Serious Player. The recent Merchants winner Tevez goes for a feature double when he contests the Listed Southeaster Sprint
It is appropriate that one of Avontuur Estate’s smart products takes on a son of their super stallion Var on the champion breeders’ big day. The recently improved Caesour gelding Tevez clashes with the lightly raced Happy Forever in a tussle that could hold the key to the R125 000 Listed Val De Ra Southeaster Sprint run over the Kenilworth 1100m.
The race proudly carries the name of the brilliant Avontuur speed queen Val De Ra, who was recently covered by the great racehorse Frankel, after giving birth to a beautiful filly by Oasis Dream in September.
In a phenomenal racing career spanning four years, the blazing beauty raised the pulses and captured a special place in all of our hearts. Trained by the master Dennis Drier, Val De Ra won 11 of her 13 starts, including four Gr1’s.
Ace Shot
The recent Merchants winner Tevez was bred by Avontuur and is a half brother to Val De Ra. He showed the benefit of gelding to beat Chave De Oura in the recent Gr2 Betting World Merchants. The 2012 Listed Sophomore Sprint winner was labelled by his trainer Mike Bass as a horse who would go on to win his feature sprints.
His chief opponent is the Var gelding Happy Forever, who will be ridden by the red hot jockey who rode Tevez to victory in the Merchants. Glen Hatt rides the obviously unsound gelding who has won four of his six starts. He was a reserve runner in the Gauteng Merchants on Sansui Summer Cup day last Saturday, and while his fitness is always a question, he has run well fresh, and is very talented.
Snaith Quartet
Justin Snaith saddles a foursome, which is headed by the evergreen Cap Alright. He is a kilo better off with Tevez after leading all the way in his typical and fading late in the Merchants for a 1, 25 length fourth.
Piere Strydom is an interesting riding engagement over the 100m shorter here, even though we know his regular pilots Richard Fourie and Bernard Fayd’herbe are no slouches. Cap Alright can only be ridden one way, and he is unlikely to get away with it in this quality of field.
Nothing Casual
Richard Fourie takes the ride on the Var gelding, Casual Var. The 4yo won a course and distance Pinnacle Stakes at his first start after a three month break. He beat the very capable, albeit lacking in fitness Divine Jet, with ease there. He is now a half kilo worse off with Tevez, whom he beat easily by four lengths. Casual Var has won six of his eleven starts, and looks a serious challenger.
The Greys Inn gelding November Rain ran a poor race at his last start in the Eastern Cape. He was reported to be not striding out when finishing just under seven lengths off Insearchofthesun. He showed his paces on July day with blistering speed to beat the smart Torra Bay and Mike De Kock’s Merhee. If over his soundness issues, he could grab some place money.
Fitter
The fourth of the Snaith runners is the Fort Wood 4yo Bobby James. The Foster owned gelding ran on well for third at level weights behind The Which Doctor last time and now meets the Kotzen runner on a 2kg turnaround. That could make a big difference as Bobby James is likely to strip a lot fitter.
The 7yo Captain’s Secret is a very smart sprinter on his day and has run to as high as a genuine 109. The son of Captain Al finished well done the field in the Merchants, but meets stablemate Tevez on 3kgs better terms. That probably won’t be enough to get him into the payout queue.
Throw The Bones
The Lake Coniston filly The Which Doctor won a cracker at her last start after a three month rest, when beating some fair sprinting males. A winner of 4 of her 13 starts, she is very fast and loaded with ability. She is thrown into the deep end here and would not be an entirely shock winner. It is interesting that she gives the Southern Cross Stakes a miss in favour of a clash with the boys. Glen Kotzen is an astute horseman, and she must be included in bigger perms.
Joey Ramsden’s second stringer is the Var gelding Gogotine, who found his better form after a break when going down a whisker in an either way result to his last start. The Kotzen filly The Which Doctor beat him there, and she is now a half kilo worse off. There won’t be too much between the two.
Windswept
With the South Easterly wind likely to be on top form on the afternoon, riding tactics will play a major role in the outcome of races down the straight track. Tevez, Happy Forever and Casual Var are all capable of settling and then coming out from under the covers when it counts. We are suggesting that Happy Forever has shown that he is good enough and will secure his first stakes win at the expense of Casual Var and Tevez.
