Winning confidence in Durbanville
SATURDAY’S christening of the new Durbanville saw the jockeys taking part in the baptism effusively pouring champagne over the baby’s head. “These are exciting times at Durbanville,” enthused Bernard Fayd’Herbe who partnered two of Justin Snaith’s three winners including one drawn 13 out of 14. “I think you are going to find that the best horses will win now, no matter where they are drawn or where they come up the straight.”
Of course things always look good when you are winning but Aldo Domeyer, who drew a blank, added: “You no longer have to hold them up for a run on the inside. Now you can pull them to the outside.”
Stream Of Kindness
Grant van Niekerk, speaking before landing the last on Greg Ennion’s 16-1 shot Stream Of Kindness, said: “The up and downs are no more and the course now gives a lot more chance of winning.”
The trainers, too, seemed almost as impressed at how well the course rode. Barry Donnelly, holding the Brett Crawford fort while his boss stays in Newmarket to supervise Whisky Baron’s British debut on Friday, believes it played a big part in Valbonne being able to win on debut – “This shows how good the track is. Even our Grade 1 winners never won first time out.” It was left to Andre Nel to sound a note of caution.
“It’s good,” he said after scoring with 12-1 chance Know The Ropes.
“But hopefully they will keep it that way and not let us plough it up.”
A personal inspection of the last half of the straight after six races had been run revealed no discernible divots and, while the ground was firm, the thick Kikuyu-grass covering made the surface like an Axminster carpet.
The re-opening attracted a big crowd by Durbanville standards and the bar and catering staff were rushed off their feet. The one disappointing note for many punters was the absence of on-course bookmakers although Betting World did have a presence on the floor above the dining room. World Sports Betting has a contract to take over the ring but red tape has delayed the issuing of the firm’s licence. Kenilworth Racing invited the previous bookmaking firms to attend and were disappointed that none of them had the courtesy to say they would not be in attendance.
To be fair, though, at least one had not put Durbanville on his licence application because he thought he would be excluded by this time.
The Settlers Trophy proved the race of the day - in more ways than merely its Listed status – because Red Peril turned in a memorable performance to slash more than two seconds off a 2 400m course record that had stood for 47 years.
You could argue that the cambering of the bends and the improved surface make new record times more of a formality than a reason for note but only one other winner got within a second of the previous best and Red Peril, ridden the way he was, is obviously a stayer of note.
The seven-year-old was ten lengths clear turning for home – not so much tactics as that the others couldn’t keep up with him - and he would have won by just as far had not Wes Marwing allowed him to ease in the closing stages.
Marwing
Marwing, incidentally, had never ridden at Durbanville before Saturday, and the win was timely. “I am testing the waters because I am thinking of relocating to Cape Town,” said the 25-year-old who certainly advertised his talents.
Billy Prestage has been doing that for generations.
“I rode at the last meeting here before they stopped amateurs riding under rules. That was in 1955 and I won on a horse called Survivor,” he recalled, grinning at the appropriateness of the name. He is 82! AFRICAN NIGHT SKY is a surprise omission from the 16 nominations for the historic Matchem Stakes at Durbanville on Saturday week. Snaith Racing, successful with Changingoftheguard five years ago, said earlier in the month that the Winter Series winner would begin his four-year-old campaign in the 1 400m Grade 3 but they have had second thoughts.
Justin Snaith explained: “The horse is fine but the Matchem comes too soon and I have been caught out year after year by running my good horses in it.”
Copper Force
Snaith, whose only entry is the wide-drawn Copper Force, has the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and the Sun Met as the targets for African Night Sky but he has yet to decide where the horse will start off.
Joey Ramsden has won two of the last six runnings with the high class Variety Club and Act Of War and his two entries include last year’s Cape Classic scorer Table Bay. The highest-rated entry is Cape Guineas runner-up and Met fourth Gold Standard.
Cape Fillies Guineas winner and Equus champion Just Sensual heads the 17 entries for the Diana Stakes on the same card but Andre Nel is undecided about last year’s winner Captain’s Flame, explaining: “She has had a bit of a setback and she wasn’t that well a week ago.”