Met the mission for Golden Ducat

Danie Toerien

One of the most difficult questions for a trainer to answer, is whether he or she thinks their horse will win a specific race.

Eric Sands, who sends out two-time Grade 1 winner Golden Ducat in Saturday’s Grade 1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate over 1600m – the premier “mile” event in the country - pulled no punches when asked about the chances of his charge.

“Looking at his form, do you think a mile is his distance?” was Sands’ reply.

Well, having run five times over a “mile” without success, the answer is an obviously no.

But, there’s more.

“We are hoping for a decent run on Saturday, but he will be better suited to Met Day - distance wise,” said Sands.

“He is fit and well for Saturday, but the distance is a concern. That’s basically it.

“If he does come up and wins it, after I say anything negative about him, everyone will say I lied.

“As trainers we put our necks into a noose all the time. It’s not a joke,” said Sands.

Six-year-old Golden Ducat, from the extremely talented family that includes Rainbow Bridge and Hawwaam, has been plagued by niggles and injuries, and has only raced 15 times – his last success coming 728 days ago.

And against the field he faces tomorrow, he will have to produce better than his best to take the honours.

“If you look at the field we are up against, most of them have their best form over a mile. I don’t have my best form over a mile,” said Sands.

Golden Ducat does, however, have two major advantages.

Firstly, he will be jumping from pole position, and secondly, he will have Belgian superstar Christophe Soumillon in the saddle.

According to Sands, it was Jehan Malherbe from Form Bloodstock who managed to pair Golden Ducat with the jockey.

“Having known Christophe for 10 years and having met him with Mike de Kock in Dubai, it just happened.

“He was in the country on holiday recently with his family and Jehan spoke to him on my behalf and he agreed to ride the horse.”

While most pundits regard youngster Charles Dickens and Jet Dark, two-time-winner of the Queen’s Plate (as the race is named in honour of the British monarch) the favourites, Sands gives a different perspective.

“What did Trip Of Fortune do last time? Who did he beat?” was his answer when asked about a possible winner.

The Candice Bass-Robinson four-year-old did indeed beat three renewing rivals, namely Kommetdieding, Golden Ducat, and Linebacker when taking the honours in the Green Point Stakes over course and distance last time out.

However, the stopwatch says Trip Of Fortune’s winning time (99.17secs) was way slower than the time recorded by Charles Dickens when winning the Cape Guineas (97.69secs) and not even close to Jet Dark’s 96.81secs when claiming victory in the Cape Mile.

This discrepancy in time is often associated with the south-easterly wind in Cape Town playing havoc with the pace of the race, and with the “Cape Doctor” expected to attend tomorrow’s meeting, previous times may not be that important.

Perhaps Sands’ advice should be heeded and bettors are therefore advised to keep Trip Of Fortune safe.