Runaway Grey! Pessoa (Anton Marcus) storms clear to win the King’s Cup
A new day and a riot of a completely different kind! That was the story of an emphatic victory by Alec Laird’s smart Go Deputy gelding Pessoa in the R200 000 Gr3 King’s Cup at Clairwood on Sunday.
Delayed a week following the well documented sensational saga of the sightless starter, the field was reduced to ten with the withdrawal of three of the original card, including Gavin Van Zyl’s Big City Angel, the original likely favourite.
The was race was run at a solid pace with Always Al showing the way from Top Mark, Penhaligon, Black Is Black, with In A Rush and Premium Wood further back.
Top Mark came forward to tackle the strong galloping Always Al at the 400m marker and he glided into the lead as Penhaligon gave chase.
All the while, Marcus was guiding his mount through the gaps for a run and Pessoa slipped effortlessly through down the inside and stormed clear at 33 to 10 to win by 1,50 lengths in a time of 93,89 secs.
Penhaligon completed the grey exacta, running a cracking second, just ahead of Top Mark, who may have just needed the outing after looking very dangerous.
Roman Wall, who was ridden by Anthony Delpech despite a dissemination muddle that suggested Ian Sturgeon would ride him, ran on for fourth, ahead of his pacemaking stablemate, Always Al.
The disappointments included Colin Scott’s Fourth Estate and the Joey Ramsden trained In A Rush, who both never showed and ran downfield.The Stipes reports may provide an explanation.
Winning jockey Anton Marcus, who rode five winners on the afternoon, was most complimentary about Pessoa, suggesting that he could ‘hold his own in the smaller feature events during Champions Season.
“It wasn’t by design that I was that far back, but he had no gate speed. I thought they might have his number with early pace, but he really quickened well,” he said.
Alec Laird’s KZN assistant Julia Pringle said that her charge had been back in Durban ‘about two weeks’ and confirmed that he had arrived a ‘very fit horse.’
Trainer Alec Laird confirmed that he had decided to move Pessoa down to the coast as there were four handicap race options, as opposed to only one on the Gauteng programme: ” He will probably go for the Sledgehammer and the Greyville 1900 now,’ he said.
The winner, a R150 000 National Sale graduate, was bred by Paul and Lindi Garlicki who are based at Connemara Stud in the Cape.
He is by Lammerskraal stallion Go Deputy out of the three-time winning Argentinian-bred Ringaro mare Printemp.
He has now won 6 races and been placed 5 times from 15 runs.
Pessoa took his stake earnings to R433 650 and looks set for bigger paydays to come this Champions Season.
