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Trainer Dennis Drier will begin sending his team for the Cape Summer of Champions season to the Phillipi training centre base this week with hopes high that he could once again have G1 trophies to bring back to Summerveld by next February.
The string will include G1 contenders Guiness, Generalissimo, Eventual Angel, Jet Aglow, Captain Of All, Captain On The Run, Balkan, Knox and Beckedorff, while he will also have four or five classy two-year-olds to work with.
His three-year-old colt Guiness and four-year-old Captain Of All are already G1 victors, both having won the Tsogo Sun Medallion over 1200m at Scottsville as two-year-olds.This pair as well as Beckedorff have the speed to see them in the season’s biggest sprints, including the G1 Cape Flying Championship over 1000m at Kenilworth.
The most exciting male in the string is the three-year-old Var colt Generalissimo, who has been hugely impressive in his last two victories over 1200m and 1000m but Drier is hopeful that he will get a mile.Generalissimo will start off in the G3 Elusive Fort Cape Classic over 1400m on October 25 and his route from there will likely be the G2 Selangor Cup over 1600m on November 22 and the G1 Grand Parade Cape Guineas on December 20.
The robust Right Approach filly Eventual Angel is a very exciting sort, having won four out of five starts in commanding style including a G3.She and the classy Jet Master mare Jet Aglow will attempt to fill the considerable boots of the now retired Beach Beauty by landing races like the G1 Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes over 1800m and the G1 Klawervlei Majorca Stakes over 1600m.
Balkan has been disappointing since two runaway wins over 1000m and 1100m, so is a bit of an unknown quantity. Captain On The Run has also been disappointing overall but at his best will be competitive in feature sprints.Knox is a three-year-old Western Winter gelding who won his second start over 1200m on the Greyville polytrack by seven lengths and he could join Generalissimo in the big sophomore events.
