By Mark van Deventer
7/10 favourite, ONE STRIPE made his bid for glory up the outside rail to accelerate past EIGHT ON EIGHTEEN and GREAT PLAINS and win the Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas (Gr 1) over 1600m.
The victor is a son of new stallion sensation, One World out of the Silvano mare, Silver Stripe and is, fittingly, trained by Vaughan Marshall, who also handled the Gr 1 winning sire with aplomb. ONE STRIPE was bred at Drakenstein Stud.
The early pace was torrid with ALL OUT FOR SIX and O’TENIKWA cutting the breeze, tracked by HEATHER’S BOY. ONE STRIPE was settled midfield, eventually turning into Hollywoodbets Kenilworth’s 600m stretch in seventh place. While Snaith Racing entries, EIGHT ON EIGHTEEN and GREAT PLAINS were moving through strongly down the inside as the pace horses collapsed, Gavin Lerena angled ONE STRIPE across the width of the course.
ONE STRIPE’s powers of acceleration from the 400m again proved the difference between winning and losing as he triumphed by a length. This is his fifth win from seven starts, having only lost on debut and then when running an exceptional race at the weights in second behind year older rival, Snow Pilot, who won last year’s Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas.
“He will keep improving and his acceleration is fantastic,” declared a jubilant Lerena afterwards. For Marshall, who has a fabulous record in this race with six victories over the years, it was another hugely satisfying result in a prestigious race with a century-old tradition.
ONE STRIPE
As for the placed horses, jockey Richard Fourie feels that EIGHT ON EIGHTEEN is a potential Cape Derby middle distance-type galloper who could not quite match ONE STRIPE’s turn of foot over this trip.
“I knew that my horse is a Classic type and could not go with ONE STRIPE who was really on it today. If ONE STRIPE ran straight, he would have beaten us by further.’ he conceded.
GREAT PLAINS rider, Grant van Niekerk, said of the smart grey who tried to dart through down the inner, “It was a fine run, but the winner was just way too good.”
And 80/1, fourth placed O’TENIKWA also emerged with credit being the only pace-presser to still be around at the finish. In time, Andre Nel envisages a KZN Winter campaign for his charge, who could relish races at Hollywoodbets Greyville, given his assertive running style.
When it comes to running styles, they don’t come more assertive than THE FUTURIST’s take-no-prisoners forcing tactics. The rank outsider has stunned punters before when given too much leeway on the lead, and he repeated the treatment at 66/1 odds to burgle the Ridgemont Peninsula Handicap (Gr 3) over 1800m.
His form is erratic, but he is a hard horse to reel in when in the mood and settling into a good rhythm untroubled by any pace pressure. “He either wins or comes last,” summed up surprised owner Pete Carolin. Trucked down a week ago from Johannesburg, Crawford Racing’s revived front runner put a couple of terrible runs behind him to go all the way for the upset.
OTTO LUYKEN, INFRARED and slow starting FUTURE SWING completed the order of finish. They came close in the end, but arrived too late to pass THE FUTURIST, well piloted by Anthony Andrews.
RAINBOW LORIKEET
RAINBOW LORIKEET converted an alert start and a smooth stalking trip to win the Splashout Victress Stakes (Gr 3) over 1800m. She had to run down KNOCKOUT, who made a strong move to hit the front with 200m to go. Under Aldo Domeyer’s urgings, the daughter of Querari ex Nightingale finished best (23.1 seconds final 400m) to record her fifth career victory from 16 starts. Her starting price (SP) was 9/2. Candice Bass Robinson is RAINBOW LORIKEET’s conditioner.
4/10 odds on favourite Saartjie was caught out too far behind a slow early pace and clocked in last in the five-runner field, albeit just 1.65 lengths off the winner.
