History Repeats! Well almost, as Cape Winter (nearest camera) gets the better of Be Assured (JC Photos)
Trainer Kum Naidoo repeated a measure of the magic of his 2012 top three finish in Saturday’s R150 000 Listed Hampton Handicap run over 1000m at the Vaal. The KZN conditioner saddled the top two home in a thrilling finish to the 2013 renewal.
Naidoo certainly has something of the midas touch and an affinity with this little sprint feature, and there was an element of poetic justice this time round, with 2012 runner up Cape Winter reversing the finish with his senior stablemate, Be Assured.
In 2012 the two had fought much the same fight, with a marginally different result. Revenge was sweet for the lightly campaigned Cape Winter, who was having only his third outing in the ensuing twelve months.
Yukon and Gold and Maji Moto were up with the pace early on, but the race developed into a duel between the Naidoo pair in the final stages, with Yukon Gold fading out rather tamely.
Cape Winter and Be Assured went hammer and tongs into the final 300m, with the photo finish camera being needed to separate the two.
The photo showed that Cape Winter had gotten the verdict by a whisker in a time of 58,82 secs.
Winning jockey Robbie Fradd, whose third winner it was on the day, admitted afterwards that he had thought he had run second to his colleague Anthony Delpech.
Elated trainer Kum Naidoo has proven something of a master on the sand surface, and has enjoyed extensive success away from his home province.
He said that he could not separate the top two horses in their work and indicated that he had given Cape Winter a break after his turf run in November last year. He was full of praise for his assistant Candice Dawson, who has done much of the work with his Gauteng string.
The winner was bred by Normandy Stud, and is by the recently deceased Western Winter, out of the one time winning Sportsworld mare, Centre Court .
This was Cape Winter’s fourth win from seventeen starts for eight places and R407 025 in prize money.
Cape Winter is a R250 000 National Yearling Sale graduate.
Can Naidoo make it a hat trick next year?
