Marinaresco is officially trained by Candice Robinson now and has been accorded a 110 merit rating by the handicappers after winning the Gr 1 Mike and Carol Bass Champions Cup over 1800m at Greyville in impressive style on Sunday.

Durban-based handicapper Mathew Lipps said about the decision to raise the classy colt by just one point, “It was not the strongest Gr 1. In time he will probably be running to a lot higher, but for now he is running to a 110.”

It is not for a long time a horse has been seen in the country with such an exceptional turn of foot.

He made up some seventeen metres in the straight in the Vodacom Durban July and from a hopeless position was beaten just a quarter-of-a-length.

On Sunday he was stopped in his tracks at the 350m mark when two horses came together in front of him. However, despite being jostled and having his momentum affected the diminutive gelding managed to pick up quickly and then rocketed home to win easily. Commentator Craig Peters could not contain his excitement and shouted “Go you baby!!” as the fairytale everybody wanted unfolded.

It was the legendary Cape trainer Mike Bass’s last day before official retirement and he had landed the race named in his honour.

Jockey Grant van Niekerk called Marinaresco the next “Pocket Power”. The latter horse also raced in the famous blue, pink and white colours of Marsh Shirtliff.

However, as it was Marinaresco’s first Gr 1 victory, Mike is unlikely to be as quick to compare him to the great nine-times Gr 1 winner.

Meanwhile, the Gr 2 eLan Property Group Gold Cup winner, the Mike de Kock-trained Enaad, was raised the maximum ten points to 99, although Lipps added he had not raced to any higher than that merit rating.

David Thiselton