Kolkata for Gold Cup

by David Thiselton

Mike Bass has some top chances on Super Saturday at Greyville Racecourse this weekend where he has a quartet of runners in the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Gold Cup, a trio of top class sorts in the Grade 1 Champions Cup as well as a few other runners on the day.



He said about the Ladbrokes Gold Cup, “Jeppe’s Reef would have been my stable elect at the weights, so I was bitterly disappointed when he drew 19 out of 20. He ran a good race to finish fifth last year and has had a good preparation.”



Bass said the four-year-old Jallad gelding was a very hard horse to place, which made the draw a big factor.



However, Jeppe’s Reef does at least have a suitable jockey for the situation in Raymond Danielson, who is particularly good riding from off the pace.



Bass’ stable elect has now swung towards Croc Valley and Thanks John.



He was impressed with the way Croc Valley, a five-year-old Western Winter mare, was looking at the track yesterday and said, “She is looking outstandingly well and worked very well for Bernard Fayd’Herbe on Monday. She is rising six and is a full-sister to Komatipoort who gets the trip and she did okay last time over 2400m. She can race handy or from off them, but the most important thing is that she is drawn well, which makes a huge difference.”



Bass said Thanks John’s effort in the Mango Gold Vase over 3000m on Vodacom Durban July day could be dismissed.



“He was widely drawn and Jeff (Lloyd) was the first to admit that the ride he gave him would best be forgotten. He is also doing very well and is working well. He is drawn better this time. He is not easy to place but if he gets into a position from which he can get a blow in he has a chance. He finished fourth in this race in 2010 and definitely stays.”



The six-year-old Jallad gelding is drawn in eight and Stuart Randolph rides.



Bass’ other runner is the enigmatic six-year-old Montjeu gelding Golden Parachute.

Bass said, “He is drawn wide, but is erratic and not easy to predict.”



Golden Parachute won twice in Port Elizabeth recently over 2700m and 3200m, but then ran badly over 3600m.



He arrived at Clairwood a week before Vodacom Durban July day and finished a 9,05 length eleventh in the Gold Vase over 3000m on the day.



Bass concluded, “He definitely stays, but I’m more hopeful than anything else.”



Bass reckoned that the four-year-old Fort Wood gelding Chesalon had recovered from his lameness after the July and had a chance in the Champions Cup if he stayed sound throughout the race.



“He hung a bit in the July and it cost him the race. He will hopefully get through it this time. He worked nicely on Monday. He is pretty fit. We don’t need to work them particularly hard at this time of the season.”



His other runner in the Champions Cup, the Australian-bred Castlethorpe, is officially best in at the weights.



Bass said, “He is usually a 108 and they suddenly bumped him up to 112 for finishing second in a false run race, so who knows if he is actually best in at the weights. “



Castlethorpe had a setback about two weeks before the July when suffering from a temperature for a day or two.



“I don’t know if he got back to his best in time,” said Bass. “He is now recovered so should be a bit better this time.”



The four-year-old Not A Single Doubt gelding was bouncing around after his work yesterday and looked a lot livelier than he did before the July.



Mombasa is another Bass horse that should have a good chance on Saturday, where she is top weight in the third race, a fillies and mare MR 100 Handicap over 1400m.



“She is doing very well indeed,” said Bass. “She has thrived in KZN and is probably the best she can be at the moment. But it is not going to be easy for a little horse like her to carry a lot of weight.”

Vaughan Marshall reckoned a line could be drawn through the last runs of Top Seller and She’s No Secret and these two will be two of his chief candidates for Grade 1 glory on Super Saturday at Greyville this weekend where they run in the Ladbrokes Gold Cup over 3200m and the Thekwini Stakes over 1600m respectively.



Marshall said, “From our Vodacom Durban July draw we had to commit with Top Seller, but we expected Vettel to go a bit quicker. We were left in front, which wasn’t the plan. He came through the race well and is very well now. We will drop him out and I’ve taken the blinkers off. I just hope he gets the trip. I think he will. He finished second in the SA Classic and fourth in the SA Derby both in the mud. Art De Vivre is in his pedigree and he finished third in the Gold Cup, although it’s a funny sort of a pedigree with sprinters and stayers in it.”



Jockey MJ Byleveld also gave the former Investec Cape Derby winner a chance of staying the trip.



Another question about the Al Mufti four-year-old colt will have to be whether he is suited to Greyville, as he does take a while to get going in the straight.



However, over this trip it should not really matter and there is no doubt that once he does hit top gear he finishes strongly, as he proved in the Cape Derby, so his stamina capacity will be the more important question.



Marshall reckoned She’s No Secret’s performance in the Grade 1 Durban Golden Slipper in her last start over the Greyville 1400m was compromised by her bad draw and he reckoned the run could be “entirely ignored”.



He said she was doing “very well” and was confident from a good draw this time.



There has to be a slight stamina doubt as she is out of Secret Of Victoria, whose best wins were a Grade 2 sprint and two Grade 3 sprints, although she did finish fifth in the Grade 1 Garden Province Stakes over 1600m and won a minor race over 1400m.



However Marshall said, “Her sire Captain Al won over a mile and Secret Of Victoria is a half-brother to Rabiya who won the Daily News and the Investec Cape Derby.”



Marshall has already realised a dream with this horse, when training him to win the Grade 1 Tsogo Sun Medallion over 1200m at Scottsville, as he trained both Captain Al and Secret Of Victoria.



Marshall has two lively chances in the Grade 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes over 1600m with Black Toga and Act Fast.



He said, “They are both very nice horses. The two-year-old colts are much of a muchness, although War Horse is obviously the horse to beat.”



Black Toga, a Black Minnaloushe colt, has won three of his four starts and could have been unbeaten as he played up at the start in his only defeat when second over 1400m at Greyville.



Something worried him that night as he is usually a laid back sort and that was out of character.



Marshall said, “I think Black Toga will give a good account of himself. I thought he was quite impressive last time.”



Black Toga has a fair draw of seven and the jockey who has partnered him to all three of his wins, Anton Marcus, will be aboard.



There has never been much between Black Toga and Act Fast at home.



The latter is a two-year-old Silvano colt and he was beaten 0,25 lengths by Black Toga on debut over the Greyville 1400m.



He followed with a narrow defeat to the well regarded Victory Cruise over the Greyville 1600m and then won comfortably over 1600m at Scottsville before finishing fifth over 1900m on Vodacom Durban July day.



Marshall said, “That last run was too far for him. We are also putting the blinkers on and his work has been like chalk and cheese since they’ve been put on.”



Act Fast is drawn well in five and Byleveld rides.



Marshall runs the five-year-old Kahal gelding Tales Of Bravery in the Grade 1 Champions Cup over 1800m.



He said, “The old boy is doing well and I’m sure he’ll run well, although he’s drawn wide again.”



Marshall said Tales Of Bravery had come out of the July well despite having had a rough time in the race.



His three-year-old Tiger Dance colt Tribal Dance won the Grade 3 Schweppes 2200 impressively on July day and now takes his place in the Listed Darley Arabian over 1900, where he has the small seven horse field stone cold at the weights.



“He is a very nice horse. The only concern is bringing him back 300 metres in distance. But he has done well since July day and I hope his class can carry him through.”



Some were surprised that Tribal Dance didn’t take his place in both the July or the Gold Cup and Marshall said, “He is still a little immature, so rather run him against his own age group for now.”

Greg Ennion runs the three-year-old Jet Master gelding Master Plan in the Grade 1 Champions Cup over 1800m at Greyville’s Super Saturday racemeeting this weekend and has three other features runners, including the Grade 1 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Horseshoe runner up Shimmer And Shine .



Master Plan has caught the eye this Champions Season, finishing a 1,5 length second in the Grade 2 Betting World 1900 when needing the run, and following with a seven length sixth to Jackson in the Grade 1 Daily News 2000 before winning the Grade 2 Betting World Oaks over 2400m at Clairwood in impressive style.



Ennion said, “He is in top condition. It’s a tough race with an open look and he will be competitive. I have just kept him ticking over since his last run. He has had three runs and should now be at his best. His work has been excellent.”



The form of Master Plan’s Derby win has worked out well as the runner up Tribal Dance, beaten two lengths, came out and won the Grade 3 Schweppes 2200 in impressive style on Vodacom Durban July day.



Master Plan is drawn ten and his Betting World 1900 and Derby jockey Muzi Yeni retains the ride.



He is quoted at 10-1 in the betting.



Ennion was bullish about Astro News in the Listed Darley Arabian over 1900m.



The Silvano three-year-old gelding was affected by a foot abscess in his second and third Champions Season starts and Ennion reckoned he then didn’t stay in the Schweppes 2200, so he could finally put his disappointing KZN campaign behind him.



“He looked the winner 300 metres out last time, but didn’t see out the trip, which we didn’t know beforehand. Anton (Marcus) asked for the ride again, which says something.”



Kahal gelding Shimmer And Shine runs in the Grade 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes over 1600m, where he is currently the 13-2 third favourite.



He said, “He has had a reversal in draw fortunes with War Horse (who beat him by 2,25 lengths in the Golden Horseshoe). That should bring them closer together. The 1600m will suit him better and he has improved a lot.”



He also runs the three-year-old Rock Of Gibraltar filly Europe To Africa in the Grade 2 Gold Bracelet over 2000m.



He said, “She is out at the weights, but is doing very well at home.”

Various trainers commented on their feature race contenders ahead of Super Saturday’s racemeeting at Greyville Racecourse this weekend that features four Grade 1s, including the country’s premier staying race, the Ladbrokes Gold Cup.



Mike de Kock runs the two-year-old Argentinian-bred Lehaaf in the Grade 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes over 1600m.



Nathan Kotzen said of the colt by Excellent Art, “He was cut into a bit last time (when beaten 4,75 lengths by the Premier’s Champion Stakes favourite Black Toga, despite receiving 2kg). This will be a real test.”



De Kock’s Grade 2 SA Oaks winner Ilha Bela runs in the Grade 2 Gold Bracelet over 2000m.



Kotzen said, “She was disappointing in the (Vodacom Durban) July, but is doing well.”



His tough four-year-old Kahal filly Checcetti also runs in the Gold Bracelet having run on well for second in the slow run Listed Off To Stud Handicap over 1800m at Scottsville on Sunday and she is likely to relish the 2000m trip, although she has a tough task at the weights.



Glen Kotzen runs the Betting World Oaks runner up Beloved Betty in the Gold Bracelet and said she was “fit and well” but it “was a very tough race” and the apparent lack of pace in the race would be “a problem”.



Kotzen also runs the two-year-old Jet Master colt Fly Me Over in the Grade 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes.



He said, “He was drawn 10 out of 16 in the Golden Horseshoe so his good draw will make a big difference this time. He stayed on nicely in that race. He will like this trip and is doing great.”



Mike Miller runs the Jet Master maiden filly Fast Jet in the Grade 1 Thekwini Stakes over 1600m.



He said, “We have been very happy with her work. She was beaten a length by Dylan’s Promise last time and that horse then came out and won a feature.”



The form didn’t work out well in the context of the Thekwini as Dylan’s Promise then ran seventh in the Grade 1 Durban Golden Slipper over 1400m on Vodacom Durban July day, beaten 12,6 lengths, and Charles Laird was not bullish about the latter’s chances in the Thekwini.



However, Fast Jet will run first time in blinkers from a fair draw of six and Miller said, “Her work with the blinkers on has been like chalk and cheese.”



Tony Rivalland also runs a maiden in this race, the Lion Tamer filly, Tappin’ The Stars.



Terry Fripp, his assistant trainer, said, “She has a little bit of class about her and I have no doubt that if that last race was a mile she would have won (four length third to Murmering Sky over 1450m). She did receive weight from the winner (2kg) but it was a creditable run and she would have improved by race day.”



Fripp makes Share The Silver and Mr Mickey Mouse “live runners” in the Listed Umgeni Stakes over 1000m.



Share The Silver has a wide draw, but will race in blinkers for the first time at the suggestion of Anton Marcus.



Mr Mickey Mouse has won at Listed level over this trip before and is off only a one point higher merit rating since that win, so must have a chance off a light weight of 52,5kg although he does have a tough draw to overcome.



Kumaran Naidoo gave Furious Dancer a “big shout” in this race.



She finished a close up third in this race last year from a low draw and is now carrying 0,5kg less from pole position.



He also gave Dolomite a “big shout” in the fourth race, a MR 78 Handicap over 2400m.



“He has been running in a lot of features, so is dropping way down in class and has been doing very nicely.”



Joey Ramsden runs the two-year-old Spectrum filly Careful Hiker in the Thekwini.



She won her second start in heavy going over the Durbanville 1400m from a wide draw and Ramsden’s Clairwood assistant Lorenzo Karriem said, “She travelled well and we took her to Greyville on Friday night. She put up a decent gallop and took to the course really well.”



Dean Kannemeyer runs his once touted three-year-old Dynasty colt Taipan in the Listed Darley Arabian over 1900m.



He reckoned he was always “playing catch up” to get him ready in time for the Champions Season after his Summer setback.



He could have a chance of living up to his reputation this time as he should be close to his peak after three outings in Durb

All the above are by David Thiselton (tipster) (tu)-D

Geoff Woodruff’s contenders for this weekend’s Super Saturday Racemeeting at Greyville, where he has a coupling in the country’s premier staying race, the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Gold Cup, as well as a runner in the Grade 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes, have arrived at Clairwood and travelled well.



Woodruff runs the four-year-old Var filly Princess Of Light and the four-year-old Jet Master gelding Soul Master in the 3200m Ladbrokes Gold Cup.



They are quoted at 20-1 and 25-1 respectively.



A Princess Of Light win would bring with it an amazing feat for her sire Var, a former European Champion Sprinter, as he has had Grade 1 success this season with the lightning quick mare Val De Ra over 1000m as well as twice over 1600m with the classy three-year-old Variety Club.



Princess Of Light, unlike her sire, is an out and out stayer and has won two of her last three starts over 2450m and 2600m respectively at the tough Turffontein track.



She beat Soul Master by a length in the 2450m event, but will now be 2kg worse off.



Furthermore, unlike Soul Master, this will be her first start at Greyville, which is a tight track and might not suit her galloping, handy or front-running style.



It is not her first visit to Durban as she was an impressive winner of last year’s Grade 2 Gold Circle Oaks over 2400m at Clairwood.



Woodruff said, “She is fit and has taken her work very well. The race picked itself for her, as she is a staying type, and this will probably be her last run before going to stud.”



He added that only the race would tell whether she would like the track and whether she needed a more galloping track like Turffontein to be seen at her best.



Soul Master ran a 0,35 length third in the Grade 3 Lonsdale Stirrup Cup over 2400m at Greyville in his penultimate start and is now 2kg better off with the winner of that race and Gold Cup favourite, Blake.



In his last start he finished downfield in the Grade 3 Schweppes 2200 on July day, but Woodruff said, “Nothing went right for him in that race. Never mind being wide he was trapped on the outside rail. But he has come through it well and we will race him from behind this time. I think he’ll get the trip if ridden patiently. Staying races like this are often run on the bridle.”



Princess Of Light and Soul Master jump from stall ten and stall nine respectively.



Both carry 56kg off their merit ratings of 100 and will be ridden by Marthinus Mienie and Marco van Rensburg respectively.



Woodruff runs the two-year-old Var gelding Sabadell in the Grade 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes over 1600m and he should stay the trip seeing he is a rangy type who is out of a Badger Land mare.



He won his maiden in facile fashion over 1200m at the Vaal in June in his second start before running unplaced in the Grade 1 Zulu Kingdom Explorer Golden Horseshoe over 1400m on July day, where he was quietly fancied.



Woodruff said, “He was cleaned up at the start in the Golden Horseshoe and Piere (Strydom) said his race was effectively over after that. He has always shown he is a smart horse and we hope it goes better this time.”



Sabadell has a fine draw of two.



He will be ridden by Van Rensburg and is quoted at 25-1.



Woodruff runs the three-year-old Fort Wood gelding Red Fort in the Listed Darley Arabian over 1900m.



He won his second start over 1800m by an amazing 14,25 lengths, but had to be scratched at the start next time when intractable.



He then ran a good third in the Grade 2 Betting World Derby over 2400m.



Woodruff said, “He jumped well last time. Felix is aboard again and we’ll ask the handlers to do the same thing. Coming back in trip from 2400m may or may not be a good thing. It’s hard to rate him because he’s so difficult. He was all over the track last time and must have run 20 or 30 metres further than the rest of them so he must have some quality.”

Very interesting to see that rain is forecast for Friday and Saturday. The last time I was booked to fly up for the Gold Cup it was postponed indefinitely and I had to cancel ..... Let us hope this is not a repeat :