Van Zyl backs King Pelles to hold his own

JOHANNESBURG – There has been a lot of betting support for KwaZulu-Natal raider King Pelles to win the ZAR6 million (S$453,000) Grade 1 Betway Summer Cup over 2,000m at Turffontein on Nov 29.

The big push has partly been fuelled by trainer Gareth van Zyl’s belief that his charge is a much better horse than the one who claimed three stayers’ races during the KwaZulu-Natal winter season.

The five-year-old son of Duke Of Marmalade was one of the standout performers in the winter.

He captured three major races – the KwaZulu-Natal Derby, the Gold Vase and the Gold Cup – over 2,400m, 3,000m and 3,200m respectively, and it was never in doubt that he would claim the Equus Champion Stayers Award for last season.

Now he will be reduced to a race over 2,000m and will be looking to scoop his first Grade 1 victory.

“We initially targeted the Summer Cup as his next mission after he won the Gold Cup,” said van Zyl at last week’s draw function.

“I thought to myself that perhaps a testing 2,000m, with maybe a strong-run pace or with conditions in which he might have a realistic chance, would suit him.

“At that stage I had viewed him as a genuine stayer, but having watched the way he has progressed since then, he made me feel he was a legitimate contender over 2,000m.

“He has never had a preparation like this. His previous prep runs, when we were going into the KZN season, over 1,500m and a mile were very ordinary.

“And he wasn’t fancied going into the KwaZulu-Natal Derby, which he won.

“He showed he needed the distance, which was proven in his following races.”

However, van Zyl believes King Pelles has now matured – he is “a brute” says his trainer – and will be ideally suited to the 2,000m at Turffontein.

“Now he’s a horse that’s sharper, he travels in a 1,200m race, which I never expected,” said van Zyl.

“Again, he ran the best mile that he’s ever run. So, I’ve got every reason to believe he’s an improved horse.”

In truth, he will need to be a lot better because until this race, King Pelles has not competed in a race above Grade 3 level.

With all due respect to the stayers in South Africa, they are not all that strong on paper, so this contest will represent quite a step-up in class.

His warmup could not have gone any better, though.

After his Gold Cup, the gelding was rested for two-and-a-half months and made his comeback in a 1,200m race at Hollywoodbets Greyville where he did show good pace to finish fifth, beaten just 3.20 lengths by I Am Giant in a 12-horse field.

In his second start, over 1,600m at Greyville, he had to recover from a two-length deficit at the start and ran on well to finish a 0.60-length second behind On My Honour, whom he will reoppose in the Summer Cup and will now be 3kg better off over a distance to which he is better suited.

His fitness will not be in doubt and he will also have the services of S’manga Khumalo who won this race in 2012 aboard Wagner.

Another point of interest is that he will also have some “family” in the race as he is a half-brother to the Sean Tarry-trained Legend Of Arthur, who is by Lancaster Bomber.

King Pelles is currently trading at 4-1 and the good news for his supporters is that five of his seven wins have come in soft going.
JACK MILNER FOR 4RACING