By Mark van Deventer
ONE STRIPE is the confident selection in the Cape Punters Cup, a Gr 2 for 3-year-olds over 1600m carded as Race 7 at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth programme. Off time is 15h40.
Trainer Vaughan Marshall was disappointed that his uber-talented budding star got beat last time but, after crunching the numbers, to say that there was honour in defeat is an understatement. While ONE STRIPE was awkward on his first run back since May and cast a shoe in running before succumbing by a length to Snow Pilot on that occasion, it is remarkable that he got as close as he did to a Gr 1 winning older horse officially rated 120, giving his senior a kilogram.
Jockey Gavin Lerena can use stalk and pounce tactics in a short field where the pace should be set by stable mate, ALL OUT FOR SIX, with CAPTAIN WEST and ON MY HONOUR also horses that like to give it a full go from the jump.
Snaith Racing have EIGHT ON EIGHTEEN – who finished powerfully to defeat ALL OUT FOR SIX in the Gr 3 Langerman in June this year – as their representative. He may well have strengthened up considerably in the intervening five months but will need to be truly outstanding to trouble ONE STRIPE, who is using this as a stepping stone to the Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas Gr 1 (a race trainer Marshall sure knows how to win!) on 14 December.
Seven go to post in the 1200m World Sports Betting Sophomore Sprint, a Listed event for 3-year-olds. The key form line could be the recent Need for Speed Sprint won by Luhamba Phambili, where ROMAN AGENT stayed on best to get second just ahead of Miss World, Lion Rampart and Handsome Prince in a true run contest.
There ought not to be much in it again but one other who can gatecrash his way into the finish is KAIBOY. He beat off subsequent Western Cape Fillies Championship winner, Mon Petit Cherie in a sprint at Hollywoodbets Durbanville a month ago. Even if that victory came somewhat fortuitously as his rival was slow out that day, he is very smart and will assuredly soon rate higher than a current official mark of 94.
Fifteen will enter the starting stalls for the World Sports Betting Bantry Bay Stakes over 1100m. It falls into all the horizontal exotic sequences and needs solving – difficult as it may be to tab the winner and placed horses.
On official ranking, the best weighted is Marshall’s QUESTIONING, who is set the steadying burden of 62kgs. Next best is AL MUTHANA (a classy miler having a seasonal prep), then BEREAVE (who needs to regain earlier form after a couple of suspect efforts) and COSMIC HIGHWAY (trying to get back on track after a failed foray to the Highveld).
QUESTIONING is an obvious principal candidate proven as a strong sprinter in testing Graded races used to toting heavy weights but there are knocks against the other three.
That opens things up for OUTLAW KING, CAPTAIN ARROW and MEU CAPITANO to come into the reckoning. The former flashed up next to Rascova 28 days ago and is a top-notch sprinter with bright prospects into Summer.
Bass Racing’s highly regarded CAPTAIN ARROW mixes his form, and one would expect a horse of his calibre to have won more than three times from 16 starts. He can embellish that record this Summer if things fall neatly into place.
Piet Steyn reports that MEU CAPITANO is also not a straightforward character to work with but can go some when in the right frame of mind. If he jumps on terms then he could be dangerous, too.
THE REAL PRINCE, THE ABDICATOR, KING REGENT and TEFLON MAN are not forlorn hopes in a contentious Leg of the Picks. Wide cover may be required to survive, and inspired handicapping is needed to coral single race exotics such as the trifecta and quartet.
Short selecting the following race, the Summer Bowl, can help to trim costs. RASCOVA will be hard to run down on a quick track from a low draw. Justin Snaith’s DOUBLE GRAND SLAM has beaten her before on a few occasions though but could not pass Glen Kotzen’s filly in the World Sports Betting Fillies Guineas. It should be a fascinating tactical showdown where deft pace judgement could swing it one way or the other.
RED PALACE is a mighty tough pace-presser who nearly capsized Snow Piot in the 2023 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas over this course and distance. She is a big threat.
Only SAARTJIE is of comparable class to these three mentioned. Physically, she has developed impressively and is poised for a productive summer season, but Andre Nel’s charge may find 1600m on a glib surface at the low end of her preferred distance spectrum.
