As expected, it was the speedy pair of Chocolicious and Midnight Serenade who made the early running with Winking Jack also showing plenty of pace to their inside. Delago Deluxe raced in fourth, in the slipstream of Midnight Serenade, while What A Winter, racing to the outside of the pack, allowed Chocolicious to tow him along. Snowdon sat in midfield with Mike's Choice, with Copper Parade racing towards the rear with Antious and Rushing Wind.
The race began in earnest past the 400m mark as the market rivals made their moves simultaneously. What A Winter was shaken up, racing hard up against the outside rail, while Delago Deluxe made his bid towards the centre of the track, and it briefly looked as if the match race predicted by some might be unfolding. However, What A Winter was merely warming up and, following a couple of reminders from Bernard Fayd'Herbe, the big engine kicked into gear and he powered away from his field to win easing up by nearly three lengths.
Many of the runners in this line-up had beaten What A Winter by some distance in the Golden Horse Casino Sprint at the end of May, but the son of Western Winter was found to be not striding out that day and clearly does not enjoy the tricky Scottsville track. The faithful were convinced he would exact revenge here, at a track that suits him down to the ground, and he was backed in on the day as if he could not be beaten. This really was a power-packed performance from Mike Bass's stable star and he is surely worth a crack at an international campaign.
Golden Horse winner Delago Deluxe found the form of that race reversed by nearly a dozen lengths but he was not disgraced by any means. He was now 5.5kg worse off and taking on the winner over the latter's ideal course and distance at weight-for-age. One cannot think of any other sprinter in the country right now who could have lived with What A Winter under these conditions on the day, and Delago Deluxe finished well clear of the rest of the field. He's enjoyed a successful winter campaign, following a below-par showing during the Cape summer season, and has come back to the sort of form that saw him capture the Equus champion juvenile award last season. On the whole, his connections have no reason to be displeased with this effort.
Snowdon is proving to be model of consistency. He does not appear to be an out-and-out sprinter at first glance, but his class and honesty have now seen him placed twice at Gr 1 level over 1200m this winter and he has fully justified trainer Ormonde Ferraris' decision to bring him down to KwaZulu-Natal. He is effective over further as well and he should make his presence felt during the spring carnival in Gauteng.
Copper Parade never threatened the principals but made some fair progress from off the pace. He has worked his way back to something like his best form and has finished fourth in the three big sprints of the winter season, so it certainly hasn't been a wasted trip for him.
The admirable - and underrated - veteran Winking Jack deserves a mention, staying on for fifth after his early exertions, and he came out of the race with his honour intact and a well-earned stake cheque to boot..
