Cape Tribulation

There were several promising efforts from those who finished behind Dynaste in the three-mile fixed brush handicap hurdle at Haydock on Saturday, and few were more promising than that from Cape Tribulation on his first run for 272 days. He travelled really well up the inside for a long way, he was still moving strongly when he was rather caught in a pocket at the end of the back straight and around the home turn, and by the time Denis O’Regan had managed to angle back to the rail inside Benny Be Good at the top of the home straight, Dynaste had gone for home. Cape Tribulation had no answer to that injection, but he stuck at it well to the line, despite tiring, to finish fifth.

Malcom Jefferson’s horse was weak in the market beforehand, so he was probably expected to come on a fair bit for this run, and he was entitled to need the outing on his first start since February. Dynaste is clearly a very useful horse (he was winning this off a mark that was 9lb higher than that off which his stable mate Grands Crus won the same race last year; Diamond Harry had won it the year before) and the fact that he went for home from so far out brought the stamina of Benny Be Good and Synchronised into play, and found out any who weren’t fully fit, so Cape Tribulation did well to hold on for fifth, especially as Sa Suffit was coming back pretty hard at him close home.

The son of Hernando is talented, he won a Grade 2 novice hurdle before finishing fifth to Weapon’s Amnesty in the Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham three seasons ago, he mixed it with some of the best two-mile hurdlers two seasons ago, and he gave Wayward Prince a real race in the Grade 2 Towton Novice Chase at Wetherby last season. Even after having had his hurdles rating dropped 1lb to 149 following this run, his chase rating is still 4lb lower (145) and the suspicion is that his future may lie over the larger obstacles, he jumped these fixed-brush hurdles well. It will be interesting to see where he does go next though as he is sure to strip fitter with this run under his belt.

19th November 2011