Open and shut for Undercover Agent
CAPE classic form stood up at the SA Champions Season curtain raiser meeting on the Greyville turf yesterday in what turned out be an encouraging day for KZN horses. In the Grade 3 Byerley Turk over 1 400m the Brett Crawford-trained CTS Mile winner and Cape Classic runner up, Undercover Agent, found the box seat from a good draw of three under Corne Orffer.
Meanwhile, the Paul Lafferty-trained Judpot gelding Sniper Shot had run five wide around horses from the widest draw of all to race on Undercover Agent’s flank. When they turned for home Undercover Agent, who returned odds of 26-10, went down the inside and hit the front at the 300m mark, but 12-1 shot Sniper Shot, despite his earlier exertions, was going with him. Undercover Agent, a Captain Al colt bred by Moutonshoek, pulled away in the closing stages to win by two lengths from Sniper Shot.
White River
The winner’s stablemate White River ran on strongly from near the back for a 3,25 length third, a head clear of the Wendy Whitehead-trained Hard To Play, who ran on well after being positioned on the rail near the back from a pole position draw.
The favourite, CTS 1200 runner up Kasimir, was well positioned in midfield but found little extra in the straight and finished fifth.
Peter Muscatt, assistant to Crawford , described Undercover Agent as “still a big baby” but believed once he furnished he would go further.
He added, “The Daily News 2000 is probably a bit beyond him now, but something like the Champions Cup might be an option. But first we will see how he goes in the next leg (Daisy Guineas).”
Lafferty’s assistant Roy Waugh said, “Sniper Shot has been a different horse since gelding. Let’s hope he gets a draw in the Guineas.” In the Grade 3 Umzimkhulu Stakes over 1 400m the Dennis Driertrained Paddock Stakes runner up Lady In Black looked a picture in the parade ring and turned it on well in the straight to overtake the Prix du Cap winner Elusive Heart.
However, the Wendy Whitehead-trained 20-1 shot Twice As Smart was going with her. Lady In Black, a Grade 1-winning Dynasty filly who was giving Twice As Smart 6kg, found extra to beat the latter by head under Sean Veale. Elusive Heart ran a 2,6 length third receiving 4,5kg from the winner. Sorceress and Fish River were next best.
Hack Green
The Drier and Veale combination had a good day as the once much touted Hack Green bounced back to his best to beat a good field in a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1 100m. FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT produced one of the biggest Cape Town shocks since the start of the water crisis when the supposed certainty was beaten at 1-3 in the Glasfit Maiden Juvenile at Kenilworth on Saturday.
Punters began backing the colt at 8-10 three days earlier but the money simply poured on once word started to spread – correctly or not – that Grant van Niekerk had had to turn his back on potentially lucrative Grade 1 chances to stay loyal to the two-year-old.
Stable confidence was sky high but seemingly nobody had heard about Mr Crumford’s spectacular home work and the favourite, much to his supporters’ dismay, could never get in a blow and was beaten three lengths. “He is a smart horse,” Van Niekerk insisted, “but he is still very green and immature.”
Mr Crumford, though, could be something special. Named by the Kieswetters after the way the colt’s trainer is addressed by a Greyville security officer, things didn’t go according to plan on his Durbanville debut – “He was T-boned coming out the gates,” explained Greg Cheyne.
Crawford
Brett Crawford, thrilled and proud to have his first winner by Jackson – a horse he trained to win the 2012 Cape Derby and Daily News, added: “Today he did everything I thought he could but I wasn’t sure beforehand because they were talking up the other horse as if he couldn’t get beat.”
After he doubled up with Capaill two races later Crawford remarked that the stable’s horses had been a bit in-and-out in recent weeks, something that a legion of disappointed punters already knew to their cost.
When asked why, the trainer answered: “I wish I knew. Had I done so, I would have fixed it!”
Spending Spree then underlined that in some cases at least the problem is still around by unaccountably flopping at 16-10 behind Too Phat To Fly in the Midas Handicap.
Richard Fourie’s mount was completing a double for Glen Kotzen who was also on the mark with comfortable winner Margot Fonteyn.
With the CTS Yearling Sale starting on Thursday, not to mention the National 12 days later, trainers value winners even more than usual at the moment.
African Messiah
Kotzen’s name is seldom out of the shop window but for Mike Robinson victories for African Messiah (given a ride by Corne Orffer that was as inspired as it was determined) and Hemero could not have come at a better time.
Publicity is nothing like as necessary for Andre Nel (his boss breeds most of hers) but Straat-Kind and Hemmingway were a welcome sign that his virus-ridden nightmare is nearing its end.
For Eric Sands, though, patience not publicity is his middle name. After Chris Gerber’s Rainbow Bridge (backed from 9-2 to 26-10 favourite) made a belated winning debut under Fourie in the Suburban Motor Spares Maiden, the Milnerton trainer said: “He got injured and hurt himself behind so I sent him to the farm.
“After three months he was still lame so I rested him for another six.”