Snaith
Ebony Flyer and Gimmethegreenlight both did good pacework on the sand at Phillipi training centre on Tuesday and it is all systems go for the big L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate day at Kenilworth on Saturday for the Justin Snaith yard who are treating this as a second J&B Met day and turning out many of their top horses.
Snaith said, “Ebony Flyer has had this race as her mission for a long time and there will be no excuses. She is a very good filly over a mile and she is ready. We have done everything we can.”
Regarding her wide draw of nine, he said, “She should be used to it by now and was in fact drawn wider in last year’s Queen’s Plate as a three-year-old.”
Ebony Flyer ran a cracker in that race to finish third, although it remains her only defeat around the turn.
When Snaith was reminded that the draw appeared to play a role in the recent Cape Premier Yearling Sale Cape Guineas over the same course and distance, he said, “Racing has been very fair in Cape Town recently and the fields appear to generally be smaller than in the past. In the Guineas the field was bigger than it will be for the Queen's Plate and the pace was slow.”
Asked whether Gimmethegreenlight would therefore try and ensure a decent pace on Saturday, he replied, “No, he’s not fast enough out of the gates.”
Snaith said that he regards the Joey Ramsden-trained Variety Club, the Guineas winner, as the horse Ebony Flyer would have to beat.
“If I had to predict the two horses that would fight it out it would be Ebony Flyer and Variety Club.”
Regarding Gimmethegreenlight, he said, “It will be interesting to see in this race whether he is equal to Variety Club. He has a nice draw this time and Variety Club will have to do the work (the latter is drawn 10 in the eleven horse field)." "Gimmethegreenlight was flying at the finish in the Guineas and came out of the race well. There was no other race for him. I could have put him in the (Betting World) Cape Flying Championship, but I didn’t want to have to bring him back to 1000 metres. It was a choice of leaving him in his box or running for a million rand and glory.”
Of his other runners on the day, he said, “The two fillies in the juvenile race will be very hard to beat. Changingoftheguard has put up impressive work at home and it will be interesting to see how he goes in the Politician Stakes (over 1800m and which will have the Breeder's Cup name attached to it). He has a wide draw in a big field but Bernard Fayd’herbe is aboard so it shouldn’t be a problem.”
Snaith also gives Emerald Cove a chance of defending her Grade 1 TBA Paddock Stakes crown over 1800m after the shock scratching of Igugu.
He said, “She is doing very well at home. I rated this race as being an excellent pointer for Igugu regarding her J&B Met chances. She beat Emerald Cove by 2,75 lengths before the (Vodacom Durban) July over 2000m in Durban at level weights and if she had been able to come to Cape Town and win this race by 2,5 lengths I would have been a believer in her J&B chances. Emerald Cove and Beach Beauty are no slouches so if she could have done that it would have been a helluva statement and would have strengthened her favouritism for the Met. I thought talk of her scratching was pie in the sky so it was a shock to hear it was true. Igugu won’t have had an ideal prep, as she’s only had one run since the July, but if there is any trainer who can bring her back for the Met it is Mike de Kock.”
Reading between the lines, Snaith obviously viewed the Paddock Stakes as no walk in the park for Igugu, which speaks volumes of his confidence in Emerald Cove.
Snaith was looking forward to the day and hoped that the international celebrities would accept their invitations and further enhance the Royal Ascot-like atmosphere that the race has now become known for.
Kotzen
Glen Kotzen said that Fabiani was feeling like “Rambo” after his two recent wins and was “exceptionally well” ahead of his big date on Saturday in the Grade 1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate over 1600m at Kenilworth.
Kotzen said about the six-year-old Model man gelding who has suffered soundness problems through much of his career, “He is a very sound and happy horse at the moment. All of his runs in the two seasons before his layoff (he was recently out for eleven months) were against the best horses in the country. But his two comeback runs were easy pickings and to win again has built up his confidence. It is a very tough race on Saturday, but when he finished third to Pocket Power in the Queen’s Plate two years ago that was also a very tough race.”
Fabiani lost some weight after his recent winning journey to Port Elizabeth, so the yard took it easy on him.
“He’s now back to his racing weight,” said Kotzen. “He has had a flawless preparation. He did some fast work on Tuesday and will have a sprint up on Thursday and will then be ready.”
Kotzen also runs Stone Pine (Spectrum) and Agarkar (Indigo Magic) in the Politician Stakes over 1800m, which will have the Breeder’s Cup name attached to it and is a race viewed as a trial for the Investec Cape Derby.
He rates them as “smart” horses and said, “Stone Pine has been our Derby intention from day one. We think he is a proper horse and he wasn’t disgraced in his last two starts one of which was against top colts over a mile which is too sharp for him. I’m looking forward to Saturday’s race.”
He continued, “Agarkar was a disappointment in his last start in The Selangor (finishing last a long way back). However, he was a bit keen with first time blinkers and prior to that his form was good. I’ve been dying to try him over this distance.”
Meanwhile, the yard’s current superstar, Princess Victoria, is doing very well ahead of her next mission in the Klawervlei Majorca Stakes over 1600m on J&B Met day.
Kotzen said, “The horse who finished second to her in the Avontuur Cape Fillies Guineas, Trinity House, came out and finished a good second to a top horse (Covenant) in a weight for age sprint. The horse that finished third in the Fillies Guineas (Thunder Dance) has come out and won and now the winner of the colts Guineas (Variety Club) comes out for the Queen’s Plate, so that will be interesting.”
Kotzen said regarding Igugu’s scratching from the Grade 1 TBA Paddock Stakes on Saturday, “It was never our intention to run Princess Victoria in the Paddock Stakes anyway. She has too much toe at this stage and we will wait until later in the season in KZN before trying her over further than a mile.”
Ramsden
Joey Ramsden couldn’t be happier with the well being of his three contenders for the weight for age Grade 1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate on Saturday at Kenilworth, Variety Club, Bravura and Lion In Winter, and all of them have the class to win the race.
He said, “All three have had fabulous preparations with the exception of Lion In Winter’s disappointing last run (a two length fourth to Chesalon to whom he gave 1,5kg when favourite in the Calulo Services Premier Trophy over 1800m). But he is allowed one below par run. He was a bit flat after that run, but has bounced back and is exactly where I want him now.”
Ramsden has given them all quiet weeks. He took Variety Club to Kenilworth on Monday and worked him on the treadmill yesterday (Wednesday).
“The beauty of the preparations having gone so well is that you can lay off them in the week leading up to the race,” he said.
He continued, “Lion In Winter can take a bit of a tug, so needs a good pace.”
Lion In Winter, a five-year-old Western Winter gelding, is drawn well in four and has a fine turn of foot coupled with a sustained finishing run, making him more suited to the Kenilworth new course with it’s a longer straight than the old course on which he finished a strongly running on 2,75 length third to Bravura in the weight for age Green Point Stakes over this same 1600m distance on November 19.
Variety Club, a three-year-old colt by Var who won the Grade 1 Cape Premier Yearling Sales Guineas over course and distance in his last start, and Bravura, a five-year-old Silvano gelding, are both drawn wide out in stalls 10 and 11 respectively.
Ramsden said, “You always want to be drawn well, but you have to accept the draw you are given and employ a Plan B. I am very confident that both Anton (Marcus) and Glen (Hatt) can come up with a Plan B. I don’t think the draw will be a problem for Variety Club, but will be trickier for Bravura.”
He confirmed that both horses had good gate-speed but added that he would be surprised to see Bravura alongside Variety Club in the running.
Ramsden runs the two promising three-year-olds Silver Haven and Master Mascus in the Listed Politician Stakes over 1800m, that will have the Breeders Cup name attached to it.
He said, “They are two nice horses. Silver Haven had a good run in the Guineas, but has consequently been heavily penalised by the handicapper which is a bit upsetting. Master Mascus is also on the cusp of the wrong end of the handicapper. He was disappointing in his last start and probably needs cutting (gelding), but his work has been fantastic and we are putting a pair of scoops on and will see where we go from there.”
De Kock
Mike de Kock’s two runners for Saturday’s weight-for-age Grade 1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate over 1600m at Kenilworth, Link Man and Gibraltar Blue, arrived in Cape Town yesterday morning (Wednesday) and both travelled well.
Matthew de Kock, Mike’s son and assistant trainer, said, “They travelled very well and are both looking outstanding, so we are hoping for the best.”
Matthew added that their preparations were practically complete and they would just be taking it easy until Saturday.
The pair have drawn very well indeed in stalls two and three respectively.
Matthew said, “Gibraltar Blue likes to be handy and Link Man is more versatile, so the draws have given us a big advantage.”
He agreed that the mile was definitely the maximum trip for both of them and added, “I am not concerned that they don’t see out the mile, but I am concerned that if there is a south-easter blowing on the day it will make it tougher for them.”
Link man was beaten into a 0,75 length third place by the Gavin van Zyl-trained pair The Apache and Seal in his last start at level weights in a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1600m at Turffontein and it was a slightly disappointing performance in terms of his Queen’s Plate winning chances, especially considering he had a better draw than the pair that finished ahead of him.
Matthew said, “It was not a true run race and he was a bit keen off a slow pace. I was not completely happy with the run, but was happy that it was a good enough preparation for the Queen’s Plate.”
He has been happy with Gibraltar Blue’s preparation.
Gibraltar Blue was beaten 0,75 lengths into third in last season’s Grade 1 Klawervlie Majorca stakes against the girls on J&B Met day last year and will need to step up on that performance to win the Queen’s Plate.
Matthew said, “That was almost a year ago and we are hoping she has improved since then.”
Being a Northern Hemisphere-bred she was indeed not yet four-years-old in reality when running that race (she was born in April 2007), so could well have improved more than the 0,5kg Northern Hemisphere allowance she was given that day.
Topic Author
. I think everyone is still shell shocked about Igugu's scratching in the Paddock. Like dunno what to say anymore.. 
