Don’t write off Safe Passage
ABILITY: IMPROVEMENT EXPECTED FROM DE KOCK’S CHARGE IN GRADE 2 GREYVILLE FEATURE
ʂ Fourie set for another big day.
There was a lot of positivity emanating from the Mike de Kock yard, as well as jockey Muzi Yeni, about Safe Passage’s chances of winning the Grade 2 Colorado King Stakes over 2000m at Turffontein on 27 April.
He was supported in the betting and shortened from 7-1 into 9-2 by the off. While he did not run badly and had a winning chance going through the 400m mark, he ended up in fifth place behind three-year-old Pure Predator, beaten 4.25 lengths.
Sometimes the hoped improvement comes one run too early, and it could be worth giving the fiveyear-old Silvano gelding one more chance in tomorrow’s Grade 2 World Sports Betting 1900 at Hollywoodbets Greyville.
Safe Passage has been entered to run in the Hollywoodbets Durban July, but his recent form puts him in danger of not getting a berth in this year’s Grade 1 race over 2200m.
He teams up again with Yeni, who has a good record on the fiveyear-old gelding, and two years back did win the Daily News 2000 at this course.
He is a decent price and could provide good value for bettors.
Justin Snaith has a strong hand in the race with three talented runners, any of whom could win this event. He sends out Mucho Dinero, Without Question and Future Swing, and it is perhaps the latter who could be the pick of the trio.
Looking at the jockey arrangements, Kabelo Matsunyane rides Mucho Dinero, Rachel Venniker is aboard Without Question while Richard Fourie has been engaged to ride Future Swing, leaving one with the impression that he is the stable elect.
This four-year-old son of Futura is quite versatile and his six wins have come over distances between 1600m and 2500m so this 1900m should be right up his street. He carries just 54kg and is perfectly positioned in gate No 3.
Snaith has a proven Grade 1 performer in Without Question who without question ran the best race of his career when he finished third in the WSB Cape Town Met.
Venniker rode him on that occasion and it is good to see Snaith has kept her on the four-year-old gelding.
He was highly regarded by the yard as a three-year-old and perhaps this son of The United States is a late maturer.
Mucho Dinero has been the “talk horse” as so-called shrewd pundits have suggested he could bag Snaith this year’s July. He has not competed in the really big ones and has avoided a large rating increase, so should come in with a low weight.
But it is now crunch time as he sits on the periphery of entry and will need to impress the selectors to get into the Durban July, especially after showing little on his Greyville debut.
He changed legs in his first race on a right-handed track and finished distressed, which has to be taken into account, but he needs to show a bit more before one can rely on the four-year-old Twice Over gelding.
Atticus Finch is another who needs to be included in exotic bets. This four-year-old Master Of My Fate gelding has won five of his 12 races and notched up four on the trot going into the Betway Summer Cup at Turffontein.
However, he finished unplaced and was out of action for almost five months.
Alec Laird’s charge has had two decent warm-up races and should be ideally placed for a big performance in this event. He is drawn No 1 and has Diego de Gouveia in the irons.
Formagear is an unknown quantity over 1900m but has ability and is another to consider.
Snaith-trained three-year-old colt, The Grey King, skipped last week’s WSB Guineas, and will be tried over 1900m in Race 8, a Middle Stakes. From Draw No 3 and Fourie on his back, he should give a good account of himself.
Once again Fourie has a fistful of top rides – Mountain High (Race 1), Policy of Truth (Race 4), Mascherina (Race 5) and Hold My Hand (Race 6) – and looks set for another big day.