Brilliant. An annihilation. Spectacular… were some of the adjectives after Charles Dickens won the King’s Plate of ’24. Fans could appreciate his dominance as he streaked clear, (running straight and true this time) leaving See It Again in his wake.
For a speed figure fanatic, it was a revelation crunching the numbers. A final time of 97.88 with sectionals of 46.8 (final 800m) and 23.7 (last 400m) translates to a speed score of 121, which is the highest figure I’ve awarded in SA for many moons.
Trainer Candice Bass Robinson said that dealing with the pressure and expectations is hard. She, and the Bass Racing team, must be applauded for presenting the quirky Charles Dickens in such great shape and primed to run the race of his life. This exceptional figure exceeded the number (s/s 119) he got when winning the Cape Guineas, a year ago.
Whilst he could not cope with Charles Dickens over a mile on a fast track, second placed, See It Again (s/s 114) remains firm Cape Met ante-post favourite as he will love the 400m longer route.
Thunderstruck (s/s 111) and Isivunguvungu (s/s 110) ran G1 level scores in the Winchester Sprint. They look finely teed up for the Cape Flying Champs over the Kenilworth 5 furlongs in a few weeks’ time.
Both the G1 Paddock Stakes and G2 Premiers Trophy were not true run early on, making the ability to quicken key. That’s Fillies Guineas heroine, Beach Bomb’s distinguishing attribute and she duly ran down last season’s HOTY Princess Calla earning a fig of 99 +, with Happy Chance also kicking on well to be close by in third.
Mucho Dinero is an especially exciting prospect and he too finished best of all to win the Premier’s. He could be worth a long-range ticket for the Durban July as his projected speed figure is 107 ++, with plenty of upside potential as he matures.
Unfortunately, stormy weather lead to Sunday’s Turffontein meeting being abandoned so the much anticipated rematch between Main Defender and Sandringham Summit will have to wait for another day.