Friday, 20 January 2012: The local contenders for the major feature of the 2012 Sizzling Summer Season at Kenilworth, the R2.5m, Grade 1, The J &B Met (2000m), exercised on the course proper on Thursday morning giving the crowd in attendance a glimpse of what can be expected on Saturday week, January 28th.
 | Beach Beauty stretches out at trackwork
Photo by Liesl King | |
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While the Johannesburg entries, including the shortest priced Met favourite (11/10) for many years the Mike De Kock trained
Igugu 
, worked at Turffontein, the Cape trained runners all stretched out on the Kenilworth turf.
While Cape Town has been experiencing very high temperatures of up to 37c at the course, the track is in excellent condition with leading rider Anton Marcus praising the cushion in the track after he won at Kenilworth on Wednesday.
On Thursday the horses worked from the 1800m and 1600m marks off the cut away rail with 600m to run with most using the middle of the track to the line.
The top-weight
Bravura , with Glenn Hatt up deputising for race jockey Anton Marcus, was first out with stable companion Mystic Jet from trainer Joey Ramsden's stable. The companion led out from the 1800m with
Bravura easily working alongside with 200m to run as Hatt kept a good hold.
Bravura carries 60kg.
Race jockey MJ Byleveld was pleased with the Vaughan Marshall trained
Tales Of Bravery giving the five-year-old Kahal gelding a good pat on the neck as they slowed down.
 | Gimmethegreenlight at Trackwork
Photo by Liesl King | |
Tales Of Bravery carries 58kg in The Met, down from the 60kg he carried to third behind Gimmethegreenlight (AUS) in the Grade 1 L'Ormarins Queen's Plate over 1600m on January 7th.
Fourth last year to Past Master in the Met, Tales Of Bravery has been in good form this season and he looked well within himself on Thursday's gallop.
The two four-year-old mares
Emerald Cove and
Beach Beauty both looked in fine shape for their assignment against the Horse Of The Year Igugu.
Emerald Cove, a Captain Al mare trained by Justin Snaith and with race jockey Felix Coetzee up, galloped by herself and while Coetzee had a hold on her she went to the line full of running with her ears pricked. She has carried 59.5kg in her last two races, notably to Tales Of Bravery over 1600m on the course on December 17th, and she drops to 57kg for the Met.
Beach Beauty is by Dynasty with an excellent record of six wins from 11 starts and with four placings and a fourth under the careful attention of Durban's Dennis Drier. In typical Drier fashion the mare was presented to work strongly under Alex Forbes and she picked the pace up from the top of the straight to come home well all the way to the line.
 | Emerald Cove works at Turffontein
Photo by Liesl King | |
In the mare's last two races she carried 59.5kg, the last when second to Thunder Dance in the Grade 1 TBA Paddock Stakes over 1800m on January 7th. She drops to 55kg for the Met, the lightest weight she has yet to carry.
Queen's Plate winner
Gimmethegreenlight , a More Than Ready colt trained by Justin Snaith, worked on his own, with Felix Coetzee standing in for race jockey Piere Strydom. Coetzee sent the colt forward from the 1600m at a steady pace to the line.
After the invaluable Grade 1 win just under two weeks ago, Snaith is keeping Gimmethegreenlight ticking over for the step up from 1600m to 2000m with the light weight of 54kg.
While Igugu did not impress in her Johannesburg gallop, De Kock commented from Dubai, where
Mahbooba lines up in the Cape Verdi today, that the jockey did not follow instructions and that the mare is fit and ready.
The Galileo mare won the Grade 2 Ipi Tombi Challenge over 1600m at Turffontein on December 4th as she pleased with a margin of 5 1/4L and she has not raced since. However, she is not be trifled with having won her last six races including three at Grade 1 level, and she has not finished further back than second in her 11 race career. Her arrival in the Cape next week will be awaited with much interest.
