Clive Robinson
There is a lot on the line for the Paul Peter yard on Sunday with the running of the Grade 3 World Sports Betting Jubilee Stakes over 1800m on the Standside track at Turffontein.
Peter, who is in line to claim his first national trainer’s title this season, has three runners in the final field but their full attention will be on Naval Guard.
At the end of last year, this four-year-old son of Elusive Fort was still a maiden. He had three runs as a three-year-old with one place. He was gelded in June 2021 and was not seen again until New Year’s Day. That day heralded a new era in the fortunes of Naval Guard.
He was well supported in the betting, opening at 6-1 and going off at 2-1, and ridden by Warren Kennedy for the first time, romped to an impressive 2.50-length victory over Alabaster. Then, after two places over 1450m and 1500m respectively Naval Guard was tried over further.
The result has been phenomenal. He went on to score three successive victories without raising a sweat.
The next challenge is to get him to qualify for this year’s Grade 1 Hollywoodbets Durban July over 2200m at Greyville on Saturday 2 July. His last roll of the dice comes up in the Jubilee Stakes, a race he does not only have to win, but win well.
Peter has a lot of faith in this four-year-old and believes he has the all the attributes to not only win on Sunday but to be a live contender in South Africa’s premier horserace at Greyville next month.
As the Jubilee is not handicap, Naval Guard comes into it under sufferance and is 7kg out with the best weighted runner, filly Perfect Witness.
Nevertheless, if Peter is correct in his assessment, Naval Guard is way better than his current rating so that is unlikely to stand in his way.
What he does have in his favour is that he will carry just 52kg, is well drawn at No 4, is unbeaten in three runs at the course and that jockey Warren Kennedy has ridden him five times for four wins and a second place.
The main threats look to be the Johan Janse van Vuuren-trained duo of Puerto Manzano and Second Base. They both have decent form but will have to give 8kg to Naval Guard, a task that might prove to be beyond them.
Perfect Witness has good form but all of them against her own sex and the majority of them within her own age group.
She has also run in some strenuous races on the Highveld, then travelled to Durban for the Woolavington 2000 and is now back in Joburg for this race against the colts. It could be asking a lot from a three-year-old filly.
