Justin Snaith has five runners in all at the Festival Of Speed meeting on Saturday and in the big one, the Tsogo Sun Sprint, he made Captain Swarovski a “dark horse”” but was concerned by the amount of weight Sergeant Hardy had to carry.
Captain Swarovski (Nkosi Hlophe)
Four-year-old Captain Swarovski has not proved yet he is up to a 103 merit rating but Snaith felt the actual weight of just 55kg he had to carry was of more significance. He said, “He is not the better horse of the two but is very well weighted and is very well at home. He has come right at the right time.”
Captain Swarovski had one run at Scottsville last season so should not be phased by the course.
Snaith believes the runners will head for the middle-inside part of the track, so was thrilled with Captain Swarovski’s draw of seven, which will come into six if the reserve runners come out.
He said the three-year Sergeant Hardy had needed his last run, but he had deliberately not run him again as he “does like to run a bit fresh”. In that race over 1100m at Scottsville on April 16 he finished second, beaten 1,75 lengths by London Call, with whom he will now be 2kg better off.
He added, “It is a big ask for a three-year-old carrying 57kg, but he has come on a lot for that last run and has been better at home since.”
Sergeant Hardy will come into a draw of nine and Snaith said a good enough horse could win from there.
Justin Snaith (Nkosi Hlophe)
Snaith mentioned Attenborough, a progressive three-year-old who only has 55kg to carry, as one of the horses to beat.
Snaith runs the champion filly Bela-Bela as well as the quick Jo’s Bond in the SA Fillies Sprint.
Bela-Bela’s two Gr 1 wins have been over 2000m and 1800m, but Snaith was not overly concerned about the drop in trip.
He said, “She has always had a lot of natural speed, she was born with it and we have always actually tried to hold her back in her work.”
Snaith has taken the smart four-year-old grey to see Scottsville and she did well in her gallop there. He added, “She is coming back from a long rest and is up against the best sprinters, but she could pop up. I expect her to be in the money.”
He rated Carry On Alice the horse she had to beat and said, “Carry On Alice has had a long season, so we are hoping to catch her with a fresh horse. It will be fitness vs freshness.”
He admitted Jo’s Bond was a 1000m horse, but was still hoping for a first three finish. He said, “She is doing well at home but has her work cut out in this field. She is no slouch and the fact she led the Computaform Sprint shows how much speed she has, but over this trip we will have to hold her up.”
Snaith runs Sir Frenchie in the Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion. He said he had not been favoured by a high draw when running downfield over this trip in the Kuda Sprint on Sun Met day. “His form since then has been good and he has been doing very well at home. He is a sound, strong horse but it is very competitive and he has his work cut out.”
By David Thiselton
