THE MERCURY SPRINT (Grade 1) - CAPTAIN OF ALL retires on a winning note
The four year old son of CAPTAIN AL, CAPTAIN OF ALL, ended his short racing career in fine style at Greyville this afternoon when he won the Grade 1 sprint impressively and comfortably. He faced a strong field and confirmed his class in no uncertain terms.He will be missed on the race track but more will be heard of him as he makes his way to the Klawervlei Stud.
The start was a good one with CAPTAIN OF ALL breaking well. AFRICAN DREAM and TRIP TO HEAVEN were the first to show, even though they were soon to be swallowed up by horses battling for position in the tight Greyville track. The second favourite, LEGISLATE, made ground around them to take over the lead from the 800m mark and into the home straight. At one stage it looked very much as though the Horse of the Year for 2013/2014 was going to keep his unbeaten record at the this track, even though he is more suited to much further. He was running strongly up until CAPTAIN OF ALL collared him at the 300m mark and won going away. Jockey Greg Cheyne rode the winner. He replaced Sean Cormack who was injured earlier in the day. He produced CAPTAIN OF ALL at the right time and proved that his Grade 1 win in the Grade 1 Golden Horse in May was as good as it appeared. Trainer Dennis Drier has been having an excellent KZN Winter Season.
CARRY ON ALICE moved up late from near last to relegate LEGISLATE, in a tight finish, for second. Already a Grade 1 winner, she will be a serious runner in the upcoming Gauteng and Cape Town sprint features later this year and early next year. LEGISLATE runs next Saturday at this track in the Grade 1 Champions Cup over 1800m. Watch for another first class performance.
FLY BY NIGHT also moved up well in the latter stages to fill fourth place.
CAPTAIN OF ALL ended his career with seven wins, two seconds and two thirds, from on twelve starts. His career earnings reached over R2.2 million.
CAPTAIN OF ALL 4 b C Sire: Captain Al Dam: Serious Side DamBy: Fard (IRE).
BRED BY: Riverton Stud.
OWNED BY: Mrs I Jooste and Mr M J Jooste.
GE945 - Race 7 - R750K - THE MERCURY SPRINT (Grade 1)
Horses at Weight-For-Age - 1200m |
| Horse |
Jockey |
Trainer |
Al/Bl |
kg |
Dr |
Fin |
Dist |
Time |
OP-SP |
Prev |
| 1 CAPTAIN OF ALL |
Greg Cheyne |
D R Drier |
A |
60.0 |
7 |
1 |
0.00 |
70.84 |
2/1-2/1 |
SV803 |
| 11 CARRY ON ALICE |
S'Manga Khumalo |
S G Tarry |
A |
57.0 |
6 |
2 |
4.50 |
71.66 |
5/1-4/1 |
GE910 |
| 2 LEGISLATE |
Richard Fourie |
S J Snaith |
A |
60.0 |
8 |
3 |
4.55 |
71.67 |
3/1-3/1 |
GE839 |
| 9 FLY BY NIGHT |
Anton Marcus |
M W Bass |
A |
57.5 |
5 |
4 |
4.70 |
71.70 |
6/1-8/1 |
SV802 |
| 10 AFRICAN DREAM |
Keagan De Melo |
M Dixon |
A |
57.5 |
11 |
5 |
4.85 |
71.72 |
33/1-45/1 |
GP895 |
| 6 AL DON CUMARCO |
Gift Funeka |
Y Bremner |
A |
60.0 |
1 |
6 |
6.10 |
71.95 |
33/1-55/1 |
FW549 |
| 7 TRIP TO HEAVEN |
Raymond Danielson |
S G Tarry |
A |
59.5 |
2 |
7 |
6.60 |
72.05 |
12/1-20/1 |
TN566 |
| 8 ISPHAN |
Gavin Lerena |
M G Azzie |
A B |
59.5 |
9 |
8 |
6.85 |
72.09 |
50/1-125/1 |
GP912 |
| 5 MOOFEED (AUS) |
Anthony Delpech |
M F De Kock |
A |
60.0 |
10 |
9 |
8.10 |
72.33 |
12/1-15/1 |
GE873 |
| 4 WILLOW MAGIC (AUS) |
Piere Strydom |
S G Tarry |
A |
60.0 |
3 |
10 |
9.85 |
72.66 |
7/1-8/1 |
GE873 |
| 3 DARING DAVE |
Weichong Marwing |
S J Snaith |
A |
60.0 |
4 |
11 |
11.35 |
72.94 |
14/1-20/1 |
GE873 |
|
