Richard Fourie is sorting his shoulder out
Sean Cormack jets in for eight rides for new champion trainer Justin Snaith at Kenilworth today after Richard Fourie decided to stand himself down.
The Gr3 Final Fling Stakes gets it third time lucky after two abandonments and with the Cape overcast and the pen reading at 33 with no rain in the past 24 hours (to 08h30 on Sunday), the meeting looks set to definitely go ahead uninterrupted.
Fourie, still not 100% after that crashing fall on Jet Explorer in the Gold Challenge nearly two months ago, and despite winning the Vodacom Durban July in the meantime, said on Thursday: “I tried to come back when my shoulder wasn’t ready. It needs to recover and my doctor says I must rest it. He has said two to three weeks off but he is also going to analyse it in more detail.”
Cormack has a favourite’s chance on Jet Supreme in the Final Fling. He won this Grade 3 last year on Rain Gal for Snaith who also runs Winter Oaks runner-up Acrostar and East Cape Oaks winner She’s A Pippa.
“I think the older horses might be a bit stronger at this time of year and Jet Supreme is a high quality filly,” says Snaith. “She can run and the soft ground helps her.”
Butterfly Girl had Jet Supreme just over a length behind when winning the Ladies Mile and is on a hat-trick but she is 8kg worse. “She is doing very well,” reports Candice Robinson. “But the 1 800m might be a bit far for her. The family doesn’t really get ground.”
Mike Bass, bidding for his fourth Final Fling in 12 years, also runs Internet Jet and Pan Amm who would have finished closer in the Ladies Mile had she not met with interference early on. “She’s well, she likes the wet and she has a chance,” says Candice.
One to bear in mind is Black Kitten who was only half a length behind Jet Supreme last time” admittedly she was 6kg better off but she could well start at three times her price and blinkers are expected to make a difference.
Sean Cormack flies in from Durban
“I’m putting them on because she lacks a bit of early speed in her races,” says Greg Ennion. “I tried them on Tuesday morning and they made a huge difference. Also in her favour is that she now has a draw. Had the race been run last week she would have started from stall ten.”
Star of the day is Blarney Bay who is forecast favourite for the mile Pinnacle even though he has a kilo to find with Johnny Rockets on ratings and is thought to be at his best over a furlong shorter.
“In fact I’m not too worried about the mile,” says Mike Robinson. “He just mustn’t go too fast early and Xavier Carstens has got to try to save something for the end. The horse is doing very well.”
However Snaith expects Johnny Rockets to put the favourite to the test, saying: “He is a class act in the soft.”
Michael Clower reports on www.goldcircle.co.za
