Journalist: David Thiselton - Gold Circle Publishing Department
Sean Tarry slammed the Kenilworth starter after his charge Carry On Alice and a few other horses were made to wait an age in the stalls before the running of the R1 million Gr 1 Betting World Cape Flying Championships, while others were allowed to unload, although chief stipendiary steward Ernie Rodrigues defended the starter’s actions.
Meanwhile Tarry is bullish about the chances of his Gr 1 R2,5 million J&B Met runner Gold Onyx and added that at this stage Carry On Alice, who finished a fine third in the Cape Flying, will be running in the Gr 1 Klawervlei Majorca Stakes, although he will make a final decision on Friday.
Rodrigues explained that the Cape Flying Field was one of the most difficult fields of the season to load as all of Trip Tease, Normanz and Captain Of All are horses that don’t stand after loading, while Happy Forever, Castlethorpe, Tevez and Alboran Sea also have their issues with the starting stalls and Copper Parade has to be loaded as late as possible.
Rodrigues said that there had been a meeting with the chief handler at Kenilworth, Malan Du Toit, to discuss the loading procedure beforehand.
He added, “The two most difficult horses Trip Tease and Normanz were drawn next to each other. If they are drawn apart in this circumstance they can be loaded together, but this couldn’t be done and Trip Tease was loaded first and the hood was kept on while Normanz loaded last. Normanz then burst through the stall, so they were about a second away from getting the start right. The problem then was that Normanz’s breastplate broke. It had to be fixed, so the starter then unloaded the difficult horses. A number of other horses were standing quietly and he felt that if he had unloaded the entire field he might not have been able to get them all in again.”
However, Tarry had a different viewpoint and said, “I think it is an absolute disgrace that some were allowed to unload but others weren’t. I would understand if it was a staying race, but this was a Gr 1 sprint for a million rand. The first and second horses got away with it.”
Both the winner Alboran Sea and second placed Captain Of All were unloaded, but Carry On Alice was left in the stalls, so she had been standing for a considerable length of time before the field finally jumped.
Tarry said Carry On Alice, who won the Gr 1 SA Nursery over 1160m as a two-year-old and later went close in the Gr 1 Thekwini Stakes over 1600m, had come out of Saturday’s race fine and was on track for the Majorca where she is drawn two with Grant Behr up. She faces a strong field but her class is unquestionable.
Tarry was happy with the seven-year-old gelding Gold Onyx’s preparation and his wide draw of 14.
He said, “He is a small horse and quite nervous and I think there is going to be a lot of scrimmaging, so I’m happy with that draw.”
Gold Onyx has always been known for his short run in and is capable of a devastating late burst if he is able to get a tow down the straight, which was exactly how it panned out in the L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate. Unfortunately, he was baulked for a run while still under a double handful, before flying through to finish fastest of all for a 1,75 length third.
Tarry was asked whether he would like the race to pan out with same slow pace as the Queen’s Plate and replied, “People could be saying it was a fluke run due to the pace, but I don’t think a fast pace will make any difference and I believe he will probably even prefer it.”
Tarry is also happy with the booking of Grant Behr and said, “He works him every day and has ridden two perfect races on him. I would rather have somebody jumping on believing in him, rather than doubting, as a lot of the top jockeys seem to frown upon older horses.”
He continued, “Gold Onyx didn’t travel well to Cape Town and when he first arrived at the beginning of December he was shocking and was only eating about half of his food. I thought I was wasting my time, but he still ran on very nicely in his first start (in the Gr 2 Vasco Premier Trophy for a 2,45 length sixth). He was a little better before the Queen’s Plate and was eating about 75% of his food. I have been happy with every workout since and he has come on. He is sound, bright and eating up. He is spot on and was just off the two Met favourites (Futura and Louis The King) in the Queen’s Plate, so I give him a chance.”
Tarry runs Serissa in the Gr 2 J&B Urban Honey Stayers over 2800m and said, “He hasn’t thrived as well as he should have in Cape Town, but on form he has an outside chance.”
Tarry believes Silence Descends, who runs in the fifth race, a handicap over 1200m, could be an outsider to consider for the day. “In the CTS Stakes he was only seven lengths back, but is an 84 merit rating and was running against 101s.”
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