Itâs a power-packed Met at Kenilworth Mike Moon
Belgarion, ridden by Richard Fourie, won the 2020 Vodacom Durban July and is the favourite for the Met. Picture: Candiese Lenferna The Cape Town Met is a much-storied horse race, but seldom in its almost 140 renewals can it have had a line-up as talented and competitive as this Saturdayâs.
Only 11 go to post for the R1 million Grade 1 contest over 2000m, but pundits are in broad agreement that only two of those have zero chance of winning. Connections of Sovereign Spirit and Silver Operator might disagree with this assessment, but, honestly, if either were to win it would be up there with the biggest shocks ever seen at Kenilworth racecourse.
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Belgarion
Belgarion, victor last year of the famous Vodacom Durban July, is the bookies favourite at 22-10 to win the race that is so deeply lodged in the South African public s consciousness, the iconic “Met.” This 1 ¼ mile event with a proud history will be staged at Kenilworth on Saturday morning at 10:10 a.m. EST, together with other prestigious Group 1 contests. The five furlong Cape Flying Championships (WFA) for specialist speed merchants, and the Majorca Stakes (WFA) which has attracted a cast of fine fillies and mares over one mile.
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Good spread of runners in this yearâs Met Jack Milner
Belgarion, ridden by Richard Fourie, won the 2020 Vodacom Durban July and is the favourite for the Met. Picture: Candiese Lenferna âItâs a nice spread of generations at weight for age, which is not what we get often these days because the young horses retire early,â said trainer Mike de Kock.
While only 11 runners are carded to go to post on Saturday for the Grade 1 Cape Town Met over 2000m at Kenilworth, it is a strong field with a wide spread of age groups.
The field comprises one three-year-old, two four-year-olds, five five-year-olds, two six-year-olds and one seven-year-old.
Belgarion the favourite heading into this weekend s Met at Kenilworth zimbabwestar.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from zimbabwestar.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Mike Moon The high quality of racehorse stepping onto the Kenilworth turf this weekend is enough to pull in most racing fans, but extra bait of a predicted R10-million Pick 6 should hook even the most jaded punter. Picture: File The chunky Pick 6 is on the Saturday meeting of the two-day L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate Festival – which kicks off on Friday (8 January) with a card that also lifts the pulse rate. The Queen’s Plate itself, Race 7 and Leg 4 of the Pick 6, is a cracking affair: a small field of eight loaded with top-class talent. Durban July winner Belgarion might be a 12-10 favourite, but it is hard to select him as an exotic-bet banker – purely because of the quality of the opposition. No-one can discount former Queen’s Plate champion Rainbow Bridge (3-1), while Do.