The champion combination of trainer Muis Roberts and jockey Piere Strydom took a giant step towards a L’Ormarins King’s Plate and WSB Cape Town Met double when star KZN 4yo See It Again beat a top quality field to win the R600 000 WSB Gr2 Green Point Stakes at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday.
See It Again and Piere Strydom lead the way in style! (Pic – Candiese Lenferna)
Unlike the wsb.co.za Gr2 Southern Cross Stakes run a half hour earlier, there can be no excuses about luck in running in the traditional stepping stone feature, and Piere Strydom had already accepted a runner-up berth when the majestic athlete Charles Dickens started making strides up the outside with 300m to run.
But in a flash, the characteristic Dickens dash had sadly folded tamely, and it was See It Again (11-2) who picked them off to score a victory that could have him bidding for SA Horse Of The Year honours this season.
The son of Twice Over (Observatory) held on to beat the improved again At My Command (33-1) by 1,75 lengths in a time of 96,84 secs.
The popular 5-10 favourite Charles Dickens, who had made ground from last to first, had nothing to offer and was a further 0,40 lengths back in third.
Piere Strydom’s retirement years have been converted to pure gold by a horse he only got the ride on as his original engagement in the 2022 SplashOut Cape Derby had been scratched.
The veteran champion observed that people actually only know he is riding because of See It Again!
“I noticed at his last prep run that he has gone from a chubby guy to a real racehorse. Today I gave him a chance as he is obviously not at his peak over a distance short of his optimum. When Charles Dickens unwound on our outside I thought we ‘d run second. But then See It Again changed gears and took off. It was an impressive win!” added Striker.
Trainer Michael Roberts paid tribute to the improvements at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth.
“We have to be super impressed with what they have done – it’s a fantastic transformation. I have been coming here since the 1970’s,” added the top horseman, who confirmed that the decision to give See It Again a three month break after the Hollywoodbets Durban July had paid dividends. He thanked owner Nic Jonsson for his patience.
Aldo Domeyer labelled Charles Dickens’ performance ‘fractionally disappointing’
See It Again is a three-parts brother to dual Durban July winner Do It Again. He is a son of Twice Over (Observatory) out of the twice winning Visionaire mare, Supreme Vision.
Bred by Drakenstein Stud, he celebrated the exacta, See It Again is a R120 000 Cape Premier Yearling Sale and has now won 6 of his 13 starts with 5 places for stakes of R3 661 875.
The betting picture for the majors over the next two months is likely to change dramatically!
