De Kock's rivals need a miracle

By Gary Lemke, supplied by GGGaming.bet

Maestro trainer Mike de Kock has been around long enough to know that there’s no such thing as a racing certainty, but he will be bullish about his chances of landing another Grade One win on Saturday, writes Gary Lemke for www.GGGaming.bet .

De Kock saw his fancied Malmoos run no sort of race in the postponed R2m Gauteng Summer Cup this past Tuesday, where all the top three in the betting finished out of the placings. Outsiders filled the first four and the quartet paid a record R4.2-million.

I had the joy of shouting home Majestic Mozart who just failed to hold on to the win, but who showed that in this great sport there is room for the small owners.

However, one fancies that normal service will resume at Kenilworth tomorrow where some of the big guns for the next two months will be stretching their legs.

De Kock brings down Desert Miracle in the Grade One Cape Fillies Guineas over 1600m and she is a short-priced favourite. Some classy fillies have won this race over the years, including Captain’s Ransom last year and even De Kock’s own Majmu in 2014, but I really believe that Desert Miracle might be the best we’ve seen in many years.

A daughter of the four-time champion sire, the now-deceased Dynasty, she was left alone in the betting on her first two starts, in which she finished second, but since then she has started odds-on favourite four times. She’s won all four of those races, by an average winning distance of six lengths.

Candice Bass-Robinson probably thought that this was to be her year, after her two fillies last year, Chat Ching and Zarina, bumped up against Captain’s Ransom. Bass-Robinson sends out Amanzimtoti, who has won three of her five starts and is certain to relish this long 600m run-in and stepping up to the mile.

She’s wonderfully bred, by Trippi out of Beach Beauty and is herself something of a star. She’s also the second-highest merit rated runner in the 12-filly field, with a mark of 110, which is seven points below Desert Miracle – and all the fillies carry 60kg.

However, should Desert Miracle not like the left-hand turn, or whether she’s not at home in the Cape south-easter, then Amanzimtoti (pictured) can pick up the pieces. Credit must go to De Kock for coming down to enter this Grade One, because there’s only one winner when that happens – racing.

The card elsewhere is packed with stars, many of whom are having their first runs for the season.
They include Horse of the Year Rainbow Bridge, Linebacker and Jet Dark in the Green Point Stakes over 1600m and Computaform Sprint hero Rio Querari in the eighth race over 1000m. The bookies haven’t taken chances with these champions, but their fitness must be taken on trust. There’s no disputing they’ll be a lot more race fit in a month’s time than they are on Saturday.

Captain’s Ransom, the winner of last year’s Cape Fillies Guineas, takes on Zarina, Princess Calla and She’s A Keeper in the third race over 1500m and these four are all top-class fillies and mares, simply adding to the day’s thrills.

Suggested Pick Six
2,3,4,6,8,9,10 X 1 X 1,3,6,8,12 X 1,2,3 X 1 X 1,4,5,9
That works out at R42 for a 10% share.