The barrier draw for the R2.5 million J&B Met at Kenilworth on February 2 has thrown the G1 race wide open.
Early favourite Jackson has drawn five and his main rival Pomodoro gate 8 – a barrier described by his trainer Sean Tarry as ‘perfect for the 2012 Durban July winner.
Daily News winner Jackson pipped Pomodoro for second in the Queen’s Plate.
Gavin Van Zyl’s SA Classic winner Slumdogmillionaire secured rails barrier and is expected to improve even further after an excellent L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate effort while the luckless Justin Snaith-trained Run For It drew widest at 16.
While Horse Of The Year and Queen’s Plate winner Variety Club will not be taking his chances, Cape champion trainer Joey Ramsden is well represented with the only 3YO in the field King Of Pain, and a former Cape Derby winner Bravura.
Ramsden was pleased with Bravura’s draw in six and philosophically said that the King Of Pain’s gate 13 ‘could have been worse.’
The only female in the race is Dennis Drier’s brilliant mare Beach Beauty, who has won the Calulo Services Premier Trophy and the G1 Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes at her last two starts.
R 2,5 million J & B MET (2000m)
Horse Weight Draw Jockey Trainer
1 JACKSON 60.0 5 K Teetan B Crawford
2 POMODORO 60.0 8 P Strydom S Tarry
3 SLUMDOGMILLIONAIRE 60.0 1 B Lerena G van Zyl
4 MASTER PLAN 60.0 4 R Fradd G Ennion
5 IN WRITING 60.0 3 G Behr D Kannemeyer
6 MARTIAL EAGLE 58.0 15 A Domeyer Y Govender
7 BRAVURA 58.0 6 A Marcus J Ramsden
8 RUN FOR IT 58.0 16 B Fayd'Herbe J Snaith
9 HILL FIFTY FOUR 58.0 14 M Byleveld V Marshall
10 TRIBAL DANCE 58.0 12 R Khathi V Marshall
11 BLACK WING 58.0 9 F Coetzee B Crawford
12 FABIANI 58.0 2 G van Niekerk G Kotzen
13 ICE MACHINE 58.0 10 K Neisius G Puller
14 BULSARA 58.0 7 M Odendaal G van Zyl
15 BEACH BEAUTY 57.5 11 S Cormack D Drier
16 KING OF PAIN 53.0 13 G Hatt J Ramsden
