Jo’s Bond (s/s 98) won the CTS Southern Cross Stakes at Kenilworth, going start to finish over her preferred 1000m distance. The daughter of Captain Al was not under much pressure early on, so was able to resist all-comers in the finish. A below- best Carry On Alice (s/s 97) and an unfortunate, Scandal (s/s 96) followed her in. The runner up is sure to do better for the benefit of this outing on seasonal debut, having attained figures as high as 112 in her prime.
Scandal was stiff in third. She broke sideways and was then switched across the course, only getting beaten less than a length. Just eight days previously she had lowered the SA 1000m sprint record at Fairview. That raw final time of 54.38 seconds is misleading as times only have meaning in context – the track and wind conditions made for super-quick races on the day. After making the necessary adjustments, Scandal achieved a notable speed figure of 103 which gave her a shake in the Cape Town Grade 2 contest. But, for such a troubled trip she might have won – that’s racing, of course.
A revision of the recorded times for the Green Point Stakes has caused an upgrade in the figures for last week’s race. Crunching the numbers indicate that Legal Eagle (116) and Marinaresco (s/s 115) ran particularly huge races for South African thoroughbreds, with Captain America (s/s 108) putting in a typically game effort back in third. Future clashes between the top two are awaited with interest, meanwhile racing fans can look forward to next weekend’s Cape Guineas which promises to be a sensational race.