After last weekend’s successful ‘Braai, Bak & Brew’ raceday that featured the Listed Settlers Trophy, won by Rachel Venniker aboard Justin Snaith-trained Call To Unite at Hollywoodbets Durbanville, Cape Racing up the ante with a bumper 10-race card headlined by a Grade 3 doubleheader which, traditionally, marks the start of the Cape Summer feature-race season.
The Matchem Stakes (Race 8) and Diana Stakes for fillies and mares (Race 7), are over 1400m and have catapulted past winners to greater heights, seeing them achieve success at the highest level.
Multiple Grade 1 winners Variety Club (2011), Rainbow Bridge (2018) are former Horse Of The Year heroes on the Matchem Stakes honours roll, which also features last season’s Champion Freshman Sire One World (2019) and 2023 winner Charles Dickens, who is now a resident stallion at Drakenstein Stud.
Dean Kannemeyer-trained Gimme A Prince fought Charles Dickens to the line in last year’s Matchem Stakes, finishing 0.30 lengths behind the three-year-old colt conceding 0.5kg. The well-related Gimmethegreenlight gelding, out of Grade 1 SA Fillies Sprint winner Real Princess, hasn’t been since but makes his much-anticipated reappearance in this year’s renewal bidding to go one better.
His fitness has to be taken on trust and connections may be using this race to bring him on with an eye on bigger targets this summer but, one thing is for sure, Gimme A Prince is loaded with ability and his class could pull him through.
Furthermore, Kannemeyer’s charge has an impressive first-up record, winning twice and finishing second three times racing after an absence of 60 days or more. It is also worth noting that Craig Zackey, retained rider for owner Lady Laidlaw’s Khaya Stables, rides Gimme A Prince, despite the lengthy layoff, instead of consistent feature-race performer At My Command aboard whom he finished second in the Grade 1 Golden Horse Sprint and a close-up fifth in the Grade 1 Mercury Sprint during the winter in Kwa-Zulu Natal’s Champions season.
Versatile At My Command, trained by Brett Crawford, should have a fitness edge on Gimme A Prince, as the Mercury Sprint was run just nine weeks ago, and the booking of Richard Fourie bodes well for that runner’s chances.
However, last start 1250m winner Questioning could pose the biggest threat to Gimme A Prince, one of three strings to Kannemeyer’s bow.
Vaughan Marshall’s charge, who also heads a three-pronged attack from the stable, is unbeaten in three starts at the country course and one of his two victories over the track and trip was at Grade 3 level in last season’s three-year-old Cape Classic.
Boxed Swingers, Exactas and even Trifectas with those three runners could pay handsomely.
The Diana Stakes – won by another former Horse Of The Year in Captain’s Ransom (2020 and 2021) – has attracted a quality field of 10 fillies and mares, three from the stable of Candice Bass-Robinson who ended Justin Snaith’s Captain’s Ransom sequence and won the last two renewals of this race with Drakenstein-owned fillies, Santa Maria (2022) and Golden Hostess (2023).
Both Snaith (Summer Lily) and Bass-Robinson (Gold Poker Game) are represented by Drakenstein-owned runners in the 2024 edition but they’re likely to play second fiddle to another consistent performer from the Crawford yard, Princess Izzy.
This Master Of My Fate filly has done little wrong since finishing seventh on her two-year-old debut at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth over 1000m in July last year. She has finished in the first four positions in all 12 subsequent starts, winning three times with two of those victories over 1400m, a distance to which she is ideally suited.
It bodes well for Princess Izzy’s chances that Crawford has booked Fourie to ride the four-year-old filly whose course-and-distance experience stands her in good stead.
She renews rivalry with Rainbow Lorikeet, one of three Bass-Robinson runners, who boasts an identical track-and-trip record of a win and a third in two outings over 1400m at the country course.
Rainbow Lorikeet showed her form and well-being by winning an 1800m Listed race at Fairview last month and should play a leading role, although Princess Izzy will find 1400m more to her liking.
Clive Robinson
