Ante-post favourite African Night Sky is a notable absentee from the 13 declared for the World Sports Betting 1900 but he will still run at Greyville on Saturday.
Jono Snaith said: “He runs in the mile Pinnacle instead. Fred Crabbia (owner of African Night Sky) already had It’s My Turn in the 1900 and that one needs to qualify for the Vodacom Durban July. But most importantly African Night Sky is better weighted in the Pinnacle and, so far as his July weight is concerned, the right decision is to run in the Pinnacle.
“Furthermore Justin wants progressive distances for the horse and going for the Pinnacle means he can go 1 600m then the 1 800m of the Cup Trial to lead into the July over 2 200m.”
African Night Sky (Liesl King)
With Anton Marcus on the injury list Grant van Niekerk will ride the four-year-old for the first time on Saturday but Marcus has given the stable an assurance that he will ride one of the Snaith runners in the July.
African Night Sky has not raced since finishing a two-length six in the Sun Met and he has been noticeably weak in the July market so far this month, drifting from 6-1 favourite to 8-1 with Betting World whereas stable companion Do It Again has been all the rage since his Daisy Guineas win and is now as short as 5-1. You could get 20-1 last month.
However Snaith Racing is concerned that punters are latching on to Oh Susanna, currently joint second favourite at 8-1, in the belief that she is an intended runner.
Jono said: “Oh Susanna is only 50:50 to run in the July and we want punters to be aware of this. The owners are already thinking in terms of the next Cape season and going for a second Sun Met.”
The decision of the handicappers to re-assess the Premier’s Champions Challenge has important implications for the July as it means that Coral Fever and Abashiri, both 16-1 chances, will have a kilo less to carry. The actual big race weights will not be published until June 19.
The exciting Eric Sands-trained Rainbow Bridge has been hit with a wide draw in the Highlands Stud Winter Classic at Kenilworth on Saturday week. The unbeaten Winter Guineas winner has only one of the 16 entries outside him.
Last year’s Met winner Whisky Baron is now back in Newmarket, but this time with William Haggas, after his disappointing Dubai campaign.
Ridgemont racing manager Craig Carey said: “Things were hard for him in Dubai and he didn’t take it well so the owners (Craig and Ross Kieswetter) have decided to give him a break. They haven’t made any plans – they are waiting to see how he is.”
Markus Jooste, despite all his problems, is still part-owner of a number of high class horses with Aidan O’Brien at the famous Ballydoyle stables in Ireland. These include Rostropovich who won the Dee Stakes at Chester last week and who is owned by Jooste in partnership with Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and Sue Magnier.
The colt is a son of the legendary Frankel and is currently a 16-1 chance for next month’s Investec Derby. If he were to win, and with his pedigree, he would be worth upwards of £10 million with Jooste’s share making a significant contribution to the Mayfair Speculators debt.
By Michael Clower
