Favourite Nebraas wins Gold Cup, Jet Dark on top in Champions Cup

Well-backed four-year-old gelding Nebraas won South Africa’s premier endurance horse race, the Marshalls World Of Sport Gold Cup, at Greyville on Saturday – the final day of the 2020/21 racing season.

The other big race of the day, the Champions Cup, was won by 5-1 shot Jet Dark, trained by newly crowned champion trainer Justin Snaith and ridden by S’Manga Khumalo. Hot favourite Got The Greenlight (4-5) was fourth, behind Catch Twentytwo (7-1) and Do It Again (2-1).

In the 101^st running of the 3200m Gold Cup, Nebraas, trained by Sean Tarry and ridden by the new champion jockey Lyle Hewitson, started at odds of 5-2.

A No 14 draw proved little hindrance to the son of Vercingetorix as he moved smoothly through the pack, eventually settling in fifth spot as the field got to the midway point behind the Drill Hall.

Nebraas and Hewitson unleashed their winning run about 300m from the line, easing past long-time leader Paths Of Victory. Second favourite Silver Host (4-1), trained by Snaith, challenged in the closing stages but couldn’t quite overhaul the leader.

Third place went to 12-1 chance Out Of Your League, who had been up with the pace throughout, while 20-1 outsider Before Noon galloped on from near the tail of the field to fill fourth place.

Afterwards, Hewitson said the race had gone “perfectly” for him and his mount had “put his head down and dug deep” as Silver Host loomed up on the outside rail.

Tarry, the outgoing champion trainer who finished third on the log, said winning the Gold Cup and the Grade 1 Thekwini Stakes earlier in the day provided a good end to a “difficult season”. He explained that his team at Randjesfontein on the Highveld had “battled after having to sideline some top horses”, but he was confident he would bounce back in 2021/22.

Champions Cup

The Champions Cup was billed as a showdown between the two superstars Got The Greenlight and Do It Again, but Jet Dark recovered his Queen’s Plate-winning form to run away from the top dogs. Former champion jockey Khumalo, who finished third in the title race, flung his arm heavenwards in celebration as Jet Dark crossed the line 0.40 lengths ahead of Catch Twentytwo, with the two titans a little further back after having their own private duel along the outside rail.

Snaith said afterwards he had Jet Dark 100% ready for this race, admitting that he’d needed his previous run. The Cape Town conditioner also saddled third-placed Do It Again, who he said had proved he was “an absolute soldier”.

Hewitson had the championship wrapped up months ago but demonstrated just what an extraordinary rider he is when he snatched victory from the jaws of defeat when riding Rain In Holland in the Thekwini Stakes, a 1600m contest for juvenile fillies and the first of four Grade 1 races on the programme.

Halfway down the Greyville straight, the slow pace appeared to have caught out the 5-3 favourite, with the commentator exclaiming that she looked unlikely to win. But Hewitson got to work on the daughter of Duke Of Marmalade and she responded with uncommon acceleration.

The lead was being desperately fought out by Supreme Quest and Kailene when Rain In Holland appeared like a ghost beside them and steal the honours.

Afterwards, Tarry commented that it was testament to Rain In Holland’s ability that she was able to recover from a hopeless situation.

Amazingly, it was Hewitson’s first Grade 1 triumph of a fabulous season in which he notched up more than 260 winners – more than 80 ahead of outgoing champion Warren Kennedy.

Premiers Champion Stakes

Next week, the new champ heads to Japan, where he has secured a lucrative three-month riding stint.

The companion piece race for males, the Grade 1 Premiers Champion Stakes, provided consolation for trainer Glen Kotzen, whose filly Kailene had been so narrowly beaten in the Thekwini.

Kotzen’s smart gelding Good Traveller won going away after jockey Grant van Niekerk quickly overcame a 13 draw at the 1600m start and positioned his mount perfectly, four places off the pace set by Partner In Crime. In the straight, William Robertson dashed into the lead – but it was short-lived as Van Niekerk and Good Traveller swooped and won easier than the 1.25 lengths margin might suggest.

Pearl Of Asia delivered a major upset by winning the Grade 1 Mercury Sprint at odds of 40-1. The result was a body blow to punters who had been having a good day until then. The Pick 6, with a massive pool of more than R15 million, shed many thousands of live tickets in this sixth leg.

Robbie and Shannon Hill-trained Pearl Of Asia got away slowly from the 1200m start and trailed the field rounding the final turn. Goaded into action by jockey Serino Moodley, the four-year-old picked up his hooves and knifed through the field over the final 250m to win comfortably from 10-1 chance Al Sakeet, MK’s Pride (7-1) and Ultra Magnus (20-1). Rio Querari, the 11-10 hot favourite, could manage only fifth.