African Queen. The brilliant Var 3yo fily Via Africa steps into the fast lane at Kenilworth on Saturday
The R600 000 Gr1 Betting World Cape Flying Championship to be run over 1000m at Kenilworth on Saturday brings the curtain down on a fascinating summer of speed in the beautiful Cape. A dazzlingly diverse field of nine speedsters match strides, with SA champion sprinter What A Winter facing the sensational Via Africa.
This is the big one of the Sizzling Summer Season for the fast set, and with both the Diadem and the Merchants winners lining up to take on a prodigiously fast and precociously talented 3yo filly, the race is sure to live up to its name in more ways than one.
The sponsors could surely not have hoped for a more excitingly representative classy bunch of speedsters from across the spectrum.
Big Players
Just consider the major players for a moment.
We have our highest rated thoroughbred in the SA champion sprinting entire What A Winter, who may well be headed to stud next season, but still loves to reign over his speed kingdom.
Then the workmanlike cruise-controlled galloping gelding Cap Alright, who runs his heart out every time he comes racing.
Dean Kannemeyer’s and Dennis Drier’s exciting 3yo colts Cape Royal and Chave De Oura add to the magical mix.
And last, but not least, we host Var’s exciting 3yo daughter Via Africa, as she sets out to emulate her counterpart Val De Ra, who slammed What A Winter in this event last year. Is this new generation model good enough?
The Best. What A Winter is the reigning champion and weighted to win Saturday’s Gr1 contest
Winter Storm
On paper, the Mike Bass-trained What A Winter has the whole lot ducking for cover on the weight-for-age terms of the race.
The brilliant sprinter won a cracker in the 1200m Diadem Stakes at his penultimate start, with all of Cap Alright, Magico and Jinzo, well beaten. They shouldn’t get past him here again.
He has a terrific record in this race. He got caught short on pace when second to Val DeRa last year, but won the 2011 running beating stablemates Rushing Wind and Blue Tiger, in a memorable result for Mike Bass Racing.
What A Winter reminded us that he is fallible though, when coming unstuck in the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate a fortnight ago, when trailing in three from last. Although his trainer is on record as saying that he had no qualms in switching distances in so relatively short a time, the potentially sapping effect of that admittedly half-baked mile effort, coupled with the fact that Saturday’s race is run over 200m shorter than the Diadem, probably makes What A Winter beatable.
African Queen
The horse to upstage him may be Duncan Howell’s terrific Var fireball, Via Africa, who has won 4 of her 5 starts by a ridiculous combined margin of 23,75 lengths.
The Queen of KwaZulu-Natal ran away from her opposition at her last outing some six weeks ago when winning the Southern Cross Stakes in a canter beating Victorian Secret by 1,75 lengths.
Who is Victorian Secret, you are no doubt asking? Fair enough, but Miss October (what a great third –placed effort in Saturday’s Gr2 Sceptre Stakes! ) ran a ,7 length fifth, if that helps.
While that win against Via Africa’s own sex probably means little to the chauvinist brigade that she faces on Saturday, she did win unpressured in a time of 58,31 secs.
While times are relative and probably only genuinely of value when comparing absolute like with like, Cape Royal won his Pinnacle Stakes on 12 January in a time of 58,72 secs carrying a kilo more.
We realise that factors such as prevailing wind conditions, the irrigation of the track, the length of the grass and the pace in the race, amongst others, do contribute to variances. But we also know that Via Africa is superfast and she could run these boys off their feet.
Emerging Talent. The progressive Royal Academy colt Cape Royal faces his big test in the Gr1 Cape Flying Championship on Saturday
Royal Capetonian
There is little doubt that Cape Royal is one of the most progressive 3yo sprinters around.
The son of Royal Academy is on a winning streak of three straight victories after being ‘beaten’ in a rather controversial objection by the top-class, but unsound Happy Forever, over the course and distance on 7 November. A winner of 4 of his 7 starts, we know that his trainer rates him highly enough to throw him in at the deep end here off a less than perfect preparation.
Another smart 3yo is the handsome Jet Master colt Chave De Oura, who reverts to what seems to be his A-game after a smart second to Capetown Noir in the Cape Guineas.
Sean Cormack managed to settle him in the Guineas, and got him to run on late past the best of the rest of the 3yo generation, bar Capetown Noir. If this race was over 200m more, we would fancy Chave De Oura to have a serious shout. And listen at your own peril to the speculation that the Drier yard has lost form, just because Sunshine Rock had a slightly off-day in the Sceptre Stakes last Saturday!
Chave De Oura’s stablemate, the 5yo mare Torra Bay is another speedy customer, who is no slouch and a course and distance winner. She is a half kilo better off with Via Africa on her 8,15 length defeat in the Southern Cross Stakes, and should battle to go all the way with the more highly-rated sorts here.
Still Alright
No Cape sprint feature would be complete without Snaith’s gallant 5yo gelding Cap Alright.
The Betting World Merchants winner got tired in the latter stages of the Diadem when plodding on for a 3,25 length third to What A Winter. He showed that he is as sharp as a razor though, when going down for yet another third again 0,95 lengths behind Cape Royal at level weights in a Pinnacle Plate at his last outing, which was over the course and distance. His young claiming jockey, who is actually a fine young rider, came in for some criticism for his ride in that race.
Cap Alright is 3,5 kgs worse off with Cape Royal here, and we would recommend him as a banker for fourth position in quartets at best.
Champion
Former Cape Champion Jockey Garth Puller registered his first Cape winner ever as a trainer with Cossack General on 9 January. The outstanding horseman bids for a maiden Cape feature winner with the coupling of Jinzo and the year younger Tetelestai, who have won a basket of eighteen races between them.
Jinzo was formerly trained by Herman Brown and Frank Robinson in KwaZulu-Natal and is a robust 7 yo gelding who has not finished too far off at his recent starts.
He caught the eye with a cracking late dash in the Southeaster Sprint when flying through late to finish a 1,15 length third to The West Is Wide. He gave the highly-rated Marshall 3yo a full 9kgs,so that was a nice effort. Jinzo is well held by Cape Royal on his last start though and he would be a surprise winner. One just gets the feeling that his connections would be satisfied with a place cheque. Which at this level is better than a kick in the pants.
The Bezrin gelding Tetelestai is a 1000m specialist who made an undistinguished Kenilworth debut in a Pinnacle Stakes two weeks ago.
He ran 12,50 lengths behind Cape Royal there after winning his previous start – also a Pinnacle Stakes – beating Krackerjack Ace at Clairwood in mid- December. He won that race in 56,08 secs.
The stable has imported a KZN based apprentice who knows Tetelestai well, and the young rider will be briefed on the quirks of the Kenilworth straight track by Garth Puller- who probably knows the track better than anybody we know, except maybe Karl Neisius.
Magical
The Eric Sands-trained Magico is a capable sprinter who has earned place cheques at all three of his Cape starts this season.
Formerly based with Paul Peter in Gauteng, the son of Dupont looks held by What A Winter on his Diadem effort. It is worth noting that all his six career wins have been achieved over the minimum trip. He may thus improve a few lengths based purely on that premise, and could have a say in the trifecta.
Speed Summary
This is a toss-up between a race on paper and race on the emerald turf. Just don’t blink as you may miss it all. Take a note of the wind or lack of it on the day, as this could play a major role.
If What A Winter wins, then it will all be so obvious afterwards. If he gets beaten, then we will be licking our wounds and wondering why we didn’t see it coming.
The 1000m trip is a cause for concern and undoubtedly plays into the hands of the brilliantly fast Via Africa and the smart Cape Royal.
They are tentatively selected to fight it out, and any of the three would be a most deserving winner.
