HINDSIGHT is clear sight and while the imported Intercontintal (BRZ) wouldn’t have been among most punters’ first three choices for Race 7 over 1600m on turf at the Vaal Thursday, there were a few pointers to a good run in the form book.
The four-year-old gelding by Mark Of Esteem was easy to back at 11-1 and knocked a host of tickets out of the Pick 6 when came to the front about 300m from home. He rallied nicely when challenged by Stamping Ground an Caesar Borgia and won by 2.50 lengths.
Mike put the victory down to findung the right race and the right opposition and put in a nutshell: “Intercontinental’s merit has dropped steadily from the high 70s to this low of 60 and he happened to bump an average field.”
Jockey Randall Simons was hard atwork at the 400m and Intercontintal took several strides to get into top gear but then, as Randall said afterewards, it was “a matter of how far”!
He added: “We liked him a few runs back when he raced on sand, but he didn’t enjoy it. He was very fit today, he’d come on a few lengths.”
Intercontinental was bred and is raced by the De Castro family’s Fazenda Mondesir International of Brazil, who has enjoyed a long association with South African racing and owner Mary Slack in particular. They stood Ghadeer, one of Brazil’s most influential stallions and bred the likes of Velvet Green, Express Way and Eyeofthetiger.
