Kavanagh and Copper Parade fought out a pulsating finishing to the Gr 1 Golden Horseshoe at the beginning of the month and they are set to lock horns again in another Gr 1 event, this time at Greyville on Saturday, in the Premiers Champion Stakes over 1600m, writes Mark Anthony.
Kavanagh won that clash by a whisker, only to lose it in the stewards room, but he is set to turn the tables this time around, courtesy of a good draw. He jumps from stall 2 while Copper Parade has to contend with draw 15, a crucial factor over this sharp mile. Make no mistake, Copper Parade is a very smart performer and there was a lot to like about the resolve he showed when chasing down Kavanagh in that last meeting. However, he's going to need his fair share of luck in running from such a wide starting position.
It's hard to look beyond this pair for top honours. The Assayer and Zanzamar (poorly drawn here) stayed on for the minor placings in the Horseshoe, but they were well beaten by the front two and it would require some dramatic improvement for them to reverse the form. Of course, that's not impossible for these young, improving horses, and the extra 150m they encounter here may also work in their favour, but the bare form suggests they're racing for place money again.
Perana looks an interesting runner. The stable companion to Kavanagh and Zanzamar does not have the experience of his team mates and he didn't beat much when coasting home in a maiden event second time out. However, he could do no more than win and he could turn out to be anything.
Sky Link is a recent addition to the Mike de Kock yard and he showed some promise in Cape Town, suggesting he could make the minor placings here.
The rest look to be up against it although Gold Onyx has shown enough promise to suggest he could make the frame, if not undone by a horrible draw, now that he finally gets to go over a mile.
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WITHOUT DOUBT THIS IS A RACE TO LOOK FORWARD TO. THIS IS PROBABLY THE MOST EXCITING RACE ON THE CARD BAR THE JULY. ONE HAS TO INCLUDE COPPER PARADE IN THE EXOTICS. MY SUGGESTION IS LOAD THE FIRST LEG (10 HORSES), PUT IN ABOUT 6 OR 7 IN THE 2ND, THESE 2 RUNNERS WILL SUFFICE IN THE 3RD, 4 RUNNERS IN THE 4TH ie DE KOCK, BASS, BROWN & TARRY & THEN 5 RUNNERS IN THE 5TH, & 6TH LEGS. (COST R1400 - 10%)