Big Cat (speed score 106) put up a doughty performance when winning the Cape Mile at Kenilworth. He has won over further but seems at his absolute best in a fast run 1600, and that is exactly what he got on Saturday. The handy runners caved in as the strong early pace took its toll, enabling Big Cat to make late progress on the rail and grind out a game victory. The son of Black Minnaloushe has won seven races from 34 starts for three different trainers, starting out with Stan Elley (since retired) Dennis Drier and now Brett Crawford.
Crawford also saddled the second horse Sail South (s/s 104) who zig zagged his meandering way up the straight. After a sequence of places, a win would be well deserved for the consistent bay. Sheer Trouble (s/s 103) and front-running Milton (s/s 101) are also liable to win at this class level in the near future.
Cuvee Brut provided another score for the red- hot Crawford yard. She had run some excellent speed figures (105, 108) when narrowly defeated in potent feature sprint races during the summer, so was justifiably favourite to win the Grade 3 Prix du Cap. Despite battling to corner and hanging in the straight, she proved too strong (s/s 96+) for her opponents. Flying Ice (s/s 94+) came on really swiftly from off the pace to get second and is now worth following.
The enigmatic Diamond King (s/s 108) has always seemed better than his bare record of four wins from 21 starts suggest. He produced a career best on Sunday to fight off the cavalry including Uncle Tommy (s/s 107), and Master Archer (s/s 107) in a tight finish. The speed figure may be a touch high – nevertheless it was a gutsy effort by the sparingly raced son of More Than Ready.