Legal Eagle, Rainbow Bridge go head-to-head
HAWWAAM may have caught the imagination of the South African racing world with the supremely impressive way he won the Dingaans on Saturday but - according to the handicappers - he is still 2.5kg inferior to the unbeaten One World. That represents two and a half lengths over the mile of the Forus Cape Guineas on December 15.
Senior handicapper Lennon Maharaj said yesterday: “We have Hawwaam running to 111 in the Dingaans and the way he won we would probably have given him 112 but we are restricted to ten points in a Grade 2 so he is now officially on 100.”
One World has been raised eight points to a new rating of 117 for his Concorde Cup win with half-length second Chimichuri Run a convenient line horse remaining on 116 while CTS Ready To Run scorer Cirillo has been upped four points to 106.
He is also likely to run in the Cape Guineas. Meabwhile Legal Eagle has been installed 16-10 favourite by the sponsors to win his third consecutive WSB Green Point Stakes at Kenilworth on Saturday week but the unbeaten Rainbow Bridge is only a point behind on 17-10. Undercover Agent, winner of the Rising Sun Gold Challenge and of his 1 200m pinnacle reappearance a month ago, is a 5-1 chance while last season’s Cape Derby winner Eyes Wide Open and Guineas winner Tap O’Noth are both on offer as 9-1 chances.
Justin Snaith’s Vodacom Durban July winner Do It Again is quoted at 14-1 while Hat Puntano, who won last year’s Charity Mile for Mike and Adam Azzie and joined Joey Ramsden a month ago, is a 28-1 outsider.
Candice Bass-Robinson will be three-handed in the Southern Cross Stakes on the same card with 5-2 favourite Magical Wonderland, 8-1 shot Freedom Charter and Nous Voila who looks a big price at 14-1.
Snowdance, second favourite at 11-2, is set to miss the race with Snaith explaining: “She runs in the 1 400m pinnacle on the same day.
“I only put her in the Southern Cross so that I have a back-up should they cancel the pinnacle.”
Stable companion Strathdon is 7-2 favourite to repeat last year’s win in the Cape Summer Stayers Handicap.
Last Friday’s CTS Ready To Run Sale showed a 12.7% fall in average to R205 252 even though the number of horses going through the ring was down by a fifth.
“This was the first Ready To Run sale in Cape Town in the post-Mayfair era,” was the telling comment of sales boss Wehann Smith. Meanwhile top price was R1.1 million paid by Brett Crawford on behalf of a 20-strong syndicate for a colt by the 2012 dual Derby winner Camelot. History will be made on January 16, 2019, when the first stars of South African racing are inducted into its new Hall of Fame. The game’s long and rich legacy and its colourful part in the country’s national heritage will be recognised and celebrated by this initiative.
One horse, one jockey, one trainer, one owner – from any era – will be nominated for induction into the Hall of Fame. When the first equine inductees are announced at Grand West Casino in Cape Town, they will be the first animal sporting heroes to be formally honoured in South Africa – and placed on a pedestal alongside legends like Gary Player, Lucas Radebe and Penny Heyns.
“It’s a momentous occasion for the sport of horseracing,” said Rob Collins, Group Chief Strategy and Operations Officer of Sun International, custodians of the South African Hall of Fame.”
Hall of Fame
The South African Hall of Fame, first set up in 2015, strives to tell the stories of extraordinary achievers, reflecting on personalities and idiosyncracies and not only on talent, skill and successes.
“Through this we strive to inspire individuals to dream and reach their full potential which, in turn, puts them in the position to make a difference in South Africa,” reads the vision of the Hall of Fame.
The South African Hall of Fame has three aims: To celebrate, inspire and empower.
“To see racing legends inducted into the South African Hall of Fame is a dream come true for everyone who has ever been involved in racing,” said John Stuart, CEO of Phumelela. The names of the first inductees will be announced on the day of the barrier draw for the 2019 Sun Met.
Clyde Basel, Racing Executive at Phumelela, has been tasked with setting up a committee to co-ordinate the nomination process.
“Once the committee has been finalised and the criteria for the nomination process agreed, we will involve the public in the process.”
– Phumelela