 Expert - Jack Milner | |
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| Veteran journalist Jack Milner has been involved in horseracing since 1972. From then on he followed the sport closely so in 2006 when he was offered the position with Phumelela Gaming & Leisure as Managing Editor of their Publishing Department, he jumped at the chance. He is also instrumental in sending tips and previews to international customers who subscribe to South African racing. Milner is known to be an astute studier of form who reads a race very well. He is one of the leading tipsters in the country where he has a big following. He has attended international events such as the English Derby and Oaks, Royal Ascot and the Melbourne Cup. | |
Kenilworth Racecourse – Track Analysis (Met Day):
Nestled in Cape Town, Kenilworth Racecourse is a turf track with a left-handed turn. There are three tracks in Kenilworth including the Summer Course, Winter Course and a Straight Course. For the Met Day, races over 1000m will be run on the Straight Course and the others will be staged on the Summer Course - 2800m in circumference with a 600m run-in.
This year, eight turf races from the Met Day will be simulcast to Hong Kong.
The feature race, The Met, is over 2000m. There is a 600m back straight before reaching the turn. Jockeys tend to rush early to get a position going to the bend and from the 1200m, it seems to settle. The track is pretty level, but they do hit a bit of a dip between the 1800m to the 1600m. After that there is a fractional climb until it levels out at the 1200m, then it flattens out as they reach the finish. The only bend is 600m long and it is a gradual, wide turn. Draws are not that important over this distance, as horses drawn between gate 1 and gate 5 do not have a great advantage over the other barrier positions. The 1800m Politician Stakes travels the same route as 2000m. The only difference is that the starting gate is set at 400m before the turn. Barriers are of less importance over this distance.
For 1400m World Pool Pinnacle Stakes and MR 84 Handicap, there is a slight decline heading towards the turn of 600m from where it is quite even throughout. However, as there is just 200m before they reach the turn, low number draws are a huge advantage. The 1600m Majorca Stakes, which is similar to 1400m. Once again, low number draws are an advantage as they only have around 400m before they reach the turn.
For 2800m Western Cape Stayers, the starting gate is at the finishing post and they only have the short pull-up area before going into the first bend. Although it starts on the turn, because of the length of the race, barrier positions are not of huge importance.
Both over 1000m, Summer Juvenile Stakes and Cape Flying Championship are run on the straight course which is undulating, rising and falling quite strongly, especially for the first 200m. After that it flattens out as they reach the finish.
As Cape Town stands on a peninsula, wind is often a massive factor in the Western Cape where Kenilworth located. However, its effect on racing depends on the direction from which it comes. If the wind is a southeaster, the jockeys tend to go to the inside but when it comes from the northwest, the outside is better.
RAINBOW BRIDGE, also a winner in 2019, won last year’s The Met under a superb ride from Luke Ferraris. He came from last to get the better of favourite BELGARION close home and won going away by one and three-quarter lengths. Third place went to outsider SOVEREIGN SPIRIT, with DO IT AGAIN in fourth. As is so often the case, there was a scramble early on for position but eventually CIRILLO got to the front from RUNNING BRAVE and SILVER OPERATOR, while the back three were DO IT AGAIN, BELGARION and RAINBOW BRIDGE. With 250m to run Richard Fourie brought BELGARION on the scene but once Ferraris got his mount in the clear RAINBOW BRIDGE took off and easily caught BELGARION.
Cape Town usually has a dry summer so the chances of rain affecting the going is highly unlikely. According to the latest local forecasts, sunny skies will extend towards Saturday. This year’s running of the Met Day would be contested on good ground.
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