Comeback for Crystal Glamour
ALEXANDER BELIEVES KANGAROO JACK MIGHT BEEN IN NEED OF THE RUN
Crystal Glamour makes her comeback in For The Ladies Stakes.
Trainer Gary Alexander is currently leading the Highveld trainers’ log with eight wins already this season, three of them coming at Turffontein last Saturday. So his horses in the feature races on the Inside track there this Saturday will be at the top of most punters’ lists.
Five of Alexander’s successes this month have come courtesy of jockey Andrew Fortune, who currently tops the national jockeys’ log.
So the Alexander horses he has been booked to ride, Kangaroo Jack in the R250,000 Spring Spree Stakes (Grade 3), (Powered by DB Fine) and Crown Of Roses in the R125, 000 Locfire Services – For The Ladies Stakes (Non-Black Type), are the stable elects.
Alexander will also saddle classy Crystal Glamour in the 1200m For The Ladies Stakes and has booked champion apprentice Callan Murray for the ride.
He said both Kangaroo Jack and Crystal Glamour might “just be in need of the run after their winter break”, but that Crown Of Roses had been prepared especially for this Non-Black Type race.
Crown Of Roses has won three of her 12 starts since relocating to Alexander in March.
Well drawn, she will have to carry a welterweight again 62.5kg - but is no stranger to big burdens and her six places for the stable include a third under 64kg to Evening Breeze over 1000m nearly two weeks ago.
Although Alexander agrees with the handicappers about her 100 rating, he says: “This is her class of race but big weights make it hard for a filly. It would be nice if the top-rated horses were given 60kg in such feature races with the lower-rated runners being penalised. A big spread of weights is okay for divided handicaps, but surely you want your best fillies in these races?
“Crown Of Roses has done well in her preparatory runs and has definitely got a chance from the draw.”
Four-year-old Crystal Glamour, beaten only a neck by Lineker in the BloodStock SA Ready To Run Stakes last year, has not run for six months and is being prepared for bigger things.
“She’s classy and there are a few nice features coming up for her. We’ll have a better idea about where she’ll go after this race, and which races she targets will depend on the draws,” Alexander said.
Grade 2 Post Merchants winner Kangaroo Jack will carry 61kg in the Spree Stakes and Alexander believes he will be “fairly competitive, although he’s meeting some nice horses, giving them weight”.
Kangaroo Jack, he said, won with big weights as a three-yearold so that issue does not overly concern him. “He is a nice, athletic horse,” said Alexander. “It would be great to see him come back and win, but he might just run out of steam in the final 200m.”
The Charity Mile on 5 November is a race Kangaroo Jack might be aimed at, along with another of the stable’s good four-year-olds Champagne Haze - winner of the Emperors Palace CTS Ready To Run Cup last year.
Champagne Haze has not run since the SA Classic in April and has been gelded. “He’s come back looking good,” said Alexander. “He’ll start racing again in a couple of weeks.”
Final field for the R250,000 Spring Spree Stakes (Grade 3) (Powered by DB Fine) over 1200m at Turffontein on Saturday:
1 - 7 KANGAROO JACK (G M Alexander) A Fortune 61.0 - 106
2 - 5 BUCKLAND (S G Tarry) P Strydom 59.5 - 103
3 - 4 MOOFEED (M F De Kock) G Lerena 58.0 - 100
4 - 10 AMAZING STRIKE (A G Laird) C Murray 57.0 - 98
5 - 1 MOD BARLEY (P A Peter) L Hewitson 57.0 - 98
6 - 3 PRINCE OF ORANGE (C Dawson) K Zechner 54.5 - 93
7 - 2 THRUST (P F Matchett) R Simons 54.5 - 93
8 - 11 VINCENTE (L W Goosen) G Wrogemann 54.5 - 93
9 - 6 LUNAR APPROACH (S G Tarry) J Mariba 54.0 - 92
10 - 8 ANGEL'S POWER (M G Azzie) J P v'd Merwe 53.5 - 91
11 - 9 KOSTYA ZU (F C De Beer) A Balloo 52.0 - 70
Same Trainer: (2,9)
Final field for the R125,000 Locfire Services – For The Ladies Stakes (Non-Black Type) over 1200m:
1 - 1 CROWN OF ROSES (G M Alexander) A Fortune 62.5 - 100
2 - 8 PERSIAN RUG (M F De Kock) R Simons 60.0 - 95
3 - 10 HOLLIE POINT (A G Laird) G Lerena 57.5 - 90
4 - 9 ALEXA (G V Woodruff) C Maujean 56.0 - 87
5 - 6 DRIFTING DUSK (M N Houdalakis) G Wrogemann 55.5 - 86
6 - 7 PENNY SERENADE (M G Azzie) J P v'd Merwe 55.5 - 86
7 - 2 CRYSTAL GLAMOUR (G M Alexander) C Murray 54.0 - 83
8 - 5 FIRSTIMESACHARM (M N Houdalakis) R Munger 54.0 - 83
9 - 3 MYFUNNYVALENTINE (S G Tarry) J Mariba 53.5 - 95
10 - 4 POOL PARTY (R R Magner) C Ngcobo 52.0 - 89
Same Trainer: (1,7) (5,8)