Goodtime Gal ready to rock
MIKE ROBINSON with a string of just 27 at Phillippi training centre in Cape Town has started the season well and has high hopes for his Royal Air Force mare Goodtime Gal, who won the Grade 3 WSB weight for age Diana Stakes over 1 400m at Durbanville on Saturday by a comfortable 2,25 lengths under Anton Marcus.
One characteristic of the mare, which gives Robinson confidence of further progression this season, is that she takes more after her dam sire Silvano than her sire Royal Air Force. He said, “The Royal Air Force’s tend to be tall and lanky.
“She is not typical of them, she is not big, but, like the Silvano’s, there is a lot of her.”
It has become well established that Silvano’’s progeny get better and better with age, so his influence could see Goodtime Gal doing even better as a five-year-old than she did last season.
Captain’s Flame
In fact, last season she finished second in the Diana Stakes to Captain’s Flame and reversed that form on Saturday by over four lengths. Her two victories last term included the Grade 3 Victress Stakes over 1 800m in December, where she beat Nightingale by 0,75 lengths at level weights.
She showed in that race she has another trait passed on by Silvano, courage.
In her next start in the Grade 1 Maine Chance Paddock Stakes over the same Kenilworth 1 800m course and distance she faded late to finish a 3,65 length eighth.
However, she bounced back in the Grade 1 Klawervlei Majorca Stakes and looked the winner until scythed down late by the fast finishing pair, Nightingale and Star Express.
Significantly, Goodtime Gal was drawn in pole in both the Victress and the Diana and in barrier position three in the Majorca, whilst she had a wide draw of eleven out of 12 in the Paddock.
Turn of foot
She is a handy type who has an excellent turn of foot and found cover in all of the Victress, Majorca and Diana, but was caught one wide in the Paddock.
This suggests she might take too strong a hold without cover. She will be worth following this season. Robinson had 20 winners last season at a strike rate of 11,63% and is on track to bettering that this season with six winners already at a strike rate of 13,95%.
He is glad to be at Phillippi due to what he described as “good facilities”, including “very good tracks and nice, big, wide open spaces where horses can roll, it’s a great environment to train in and it also nice being close to Kenilworth.”
Robinson was full of praise for the newly re-laid Durbanville surface and said that whilst the going was firm due to the current record-breaking drought it was, importantly, level. “It is when you have firm ground coupled with divots where problems happen,” he said.
At Phillippi the tracks are watered through the natural underground water reserves and up to now there has been a normal supply of municipal water for the horses’ drinking requirements. Goodtime Gal has been raised from a 99 to a 101 merit rating by the handicappers, which Robinson will be relieved about. The runner up was the 106 merit rated Gimme Six, so the handicappers could have taken a harsher view, but off a 101 Robinson will have more options open to him.