The Western Province is not known as the Cape Of Storms for nothing. The “Cape Storm” that hit the Cape Peninsula over the past week washed out several racemeetings in the jurisdiction and has resulted in a rejig of the Cape Racing calendar.
This extended spell of inclement weather and the relentless downpour has flooded the facilities at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth over the last fortnight and resulted in the abandonment of four Western Cape meetings.
With the forecast for a reprieve in the weather this week and significantly lower rainfall ahead of the weekend – coupled with the improved drainage at Cape Town’s flagship racecourse – the signs of a return to racing at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth for a nine-race card on Saturday 27 July are encouraging.
And that should be music to punters’ ears, as there are several attractive betting propositions on the card which includes the three (1000m, 1400m and 1600m) rescheduled Non-Black Type Winter Country Championship Finals.
The first of the Non-Black Type features is Race 6, the Winter Country Championship 1000 Final (for sprinters with a net rating of 81 and below), which has attracted a big field of 15 runners, including six fillies and five-year-od mare She’s My Captain.
The latter, a course-and-distance specialist (with four wins, three seconds, a third, and two fourth-placed finishes from 11 outings over track and trip), should represent good each-way value in what is an extremely competitive sprint.
She’s My Captain has been in good form of late and she is favourably treated by the conditions of the race. It is also encouraging that record-breaking rider Richard Fourie retains the ride aboard this Captain Of All mare who has registered all five of her career wins with him in the irons.
The fairer sex could also hold sway in the Winter Country Championship 1400 Final. Familiar foes Wugug and Go Like Flo face male opposition for the first time in their careers but are, judged on official ratings, expected to hold their own given the favourable weight terms. They have met three times (all over 1400m) with the Brett Crawford-trained Wugug leading the head-to-head.
However, the pair could not be separated in the most recent meeting on the summer course in mid-April. Both carried 61kg on that occasion and will renew rivalry this time round with 59kg to shoulder, and little to choose between them once more.
The switch to the winter course, though, should give a slight advantage to Andre Nel’s charge Go Like Flo whose frontrunning style will be well-suited to the tighter circuit with its shorter 450m run-in.
Roving both well-weighted fillies in Trifecta and/or Quartet bets – with Mont Loisir, Kebonalesedi and last-start winner Kelp Forest to complete the minors – should yield a handsome return for a small outlay.
And that could again be the route to take in Race 8 as consistent rivals Fly Futura and Master Of Paris renew their rivalry in the Winter Country Championship 1600 Final (for ‘milers’ with a net rating of 82 and lower), after finishing alongside one another over the same course and distance on 26 May.
The Justin Snaith-trained Master Of Paris was 0.40 lengths adrift of his familiar foe that day but is 1kg better off on the revised weight terms with the benefit of an inside No 2 gate, as opposed to the No 10 stall he jumped from last time.
Radicchio (0.05 lengths), My Bestie (1.80 lengths) and fast-finisher All About Ronnie (2.20 lengths) were only a little further behind that day so must be included in all bets, especially with 1.5kg less weight to carry.
Steinbeck shoulders a hefty 62.5kg but shouldn’t be excluded either, having made an eye-catching reappearance over 1400m last month. He was dropped out to the rear of the field from a wide draw that day (11 June) before weaving his way through the field down the short straight to finish an encouraging second behind Kelp Forest – who could make a stronger case for Steinbeck’s chances in the preceding event.
With improved fitness on his side and the extra 200m more to his liking, Steinbeck is sure to give his supporters a good run for their money.
Elsewhere on the card, back-to-back Hollywoodbets Durban July winning trainer Brett Crawford is likely to saddle a race-to-race double beginning in Race 4 with Pretty Precious. This daughter of Potala Palace returns from a 16-week absence having finished second in three of her last four starts, so she needn’t be fully tuned to make a winning reappearance under Gareth Wright.
Stablemate Captain West, after a close-up third on debut over 1200m, failed to justify odds-on status last time but that was in a ‘warm’ two-year-old maiden race won by a highly regarded well-bred newcomer.
He raced prominently throughout and finished a game-in-defeat fourth (1.10 lengths off winner Air Raid), so the shorter 1100m in Race 5 should be right up his alley.
Louis Mxothwa has ridden this son of boom freshman sire One World in both outings and retains the ride.
Clive Robinson
