Charles Dickens put an indifferent run in the Green Point Stakes firmly behind him with a dominant and stylish victory in the R2-million King’s Plate (Gr 1) over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday. His runaway success provided jockey Aldo Domeyer, trainer Candice Bass-Robinson and owner Gaynor Rupert with their first ever victory in this prestigious Royal event and the 4yo son of Trippi could hardly have been more impressive.
Speed Machine ensured a decent pace and turning for home Charles Dickens was about four lengths adrift of his market rival See It Again, who was positioned perfectly by Piere Strydom just behind the leading quartet. The front-runners soon came under pressure in the straight and See It Again moved up smartly to grab the lead at the 400m pole, but by now Charles Dickens was gathering momentum and once in top gear, South Africa’s Champion Miler burst clear to win going away.
It was a breathtaking performance of the highest quality. There is no doubt that Charles Dickens in full cry is a joy to behold and a moment to savour. We all await news of what lies ahead for Charles Dickens – will he go for the 2000m WSB Cape Town Met and attempt to his worth beyond a mile? Or will he be saved for another crack at the Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge in June? Or was Saturday’s King’s Plate triumph his racing swansong before heading to the paddocks at the place of his birth, Drakenstein Stud.
I guess no hasty decisions will be made, so in the meantime we hold our breath and allow ourselves to dream of Charles Dickens taking on See It Again over 2000m at the end of the month.
See It Again stuck to his task well but was quite simply no match on the day for Charles Dickens. He stayed on strongly to finish second ahead of the fast-finishing Royal Aussie with defending champion Al Muthana rounding off the Quartet. See It Again remains firmly on track to accomplish the main target of his Cape Summer Season campaign – the WSB Cape Town Met over 2000m on 27 January. As the winner last term of the SplashOut Cape Derby (Gr 1) and Daily News (Gr 1), the 4yo son of Twice Over is very much more at home over the extended trip and whether Charles Dickens fulfils his Met engagement or not, See It Again will prove a tough nut to crack.
Without in any way wishing to detract from Beach Bomb’s narrow victory in the Cartier Paddock Stakes (Gr 1) over 1800m, one has to say that reigning Horse-of-the-Year Princess Calla was very disappointing. I guess with only six runners going to post, the pace was always going to be an issue and Princess Calla did herself no favours by refusing to settle. Richard Fourie tried all he knew to coax the Champion mare home, but she succumbed to Beach Bomb inside the final 50m with Happy Chance a close third. And it’s Happy Chance’s proximity to Princess Calla at the line, which is clear proof that, despite “running well”, Princess Calla’s form as a 6yo mare has dropped off significantly.
That said, Beach Bomb is clearly top class and now herself a dual Grade 1 winner, having won the WSB Fillies Guineas last month. Her dam, Beach Beauty, was twice a victor of the Paddock Stakes and, on a day of “firsts”, becomes the only winning mare in the race’s history to subsequently produce a Paddock Stakes winner. Beach Bomb was the first leg of a Grade 1 double for Candice Bass-Robinson and Gaynor Rupert and was perfectly ridden by JP van der Merwe. On a red-letter day for the stable, Candice also took out the 1200m Cartier Sceptre Stakes (Gr 2) with the ultra-consistent October Morn who just prevailed over the fast-finishing Asiye Phambili.
Justin Snaith loves the marquee days, and he saddled four winners over the 9-race programme. Well handled by Samantha Valjallo, the strongly fancied Gravity won the Okapi Ladies International Maiden Plate to get punters off to a good start and 35 minutes later the very well-bred Roman Agent justified spirited betting support to get the upper hand over the free-running Cold Shine in the Trippi Stakes for juveniles.
Mucho Dinero scored a last gasp victory over the luckless At My Command in the 1800m Anthonij Rupert Premier Trophy (Gr 2) with stable companion Pacaya a close third in a blanket finish. Then to complete the Snaith four-timer the lightly weighted Future Swing, a chance ride for Anthony Andrews, finished strongly to outgun stable companion Triple Time in the Glorious Goodwood Chairman’s Cup over 2500m which brought the curtain down on a fabulous day’s racing.
With Snaith and Bass-Robinson winning seven of the nine races, Sean Tarry and Adam Marcus were the only other two trainers to visit the winner’s enclosure. Tarry scored with Thunderstruck in the third race and Marcus’ very game and consistent Dance Variety took out the eighth race, a very competitive Class 3 Handicap over 1200m.
By Graeme Hawkins, Gold Circle
