2009-11-14 18:23:32
KAPIL ALL CLASS IN MERCHANTS
(no author listed)
From SARacing
Kapil (SAF) showed his class with a superb weight-carrying performance in the Betting World Merchants over 1200m at Kenilworth today. Despite lugging 60kg and conceding weight all the way down the field, the 7-year-old kicked on powerfully in the last furlong to run down Villandry (SAF) with Casey Cool (SAF) and Alvaro (SAF) next home.
As expected, it was Villandry who made the early running with Blue Tiger hard held in second and Alvaro, Irish Coffee and Wethreekings also racing prominently. Thunder Key and Casey Cool raced about three lengths off the speed with Kapil, Gaultier and Lady Windermere at the rear of the pack.
Villandry was still running approaching the last 200m with Alvaro trying to give chase and Casey Cool being shaken up to deliver his final burst. Kapil, meanwhile, had coasted up along the inside and there was only going to be one winner once he hit top gear.
Few will begrudge Kapil this victory. The son of Jallad (USA) has always been a high-class performer and for those who were there that day, his astonishing Guineas win at Greyville back in 2006 will live long in the memory. He had to re-establish himself last season when returning from a generally unsuccessful overseas campaign but placed efforts behind Pocket Power in both the Queens Plate and Gold Challenge showed that he was still competitive. Given his versatility, trainer Stan Elley looks to have plenty of options with his charge this summer. Today's win was particularly meritorious as he was conceding 8kg to a crack young sprinter in Villandry and the authority with which he won really caught the eye.
Villandry used his customary front running tactics and they almost paid off. He was simply beaten by a better horse on the day and he had the rest of the field well held. The yielding conditions will not have helped his cause and he should be quite a handful when he gets a chance to perform on really fast going.
Casey Cool is as honest as they come and he ran yet another creditable race here. He just couldn't go with the two that beat him home but his supporters once again got a fair run for their money.
Alvaro deserves a mention for a respectable effort. He looked outclassed against these specialist sprinters but he paced it with them all the way and stayed on under pressure to complete the quartet.
Blue Tiger and Lady Windermere were the two obvious disappointments of the race but the underfoot conditions may have got to them and they are both good enough to bounce back from this.
Kapil (SAF) is a 7-y-o gelding by Jallad (USA) out of Outstanding Star (AUS) by Bletchingly (AUS). He is owned by Messrs M I Fullard, J H Drew, D Watson-Smith, Mrs C L Gabler and Arc-En-Ciel (Nom: Ms S P Pfeiffer) and was bred by Arc-En-Ciel Stud.
Winning trainer: Stan Elley
KW243 - Race 7 - R300K - BETTING WORLD MERCHANTS (Grade 2)
A Handicap for horses 3 years and older - 1200m
No Horse Jockey Al/Bl Kg Dr Fin Dist Time OP SP Prev
1
KAPIL
M J Byleveld A 60.0 8 1 0.00 73.56 10/1 15/2 GE930
12 VILLANDRY Felix Coetzee A 52.0 2 2 2.00 73.94 5/2 7/2 KW143
10 CASEY COOL Gerrit Schlechter A B 53.0 3 3 3.50 74.22 5/1 7/2 KW189
8 ALVARO (AUS) Luke Coleman *1.5 A 53.5 4 4 5.00 74.51 33/1 50/1 KW205
9 WETHREEKINGS Marco Latorre A 53.5 5 5 6.25 74.75 14/1 33/1 KW143
6 THUNDER KEY Brandon Lerena A 55.0 11 6 7.75 75.04 7/1 11/1 KW189
2 BLUE TIGER Bernard Fayd'Herbe A 59.5 9 7 8.25 75.13 5/1 7/1 KW143
13 IRISH COFFEE Morne Winnaar A 52.0 1 8 9.00 75.28 40/1 33/1 KW216
5 SOMETHING ELSE Kelvin Jupp A 56.0 7 9 11.25 75.72 7/1 9/1 KW189
3 GAULTIER Karl Neisius A 58.5 6 10 11.50 75.77 5/1 13/2 KW189
4 LADY WINDERMERE Karis Teetan *0.0 A 56.5 10 11 14.75 76.42 7/1 13/2 GE933
7 BUSH PIRATE Scratched CD81
11 MAINBRACE Scratched