Vaughan Marshall-trained Questioning was a highly rated juvenile who confirmed his lofty reputation during his sophomore year by winning the 1400m Grade 3 Cape Classic before finishing fourth in the Grade 2 Cape Punters’ Cup on route to the Cape Guineas, in which he finished unplaced.
However, there were legitimate excuses for that below-par performance on 16 December 2023 – he was inconvenienced 100m from the finish, forced to shift his ground then made contact with another rival. That is the only occasion this son of Querari has finished worse than fourth in 10 starts, winning four of them.
Questioning, given the strength and consistency of his recent form, has been more effective over distances shorter than 1600m with Marshall’s decision to fit blinkers and revert to sprints proving a masterstroke.
In his three starts with the headgear, Questioning has shot up 12 points (equivalent to 6kg), having placed twice over 1200m and winning over 1100m.
Furthermore, he is unbeaten in two starts at Hollywoodbets Durbanville so is good value to successfully defend that 100% course record when lining up in Race 8 over 1250m at the nine-race Country Course meeting on Saturday 7 September.
Silver Falcon, a three-time course-and-distance winner, stablemate and last-start scorer We’re Jamming, best-weighted Zapatillas (who was recently gelded) are capable performers in their own right and could make life difficult for Questioning although a bigger threat could come from Bereave and Future Variety, despite their wide starting berths.
Cumber Vieja should land the first leg of a potential Marshall double on the day in Race 4 over 1400m. This Erupt gelding has been a model of consistency in the maidens and deserves to break his duck after three consecutive second place finishes under different riders.
Champion jockey Richard Fourie gets his chance aboard Cumbre Vieja and ought to succeed where others have failed.
And with Fourie booked to ride a promising Justin Snaith-trained Drakenstein Stud homebred three races earlier and another three races later, Cumbre Vieja represents the middle leg of a possible Fourie treble at the meeting.
Lancaster Bomber filly Be Merry showed considerable promise, albeit without winning, in a four-start juvenile year culminating in a third-place finish in the 1400m Listed Lady’s Slipper at Fairview in late May. She makes her reappearance and three-year-old debut in Race 1 over 1000m and needn’t be fully tuned to make a winning comeback.
Stablemate Please Be True confirmed the promise of his debut second over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth as a two-year-old in open company by winning his subsequent outing over 1250m, and that course-and-distance experience stands Snaith’s charge in good stead when he lines up on his three-year-old pipe-opener in Race 7.
Clive Robinson
