Met Maestro Muscutt Takes SplashOut Cape Derby Ride

In a 2014 interview with the Sporting Post, trainer Dean Kannemeyer said “winning Gr1’s are like winning the Majors in golf.”

The 63 year-old will bid to add to his tally when he saddles the favourite Green With Envy in Saturday’s R1,5 million SplashOut Cape Derby at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth.

Dean Kannemeyer looking for a third Cape Derby (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)

The final field was declared earlier today.

David Mollett writes that when one thinks about majors, thoughts immediately spring to golf legend, Gary Player, who dominated the sport for decades ending with nine majors.

Kannemeyer can boast that his policy of ‘feed them well, sleep them well and exercise them well’ has paid off over the years with a number of champions through his hands including Dynasty, Free My Heart, Rabiya, Noordhoek Flyer and Capetown Noir.

Green With Envy has some way to go to be mentioned in the same breath as this quintet, but the step up to 2000m is definitely a plus factor as he’s out of a Galileo mare who won in Ireland.

Green With Envy – should relish the 2000m test 9Pic – Chase Liebenberg)

He put his name in the hat for the Derby with his win in the 1800m Schweppes Politician Stakes.

With the defeat of See It Again in the WSB Cape Town Met still fresh in their minds, punters will approach backing another Cape big race favourite with some trepidation.

So it will be a surprise if Green With Envy shortens markedly from his current price of 18-10.

To say the final field of nine runners doesn’t get the blood racing is an understatement, but Cape Racing will have something to crow about in the second appearance this year of top UK jockey, Danny Muscutt.

Booked to partner Hluhluwe for Justin Snaith, it remains to be seen whether Peter Muscutt’s son can take another Gr1, but it’s in his favour that he’s riding a 5-1 chance compared to Double Superlative who started at 33-1 in the Met.

Daniel Muscutt will wear the same silks as he did on Met day when winning on Double Superlative (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)

Hluhluwe won the Cape Punters Cup over 1600m so is trying this longer distance for the first time.

A number of pundits have pointed out that the male crop of Cape three year-olds this year is ‘below par’ and the formbook backs up that opinion. The Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas winner and third-placed Hluhluwe both finished six lengths behind Charles Dickens in the L’Ormarins King’s Plate.

This could be one of the factors that influenced Candice Bass-Robinson to accept with her star filly, Beach Bomb. Since 1950, only three females have won this race – Green Lass (1951), Taima Bluff (1980) and Dog Wood (1999).

Beach Bomb, who is going for a third Gr1 success, failed to shape behind Princess Calla in the Majorca Stakes, but her trainer puts that down to a ‘bit of a virus” which was detected after that race.  This has to be a worry for the filly’s many supporters.

With a first prize of R890 625, it’s a shock that the race has been shunned by out-of-province trainers and the runners in the Derby all hail from Cape stables.

It’s the Derby’s centenary in 2025 and Greg Bortz and his Cape Racing team will no doubt be applying their minds to come up with ideas on how to attract a more vintage field to that renewal.

Customers stand a chance to win big with the Hollywoodbets Punters’ Challenge on the SplashOut Cape Derby that takes place this Saturday, 24 February.

Simply make your selections on the Hollywoodbets Kenilworth racemeeting, and you could WIN an estimated *R2 Million Jackpot prize for selecting all the winners on the day.

There’s also a massive *R100 000 for placing in the Top 50 on the leaderboard.

*Amounts subject to Bet Slip bonus rules