Advantage taken! Antious and Ian Surgeon grabbed the fifth.
All the fun of the circus, live at Clairwood on 18 September. The fifth race was hardly a laughing matter for punters though, with a third of the field withdrawn late for playing silly buggers. What on earth triggers this delinquent behaviour from relatively mature horses, who had actually run 133 races between them?
This debacle comes fresh on the heels of the travesty at the start of the sixth race at the Vaal last Tuesday, when a fancied Game Over was inexplicably loaded early and subsequently withdrawn. No explanation. No apologies. Frankly, if the authorities do not open a commission of enquiry into the goings at the start of the fifth race this afternoon, then the whole lot deserve to be bulleted and replaced by competent managers who are in touch with their market.
The Pinnacle Stakes over 1450m certainly had the look of the most attractive race of the afternoon, with a hint of class about it and two of the contestants merit rated 100 and more. Charles Laird had four of the original nine runners carded, and it was the least fancied of his quartet who did the first ‘runner’, as it were. Good On You gave Muzi Yeni no chance as he broke through and bolted. Forecastle, who was drawn alongside him, also bolted at the same time but was pulled up – only to do it again and be withdrawn. By that time, Lord London had run his own fuse and was being pig-headed about loading. He was unceremoniously waved away by the Starter who was no doubt considering taking early retirement by then.
The impact of this type of incident is huge. Beside the loss to the operator in terms of turnover and refunds, the negative spin-off for customers cannot be underestimated. This was no doubt exacerbated by a 10-1 outsider in Antious toppling what looked like a popular Pick Six banker coupling of the Charles Laird quartet. The Herman Brown jnr trained Antious was given a superb ride by Ian Sturgeon and he swooped late to beat Ice Axe, with both Eusive River and Draconian running poor races. Anton Marcus, warned earlier that Elusive River was capable of overracing, and that his race would be won or lost in the first 300m. In the end, he neither overraced nor did he win.
Airborne!Knight To Remember streaks home in the seventh.
Winning Form sponsors Ashburton trainer Duncan Howells and David Payne’s former assistant celebrated a win in the highest rated event of the afternoon, the MR93 Handicap run over 1800m. The 7-2 on offer about Knight To Remember had not looked particularly generous as the son of The Sheik was generally felt to be needing a little more ground to show his very best ability. A bang-in-form MJ Byleveld turned that theory on its head though, with a patient ride from the off the pace. The grey gelding appreciated Mike De Kock’s Friday Lunch Club’s nice true pace and he scooted through down the inside rail over the final 250m to beat the very capable Danish Silver going away.
The winner races in the partnership of well known Cape motor man Terry Whittaker and Julian Gruft. Whittaker’s family ran the Steadfast Stud in the beautiful surrounds of Agter Paarl in days gone by and stood stallions like Phantom Earl and Amour de Fleuve, as well as the colourful retreaded teaser, Eli’s Star. Whittaker’s red, white and yellow silks were famously carried by some outstanding horses over the years, including the SA Guineas winner, Phantom Robber.
Trainer Duncan Howells has done extremely well with Knight To Remember, having managed his impressive career record of six wins from fourteen starts. He indicated afterwards that the win was an important stepping stone to a tilt at the Summer Cup. He and Byleveld celebrated a smart double when Solera won the very next race, at long odds of 20-1. The MR73 Handicap was run at a snail’s pace and Bylveld outfoxed his colleagues by setting a sedentary gallop, and then turning it on with 200m to go. Solera appeared to have lost form but things went his way today and the victory may do something for his confidence. The Des Egdes trained Personal Question showed good improvement to run on late into the places, while Lord Hawke continues to strengthen up in his three year old year.
The ninth and final race, a Maiden Plate run over 1600m, was won by the Sean Tarry-trained Pomodoro, who followed up on an eyecatching debut effort. The son of Jet Master was never under pressure and drew off easily to win well. Brandon Lerena rode the winner in the absence of Anton Marcus, who won the fourth on the impressive Glen Puller-trained Shahruhk. Marcus left the track some time after his previous ride in the fifth race. That means technically he would have been kicking his heels for two hours in the jockey room.This raises the question of jockeys not wanting to hang around until later races without rides – and fortunately Lerena proved a more than able replacement in this case. We are certainly not saying Marcus wasn’t genuinely ill, but top jockeys, particularly champion riders, should realise that punters actually make financial decisions based on who is riding a particular horse.
