More like R10m Pick 5
LINCHPIN: SEE IT AGAIN LOOKS SUREFIRE BANKER, OTHERS HAVE POTENTIAL
Hardest race in exotic bet is the sales race, a competitive nightmare.
The Pick 6 pool on Met day at Kenilworth tomorrow could top the predicted R10 million, thanks to the glamorous allure of one of South Africa’s premier race meetings and the apparent gift of a sure-fire banker.
See It Again, a 5/10 hotpot in the main event, the R2 million World Sports Betting Cape Town Met over 2 000m, is every pundit’s best bet on the card.
The temptation to go with the crowd is strong, which means the popular bet becomes a Pick 5.
And, even then, there are a couple of other potential bankers, or legs where narrow selections are feasible.
In Leg 1, Race 4 over 1 400m, some punters will contemplate putting full trust in ultra-consistent At My Command, who is well overdue a win after being the “almost” horse in a string of starts.
The Brett Crawford-trained four-year-old has finished out of the prize money only once in 15 outings (when he was found to have a snotty nose).
He has given the likes of Charles Dickens, See It Again and Mucho Dinero plenty to think about, and would have been a Met starter if his connections hadn’t opted for this lesser contest to try to get a fourth career victory on the board.
But there’s always the niggly feeling that a perennial hard-luck performer will come up with no cigar again. So other inclusions are probably called for.
Runners in the equation include trainer Peter Muscutt’s visitor from KwaZulu-Natal, Quasiforsure, while Captain Fontane, Underworld and Silver Operator can go in and 40/1 long-shot Tout A Fait could be a landmine.
Leg 2, a 1 200m sprint for fillies and mares, boasts a warm favourite in Winter Cloud. Trainer Candice Bass-Robinson seldom leaves a big meeting without some silverware and this contest will be one of her primary targets.
Beyond her, things get more complicated, with a handful of contenders having credentials. You either banker Winter Cloud or go wide-ish.
Leg 3 is the World Pools Cape Flying Championship. If you’ve gone wide in leg2, here’s a chance narrow things down.
Equus Champion Sprinter Isivunguvungu tops the boards at 16/10, a price that’s normally an indicator of a possible banker. But the Muscutt raider was beaten last time out, in the 1 000m Sprint Cup, by Highveld speedster Thunderstruck, who bumps heads again.
These two look a cut above the competition, with only Dyce from the Lucky Houdalakis stable in the same bracket.
The Grade 1 Majorca Stakes over 1 600m is Leg 4 and another chance for Bass-Robinson to get onto the podium. She saddles sensational three-year-old filly Beach Bomb, who already has two Grade 1 titles to her name.
Beach Bomb’s rivalry with Horse of the Year Princess Calla was the talk of the game when she edged the six-year-old by a neck in the 1 800m Paddock Stakes in receipt of 6kg. This time the gap to Sean Tarry’s mighty mare is 5kg.
If the powerhouse females cut each other’s throats, the shock would be resounding. Happy Chance, Asiye Phambili or Make It Snappy would make the Pick 6 pay.
Punters will be thankful for bankers and two and three-horse legs when they get to Leg 5, the Cape Racing Gold Rush – a R7.5 million sales race, a competitive nightmare yelling out for the field in exotic bets.
Tony Peter-trained raider Bavarian Beauty has won a Grade 1, so is likely to start favourite. Tail Of The Comet and Storm Brasco have some class about them.
Thank goodness for See It Again. – news@citizen.co.za