Trainer Andre Nel has shown his hand recently and given some insight as to what lies ahead during Cape Town’s Summer Of Champions season by taking the wraps off several promising colts, geldings and fillies in his care.
As he trains privately for prominent owner-breeder Sabine Plattner, most – if not all – of Nel’s charges have impressive pedigrees, being by proven sires and/or out of well-performed mares.
The 10-race card at Hollywoodbets Durbanville on Saturday 26 August is a case in point, as Nel’s five runners on the day include two impressive last-start winners whose progress it should pay to follow.
Boogiefied, who is a son of American Triple Crown winner Justify out of Plattner’s homebred Grade 3-winning mare Love To Boogie (by Trippi), was heavily backed when making his debut over 1000m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth last month and justified that betting confidence (10-1 into 3-1) by finishing second to another highly regarded newcomer.
Nel’s charge subsequently confirmed the promise of that encouraging introduction with an all-the-way success at Durbanville’s country course last time out and, seemingly, also benefitted from the step up in trip to 1250m.
With that track-and-trip experience to count on in Race 9 and further improvement on the cards, Boogiefied is an attractive betting proposition in his first start out of the maidens and Nel’s exciting three-year-old colt could well be up to winning again in what is a deeply competitive Class 4 event.
Another of Nel’s charges returning to the scene of a recent maiden victory is well-bred Candy Town, who is a homebred daughter of Maine Chance Farms’ German Group 1 winner Querari out of Plattner’s well-performed Captain Al mare Captain’s Flame, who won a Grade 3 as well as two Listed races.
Despite showing signs of her obvious inexperience, Candy Town caught the eye on debut in soft conditions at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth last month. She raced prominently throughout and struck the front 400m out before being outrun in the closing stages – by two rivals with experience – to finish 1.45 lengths adrift of the winner, with the form of that race subsequently franked by no fewer than four direct winners from that lineup.
Candy Town improved appreciably with that experience under her belt and, like Boogiefied, validated Nel’s high opinion next time out – and in similar fashion too – by leading from start to finish over 1250m with jockey Corne Orffer not required to loosen the reins. She lines up in Race 8 from gate No 10 but has the speed to overcome that wide starting berth and find the lead, from where she will be hard to peg back.
Unsurprisingly, Orffer retains the ride aboard both Nel-trained three-year-olds who are likely to be aimed at bigger and better things later this year after follow-up victories.
Another of Nel’s three-year-old charges who it could pay to follow is Tequila Sky, a daughter of Cape Guineas winner William Longsword. She too made a pleasing debut over 1250m and should be wiser to the task on her reappearance over the same track and trip in Race 2.
Clive Robinson
