Inseperable! Karl Neisius(outside) urges Cape Royal as Glen Hatt challenges on Happy Forever down the inside
A thrilling spectacle of two emerging sprinters going neck for neck to the line, and which ended in an exciting stalemate, was spoilt in no small measure by a boardroom decision. It is such a great pity that there had to be a loser in the Happy Forever – Cape Royal clash at Kenilworth on Wednesday.
The clash between the Ramsden and Kannemeyer yards, with their respective first choice riders Glen Hatt and Karl Neisius, ironically mirrored the final race result at Kenilworth last Sunday where Rachel Leigh and Fairness Prevails dead-heated with the exact same jockey-trainer combinations in the Maiden Plate run over a mile.
But this time maybe fairness didn’t prevail. Even though the Stipes call can probably not be fairly deemed controversial on the face of it.
The decision was certainly not a storybook one for the romantics who may have felt that a dead-heat was a fairer outcome to an intriguing clash. For the backers of Happy Forever, and there appear to be many, it was a 15 minute sweat that turned into a happy ending.
The appropriately named ‘Some Like It Hot’ MR 94 Handicap over 1000m always looked extremely competitive, despite the lack of numbers in the seven horse field that went to post.
The 4yo Happy Forever(2-1 to 13-10) and the 3yo Cape Royal(18-10 to 16-10) dominated the betting. There was little interest in anything else.
The expected pacesetter Offertory went off in a mad hurry as he always does and led Vardashian and the visiting Tipo Tinto, who raced on the dead going down the inside. Happy Forever was next, just in front of Cape Royal and the outpaced Howdoyoulikemenow, with the slow-starter General Assembly lagging some way behind.
Over The Moon. Happy Forever is led in by (from left to right) Martin Wickens, Andrew Fortune and Gisela Burg
At the 300m marker Neisius gave Cape Royal his head and the handsome son of Royal Academy glided into the lead as an animated Hatt went for the whip on Happy Forever down the inside.
Neisius looked to have made the right move inside the final 100m, but it was at this point that Hatt got Happy Forever to rally and he drew alongside in the final 25m of the race.
Cape Royal appeared to drift marginally to his inside away from Neisius’ whip and we don’t wish to criticise what is a thankless decision to make. But if one looks at where it happened and the distance from the line, then it could just as well have gone the other way.
Glen Hatt objected, alleging interference in the latter stages. It is clear from the head-on film that the two horses came together in the final stages and Hatt had to drop his right whip arm as he ran out of space.
The Stipes Report sums up what happened next:
In the concluding stages CAPE ROYAL (K Neisius) shifted inwards slightly away from the crop and brushed HAPPY FOREVER (G Hatt), which resulted in Jockey G Hatt being put at a disadvantage by becoming unbalanced and he dropped his left rein until the finish. A Member of the Stipendiary Board called for a race review, which was followed by Jockey G Hatt, the rider of HAPPY FOREVER, lodging an Objection against CAPE ROYAL (K Neisius) being declared a joint winner, on the grounds of interference in the closing stages. The Objection Board after giving regard to the evidence heard, reviewing the patrol films from the various angles, and giving consideration to the two horses being declared dead heat winners was of the opinion that HAPPY FOREVER (G Hatt) would have finished ahead of CAPE ROYAL (K Neisius) had the incident not occurred and therefore upheld the Objection and amended the Judges’ result.
The decision was a dreadful disappointment for trainer Dean Kannemeyer and his top owner Lady Christine Laidlaw, who made a rare appearance on course to watch her runners in action. Cape Royal had been patiently nursed back, after two interim runs, to action after a scintillating debut win in April at this track.
Smiling Through. Cape Royal’s owner Lady Christine Laidlaw and trainer Dean Kannemeyer immediately after the race
The Maine Chance Farms bred Happy Forever, but for his soundness issues, looks a serious sprinter in the making. He is by Var out of the National Assembly mare, Happy Ever After. He cost R550 000 at the National Yearling Sale. He has now won 3 from 3 in just 17 months since making his debut.
Happy Forever races in a partnership of jockey Andrew Fortune, Gisela Burg, Martin Wickens, Mel and Dharmesh Naik(Mauritius-based of King Of Pain fame) and Joey Ramsden.
It was a memorable afternoon for Ramsden, who trained three winners and also for his longstanding UK owners Martin Wickens and Gisela Burg, who bred and race the impressive winner of the third race, Miss Saigon. The daughter of Captain Al was ridden by Sean Cormack and firmed from 7-1 to 13-2 before scoring a fluent 3,75 length win in the Fillies and Mares Maiden Plate run over 1400m
The Wickens and Burg partnership raced Miss Saigon’s dam, Catalina, who won 7 races while in the care of Joey Ramsden some eight years ago. The daughter of Badger Land was not a big filly, but had a huge heart and won the Listed Ladies Mile in 2003 and 2004.
For Dean Kannemeyer and Lady Laidlaw, the anti-climax of a boardroom decision that went against them must have felt like a knife through the heart after the high of a thrilling finish.
But revenge can be sweet.
The two could meet again this Sizzling Summer Season.
