Sun Met Review

SunMet Review
A well organized, well promoted event, with some great racing. A few upsets, and attendance outside of the main venues looked lower than previous years. A very long day.
The first half of the day belonged to sire Captain Al.
Race 1: captain Swarovski won this event for the second year in a row.
Race 2: Dutch Philip ran a good race in defeat, and once again this race went to a maiden filly- weight counts! Call to Account stepped up nicely from her debut and won in a decent time. Kasimir flew up late and looks a ver decent sort. Capt Al exacta. Inside to middle looked best going down the straight.
Race 3: Bold Respect got the better of Wonderwall in a titanic battle. Plenty of merit in this win as BR was conceding 2kg to the runner up. Bold Silvano is a sire to watch.
Race 4: Live Life showed that her win in the Sceptre was no fluke, and she showed further improvement to get the better of Always in Charge which showed a welcome return to something like his best form. I think that he is a sprinter. Shock of the race was the dismal performance of Sergeant Hardy - clearly something amiss with him. Cloth Of Cloud sadly has not got over her mental issues.
Race 5: William Longsword won comfortably, probably with a bit in hand. Copper Force showed huge improvement and another superb ride by Delpech from that draw. Singapore Sling ran well in third. Safe Harbour had a rough passage, and ran well below best after a hard seasonal program. Just Sensual tried forcing tactics to overcome the draw, but faded badly and this run best ignored.
Race 6: The 3 class horses fought this out, with Trip to Heaven an unlucky loser. He remains the best sprinter around at present. Alice was rewarded for her consistency. Red Ray will be tough to beat over 1200m and it's good to see him regaining form. Jo' s Bond stepped up again and is smart over the minimum trip.
Race 7: Delpech again shone in the saddle to win on Nightingale from a poor draw. There was a decent pace, and she was able to get up with a strong finish. Star Express ran another good race in 2nd, and Goodtime Gal showed further improvement. Final Judgement was the first of the 3yo fillies home, and was prominent at the 200m pole. Will be a force in the KZN season with the shorter run-in. Silver Mountain undone by the draw.
Race 8: The pace was pathetic and Edict of Nantes won the sprint home under Frankie. The form of this race is best ignored.
Race 9: The questions were answered regarding Whisky Barons ability- he won well and I gave him a rating of 119. Legal Eagle ran a game race in defeat, the 2kg proving decisive. Gave him 120 for this run, similar to last year. Captain America ensured a solid gallop, and ran up to his 116- for once and for all can we agree that these two horses do stay 2000m! Gold Standard ran an excellent race, stepping up to about MR 114 with future improvement to come. He was impeded in the closing stages and might have gone closer otherwise. Mainaresco ran 115, as good a rating as he has achieved previously. He is a top horse, and there may still be improvement to come. Whisky Baron may also have more scope for improvement.
Race 10: For some reason this race throws upsets frequently; I think the reason is the lack of genuine pace and the small pool of decent stayers in SA.

Thank you Peter

The one thing that may have been answered is that it appears that the Sire is the greater influence in Table Bays case ,because it appears that 1400m might be his limit!..............(or needs 2 miles)
Definitely did not accelerate at any stage in the straight!

.....not only the sire influence.....this horse is closely related to a 6 furlong speed demon in....Cape Of Good Hope.....must have made JR think that it was kismet..... :dry:

:lol:

Attendance was very low. In previous years i could not even walk at the bookies area.......very very poor but the boxes and rooms.in the main stand were packed

Close to 25000....marquees and picnic sites more spread out so seemed a lot less people.....

Informative review - thanks PeterD - I'll just add that imo the races down the straight were affected by the draw - the ones drawn in double figures could just as well have stayed at home; the Derby as you mentioned a diabolical pace - I see there are those who are now labeling Horizon as the 'biggest false favorite' of the day :ohmy: Not to say that he would have definitely won with a fair gallop (as I do believe his 'coltishness' is becoming bigger factor every day) but the pace certainly did not do him any favors.

thats why terence millard was the greatest trainer i will ever see in my lifetime as he made sure that the races over distance were run at a true run pace by putting in pacemakers ..the derby had a handful of runners why not put an extra runner or two in to ensure a proper run race its a group one race which has a massive effect on the stud book if you ever want to become a stallion...no excuses just no forward thinking

talking about pace i dont think i will see sectional timing ever in this country gee they taking there time about it whats it almost 4 years now

pirates wrote: talking about pace i dont think i will see sectional timing ever in this country gee they taking there time about it whats it almost 4 years now

I see Sporting Post article saying that a section timing pad come loose in a stipes report recently

I still think the problem is how they are going to charge for it ?

Rob Faux "The one thing that may have been answered is that it appears that the Sire is the greater influence in Table Bays case ,because it appears that 1400m might be his limit!..............(or needs 2 miles)<br />
Definitely did not accelerate at any stage in the straight!"

Yip, sadly agree. And the Ringer was correct.

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