J&B Met Day: Through the Card with Joey Ramsden

South Africa / Editor / 27 January 2012 / Leave a Comment

Joey Ramsden: Fancies his own Variety Club to win the Cape Derby

"The question everyone wants to know is will he [Variety Club] get 10 furlongs? Personally, I feel he probably will."

Sean Trivass recently met up with leading South Africa-based trainer Joey Ramsden (son of legendary punter Jack Ramsden and trainer Lynda) to discuss Saturday's J&B Met day card at Kenilworth, where Joey's stable star Variety Club goes in the Grade 1 Cape Derby.....

Race 1 - TABGOLD MR88 Handicap 1400m
"I see no reason why (3) JET INTO THE WIND, from a good draw and with a reasonable weight, should not win. He has dropped 2 lb for his last run, which seems an extremely generous gesture considering his penultimate run behind Tales of Bravery. He looks in good form and while Mike Bass's horses have not been their usual consistent selves, he is a reasonably confident selection. Our own (14) NATIONHOOD has been extremely disappointing and has flattered to deceive. However, he is off a seriously good mark with a good draw and, if running to what he shows at home, he should run well - but he is not in the same class as my selection".

Race 2: Touch Tote FM88 Handicap 1200m
"This is usually one of the trickiest races on the card, but (8) MISS OCTOBER looks to have it at her mercy. She looks seriously progressive and a graded filly as well. (2) Money Surger looks to be the one to give Miss October the most to worry about, while I am hoping our own filly (7) FLAMING ALICE can run a place in what looks a very, very competitive race".

Race 3: Schweppes Summer Juvenile Stakes (Listed) 1000m
"I don't have a runner here and must admit to not knowing a lot about the Western Cape juveniles this year as I have been concentrating on my own horses. I do know that I have not seen anything exceptional come out yet but I could well be proved wrong. I usually go for a horse that has been placed and not won, as they seem to come in reasonably well. This would work with my selection (8) TERMINATOR to beat (1) Captain Dino, followed by (3) Agra. However, I am not confident in these selections as any one of these could improve and I do not think we have seen the best of the Western Cape juveniles out yet".

Race 4: Grandwest Casino & Entertainment World Open Handicap - 1600m
"A race where some of the better performing horses are falling back in trip with the likes of (2) Grafton Street, (4) Polar Bound and (5) M'Lords Throat all dropping back to 1600m though in the latter's case I cannot see why as he looks like the further he goes, the better he gets. Again, I am without a runner but I quite like the look of (7) BROWN PENNY, with flapper Neisius on his back. He appears to still be on a decent mark and looks ready to win but I am anything but confident in a fascinating contest".

RACE 5: Investec Cape Derby (Grade 1) 2000m
"We have our superstar (1) VARIETY CLUB running here, where he is drawn 5 and looks to have everything in his favour. The question everyone wants to know is will he get 10 furlongs? Personally, I feel he probably will. He is not a horse that has to go to the front and has shown great form in coming from off them, so it all depends on the pace of the race and how it maps out.

(2) Potala Palace comes down from Johannesburg and is a horse with a huge reputation but while trainer Mike Azzie has made no bones about the fact that he thinks the horse is a superstar, it is probably time he started showing it. Mike de Kock has (3) Mushreq, and he has been staying with us and has done very well. It wasn't a bad run behind Jackson, considering he gave away weight and he must be looking for this type of trip. We then come to the much vaunted (4) Jackson, who has done nothing wrong and won extremely impressively last time out. Drawn 3, he looks the main danger, but fingers crossed for our own horse and we hope all goes well".

RACE 6: Klawervlei Majorca Stakes (WFA) (Grade 1) 1600m
"We field a strong contender here in (11) TRINITY HOUSE. She has done nothing wrong in her 3-y-o season, finishing 3rd to the champion, Princess Victoria (twice) and Covenant, which is not form to be sniffed at! There looks to be a fair amount of pace, with (1) Gibraltar Blue a strong front-runner and (2) Ebony Flyer used to running well from a fairly handy position. Mike de Kock's (9) Welwitschia is probably the one we all have to beat. She has superb form, particularly early on in her career, with her run behind Dancewiththedevil surely putting her right in with a shout here. But with a slight bias, I will stick with my own runner here".

RACE 7: J&B Met (Grade 1) 2000m
"The Big One; the J&B Met. We managed to cop our usual poor draw for our fancied horse, (1) BRAVURA who has had an excellent prep and has done nothing wrong - we seem to have sorted out all his niggles and know which buttons to press to get the best out of him though the 12 draw is going to be awkward for him, along with the fact that he still carries a 2kg penalty for a Grade 1 race he won close to two years ago? (5) LION IN WINTER disappointed on his last start, especially after having a good season down here but we think we have found the problem and he has a good draw and stable pilot Glen Hatt up, so look for him to be running on strongly late in the race. (12) IGUGU will be the favourite, and you only have to look at that string of ones next to her name to see she is a champion. She has had a slightly interrupted prep and had to be withdrawn from the Paddock Stakes after coughing, but Mike knows his horse (click HERE to read what MIke de Kock had to say) and she wouldn't be running if she wasn't 100% right. Moving on to the 3-y-os, and (15) Gimmethegreenlight beat our own Variety Club last time out after a fabulous ride and I have no doubt he will look to be doing that again. It really is a race that has been made for 3-y-os and of the few that have run they have invariably been extremely competitive, and I have no doubt it will be the same for this horse with the ten-furlong trip the one question mark.

RACE 8: Soccer 6 MR96 Handicap 1200m
"We kick off with our own (1) SHADES OF INDIGO, who I think won this race last year! He is a horse that comes from off the pace, but he has a big weight and a fair bit of work to do. He won the Merchants late last year and has just been a stable star - nothing would make us happier than to see him cross the line in front. From a personal point of view, (5) DIVINE JET will be the talking horse and I am sure he will start a pretty warm favourite, though he hasn't run up the straight since winning his debut at Clairwood. That might be a slight question mark against him but that must surely be the only thing, and he looks like the right horse to be on here. We also have (15) LUCKY MOON and (13) AZEROTH in the field, but they both appear to have a lot to find in what looks an extremely strong race".

RACE 9: Gold Circle FM84 Handicap (F&M) 2000m
"In this race we field (3) CE LOIRE who was beaten in a Listed race on her last start. We are bringing her up in trip to 2000m and I suppose that is the question mark against her, but from a personal point of view, I have wanted to run her over this trip for a while and I am hoping this is the right race to tick the right box. It does look a tricky event with (6) Feel My love in good form and (2) Approach Me with the Fayd'Herbe up, while if there is a surprise, then the two 3-y-os (9) Dans With Sally and (10) Jet Lady could well be some very strong improvers off low merit ratings".

RACE 10: J&B Reserve Stayers (Grade 2) 2800m
"The get out stakes, Race 10. We hold an extremely strong hand in this with (5) CREE LODGE, (14) ORCHARD HOUSE and (17) VENGEANCE. Cree Lodge is having his first run for us after arriving from Dean Kannemeyer looking exceptionally well, but he is a puzzling horse, having won from 1200m at 4 years of age to 2400m. He has been doing a lot of work on the treadmill and is sound for the time being but probably not our number one chance. Orchard House has been in great form of late and although not the soundest, I do not think I have had him fitter or looking better, and I feel he is probably just about our best runner on the day. Vengence looks to have a tough task here off his merit rating but he is a very nice two mile horse in the making but Orchard House will certainly do for me."

In the video below, Joey Ramsden talks about Orchard House, Cree Lodge and Vengence, his Grade 2 J & B Reserve Stayers runners.

Sean was talking to Joey Ramsden and would like to thank the trainer, all his staff, Gold Circle (Pty) Ltd, South Africa, and www.thoroughbrednews.com.au.