Muis brushes off a wide draw in the Met

Trainer Michael Roberts says he’s not much bothered by getting a wide draw for his colt See It Again in the WSB Cape Town Met, to be run at Kenilworth on Saturday 27 January.

Punters and bookmakers clearly agree with the legend “Muis” as his four-year-old is a red-hot 11-20 favourite following unveiling of the final field for the R2-million 2000m contest – a jewel on the South African racing calendar.

Just 13 horses were accepted to run, with the bulk of the field from the home region. A Highveld raider is Sean Tarry’s filly Bless My Stars, while See It Again represents KwaZulu-Natal.

Champion trainer Justin Snaith will saddle five runners – all in the top rungs of a lopsided betting board.

The country’s only female jockey, Rachel Venniker, gets her first Met opportunity aboard Snaith’s 25-1 shot Without Question – and her first in a “major”. British-based rider Daniel Muscutt partners another Snaith hope, 33-1 chance Double Superlative.

As expected, veteran six-time national champion jockey Piere Strydom is booked for See It Again – and was part of the rationale behind Roberts’s nonchalance at drawing starting gate No 11. An erstwhile master jockey himself, Roberts said an experienced rider and Kenilworth’s long back straight nullified the wide jump.

The 2024 Met field

(No & draw, name, weight, MR, trainer, jockey)
1 Waterberry Lane 60 113 Ricky Maingard Denis Schwarz
2 Double Superlative 60 118 Justin Snaith Daniel Muscutt
3 Pacaya 60 111 Justin Snaith Juan Paul v’d Merwe
4 Anfields Rocket 59.5 117 Brett Crawford Luyolo Mxothwa
5 Bless My Stars 57 119 Sean Tarry Richard Fourie
6 Mucho Dinero 59.5 110 Justin Snaith Grant van Niekerk
7 Al Muthana (AUS) 60 126 Ricky Maingard Raymond Danielson
8 Royal Aussie 59.5 124 Justin Snaith Kabelo Matsunyane
9 Without Question 59.5 117 Justin Snaith #Rachel Venniker
10 Sugar Mountain 60 109 Candice Bass-Robinson Aldo Domeyer
11 See It Again 59.5 132 Michael Roberts Piere Strydom
12 Montien 59.5 119 Piet Botha Anthony Andrews
13 Rascallion 60 122 Vaughan Marshall Bernard Fayd’Herbe

Betting

11-20 See It Again
9-1 Pacaya
10-1 Bless My Stars
12-1 Royal Aussie
16-1 Mucho Dinero
25-1 Without Question
33-1 Double Superlative
40-1 Al Muthana, Rascallion, Montien
50-1 Sugar Mountain
66-1 Anfields Rocket
80-1 Waterberry Lane