Barbaresco announces arrival on sophomore scene

In the fuss about a re-nomination process for Turffontein’s postponed features races last week, the colt Barbaresco flew well under the radar.

With attention focused on trainer Mike de Kock’s creative juggling of runners for the Grade 3 Got The Greenlight Stakes for three-year-olds, the one-time winner didn’t rate a mention.

Joint-favourite Sandringham Summit was scratched due to the one-week delay not suiting his sophomore campaign. So, it seemed there’d be no challenge of any consequence to the other hot shot, Main Defender, who stood his ground in the run-up race to the coming classics.

But then De Kock switched unbeaten Champagned Cocktail from the companion fillies feature to tackle the boys – and, for good measure, chucked in promising gelding Gimmeanotherchance, who’d not been carded at all for the washed-out previous weekend’s meeting.

Odds of 33-1

Neither was Barbaresco on that original card, but no-one paid his late arrival any notice and he started the 1400m contest at odds of 33-1.

When Main Defender surged into the lead with about 600m to go, it looked like a cakewalk for Tony Peter’s brilliant galloper in the hands of jockey Calvin Habib. But Barbaresco seemed to say, if no-one else is prepared to stand up to this bullyboy, I will!

With a merit rating of 91 after only four outings, Barbaresco showed just why his canny trainer, Johan Janse van Vuuren, had put him up against some of Joburg’ best young horses.

Under Gavin Lerena’s urgings, the son of Gimmethegreenlight made the favourite (MR 121) work hard for victory – and catapulted himself into speculation about the coming Triple Crown. The winning margin was 1.10 lengths, but it was a harder battle than that suggests, and it’s worth noting that Barabaresco was coming off a three-month break.

Joburg firepower

With the glitzy Cape Town season presently grabbing most limelight and brilliant young horses emerging – like Snow Pilot, Beach Bomb and Red Palace – Joburg racing will be heartened by evidence that it has firepower in the up-and-coming arsenal.

Though Champagne Cocktail and Gimmeanotherchance disappointed on Saturday, they will surely bounce back. Similarly, trainer Sean Tarry’s three-year-olds Tail Of The Comet and Mrs Geriatrix might have lost their way during their current Cape sojourn but have every chance of recapturing their best over the autumn and winter seasons.

Saturday’s 1400m Mother Russia Stakes for three-year-old fillies was another indication of good potential among Highveld-based youngsters, with a thrilling duel between Tarry’s Let’s Go Now and De Kock’s White Pearl. Both should have a big say in the Triple Crown – and in Durban come June-July.

While we are about it, another for the little black book is De Kock filly Spring In Heaven, who won a 2000m FM92 Handicap against her elders at Saturday’s meeting. She is an obvious improver who might well be an Oaks contender.