Maarek shocked by Cape Of Approval in Midsummer Sprint Stakes – Horseracing news
Maarek suffered a shocking defeat in the Midsummer Sprint Stakes at Cork in Ireland on Sunday, June 16, 2013.
The six-year-old gelding was given the best odds for victory, as the ground was soft and he is a specialist under such circumstances. He was expected to succeed by a big margin, thus his starting price was 4 to 11.
However, Cape Of Approval continued his good form in the 2013 season, winning the race by almost a couple of lengths. This was his second consecutive victory and he will now be eying a hat-trick in the sport.
The Irish challenger entered the competition with a starting price of 11 to 2. His record on softer grounds has been terrific, which would have given a lot of hope to his supporters. His start was not much impressive though and
he was right at the back half way through the race.
At that point, it appeared that the four-year-old gelding would not be able to make a strong impression in the race but he made a fantastic recovery and came into a commanding position towards the ending moments.
Assistant trainer to the winner Fozzy Stack said, “He loves it here. He did it well and Billy said he was going to let Maarek make his run first and hope that he pulled himself up in front. Maarek seemed to hit a flat spot at halfway
and he did it well in the end.”
When asked about the future plans of Cape Of Approval, Stack stated, “He's in the Wokingham on Saturday and he'll probably go up a lot for that so he might be well-in, but he'll need a lot of rain (to run). His front legs are tricky
so he needs a good dig.”
The four-year-old gelding has now won five races out of a dozen appearances. He is improving his strike rate with the passage of time, which is a very good sign. He struggled to get going at the start of his career, but things
have finally started working well in his favour. There are some important events left in the season and it will be interesting to see how well he goes in them.
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