Mother City Magic!

So Smooth! Capetown Noir (Karl Neisius) dazzles with an easy win in the Matchem (Equine Edge)

Last season’s Cape champion 3yo Capetown Noir showed  that he is ready and set for a sizzling summer season, when he ran out the easiest winner in recent memory of Saturday’s R200 000 Gr3 Matchem Stakes run over 1400m at a blustery Durbanville.

The colt ran right away from his opposition in the final 200m and now has the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and the J&B Met as his main targets.

The magnificent bay equine athlete with the unique facial markings and a stride from Milnerton to Monaco, welcomed his regular rider Karl Neisius back to racing action in superb style.

The veteran jockey had returned early from his second injury enforced break this season, no doubt specifically motivated by the irresistible thrill and pleasure of piloting the four legged jet.

It was a smart decision by Neisius, who also ended up winning earlier on the Meaker family owned Ice Machine, who now races under the Kannemeyer banner.

Kannemeyer in fact had a splendid day after he had opened the afternoon with the impressive debut winner Sir Duke, for the Joostes.

But the champagne and the show belonged to Capetown Noir.

He had set the 2012/13 Cape summer alight when achieving the unique  feat of winning both the Cape Guineas and the Investec Cape Derby and travelled to Champions Season in March this year with great expectations.

While not disgraced, he came away with just one win and a few great Gr1 places. He landed up running unplaced and just over four lengths behind Heavy Metal in the July, and was rested.

His comeback run on Saturday showed that he is a different horse on a left handed track and Greyville is just not his game.

Capetown Noir was sent off in the red against nine opponents, who always looked rather hard pressed to go with him.

In typically competitive Snaith style, Richard Fourie took the fight to the enemy and set the free striding Terminator out front to show the way.

Capetown Noir was tucked in midfield and about six lengths off the action.

Into the straight Neisius angled the champion out to the middle of the track to ensure a clear run as Terminator continued to roll.

With the rest under flailing whips and animated arms, Neisius casually gave Capetown Noir his head at the 300m. The 4yo star sauntered into the lead and in a few strides it was race over as he drew clear and won geared down by 4 lengths in a time of 86,44 secs.

Mike Bass’ Listed Gatecrasher Stakes winning Captain Al 3yo Zambezi Torrent ran on best of the rest for second, and shaded Snaith’s Villa Del Largo, who ran third.

The forward galloping Terminator, who was actually mentioned in the preliminaries as a possible challenger to the champion, stopped late to run fourth.

Power Pair. Dean Kannemeyer and Karl Neisius after Capetown Noir’s Byerley Turk win

It is no embarrassment to be beaten by a champion, but the rest just didn’t  stand a chance on the WFA terms of this contest.

Capetown Noir has raced twelve times for 7 wins and 4 places, and took his stakes earnings to R1 746 950.

He was bought by Dean Kannemeyer and the Form Organisation’s Jehan Malherbe who went to R1 million in search of a classic horse at the National Yearling Sale on behalf of Lady Christine Laidlaw.

The full-brother to the well-performed Chris Van Niekerk-owned Across The Ice was bred by Lammerskraal Stud and is by Western Winter out of the one time winning Fort Wood mare, Akinfeet.

With the recent sad demise of his sire, Capetown Noir may yet play a significant role in South African racing in time to come.

For now he is an exciting  horse that will get the pulses and hearts racing of those that love this game.

And that is not because he has won the Matchem Stakes. In fact winning this race guarantees nothing, if one looks at the honour roll.

The 2011 winner Variety Club stands out head and shoulders, but the rest don’t exactly inspire that much excitement.

The 2013/2014 Cape summer racing season kicks off on Saturday 26 October with the Gr3 R200 000 Elusive Fort Cape Classic .

The season has been renamed the Summer Of Champions, and it is stars like Capetown Noir that will see the festival living up to its name.