Big Pointer to Guineas Picture

Big Pointer to Guineas Picture

By Gary Lemke, supplied by GGGaming.bet

The three-year-old boys flex their muscles at Kenilworth tomorrow, with the result of the Grade 2 Concorde Cup over 1600m giving us a pointer as to what to expect in the upcoming Cape Guineas, writes Gary Lemke for GGGaming.bet

Although it’s a relatively small field of eight runners, there is some star appeal.
Good Traveller for instance has already contested a Grade One race and has won four of his seven races to date.
Cosmic Highway is a three-time winner from only five starts and looks progressive, while Xavion and Waiting For Summer and Pomp And Power represent the powerful Candice Bass-Robinson and Justin Snaith yards.

Last year there were also 10 runners, but with the benefit of looking back 12 months, we can see what quality this race threw up.
The winner was Malmoos, the favourite, from the Mike de Kock stable. He beat home Linebacker and Rascallon. Now, a year later, we can see how good that field was. Malmoos fluffed his lines in the Cape Guineas but is favourite for next week’s R1-million Summer Cup at Turffontein.

Linebacker finished second in the Guineas, then won three starts before finishing second in the Vodacom Durban July. Rascallion placed third in the Cape Guineas and went on to run fifth in July.
This brings us back to Saturday’s Concorde Cup. Whoever wins should run a big race in the Guineas – and going forward in their three-year-old seasons – and the field is stacked with quality.

But, and this is the big but for me … I’d be surprised if Xavion, Waiting For Summer and Pomp And Power are the top Guineas challengers from the Bass-Robinson and Snaith stables. I feel that Trip To Fortune is probably Bass-Robinson’s leading light for the Guineas, and while I don’t know what Snaith’s is, I liked the way his Pacaya won over the Kenilworth mile during the week.

On the flip side of the coin, Cosmic Highway is from the Dean Kannemeyer stable which produced last year’s Cape Guineas winner, albeit a 100-1 outsider in Russian Rock. Still, Cosmic Highway looks to be, along with Waterbury Lane, this trainer’s “Guineas horse”, so I have to go with him to win on Saturday.

Given that we haven’t seen the best of these three-year-olds he isn’t a strong selection, but based on the above argument I think he’s the right one to be on, despite trying the distance for the first time.

The supporting feature is also a Grade 2, the Cape Merchants over 1200m. When I saw the field my eye stopped on Ambiotrix who will be carrying 52.5kg and who won two of his three races as a juvenile. He’s now thrown into the big league against older, hardened sprinters and comes off a 167-day rest so is probably a run short of his peak.
But that could be the case with several runners, with all of She’s A Keeper (too short), Captain Tatters, Worlds Your Oyster, Pleasedtomeetyou, Vikram (too short) and Captain Fontaine also returning from breaks.

The latter has travelled down from KZN and has a big reputation, being unbeaten in four races. He’s the current favourite but I’m going to go against him. Don’t rule out an upset here!

Last week I was over the moon celebrating the fluent win of Majestic Mozart at Turffontein as part of the ownership of the horse who will now take his place in next week’s Summer Cup, as a long-priced outsider. This week I will be trying to shout him, Holy Warrior, for Bass Racing in the fifth race at Kenilworth over 2000m. It might well be a touch short for him these days, but he should be running on late. Royal Watch might be the one to beat here.

The GGGaming-sponsored Bass Racing stable has, apart from the mentioned three runners, Russet Air in the Cape Merchants and Whatsinadream in the last race. Don’t leave either out of your exotics.

Pictured: Xavion from Bass Racing