The Apache - won twice at Gr1 level, could make it a third.
Were it not for another outbreak of African Horse Sickness earlier this year The Apache would have left out shores a long time ago, but Hong Kong’s loss is South Africa’s gain, writes Matthew Lips.
The colt has won twice at Gr 1 level since connections were forced to abort their plans to export him and The Apache can make it a third win at the highest level when he contests the Sansui Summer Cup over 2000m at Turffontein on Saturday.
The Apache enjoyed a splendid KZN winter campaign with wins in the Daily News 2000 and Champions Cup and a fast finishing fourth in the Vodacom Durban July. He wasn’t particularly well weighted when he won the Champions Cup over 1800m on sticky going in July, which strongly suggests that the son of Mogok was still improving at the time. Gavin van Zyl’s stable star made a sparkling seasonal debut when he finished strongly to be beaten four lengths behind Smanjemanje in the Gr 2 Victory Moon Stakes over 1800m at Turffontein a shade more than a fortnight ago and will have surely come on from that run. He now faces Smanjemanje on 4 kgs better terms and must have a lively chance of reversing that form. The Apache won the Gr 2 Dingaans on this card a year ago and is very well suited to the long run-in on the Turffontein standside course.
Ilsanpietro
Ilsanpietro - looking better than eve
The Summer Cup is of course a handicap, however, and can prove to be a much more open affair than some pundits seem to believe. Ilsanpietro comes right into it with a chance after he also finished strongly from towards the rear of the field in the Victory Moon, where he was placed second, a neck in front of The Apache. He faces The Apache on the identical terms and there could be virtually nothing to choose between them again, but Ilsanpietro was already having his second start of the season in that race after running away with a Listed handicap over 2450m in October. Still, Mike de Kock’s gelding looks even better than ever at the age of five and is clearly more than just an out-and-out stayer. His trainer has a fantastic record in the Summer Cup and Ilsanpietro has every right to add to the De Kock tally here.
Pierre Jourdan
Piere Jourdan - warrants respect
Many of Pierre Jourdan’s countless fans appear to be treating this as a one-horse race for Gary Alexander’s gelding, despite PJ having to concede weight all round and being drawn one from the outside. Certainly, Pierre Jourdan warrants healthy respect after he comfortably won the recent Gr 2 Charity Mile when first fitted with blinkers, and purely on the form of the Durban July he has The Apache’s measure again. However, while the draw is not insurmountable (Ilha da Vitoria won this race from a very wide gate some years ago) it is hardly an advantage. The Apache is drawn 1, on the other hand, and together with the much longer run-in here compared to Greyville he can reverse July form with Pierre Jourdan.
Smanjemanje
Smanjemanje was racing for the first time after being gelded when he returned from a five month lay-off to easily win the Victory Moon and was only supplemented to the Summer Cup – at considerable expense- thereafter. He plainly has more to do at the weights this time, but Tyrone Zackey’s five-year-old could not have done much more than win the way he did and he is also entitled to have improved with that run. He has an outside chance of completing the Victory Moon/Summer Cup double, but The Apache and Ilsanpietro are both selected to reverse form with him.
Previous winners
Mike de Kock sends out two of his many previous winners of this race in Rudra (2008) and Flirtation (2010). The former is much more favourably weighted than when he was beaten around six lengths in both the Charity Mile and Victory Moon Stakes, and has had a nice looking prep going into this race. The booking of Anton Marcus for the ride is eye-catching and Rudra could be the sort to upset the applecart, but he has drawn the widest of all. Flirtation has had two starts over distances well short of her best to date this season, having been drawn the widest of 19 when beaten less than seven lengths in the July. She also comes here having flown under the radar in recent months, and a much better effort back over the Turffontein 2000m is by no means impossible. She boasts a nice turn of foot and came from the clouds when winning this race twelve months ago, and she could conceivably pop up again if there is a decent early pace. She had the worst of the draw in the Charity Mile last time and there could be more to her current form than meets the eye, but the fact remains that in 2010 she came here on the back of a Gr 3 win in her latest start and her form going into this year’s race doesn’t quite have the same zing about it.
Perana
Also doing battle for the De Kock yard is the ever enigmatic Perana, beaten favourite in this race last year after winning the Victory Moon Stakes of 2010 and not likely to have endeared himself to all but the most stubborn of supporters when finishing hopelessly tailed off last in the Victory Moon Stakes of 2011. He simply faded to nothing for no apparent reason, and the official stipendiary stewards’ report offered no explanation for Perana’s 34 lengths drubbing behind Smanjemanje. He ran on well when beaten two lengths behind Soul Master on his seasonal debut in a pinnacle plate and clearly can still gallop when the mood takes him, but he is more unpredictable than ever and it’s best to leave it to others to risk burning their fingers on him.
Frontrunner
The absence of an obvious strong frontrunner could bring Jet Jamboree and master tactician Piere Strydom right into the equation. Jet Jamboree is usually ridden from the front and was only collared close home when he finished just ahead of Perana in the set weights event won by Soul Master over 1800m on the Turffontein inner course last month. It’s possible that he will be allowed to dictate his own pace and few jockeys anywhere are more adept at this kind of thing than Strydom, but a question mark still remains whether Jet Jamboree is really as good as his 106 merit rating suggests. The last time he won on handicap terms he was rated 88, and while he could easily still be improving he may have a bit too much on his plate here.
Soul Master
Soul Master didn’t do an awful lot for the form of that pinnacle plate which he won in October when subsequently finishing five lengths fifth behind Smanjemanje on what appeared to be favourable weight terms in the Victory Moon, although he did pull hard early in a race which was run at no great pace. He is weighted to beat Jet Jamboree again, even though he is 1.5 kgs under sufferance, which reinforces the suspicion that neither horse will have what it takes to win the Summer Cup unless it is a seriously false-run affair.
Blinkers for Black Wing
The blanket finish to the Daily News 2000 at Greyville in June has always looked flattering to most of the horses that contested it, but the fact remains that Black Wing faces The Apache on 3.5 kgs better terms for a beating of slightly less than one length. Paul Gadsby’s gelding was reported to have been running an elevated temperature after finishing last in the July, and he caught the eye when staying on to finish 3.75 lengths fifth behind Pierre Jourdan in the Charity Mile. He now gets blinkers for the first time, and although he is not very well drawn at 14 he could represent decent each way value for anybody prepared to accept the Daily News form as something close to literal.
Dancewiththedevil
Dancewiththedevil was running on late from her customary early position at the tail of the field when she finished five lengths sixth in the Charity Mile. This is very much her right sort of track with its long straight, and her disappointing Greyville runs during the winter are easily excused. St John Gray’s mare is not certain to stay this far, but her style of running suggests it is quite possible. More pertinently perhaps, Dancewiththedevil seems to need softer going to give of her very best and she would need to be afforded considerably more respect if she gets similar conditions here. Still, she could only finish sixth in the Gr 1 Presidents Cup against what was hardly the greatest Gr 1 field in history the only time she went 2000m, and that was on the sort of yielding ground which suits her so well.
Princess Of Light
Princess Of Light is arguably at her best beyond this distance, having finished second behind Igugu in the Gr 2 Oaks last season before going on to win its KZN equivalent. She looked rather flat-footed when finishing six lengths fourth behind Queen’s Bay in a recent Gr 3 handicap for females over 1800m and her only hope may be to be ridden from stamina by setting a decent pace if nothing else does. She has been ridden from the front before, so that scenario is not out of the question, but she may again be found wanting where it matters most. Queen’s Bay now faces Princess Of Light on 1.5 kgs worse terms, but on paper that surely isn’t enough to allow for a six lengths beating to be reversed. The extra 200m of the Summer Cup can bring the two closer together, but Queen’s Bay can be rather unreliable and even on best form she would perhaps have too much to do against this sort of opposition.
Van Zyl Yard
Smanjemanje - a supplementary entry
Seal ran well above both his previous and his subsequent form when beating some high class 3yos comfortably in the Gr 1 SA Derby here last April. To be fair he has only raced twice since and no doubt needed the run when fading after disputing the lead to finish 8.60 lengths behind Smanjemanje in the Victory Moon. He may improve on that, but his record to date would suggest that he is better beyond this distance and stable companion The Apache is preferred. Also representing the Van Zyl yard is Bulsara, who has yet to find his best form in three starts since he got to within a neck of The Apache in the Champions Cup in July. He would be weighted with a serious winning chance if returning to the form which saw him beaten 2.20 lengths in the July and he is also weighted to reverse past form with Dancewiththedevil. His latest efforts leave something to be desired and he was beaten 6.5 lengths in the Charity Mile last time, but it is not at all beyond the bounds of possibility that Bulsara can pop up here at a juicy price.
Magical
Magical looked very unlucky when a fast finishing second behind Aslan in this race two years ago, but he has only started six times since then and disappointed when beaten 12 lengths behind Ilsanpietro over 2450m last month. It could be that he found that distance too far under 61 kgs, and three promising efforts earlier in 2011 suggest that Magical still has considerable spark left in him. He is capable of a strong late run and doesn’t look at all badly weighted if close to his best form, but that latest effort still remains a serious concern.
Regal Ransom
Regal Ransom is a past Gr 1 winner over this course-and-distance, but he is far from consistent. He was very slow away when beaten 12 lengths in the Victory Moon on his return from a 22 week lay-off and he needs an extremely sudden return to form. Really soft or heavy ground would be a plus, though, and in those circumstances he may well emerge from oblivion with a bang. Joining Regal Ransom in the gates are his stable companions Gold Onyx and Power Park. Gold Onyx reportedly cast a shoe when well beaten behind Soul Master last month, but he beat a much weaker field than this at graduation level two starts ago even if the third horse has won easily since. Gold Onyx may be something of a Greyville course specialist and has a rotten draw anyway, but the former Gr 1 winner would not be without hope under 52 kgs if he can somehow bring his A Game to the party. Power Park sprinted very well over 1200m in his only start since a six month absence and is very useful at best, but he looks to have too much to do from 2 kgs out at the weights.
Captain Scott will need to do considerably more at the weights than when he looked to have every chance before finishing 4.75 lengths fourth in the Victory Moon last time and meets all three of those who beat him on substantially worse terms now. He is drawn 17, on top of that, and does not appeal.
About the pace
As mentioned already, there is no guarantee whatsoever of a strong pace and tactics may well play a major role. On top of that, the going could be anything from good to bottomless, so all in all it’s hard to make any confident selection. However, The Apache could still be getting better and has done more than enough already to be entitled to win a race of this nature. He is selected to score at the expense of Ilsanpietro, Pierre Jourdan, Smanjemanje, and Jet Jamboree.
