A deadly duo needs watching at Kenilworth

The potent team of Andre Nel and Grant van Niekerk are set for more plunder at Kenilworth on Monday and are a decent bet for the final Double of the day.

Double Charge in the last race – often referred to as the “Get-Out Stakes” – appears to be a comforting safety net, waiting to catch struggling punters come five o’clock.

The five-year-old has been wonderfully consistent for many months – particularly over this course and 1200m distance – and has posted a string of top-two places. Last time out he won over 1000m with blinkers fitted. The headgear is off for this longer excursion but, as he’s proven before, that shouldn’t be an issue.

In the seventh, Nel gives Van Niekerk a leg up on Gentleman Joe, who is coming off a maiden win in his previous outing. This three-year-old is unlikely to start as favourite but he appears to be progressive and it would be no surprise if he followed up and set the stage for the stable Double.

A minor concern is that his two runs to date have been over 1400m and he has shown up towards the end. This 1200m might be a touch sharp, though GvN does know how to get a horse to switch on at any stage.

The Nel-Van Niekerk duo have another excellent chance earlier, in Race 5, with Futurismo.

The fourth prong in their attack is Oscar’s Winner in the sixth. This horse is returning to action after recovering from a cracked vertebra, suffered in April 2021, and might need a race or two to get her confidence back.

SELECTIONS

1: Many juvenile first-timers; follow the betting.

2: Many juvenile first-timers; follow the betting.

3: 1 Little Miss Pink, 5 Sparkling Crystal, 6 Youcrackmeup, 4 Silky Secret

4: 1 Divine Dynasty, 6 La Vida, 7 The Heat Is On, 2 Cruizin California

5: 1 Captive Moon, 9 Futurismo, 11 Robert Burns, 10 Home James

6: 4 Long White Cloud, 8 Island Treasure, 3 Duplicity, 2 Ballroom Bliss

7: 7 Gentleman Joe, 4 I Want It All, 1 Future Prince, 3 Let It Burn

8: 4 Double Charge, 8 Captain Dizzy, 1 Adios Amigos, 7 Captain’d Knot

Pick 6: 1,4,5 x 1,6,7 x 1,9 x 2,3,4,8 x 1,3,4,7 x 1,3,4,7,8,12 (R1728)

PA: 1,2,7 x 1,5 x 1 x 1 x 4,8 x 4,7 x 4 (R24)