The competitiveness of the speed ranks makes the R1 million Gr1 Computaform Sprint one of the highlights of a superb Champions Day programme. While the race is run at weight-for-age it is wide open and is another event on the programme where a Tarry fairer sex galloper could lower the flag of the males.
Carry On Alice – can make amends
The princess of speed in Johannesburg, Carry On Alice, will be attempting to go one better than last year.
The four-year-old daughter of Captain Al was involved in a thrilling tussle in the 2015 Computaform Sprint with her now retired contemporary Alboran Sea and was beaten under a length.
The two lightning-fast girls finished 3.3 lengths clear of their male rivals, including the subsequently named Equus Champion Sprinter Captain Of All, who is officially South Africa’s highest merit rated sprinter of all time.
Carry On Alice later exacted revenge on Alboran Sea in the City Of Pietermaritzburg SA Fillies Sprint, to land her second career Grade 1.
She has a wonderful story behind her ownership, which includes stalwart owner Chris van Niekerk as well as Dr John and Dr Jill Warner of the UK and her breeders Klawervlei Stud.
Carry On Alice is merit rated 110, which is the same rating of another horse with a fairytale story – the Coenie de Beer-trained Senor Santa winner Talktothestars.
Senor Santa winner Talktothestars – tougher this time!
The small-string Vaal trainer has lived up to the axiom “Have horse will travel” in no uncertain terms and the tough Overlord gelding has seen most of South Africa, having raced in Pietermaritzburg, Cape Town and Kimberly as well as in his home town of Vereeniging and in nearby Johannesburg.
He finally landed the big race he deserved last time out when winning the Gr2 Senor Santa Stakes over 1160m at Turffontein – without shoes!
However, Carry On Alice and Talktothestars are not the highest-rated horses – that honour falls to the Louis Goosen-trained Trip Tease, who knows more about winning than losing, having won no fewer than 15 of his 24 starts.
Trip Tease – loves winning
His merit rating makes him officially the classiest sprinter in the country, while his win last time out in the innovative Easter Dash over 600m at Scottsville showed him to also be the quickest.
His stablemate Doing It For Dan has been a touch disappointing and failed to recover froma slow start last time.
The low profile Vincente on the other hand has come well since leaving the Vaughan Marshall yard and has won already in just two Joburg starts.
The PE flag is carried by an Yvette Bremner coupling, headed by a former winner of the Computaform Sprint, the evergreen eight-year-old Copper Parade.
Copper Parade – top class
The old boy is well and ran a decent fifth in the Cape Flying Championship before winning his last start at home.
Promising appie Lyle Hewitson rides his stablemate, the SA 1000m record holder Blizzard Belle. The Western Winter mare is bound to be going like the clappers from the gate.
KZN’s Summerveld-based trainer Michael Roberts, who is widely regarded as South Africa’s greatest-ever jockey, saddles Newbury Racing’s revitalised speedster Muscatt, a six-year-old gelding who recently smashed the Scottsville 1000m course record.
The son of Victory Moon has done the rounds having started his career in PE, but has never been better.
Summerveld trainer Dennis Drier won this race with the great filly Val De Ra in 2011 and saddles the nine-time winning Captain Al six-year-old gelding Barbosa, who has matured into a top class speedster.
Joey Soma’s lightly raced but problematic speedster Graduation Day is the mount of Anton Marcus and has his first serious test of ability. He has won three races with an aggregate of 15,50 lengths winning margin!
Var speedster Tar Heel
Cape trainer Joey Ramsden saddles one of only two 3yo’s in the Var speedster Tar Heel, who is very fast and showed his well-being with a blitzing end-to – end win over the Kenilworth 1000m last time.
He has his first start outside of Cape Town.
African Ruler is the other 3yo and rated a point superior to Tar Heel. The son of Trippi is talented and ran a cracking second to Bull Valley in the Man ‘O War Sprint last time.
Moofeed and Splendid Garden were both well beaten in the Senor Santa, while Belong To Me is a shadow of his former self.
Former Cape Town-based sprinter Daring Dave has left Justin Snaith and now races out of new trainer Weiho Marwing.
He has a few starting issues but if the new environment has remedied that for him, he could turn his form around.
