SA racing continued over the weekend in spite of the Covid 19 pandemic. Full credit to all those hardy and determined participants who made it happen, enabling isolated, couch- potato fans to wager comfortably from home.
It’s quite remarkable that Born to Perform has managed to win half of his 12 starts despite being such a sluggish starter. The grey Silvano gelding typically gives away a couple of lengths at the jump, then does his best to make up the deficit. Beaten at his last four outings when terribly slow away, he deservedly made amends in the Kings Cup at Greyville on Sunday with a fine performance. The consistent Tristful (s/s 101) ran gamely to get second.
We Light the Fire (s/s 99) was an eye- catching winner of the following sprint and is worth adding to Horse Watch lists. Yogas Govender’s Gimmethegreenlight gelding won last time with a powerful burst when drawn out wide and meted out the same treatment, handling the step up in class without any dramas.
On the Highveld, multiple G1 winner, Celtic Sea was heavily traded at around 8/10 to make a winning return at home base after her coastal heroics, but she fell short, much to the chagrin of punters who piled in at those cramped odds. She was thwarted by Running Brave (speed score 101) who has won at G2 level and was touched off thrice in top level races this time last year. She proved too tough to get past, rewarding her value-seeking backers at 18/1 on Interbet.
Al Mutawakel (s/s 102) came from the back of the pack with a sweeping stretch run to defeat Astrix (s/s 100) in a strong Progress Plate. The victor was only beaten half a length by stable mate Zilzaal in the 2019 Summer Cup and is a quality sort when all parts are in working order.