Call Me Earl – one of Alyson Wright’s two runners
Bearing in mind that lightly raced two-year-olds can improve out of all recognition, the 1200m Gr3 Champion Juvenile Stakes at Borrowdale Park today seems set to be a particularly challenging race, writes Sheldene Chant.
Four of the 10 ‘babies’ carded are Zimbabwean-bred and it would be good to see hard pressed local breeders collecting some recognition.
Alyson Wright’s Gee Racing fields Call Me Earl and Paint It Black – both bred in Zimbabwe and definitely in with a shout.
Call Me Earl, by Century Stand (AUS) out of Al Czarina, has raced twice for a third behind Demagogue, over 1000m, following up with a win over 1200m on May 3 when he finished 1.50 lengths ahead of Equiano who was giving him 1.5kgs.
His stable mate Paint It Black, also by Century Stand (AUS), won his only start on May 31 when beating Al Salaam by two lengths in a 1200m Maiden Juvenile Plate. Al Salaam, trained by Bridget Stidolph, has four races under his belt and won his last start over 1000m. On previous form he looks held by Call Me Earl and Paint It Black but the Mullins Bay (GB) colt won’t know this.
Demagogue – unbeaten in two
Assistant trainer Penny Fisher believes Demagogue and Equiano pose the main threat to her charges, Paint It Black and Call Me Earl.
Nevertheless she is hoping her pair will “finish in the first three” but adds “I don’t like to be over-confident about juveniles – particularly colts who can be as untrustworthy as teenage boys”.
In any event two fancied sons of Century Stand will be taking on two sure to be well supported sons of Argonaut, which is interesting. The Argonaut colt, Demagogue, trained by Gokhan Terzi, has won both his starts over 1000m.
Super Good, who is not amongst Sunday’s runners, was runner-up on both occasions, but on May 16 all of A P Ikhaja, Starry Notions and Rocky Road were further back.
Equiano – rumoured to be champion material
Equiano, by Argonaut, is a half-brother to champion race mare Equina, and trained by Amy Bronkhorst. First time out he was beaten by Call Me Earl but on May 16 he won a 1200m Maiden Plate, finishing four lengths clear of subsequent winner Aiiyayaii. As is the case with most of this field we can expect natural improvement.
In addition to Equiano Amy Bronkhorst will also saddle Starry Notions, a daughter of locally based sire, Gharir (IRE). This filly has placed twice and won over 1100m from five starts. On Sunday she jumps from the outside starting stall which is often a plus in a Borrowdale sprint.
Bridget Stidolph’s second runner is the fourth locally bred contestant, Rocky Road, by Soar With Eagles (USA) out of a Sobieski mare. He won his first start over 900m in January, beating Starry Notions by 2.5 lengths. His only other race to date was behind Demagogue and if that is a true reflection of his ability he has plenty to do here.
Corne Spies – saddles A P Ikhaja
Corne Spies entered three – A P Ikhaja, Paulus and Scandal – and of these only A P Ikhaja has raced at Borrowdale Park, and the other two have been scratched.
This A P Answer filly ran 2.75 lengths behind Speedy Suzy in an 800m Maiden Juvenile Plate (F) at Turffontein in December. A week later she won over 800m at Borrowdale, beating Starry Notions by 7 lengths.
Since then she has raced four times up the straight in Harare, without spectacular results. However, in the 1000m TBA Sales Stakes on May 16 she was 6.5 lengths off Demagogue having lost four lengths at the start. In the remaining three races, two MR 65 Handicaps and a Graduation Plate, all won by her stable companions, A P Ikhaja was taking on older winners so she is a bit of a dark horse in this one.
The Champion Juvenile Stakes is the fifth leg of the Borrowdale Park Pick 6 and many will see either Demagogue or Equiano as likely bankers. I would also include Paint It Black – because I’m biased!
