Entries- Grade 2 R300 000 Ocean Basket Green Point Stakes

BCL unplaced...?
might take a few races to get going again..

I know..sound silly..
but with the new training methods of today...
the july win...was at the peak..takes time to get the horse to that point again..

a build up over 4 to 6 months...

I suggest..that its not the same horse that ran the July and preceding races..

Big City Life, who swept almost all before him last season, makes his seasonal comeback at Kenilworth Racecourse on Saturday, 21 November 2009.



With the Cape’s Sizzling Summer Season now in full swing, the Grade 2, R300 000, Ocean Basket Green Point Stakes to be run at Weight For Age over 1600m is one of the important lead-up races to the L’Omarins Queen’s Plate and the J&B Met which are to be run in January 2010.



The final field has attracted a very interesting mix of runners with some making a comeback and others trying to prove their worth.



Under the astute guidance of trainer Glen Kotzen, Big City Life rounded off a superb three-year-old career last season by winning the Vodacom Durban July. In any normal year his outstanding record would have ensured Equus Horse of the Year, but he was up against the darling of South African racing, Pocket Power, whose third consecutive L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and J&B Met victories edged him to the title ahead of Big City Life.



Indeed, Big City Life finished second to Pocket Power in this race last year but trainer Mike Bass has opted for another route this term to take Pocket Power to the Queen’s Plate.



Although Big City Life is unlikely to be primed for this event, he will need to be pretty sharp as the field has drawn some smart performers.



Ivory Trail was the season ending party pooper when he touched off Pocket Power in the Champions Stakes at Clairwood and that win will ensure that trainers will not be taking Joey Ramsden’s runner lightly again.



Justin Snaith has elected to give his smart filly Sparking Gem another crack at the colts. She was one of a trio of top Western Cape-trained fillies last year, along with Mother Russia and Equus Award winner, Lady Windermere, the Klawervlei Majorca Stakes (Gr 1) will be an obvious target for her on J&B Met day where she is likely to meet her two rivals once again.



Another very interesting runner is State Crown out of the Piet Steyn yard. The gelding finished third to nemesis Jay Peg in all of the Selangor Cup, Cape Guineas and Cape Derby, before injury saw him sidelined for close on two years.



However, he is back in action and made a pleasing return to the track in a 1200m sprint earlier this month where he finished six lengths back to Gulf Trade. It will be very interesting to see how he goes here.



All of Red Rake, Air Combat and Bush Pirate will be trying to push up their ratings by taking advantage in a race where Big City Life may be caught a little out of tune.



In all, punters looking for valuable pointers to the rest of the Sizzling Summer Season would do well not to miss the Ocean Basket Green Point Stakes.

A very interesting race indeed. On paper it seems a two horse race between the two top rated horses. There fitness should be taken on trust, but coming from top stables one would be foolish to place too much emphasis on that. Other interesting runners are the Bass duo of the very capable Bill of Rights and Air Combat. Bernard takes the ride on the latter and that could be a pointer as to the stable elect. However the in-form Karl has ridden Bill of Rights with distinction in the past and the chances of this rather versatile horse could be discounted at your peril. Rumour has it that Bass has the Met as his target and this is the route P.P.went last year. He did run credible races over these distances recently and is capable of a big showing. Justin has a high regard for Sparkling Gem and is an interesting runner indeed. The others seem to have to make marked improvements to feature.
My 1st four
1. Ivory Trail
2. Bill of rights
3. Air Combat
4. Big City Life

Sparkling jem to win it

Brendan Pather
The Cape Sizzling Summer season kicks into serious mode this weekend with the switch over to the new course at Kenilworth and the running of one of the most important J&B Met lead-up races, the Gr 2 Green Point Stakes sponsored by Ocean Basket. Pocket Power won this event for the past two seasons on the way to an unprecedented treble in the Queen’s Plate and the J&B Met.
But the champ is giving this one a miss this year, Mike Bass preferring a later start to the summer preparation of the now seven-year-old gelding.
That leaves the door wide open for some of the younger stars to get the Met juices flowing and topping that list is the Vodacom Durban July hero, Big City Life. Pocket Power won this race in his first run back from his winter break and it will be interesting to see how Big City Life fairs in his comeback effort. In an interview with Racegoer’s David Thiselton, Kotzen confirmed that the colt was under no pressure to win this one and expected him to be around 12 to 14kg overweight for this race.
Kotzen went on to say that, “He’s had one or two hiccups in his preparation, but is now working well. He’s looking awesome and we are very happy with him.”
Big City Life is well weighted on Saturday and has impressed racing fresh in the past but will have to be close to his best in order to win this and that seems unlikely. This opens the door for some of the other contenders, especially those that have already had a pipe-opener or two. Ivory Trail is joint best weighted under weight-for-age terms and caught the eye in his pipe-opener, running on steadily behind Mighty Atom over 1 500m on the Kenilworth old course three weeks ago.
Joey Ramsden confirmed that this was one of the chief targets for the five-year-old who nabbed Pocket Power in the final strides of the Champions Cup last term. “This is his Queen’s Plate,” he said, intimating that things would get harder once Pocket Power was back. Ivory Trail certainly has the right profile to win this race but he will have his work cut out with the chief threats being two horses that seem to be better this term, Bill Of Rights and Royal Chalon.
Bill Of Rights is one of the few runners having a third outing of the season tomorrow and the six-year-old son of Saumarez has been impressive in both starts this season. He ran on powerfully, casting a shoe in the process, behind Air Combat over 1 400m on the old course before just getting edged out by Surfin’ USA over 2 000m in the Algoa Cup at Fairview last month.
Bill Of Rights is certainly versatile but has always been a length or two off the best around. However, he seems to possess a little more zest about him this season and could be in for a good summer. He should strip fitter than most tomorrow and will be better suited to the new course.
Royal Chalon was the Cape Winter Series champion last season winning the Winter Guineas and Classic before failing to stay in the Derby.
He has also had two runs this season, a no-show in the Matchem Stakes before bouncing back to his best behind Mighty Atom three weeks ago. He was closing in faster than anything in that race, which included Ivory Trail, and will prefer this longer straight. The four-year-old son of Royal Academy is still on the up and has the gears to be a big player this season.
Royal Chalon is 1,5kg worse off with Ivory Trail this time around for 1,35 lengths but he is still open to improvement. It will be interesting to see how he fairs in his first top class race on Saturday.
Justin Snaith expects big things from Sparkling Gem this season and has her taking on the boys here. Jumping from pole position, the big, strapping filly is expected to be flashing her tail at the boys for most of this race and fast conditions on the day will enhance her chances. Snaith confirmed her work to be ‘magnificent’ although he would have preferred getting in another run before this race. His main concern is that she will “get involved in an argument” with the other front-runner in the race, the Basil Marcus-trained Red Rake.

The last paragraph above sums up my concern with Sparkling Gem. I think she barely gets 1600m and this race probably won't be run to suit her. With BCL aiming at bigger things we may be in for a surprise. Red Rake perhaps?

Spot on....no wind tomorrow...BIG RUNNER....

How do you reckon they will price this race up?

18/10 BCL
3/1 Ivory Trail ( My fancy)
11/2 Sparkling Gem
8/1 bar

Doubts or not Magic...Sparkling Gem 4 me!

how many july winners have come back winners, other than PP in the last couple of years..

Dancer's Daughter? Good point, though.