Cape based superhero miler Captain America returns in defence of his 2015 HF Oppenheimer Gr1 Horse Chestnut Stakes crown at Turffontein on Saturday. Brett Crawford’s smart galloper won’t have it all his own way and his recent flatfooted third will have some doubting his invincibility.
Captain America – big task
Captain America is one of our best milers but he has been known to throw in the odd below par effort and his opening 2016 Joburg run when easily beaten at heavy odds-on by the relatively inferior Silver Scooter was not impressive.
Fair enough, that was Captain America’s first run in six weeks following his J&B Met third to Smart Call and he would hardly have been at his peak in advance of the Highveld Season proper.
He faces Legal Eagle who beat him 2,90 lengths in the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate but who has his first run in 9 weeks since he chased Smart Call home in the Met.
Legal Eagle – fitness question
Legal Eagle previously did not produce his best when returning from a break (remember Killua Castle in December?) but is top class and proven over the track and trip.
The revitalised Captain Aldo has won his last two on the trot – his Gr2 Hawaii Stakes success being particularly eyecatching and earning him a shot at this event.
The Boland Stud bred son of Captain Al still has some ground to break on the top two but is obviously getting better with racing and has won 4 of his last 5 starts.
Captain Aldo in prime form
There will be little to choose between him and the evergreen 7yo Ice Machine on the Hawaii Stakes blanket and the Laird galloper is in prime form at the moment. Anthony Delpech rides him for the first time.
Johan Janse Van Vuuren’s New Predator is the only 3yo in the race.
The son of New Approach ran his first ever bad race in the Gauteng Guineas when running handy and then fading right out to finish 11 lengths behind Abashiri.
He gets 2,5kgs from the older horses and this may not be enough against the likes of Legal Eagle and Captain America.
Alec Laird saddles the Bezrin gelding Bezanova, who seldom runs far off but tends to lack a killer blow at the business end.
He may lack a few lengths but is always capable of running a place.
Halve The Deficit – classy on his day
Halve The Deficit is the Tarry second stringer to Legal Eagle and while classy on his day his recent form is not good enough to suggest he poses any form of threat.
Afrikaburn has changed stables from Dean Kannemeyer to Gavin Van Zyl and the son of Trippi’s race record shows that he has his issues.
He has failed to recapture his earlier form and his first run in 6 months was a quiet one three weeks ago.
Raymond Danielson – high strike rate for Verdonese
The Verdones-Danielson combination is the top trainer-jockey combo in the country at the moment and they team up with Diesel Jet.
He ran a 5,20 length fourth in the Listed Drum Star at his last start and is another who will need to up his game a few lengths to be competitive here.
Robbie Sage-trained Light The Way is a solid handicapper who seldom runs a bad race. That said, he finds himself up against it on the weight-for-age terms of this race and looks well and truly held by Captain Aldo on his Wolf Power 1600 effort, where he received 2,5kgs from the winner and ran 1,45 lengths behind.
Legal Eagle and Captain America look set to fight this out and if the Tarry star is anywhere near his best he is likely to take the superhero all the way to the wire.
Ice Machine and Captain Aldo may be best of the rest, while New Predator looks upset material if he puts it in.
