Summerveld trainer Mark Dixon will begin sizing up his South African Champions Season hopes after Friday night’s Greyville meeting (April 8), where his gelding Captain Chaos runs in the Gr 3 Byerley Turk over 1400m on the turf and his filly Isingamoya runs in the Umzimkhulu over the same course and distance.
Mark Dixon (Nkosi Hlophe)
However, Dixon’s chief SA Champions Season hopes probably lie with his sprinter London Call.
Captain Chaos is a former Cape-based horse who won the Gr 3 Cape Of Good Hope Nursery over 1200m at Kenilworth by 3,5 lengths in just his third career start, having won over 1100m on debut. He beat the like of Tar Heel and Eighth Wonder in the Nursery, so must possess some class.
After opening his KZN career with a sprint, the good looking bay by Captain Al stayed on well from some way back for a 5,5 length second to Beat The Retreat in a Progress Plate over 1300m on the Greyville Turf a couple of weeks ago. He was giving the winner 2kg and Dixon said, “He has come on from the race and I think he will get the mile, so might go for the Canon Guineas although I don’t know whether he is good enough.” Captain Chaos is drawn 27 of 35 entries in the Byerley Turk and as a two-time winner will carry the minimum weight.
Isingamoya by Muhtafal caught the eye when running on fluently to comfortably win her maiden over 1200m at Scottsville second time out and she has finished close up thirds in all three of her subsequent starts from 1200-1300m.
However, the last two of those runs were in Plate races against some promising sorts and Dixon said, “She is still building up and can improve.”
She has drawn well in three of 32 entries in the Umzimkhulu.
London Call (Nkosi Hlophe)
Dixon said he would make his five-year-old Kahal gelding London Call a “massive” runner in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint to be run on June 4 at Scottsville if he were able to get into the field off his current merit rating of 101. He might in fact send him straight into the race due to his soundness problems.
While he is not a horse who can be raced often, he is on the other hand one who is easy to get ready for a race.
London Call deserves to line up in the Tsogo Sun, having won four of his eight career starts and being placed second twice.
Of others in the yard, the four-year-old Kildonan gelding Blessed Release could be one to follow in the lower divisions. He was accorded only a 66 merit rating after winning his maiden in very soft going over 1400m at Scottsville by 7,5 lengths against an admittedly uninspiring field. That was his seventh career start but Dixon said the best had not yet been seen of this gelding.
By David Thiselton
