Justin Snaith, unhappy about losing out on a second national trainers’ championship, is going all out to regain his crown this season and he underlined the point by taking four of the first five races at Kenilworth on Monday, writes Michael Clower.
He said: “The Ready To Run races knocked the wind out of us last season but they won’t count this time and I am going to have a full go at the title.”
Alpha Pegasi, as expected, proved to be the easiest of the Snaith winners and the evens favourite came up the stands side under Greg Cheyne to lead 150m out in the itsarush.co.za Graduation Plate and score far more convincingly than the near two-length verdict would suggest.
Snaith said: “It’s very hard to find races for horses of his high rating (96) – even now he has only won three – but he will go for the Matchem when he could have a fitness advantage.”
He will need it because one of his opponents in the October 3 Kuda-sponsored Durbanville highlight will be Captain Chaos who could be one of the three-year-old stars this term.
Veteran trainer Ronnie Sheehan, on the mark with Mambo Fever and Rush For Roses, said: “He has been on holiday but he has had a couple of canters and he has improved.”
That’s not the only cloud on the Snaith horizon either and the ex-champion disclosed that one of his big concerns is that Cape Town could go the way of Durban and Port Elizabeth by installing a polytrack.
He said: “If that happens they would switch the races from the grass course when it rains to save the turf and for those horses that like the soft the winning days would be gone.”
Bernard Fayd’herbe – cool ride on Ovidio
It was the victory of Ovidio, the second for new stable jockey Bernard Fayd’Herbe, that brought these fears to the surface. The top weight may be Australian-bred – and therefore likely to want it fast – but he is by the Irish sire Danehill Dancer.
Snaith’s opening winner, the Grant van Niekerk-ridden Baritone, drifted from 7-2 to twice that price thanks in no small measure to all the money that poured on the Brett Crawford-trained Midnite Zone. Corne Orffer’s mount was backed at all prices from 12-1 down to 7-2 joint favourite yet he never looked like collecting and finished halfway down the field.
Crawford said: “We thought he would run better than that. At home he is a bit stronger than My Man Alex who finished fourth. He only started to come into it at the end so I think he now needs to go round the turn.”
Dynastic Power, winner of the Betting World 1900 and last year’s Winter Derby, is recuperating from a virus infection and is the only one of Stan Elley’s string that has not been allocated to a new trainer.
Elley said: “He has had a virus that is affecting his nerve endings and he is having a break on a farm. No decision has been taken about him.”
Mike Bass has taken over three of the now-retired trainer’s Philippi team including the useful My World. Dogmatism has gone to Alan Greeff in Port Elizabeth where Yvette Bremner has also been sent one. Vaughan Marshall has one and another is now under the care of Lucy Woodruff at Milnerton. Dennis Drier has three that have been campaigning in Durban including the July runner-up Punta Arenas.
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