Jack Milner: The best 1600m horses in the country will line up on Saturday for the Grade 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge at Clairwood.
Yorker, Capetown Noir and Beach Beauty stand out in the field and under the weight-for-age conditions it would come as a surprise if one of those three failed to win. Trainer Dean Kannemeyer was hoping Capetown Noir could win the unofficial “mile Grade 1 Triple Crown” of the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate at Kenilworth, the HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes at Turffontein and this Clairwood event. The Western Winter colt easily won the Queen’s Plate but went down by the narrowest of margins to Yorker at Turffontein.
Even Geoff Woodruff admits that Yorker could battle to confirm the form on this occasion. “If Capetown Noir brings his ‘A’ game he will be very hard to beat. We got a bit lucky to beat him in the Horse Chestnut.
“Beach Beauty is also a nice runner. I think Yorker might be leaning towards being better over 2000m now. He is also coming off the back of a hard campaign and I would like him peaking for the July,” said Woodruff.
Kannemeyer has already said Capetown Noir is unlikely to take his place in the Durban July so a race of this nature would be one of his missions for the season. He is well drawn at No 2 and will be ridden by regular jockey Karl Neisius.
Beach Beauty would have been the horse to beat had she not drawn widest of all at No 14. She gets a 2.5kg sex allowance but jockey Sean Cormack could battle to get her well positioned while Neisius and Anton Marcus on Yorker, who jumps from barrier No 5, could be well positioned without any fuss. For that reason Yorker could touch off Beach Beauty for second place but if the six-year-old mare gets the best of fortune, she could give the two boys a run for their money.
Many pundits will be focused on the running of the Grade 3 Cup Trial over 1800m in which Futura will be hoping to put his participation in next month’s Vodacom Durban July beyond question. Brett Crawford’s charge has a massive reputation and is already 11-2 second favourite behind Legislate (5-1) for the R3.5-million race.
On paper is looks as if the only runner he has to beat is Master Sabina. Futura has already won at Clairwood, is well drawn at No 5 and should prove very hard to beat.
The manner in which Hammie’s Hooker won a Conditions Plate last time over 1450m at Clairwood by six lengths makes the Mike Bass inmate the runner to beat in the Grade 2 Tibouchina Stakes over the course and distance.