Classy. The 6yo Sky Marshal is edging back to best and goes for three in a row when he contests the Kimberley 1400
The R100 000 Kimberley 1400 is run at Flamingo Park on Monday and hosts a diverse spread of racers going to post for what should be a keenly contested affair. Whatever angle one takes on it, local champion trainer Jaap Visser looks to hold a very strong hand.
Visser saddles four of the thirteen runners and it is his two runners at each end of the spectrum that hold plenty of appeal and interest.
Long Career
Topweight. The trojan Eye Of The World goes to post for the 91st time on Monday
The old boy Eye Of The World steps out off an MR of 104 and top weight of 63kgs as he sets sail for his 18th win from an extraordinary 91st start. At the other end, the relatively lightly raced 6yo Sky Marshal has only his eighth Kimberley start from a career total of 22 runs for 4 wins. He carries 52kgs and runs off a rather modest MR of 77. And on paper he is in here under sufferance and should not be able to beat Eye Of The World.
Numbers Game
But Sky Marshal is improving fast, and his rating may well just be a number at this stage of his late progression. The son of Jet Master started his career with Mike De Kock when originally owned by Sheik Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He won easily on debut and was then Gr2 placed before running a decent fifth behind Link Man in the Gr1 Gold Medallion of 2010.
He subsequently won an Allowance Plate but was a shadow of his former self for a very long time thereafter. He made his Kimberley debut in the Fire Racing Trust silks in April 2013 and ran out of the money five times before winning his last two starts over 1200m by a combined eight lengths. He is a problematic but classy individual who has come well and has won his races with authority.
Soldier
Eye Of The World is an equine soldier in every sense of the word. The son of Windrush won his last start by nine lengths when beating African Gladiator. Nooresh Juglall did well to get him into the action early and there is no question that Gunter Wrogemann will have the same task over Monday’s trip.
That is because the 1400m is surely at least 200m short of his best. That fact is demonstrated by the fact that only two of his 17 wins have been achieved over the trip. He has run in the Kimberley 1400 for the past two years and finished fourth behind Opening Night in 2012 and second behind Jack Dan last year. He is in peak form this year, but has a huge weight to lump.
Filler
The ham on the Visser sandwich is the former Barend Botes trained mare Wings Of An Angel and the rather out of sorts Zulu King. The 7yo Bezrin mare Wings Of An Angel is enjoying a new lease on life in Kimberley. She has won six of her eleven outings in the Northern Cape since relocating and is a course and distance specialist of some note. She has registered five of her six local wins over Monday’s trip. She beat Here I Am by 3,25 lengths last time and now labours under a 6kg weight turnaround with the Sham runner.
The King
Cliffie Miller’s Kingof-mountain was beaten into fifth and 6,75 lengths behind in that same race won by Wings Of An Angel and now enjoys a 2kg advantage with the mare. Kingofmountain is also nicely drawn at pole position.
He beat Eye Of The World over a mile at his penultimate start with a 3kg weight pull and now enjoys a 5,5kg advantage. He must be in with a serious shout on that score. The 8yo Jack Dan is another fellow capable of putting his best foot forward. This twelve time winner is another course and distance specialist who was outrun 6,50 lengths by Wings Of An Angel last time when giving her 4,5kgs. Jack Dan now gets a half kilo from the mare, which means a 5kg swing.
Sham Duo
The Sham pair of Here I Am and Two Gun Kid are both capable of causing an upset. We have already illustrated Here I Am’s turnaround with Wings Of An Angel and the multiple course and distance winner strips a fit horse. Were it not for his outside draw, he would have been a top three choice.
Two Gun Kid has his first run in Kimberley and has been campaigned on turf throughout his career, except for his unplaced effort in the 2013 Gr3 Algoa Cup on the polytrack at Fairview. That run told us little but he is well drawn at 4 and must have an outside chance.
Class Counts
While Sky Marhsal is out at the weights, his class and recent return to form are huge plus factors. Add to that the fact that Eye Of The World is probably not at his peak over 1400m, and we are leaning towards the son of Jet Master. But if Gunter Wrogemann can get Eye Of The World into the race early, Sky Marshal could have a race on his hands.
