho Dinero’s win was all the more meritorious, and he showed a terrific turn of foot from second last into the summer straight after Sugar Mountain had gone for broke early.
Switched in twice by Grant van Niekerk, Mucho Dinero (10-1) finished full of running to deny the perennial bridesmaid At My Command (2-1) to win rather easily by 0,20 lengths in a time of 113,09 secs.
The winner’s stablemate Pacaya was far more forward than usual off the sedentary gallop, but stayed on well at 33-10, to hold third a further neck back.
The happy Grant van Niekerk said that he had ‘begged’ Justin Snaith to run Mucho Dinero in this race rather than the stayer’s race later in the day.
The trainer naturally didn’t confirm Van Niekerk’s expertise, and said that the talented rider was told to ride Mucho Dinero, who was ‘the right horse’.
A R1,4 million BSA National Yearling Sale purchase, Mucho Dinero was registering his second stakes win here and is now a winner of 6 races with a place from 13 starts, and earnings of R699 251.
Bred by Drakenstein Stud, the winner is a son of Twice Over (Observatory) out of the prolific stakes-winner producing four-time winning Casey Tibbs mare, Cash Register.
A full-sister to Equus Champion and Gr1 Durban July winner Big City Life, Cash Register has produced no fewer than five stakes winners.
Final supplementary entries for the WSB Cape Town Met are due on Monday 8 January 2024.
Weights will be published on the same day.
Enjoy the replay:
