After the razzamatazz of the Met meeting, it is hard to believe there are only seven races at Kenilworth on Saturday. Even so, the first event is full of interest with several choicely bred juveniles making their debuts.
The Justin Snaith stable send out three runners in the 1,000m sprint and they include two colts by Drakenstein’s ill-fated stallion, Lancaster Bomber. He was the champion older horse in Ireland in 2018.
Lancaster Bomber looked an excellent addition to the Drakenstein stallion ranks, but sadly he died suddenly in July 2021.
Snow Pilot is the first foal of the outstanding mare Snowdance and Justin Snaith has indicated the colt — an early foal — is worth a punt. He is quoted in Winning Form as saying that the youngster “will go very close on debut”.
Snaith has backup in the form of Yamadori and Hluhluwe. The first-named — born just three days after Snow Pilot — was bought by Nic Jonsson and Douglas Ross for R500,000. Snaith says this Lancaster Bomber colt has “an each-way chance — a nice type if not green”.
Jonsson paid the same price for Hluhluwe at the 2022 National Yearling Sales. Snaith’s comment is that the son of Trippi is “a nice type also with an each-way chance if not green”.
There are several other interesting first-timers including Elusive Winter, a R325,000 son of Captain Of All trained by Harold Crawford and Michelle Rix.
Glen Kotzen has a trio of runners and is confident of a big first run from his well-named (the dam is Jo’s Bond) What A Winter colt, Connery. He said: “quick and should run well.”
Of those two-year-olds who have raced, the Vaughan Marshall duo of Silver Crown and Icy Blast have both shown ability.
Snaith’s R475,000 Dynasty filly, Mary Lamb, will be sent off favourite for the fourth race, but the three-year-old could be given a run for her money from Paddy Kruyer’s four-year-old, Red Kite.
The daughter of Captain Of All has more than recouped her R45,000 purchase price and — reunited with Louis Mxothwa — should make a bold bid to leave the maiden ranks.
The trickiest race for punters to unravel is the fifth with six of the eight runners in with a chance of taking top honours.
It’s interesting to note that Candice Bass-Robinson brings Fun Zone back to 1,200m and the daughter of Rafeef gets the nod to beat home Gimmeafirst and Brett Crawford’s filly, Miss Greenlight.
Trainer Adam Marcus holds a strong hand in the final leg of the Pick Six in which he saddles Jury Duty and What A State. Jockey JP van der Merwe rode both females last time out and — if he had the choice — it’s a pointer to the first-named.
Nevertheless — with Gavin Lerena riding the filly for the first time — What A State could run a big race at an attractive price. Others with chances include Bluff On Bluff and She’s My Captain.
Turffontein hosts a nine-race programme on Sunday and trainer Sean Tarry will be hoping Pyromaniac can notch the fourth win of his career by winning the sixth race. With Calvin Habib having relocated to Singapore, the ride on the four-year-old goes to promising apprentice Siyanda Sosibo.
Though he was badly drawn, Pyromaniac’s run in the Summer Cup was just too bad to be true and the gelding failed to justify favouritism on his next start. So supporting the Tarry inmate comes with risks so Humdinger, Bingwa and Homely Girl all warrant inclusion in exotic bets.
KENILWORTH SELECTIONS
1st Race: (12) Snow Pilot (13) Yamadori (9) Connery (7) Icy Blast
2nd Race: (9) Go Like Flo (4) Eleodoro (6) Jade’s Caberneigh (1) The Agents Muse
3rd Race: (8) Augusta Blue (1) Fallo Ancora (7) Contiguous (3) Donder Storm
4th Race: (4) Red Kite (5) Mary Lamb (9) Hang Out The Stars (6) Jazz Diva
5th Race: (1) Fun Zone (6) Gimmeafirst (3) Miss Greenlight (5) Bonika
6th Race: (3) Trivial Matter (1) Tchaikovsky (5) Elusive Trader (7) Sun Dazed
7th Race: (4) What A State (9) Jury Duty (1) Bluff On Bluff (6) She’s My Captain
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