The Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas picture has been thrown wide open!
After a largely frustrating Betway Summer Cup day by his high standards, Sean Tarry’s highly regarded Tail Of The Comet compounded the agony as he failed to find the cash in the Hollywoodbets Kenilworth Sunday headliner, while Justin Snaith’s Hluhluwe suddenly looks a serious classic contender.
The R500 000 Gr2 Cape Punters Cup is a traditional stepping stone into South Africa’s leading classic at the same venue on Saturday 16 December.
SA Champion trainer Justin Snaith will be feeling a lot better in his bid for a third Cape Guineas victory after he saddled a Drakenstein bred 1-2, with the progressive Trippi colt Hluhluwe coming from the tail of the field to beat Lancaster Bomber stablemate Snow Pilot.
Hluhluwe (Grant van Niekerk) charges through to beat Snow Pilot (JP van der Merwe in blue cap) and Green With Envy (Craig Zackey) in a thriller (Pic – Chase Liebenberg)
Who would have thought there was an R88 Snaith exacta lurking in the wings?
After his cracking Cape Racing Sales Ready To Run Stakes demolition job at the country course in October, Tail Of The Comet started at 6-10 and looked hard to beat.
But just as the pace and bad luck had frustrated the multiple champion trainer on the Betway Summer Cup day, the pace was again a factor as ‘they dropped anchor’ early on, in the words of Richard Fourie, thus destroyed the Comet’s hopes of a confidence booster into the classic.
It is fair to observe that, had the sales race been run as scheduled at Hollywodbets Kenilworth as originally scheduled, Tarry would have benefitted from the track experience from both his 2yo flagbearers. Lest we forget that Mrs Geriatrix was caught offside in The Gr2 Western Cape Fillies Championship, and starts in the WSB Cape Fillies Guineas next Saturday, without the benefit of a race at HQ.
But let’s not detract from the Snaith victory!
Likened to a young version of Jet Dark, Hluhluwe was a convincing winner and is clearly on the up!
Hluhluwe (14-1) went on well to win by 0,40 lengths – not time was published.
Snow Pilot (25-1) looks a dark horse for the Guineas and finished second with a fast-finishing Green With Envy (20-1) a neck back in in third.
Tail Of The Comet (6-10) failed to quicken and ran a 2,75 length fifth.
Enjoy the replay:
Hluhluwe was bred by Drakenstein Stud and raced by Nic Jonsson.
He is a son of Trippi (End Sweep) out of the one-time winning Giant’s Causeway mare Lebombo Breeze, who celebrated a winner 24 hours earlier at Turffontein when her Twice Over sired son Breeze Over won the 3200m Racehorse Owners Association Stakes, run at a muddling gallop over 3200m.
Hluhluwe, a R500 000 National Yearling Sale graduate, took his stakes tally to 4 wins with 1 place from 8 starts for stakes of R597 988.
Entries for the Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas close on Monday 4 December.
The Cape Summer Season of Champions continues at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday 2 December when the Gr1 World Sports Betting Cape Fillies Guineas headlines another terrific afternoon of horseracing.
