Mike De Kock’s Banaadeer, already a feature winner, should retain his unbeaten record
The SA Nursery is the first and only Gr1 event for 2yo’s on the Highveld. The race has a chequered history in the new millennium. Traditionally contested up the Turffontein straight, the distance was changed from 1160m to 1400m in 2002, and run around the bend – a stiff task for young 2yo’s, with the effect of the draw an added factor.
In 2005 the race changed back to the straight sprint track, but now with its previous Gr1 status removed! From 2005 to 2011 the SA Nursery was contested as a Gr2 event, the winners including Rebel King, Warm White Night, Kavanagh and Delago Deluxe. Sanity prevailed in 2012, when the major race regained its Gr1 status, Soft Falling Rain the victor. This year the big-name trend looks set to continue, with a brand new De Kock star.
Banaadeer is an Australian-bred son of More Than Ready, a sire best known in SA through the exploits of his Queen’s Plate winning son Gimmethegreenlight, now a sire at Varsfontein. Like Soft Falling Rain, Banaadeer races in the colours of Sheikh Hamdan, but unlike his R300k stable companion he was an expensive yearling: A$700k – some R7 million. So far that looks like money well spent.
Banaadeer is unbeaten in two starts over 1000m, the second one in the Storm Bird Stakes here last month. Odds-on both times, he may not have beaten the strongest opposition, but certainly did it in style. He should retain his unbeaten record in the Nursery.
Trainers Azzie and Tarry have made a seemingly smart move by entering Flame Cat and Carry On Alice, both fillies who could have run in the SA Fillies Nursery earlier on the day. There they would have met Mike de Kock’s very smart Majmu, and most likely have played second fiddle (Majmu beat Flame Cat twice, the last time by 3 lengths at level weights after being slow away). The prizemoney for the Fillies Nursery is R400k vs. R1 million in this race – where second is worth R200k and third R100k. In the Fillies Nursery a win is R250k, second R80k and third R40k. Good thinking!
Flame Cat and Carry On Alice met earlier this month over the course and distance, the latter getting the upper hand by just under two lengths. Flame Cat gave 3kg on that occasion, and now meets her opponent on level terms. There may not be much in it then, although Carry On Alice could make some improvement, having had just two starts.
Both trainers have a second entry in the race. Tarry has Lock Him Up, who has the services of Strydom. The son of Fort Beluga won going away on debut, and should be better than we rated him on that occasion. He has to give his stable companion Carry On Alice 2.5kg sex allowance. The filly is the mount of Khumalo, and appears to be the stable elect.
Azzie’s second entry is Isphan, who surprised at his last start in the Gr3 Protea Stakes. He came back from a winning run over1450m to this 1160m straight course, and started at 25/1 (from 10/1), carrying a kilo overweight. Isphan is on a hattrick here, and must show that his last win wasn’t fluke. As with Tarry’s colt, Isphan appears to be the stable’s second choice. That said, his jockey Gavin Lerena probably couldn’t have made the 55.5kg weight on Flame Cat, leaving that one to Fradd.
Azzie’s third runner is Rough Justice, who has shown a tendency to be slow away in his three starts to date. He won on debut, then finished fourth behind Isphan at level weight. Well supported at his third start, he had no answer to the challenge of the filly Green Crest, who turned the tables on a previous meeting (she was sixth in the race where Isphan won). That probably wasn’t quite Rough Justice’ true run and we expect him to improve on the rating from his last race if he manages to jump on terms. Even then he looks to have a stiff task.
That leaves two runners from the Spies stable, Kiss Me Hardy and Topostwego. The latter finished virtually alongside Rough Justice behind Green Crest last time, and seems unlikely to be able to turn the tables. Kiss Me Hardy will have to prove that his last run, when a beaten favourite behind Isphan, was all wrong. But it would surprise us if could again, as he did on his second start, finish just 3 lengths off Banaadeer.
In summary, it is hard to look beyond Banaadeer. The two fillies may well vindicate their trainers’ cunning plan and fill the next two places, although in which order looks a toss-up.
