CAPTAIN’S Ransom earned a tilt at unbeaten Horse of the Year Summer Pudding in next month’s Cartier Paddock Stakes by decisively outpointing Princess Calla in the Grade 1 World Sports Betting Cape Fillies Guineas at Kenilworth last Saturday.

The first two in the betting had it between them from two furlongs out but Richard Fourie’s mount really asserted in the closing stages to score by two and a quarter lengths.

“I was always in command and I got first run on Princess Calla which helped,” said Fourie who was winning the race for the fourth time.

It was the sixth Cape Fillies Guineas for Justin Snaith who said: “This filly is good and I like the way she has matured. Today, for the first time, we placed her a little bit closer and she kicked at the right time.”

Asked about plans, he grinned and said: “Well, it is summer and we do like our pudding!”

The winner is by former champion sire Captain Al who died in July 2017 after being operated on for laminitis. A grandson of Roberto, he was a huge success throughout his career at the Klawervlei Stud and Captain’s Ransom is his 24th individual Group 1 winner.

Last Saturday was the biggest race day of the Cape season so far and the highlight, from an Irish point of view, was the performance of former champion sprinter Kasimir in the WSB Datafree Pinnacle.

The six-year-old, by Captain Al and bought as a yearling by Peter Doyle to race in Diane Nagle’s colours, started favourite for the five-furlong test and did well to beat all except stable companion Rio Querari who was receiving 4.5kg and scored by a length.

Great race

“I thought Kasimir ran a great race,” said Snaith. “He had a little bit long a break before this but he showed that he is still very capable. We will have a chat and see whether we bring him out in the Diadem and the Cape Flying Championship.”

The winner is part-owned by former UK Racing Journalist of the Year Richard Edmondson who lives in Istanbul and is married to fearless Sky News reporter Alex Crawford.

Edmondson, who has a holiday home in Cape Town, was on course and said: “That was an astonishing performance. I didn’t think our horse could beat Kasimir.”

The mile WSB Green Point Stakes is the traditional jumping off point for the Queen’s Plate and the Met. It is invariably a thriller and this year’s race was no exception with Durban July hero Belgarion beating the 2019 Met winner Rainbow Bridge by only four-tenths of a length with Cirillo a short-head away third.

Belgarion was last early but was brought with a sustained run by Fourie in the straight.

“To come back and beat a field like this was incredible and so impressive,” enthused Snaith. “He’s not meant to be a miler but he has now won six in a row and we’ve got to consider the Queen’s Plate.”

Rainbow Bridge had also not raced since the Durban season and had been meant to have a prep run last month but trainer Eric Sands, arriving at his stables at 4.45am that day, found to his horror that the horse had traces of urticaria on his neck and cheek.

This is an allergic rash that can spread over a horse’s body in minutes. It is easily treated with cortisone but, for obvious reasons, that can’t be used if the horse is about to race.

Rainbow Bridge tends to run a bit flat on his second run back and, unfortunately for Sands who had the whole campaign carefully mapped out, that second race will now be the Queen’s Plate.