Promising! Aldo Domeyer drives Punta Arenas through to a great win.
There are few Tellytrack on-course presenters that can match the experience and eye of Phillipi trainer Stan Elley. The bearded and personable Capetonian had a great day in front of the camera and trained a smart and very promising looking winner to boot at Kenilworth on 7 December.
Elley doesn’t waffle for the sake of hearing his own voice and his intelligent observation and comments are an invaluable tool for couch-bound punters. His powers of recall are quite remarkable and he often notes changes in physical stature and condition of horses-sometimes after not having seen them for months on end. That takes a unique combination of experience, knowledge and passion, and he should ideally be based at Rivonia as a training and compliance officer for some of his less qualified colleagues – many of whom bandy loose observative stereotypes around with gay abandon.
Elley added to his entertainer’s paycheck for the afternoon when he sent out the rather smart looking Silvano gelding Punta Arenas to a promising win in the MR78 Handicap over 2000m. Recent maiden winner Pilot Mike made the pace here and Aldo Domeyer tucked the Elley runner under cover until producing him late to beat Gin And Tonic narrowly but going away. The Badge Boys own the R525 000 Maine Chance-bred, who has won two of his four starts, and he looks very scopy. The favourite Luno plodded late and he is battling to win his second race.
The opening event kicked off with telephone number dividends and a shock result. Trainer Izak ‘Crunchie’ Cronje will be the first to admit that he doesn’t train too many winners and this probably accounted in part for the 66-1 available(she only paid R24-90 on the tote) on the tiny Albert Hall filly Albert’s Moment who returned from a 151 day break in a galloping mood. Countess Isabella set a strong pace but faltered in the final 300m as Apprentice Teague Gould sent the Cronje filly on her way.
She skipped off to win well with the Opera King debutante Opt For Opera finishing well for second. Full marks to the second horse’s trainer Glen Puller for tipping her as a possible place prospect . At R7-20 a tote place that has got to be the information snippet of the week from the Cape! The winner should just not be a winner. She is tiny, has a hollow back and off-set knees. But as Stan Elley observed, she has a remarkable stride on her. The Australian import Fugetta got going late for third- thereby upstaging her fancied stable-companion Nunavik, who finished closer to last. The Hodgson yard are battling the regain their form at the moment and the favourite’s failure would have compounded their woes after the dismal news of their J&B Met winner Past Master’s career ending injury has been doing the rounds. With a large percentage of the quartet carried over and the trifecta paying R36 000, not many punters were smiling as the dark clouds cast a ghostly blanket over the Southern Suburbs track.
Trainer Izak Cronje confirmed in the post-race interview that he is awaiting a work permit before jetting off to train Grooms and Work-Riders in the fledgeling horse- racing industry in China. We wish him the very best of luck with the exciting challenge that awaits him.
L’Ormarins based trainer Michael Robinson and jockey Grant Behr were the only combination on the day to enjoy a 100% strike rate with their only runner winning. The Victory Moon gelding Tippuana Moon led all the way under an inspired ride and when challenge late by the 9-10 favourite Dynasty’s Secret, he found extra to win going away. Interestingly Robinson has an enviable and world-class strike rate of four winners and four places from his last ten runners. That is not bad going!
Heavyweight Hellraiser! Brandon Morgenrood is riding at the top of his game.
Jockey Brandon Morgenrood has always rated the Muhtafal gelding Xerxes, and the pair finished with a flourish wide out to win the Pick Six opener in style. The Bass-trained Cherbourg went out favourite in the MR72 Handicap over 1600m, but after having every apparent chance, he failed to follow up on his recent maiden win and ran a weak fourth. The Glen Puller gelding Stunning Tiger ran another good race from the front and was only denied late by Morgenrood.
The smaller-the-field-the-bigger-the-upset maxim applied in the Graduation Plate over 2000m. The Glen Kotzen filly Beloved Betty was sent out favourite, but after Audrey Rose and Full Regalia had loped along out front, the resultant sprint for home was always going to produce the inevitable surprise. Sean Cormack reluctantly sent Beloved Betty on her way about 300m out but she was caught flat-footed by the late charge of Satin Silver and the luckless Respectable Lady. The Bass runner got the upper hand under a balanced Grant Van Niekerk, and her past form was probably not as bad as it looked at first hand- her form being franked by Fillies Guineas fifth Bermuda Sloop and two fair runs against the boys.
Karl Neisius returned from the Jockey International in Mauritius over the weekend and was quickly back into his winning ways when he got Caravaggio home in the final leg of the jackpot, an MR72 Handicap over 1200m. The pacy trio of Ships Master, Phalaborwa Express and Striking Force made the pace a good one. The Dean Kannemeyer-trained gelded Caravaggio, a son of National Emblem, has been costly to follow but hit the front about 300m out under a left-handed ride to win going away. This was his second win from seven starts and he looks like one to follow- if Kannemeyer can keep him sound.
Back with a bang! Karl Neisius flies in and steers Caravaggio to a smooth win.
Markus Jooste owns the winner in partnership with Fieldspring Racing, and he also feeds the 40-1 second placed Alberts Vigilance, who showed remarkable improvement for no immediately conceivable good reason. The fancied Jet Burst had nothing to offer late in the race, and may prefer further, while the overworked mare Aggravacious ran her 69th race here and showed no interest to finish trailed in. She has finished in the last two in her last five starts and surely it is time for her connections to be kind and call it a day?
Underrated jockey Chris Puller and trainer Greg Ennion closed the day with the bay filly Pamela Sue winning the MR70 Handicap over 1400m in bold style as the summer sun forced its way through the clouds. Tucked away early as Abbey Creek cut out the pace in front, she was produced late to win very impressively. The fancied Miss Pink and Savannah Leigh both looked threatening, but both fell away to nothing. Pamela Sue is owned by Fred Crabbia and is a Clifton Stud product of Dynasty out of the brilliant Argentinian-bred racemare Perfectita.
A lovely day. But why did it take Tellytrack forty minutes to come up with those final Kenilworth exotic dividends? Or should we give up asking?
