What A Winter
Sprinting’s Super Saturday! All eyes are on South Africa’s premier speed showdown at Scottsville this weekend, headed by the R600 000 Gr1 Golden Horse Casino Sprint. The race has attracted a capacity field of sixteen runners headed by the brilliant, when at best, What A Winter.
The lack of local depth in the mature-sprinter department is highlighted by the reality that just three officially KwaZulu-Natal domiciled horses take their place in the illustrious line-up at the scenic track in the province’s Capital City. And despite the hype and razzle-dazzle of what is bound to be an entertaining afternoon of thrilling horseracing, the genuine better money it seems is still in producing the miler-plus types who can nibble at the juicier plums.
Splutter
Castlethorpe - Loads of ability and maturing fast.
The Argentinian-bred Antious heads the local challenge and the Brown-Robinson chestnut speedster has turned his life around in a season where he has gone from being a modest two-time winner to a seven-time winning highly-rated sprinter who can hold his own with the country’s best. We would have rated him a favourite to win this had we not watched his too- awful- to- be- true last outing at Clairwood just a fortnight ago.
The Joburg Merchants winner went off a 9-10 favourite that afternoon, but after literally coughing and spluttering his way through it, he ran an undignified last, 8,40 lengths off the rejuvenated Castle-thorpe. He was subsequently officially reported as coughing and making a respiratory noise. If Frank Robinson has him sorted out, he could still be competitive here.
Winter Winner
The likely winner in our book though is the Daytona Stud-bred star, What A Winter. Veteran Cape jockey Karl Neisius has ridden the Western Winter colt in thirteen of his fourteen starts and defects to Bass’ second-stringer Castlethorpe. Top heavyweight rider Bernard Fayd’-herbe gets aboard What A Winter on Saturday. An able replacement indeed.
What A Winter returns to the scene of what is technically probably his worst ever career effort. That was the 2011 running of the Gr1 Golden Horse Casino Sprint, where he started a 13-20 favourite and showed none of his usual fizz and spark late. He ran a 2,85 lengths sixth behind the now Hong Kong-bound Shea Shea. While he had subsequent Gr1 Mercury Sprint winner August Rush in front of him, he also had lesser lights of the ilk of Polar Moon and his own tired stablemate Gaultier ahead of him. Neither of the latter mentioned two horses have come close to winning a race since, which underlines the fact that it was not What A Winter’s run.
The lightly-raced colt has had only four runs in the space of the ensuing year. He won the first two of these, which included a sensational victory in the Gr2 WFA Diadem Stakes run over 1200m at Kenilworth a week prior to Christmas. He was then touched off by the phenomenal Val De Ra in the Gr1 Cape Flying Championship, a race famously billed as the ‘Sprint Of The Century’, and which included the likes of international Gr1 winning sprinter JJ The Jet Plane in the also-rans.
What A Winter travelled up to Turffontein for the Computaform Sprint on Champions Day, and was soundly beaten into third position and 3,25 lengths by the sensationally fast Shea Shea. But he will be a different kettle of fish on Saturday. 1200mis arguably his optimal trip, although we cannot forget that he won a mile in the Gr2 Selangor Cup in November 2010. His subsequent flop behind Solo Traveller in what was not, on reflection, a vintage Cape Guineas year, meant that he has been confined to sprinting by the shrewd horseman, Mike Bass.
Trip Switch?
Depardieu - Sprinting may be his game. Top quality three year old is a big runner
We are not privy to the thinking or rationale behind the jockey switch, but Karl Neisius could also doubtless have ridden Depardieu for Dean Kannemeyer. He instead rides the enigmatic Castlet-horpe as a solid back-up to What A Winter. The Australian-bred has won his last two races on the reel. And while that was achieved in relatively modest company in a Listed Sprint Cup at Fairview in March, and then a rather ordinary Pinnacle Stakes at Clairwood two weeks ago, he is a horse that is undeniably going about things in the right way.
He has also physically filled out considerably from his three year old year into a handsome imposing athletic individual and is versatile to boot. He won the Gr3 Winter Guineas as a three year old and is being touted as a value horse for his second tilt at the Vodacom Durban July this year. But his first priority is the juicy Gr1 winner’s cheque on Saturday, and it would not come as a surprise were he to confirm his improvement and wallop this lot.
Rushing Wind is the Bass’ third runner. He is rising seven and has not won for close on two years and appears past his best.
Movie Star
Dean Kannemeyer has two guns in the smart three year old Depardieu and the four year old Zimbabwe-bred The Shark. Depardieu was unlucky when cramped in the Gr2 Drill Hall Stakes over 1400m, but nevertheless ran a terrific 2,70 length fifth behind Tales Of Bravery. He won the Gr3 Cape Nursery over 1200m and also won a good race in March in the Cape in an MR 96 Handicap. That was over the same distance and against older horses, before departing for Durban. He has a mean turn of foot, and with the mercilessly competitive old man Robbie Fradd up, he could well be the joker in the pack.
The Shark comes in under sufferance here but has a nice galloping weight of 52kgs and the Marshall man, MJ Byleveld up. The son of Kitalpha has not shown anything to suggest that he is a genuine Gr1 sprinter, but has earned the opportunity to take his chances with some home-baked consistency and solid performances. He cannot beat Delago Deluxe on their last meeting, but he likes to run at the leaders late in the race and could be the quartet kicker. He has won five of his nineteen starts and is drawn right on the outside of the field. He could well wrestle a place cheque if some of the more accomplished boys have an off-day.
No Bull
Deliver The Power
Multiple Gr3 Tommy Hotspur and Man ‘O War Sprint winner Deliver The Power appears the better of the two Toreador progeny in the race. Dom Zaki’s three year old is bang in form,and has won seven of his ten outings. He ran a fair fourth and four lengths off Shea Shea in the Computaform Sprint. He has his first run away from home base and may just be happier over 1000m. He must also show that he is competitive at Gr1 level, but he owes his connections nothing a s a bargain R55 000 buy and it would have been silly to have foregone this opportunity to see how good he really is.
The De Kock-trained Link Man is the other son of Toreador to take his chances here. He has been a terrible disappointment and has no chance on his current form. The grey has not been sighted since running last with excuses behind Gimmethegreenlight in the Gr1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate.
Aussie Double
Delago Deluxe
The Australian-bred Delago Deluxe and Unannounced form a powerful Charles Laird three year old coupling, and the remainder of the KZN home trio behind Antious.
Unannounced had a 100% six –from-six record over the sprints before being stepped up to the 1400m of the Gr3 Byerley Turk, where he found Dean Kannemeyer’s Depardieu too hot to handle when running a 1 length second. He was then mercilessly exploited as a pacemaker in the KZN Guineas, where he, not unsurprisingly, ran stone last and 16,50 lengths behind champion miler Variety Club. That run is best ignored.
Back to the Scottsville 1200m, a course and distance where he has won twice against lesser sorts, he comes in with a handy galloping weight of 54kgs and it is worth noting that he has never been a flashy sort – always just finding enough to hold his opponents at bay. This will undoubtedly be his biggest test,and he could be equal to the task.
Delago Deluxe maintained his undefeated record when winning his fourth start in the Gr1 Gold Medallion at the corresponding meeting last year, beating his stablemate Tennessee Strategy as a 13-20 favourite. He was subsequently voted champion two year old colt and was sent to Mike Bass in the Cape for the Sizzling Summer Season but was not himself, and eventually left with just one win, achieved against four below-par opponents over 1000m at Kenilworth. He also ran two uninspiring thirds in the Gr3 Cape Classic and Gr2 Merchants, before running unplaced in the WFA Diadem Stakes, 8,65 lengths behind What A Winter.
He won his opening KZN start after a break of three months when beating another rather weak small field over 1100m at Clairwood in the first week of April. Yet another debacle at the KZN start at his next run in an MR 104 Handicap, saw the gates opening with him resting his chin on the ground. He made up the ground in the 1200m race but was well beaten into third, 1,05 lengths off Maliyakhe. That one didn’t exactly confirm the form next time out.
Balance
It is difficult seeing any of the balance winning this. Snowdon is Gr2 placed and has Piere Strydom up but will likely need further and the benefit of an outing. Rebel Knight is the perennial bridesmaid. Moroccan is out of sorts as is Mike Azzie’s Two Tone. The Ramsden coupling of Copper Parade and Shades Of Indigo are both Group winners and capable at best, but would be shock winners.
All the signs point to What A Winter to get back to his Gr1 winning ways. We suggest him as a winner ahead of the three year olds Depardieu and Unannounced.
Castlethorpe is on the up and may yet prove us wrong and throw a spanner in the works. An intriguing sprinting contest by all accounts on what should be a magnificent day of racing at South Africa’s only ‘Racino’.
