Jack Milner
Piere Strydom knows what it takes to win a Grade 1 race, after all he’s been successful in around 100 of them in his career.
So, when See It Again lines up in the Grade 1 World Sports Betting Cape Town Met over 2000m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth tomorrow, the son of Twice Over will have every iota of assistance needed from the saddle.
He will need to have nerves because there is always a lot of pressure on a jockey who is riding a 9-20 favourite in one of the biggest races in the country.
“You still get a lump in your throat ahead of a race like this,” says Strydom “People believe he is that price for a reason so he must be a certainty.
“I also know If things don’t go my way and he gets beaten, I will be the first to get the blame.”
So, does Strydom regard his mount as a red-hot favourite?
“You never know if there is going to be a pace or not and from No 11 draw it is not easy.
“The draw will be of concern if the pace is slow but if we get a good pace the draw won’t matter.
“If all things fall into place, he should win,” concluded Strydom.
When asked which runners he saw as his dangers, Strydom admitted that he could not find any horse that stands out.
This time last year Strydom was scrambling to get any rides. “I was taking 50-1 shots in feature races just to get a ride,” he commented.
Then, just prior to last year’s Grade 1 Cape Derby his mount was scratched and at the same time Michael Roberts had See It Again in the race but was unable to find a suitable jockey. It was suggested to him and owner Nic Jonsson they should get Strydom to ride the three-year-old who was priced up at 50-1.
After much deliberation Strydom was engaged and shocked the racing world when he beat odds-on favourite Charles Dickens to win the race.
The rest, as the saying goes, is history. Strydom has since ridden the horse seven more times, winning another three events, including the Grade 1 Daily News 2000 and the Garde 2 Gree Point Stakes, and finished second in the others.
If See It Again does win, Michael Roberts will join an elite group of people who have both ridden (Sledgehammer in 1975) and trained a Cape Town Met winner.
Once one looks past See It Again the race is wide open.
Justin Snaith has five runners representing his yard and Pacaya could be the best of the quintet. He showed his well-being by finishing a close-up third in two Graded features and is better off at the weights with all the runners who finished in front of him. JP van der Merwe takes the ride and jumps from No 2 draw.
Rascallion is an outsider, but he was a decent three-year-old and has had two very good warm-up races. He is trained by Vaughan Marshall and will be ridden by Bernard Fayd’Herbe, each of whom has won this race three times.
Snaith also has Mucho Dinero who has won his last four races but does take a jump in class and may struggle to beat the likes of Pacaya who is weighted to turnaround the outcome.
Royal Aussie is another Snaith inmate and this four-year-old gelding is still improving. There was a lot to like about his third place in the King’s Plate, coming from last to finish 1.25 lengths behind See It Again.
He is untried over the distance so one does not know what to expect but jockey Kabelo Matsunyane, who won his first Grade 1 race aboard Winchester Mansion in the Hollywoodbets Durban July in which he beat See It Again by 0.25 lengths, would love nothing better than to do it again in this event.
There are two other Grade 1 races on the card at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth and both are set for a grandstand finish.
Princess Calla will be looking to redeem her reputation in the City Of Cape Town Majorca Stakes over 1600m. The reigning Equus Horse Of The Year has not had a great run in Cape Town this season but Sean Tarry’s charge could turn it all around this time.
In her last start, the Grade 1 Cartier Paddock Stakes, she looked a winner going into the closing stages, but she is suspect over 1800m and got collared close home by Beach Bomb to go down by 0.30 lengths.
This time she reverts to 1600m and that should be right up her street. As a result, with Richard Fourie in the irons, the six-year-old daughter of Flower Alley should notch up her 12th career victory and her fifth Grade 1 title.
Candice Bass-Robinson-trained Beach Bomb is the official new kid on the block and has really come to hand during the summer. She came from last to capture the Grade 1 Cape Fillies Guineas and again ran on strongly to snare Princess Calla in the Paddock Stakes.
She certainly has the breeding as her mother, Beach Beauty, won the Paddock Stakes and Majorca Stakes back-to-back for successive two years.
Beach Bomb has won four of her six starts and for the second time in a row, will have JP van der Merwe in the irons.
On paper the World Pool Cape Flying Championship over 1000m looks a match race between Isivunguvungu and Thunderstruck. The pair fought out the finish of the Non-Black Type Sprint Cup over this course and distance three weeks ago with Thunderstruck getting the better by 0.40 lengths.
Tarry’s charge has won both of his races in Cape Town and will be reunited with Piere Strydom for this race.
However, Isivunguvungu had not run since winning the Grade 1 Mercury Sprint in July and probably needed to clear himself of ring rust.
He will strip a lot fitter this time and Peter Muscutt’s charge should turn the tables.
With Fourie aboard we can expect a riding masterclass for the two chief protagonists.
Jack Milner’s selections
Race 1: 2 Lion Rampart, 8 Roman Agent, 15 Sweetie Darling, 11 All Is Green
Race 2: 19 Handsome Prince, 6 Talk To The Master, 3 Sicily, 11 Commanding
Race 3: 8 Green With Envy, 9 Call To Unite, 10 Hat's Pride, 12 Blue Bay
Race 4: 4 At My Command, 7 Captain Fontane, 13 Underworld, 6 Quasiforsure
Race 5: 5 Winter Cloud, 12 Shantastic, 2 Distant Winter, 3 Hunting Trip
Race 6: 9 Isivunguvungu, 8 Thunderstruck, 4 Dyce, 7 Kwinta's Light
Race 7: 5 Princess Calla, 11 Beach Bomb, 4 Red Palace, 6 Make It Snappy
Race 8: 10 Bavarian Beauty, 8 Tail Of The Comet, 4 Sunshine Day, 2 Pritti Victory
Race 9: 11 See It Again, 3 Pacaya, 13 Rascallion, 6 Mucho Dinero
Race 10: 3 Aragosta, 13 Nebraas, 4 Triple Time, 10 Black Thorn
Race 11: 8 Peregrine Falcon, 9 Star Performer, 5 Speed Racer, 20 Hoodia, 11 Ice Rain
BEST BETS
Race 9 No 11 See It Again
Race 3 No 8 Green With Envy,
VALUE BET
Race 11 No 8 Peregrine Falcon
BEST SWINGER
Race 6 8x9
BIPOT 1 (Races 2 to 7)
R128
Leg 1: 3, 6, 11, 19
Leg 2: 8
Leg 3: 4, 6, 7, 13
Leg 4: 5, 12
Leg 5: 8, 9
Leg 6: 5, 11
BIPOT 2 (Races 6 to 11)
R160
Leg 1: 8, 9
Leg 2: 5, 11
Leg 3: 2, 4, 8, 10
Leg 4: 11
Leg 5: 3, 13
Leg 6: 5, 8, 9, 11, 20
PLACE ACCUMULATOR
R36
Leg 1: 8
Leg 2: 4, 7, 13
Leg 3: 5, 12
Leg 4: 8, 9
Leg 5: 5
Leg 6: 4, 8, 10
Leg 7: 11
PICK 6
R1080
Leg 1: 4, 6, 7, 11, 13, 15
Leg 2: 2, 3, 5, 12
Leg 3: 4, 8, 9
Leg 4: 4, 5, 11
Leg 5: 2, 4, 8, 10, 11
Leg 6: 11
JACKPOT 1 (Races 1 to 4)
R180
Leg 1: 2, 8, 12, 15, 17
Leg 2; 3, 6, 10, 11, 14, 19
Leg 3: 8
Leg 4: 4, 6, 7, 11, 13, 15
JACKPOT 2 (Races 5 to 8)
R180
Leg 1: 2, 3, 5, 12
Leg 2: 4, 8, 9
Leg 3: 4, 5, 11
Leg 4: 2, 4, 8, 10,
JACKPOT 3 (Races 8 to 11)
R70
Leg 1: 2, 4, 8, 10, 11
Leg 2: 11
Leg 3: 3, 13
Leg 4: 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 17, 20