Snitzel Colt Off to Promising Start for De Kock

A 2 1/2-length winner at first asking going 1600 metres at Vaal May 19, Heavenly Blue (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}) could be off to Grade 1 company following a smart 3 1/2-length success in his first go against winners July 9. A menacing second into the final furlong, the Mike de Kock-trainee hit the front going very well with 150 metres to travel and was punched out for a facile success. “What impressed me on Saturday was that he took a step up to race against winners, and simultaneously dropped 200m in distance,” the winning conditioner explained on his website. “He's an out-and-out staying type, he'll go 2000m, and on his first run, it looked like a mile would be his minimum trip, but he handled the 1400m beautifully, showing how he'd improved.” While he could make the transition into top-level competition in the G1 Premier's Champion S. next time July 30, de Kock was not ready to commit just yet. “There is a track and draw bias and taking him down to Durban may present too much of a risk at this point,” he said. “We may keep him in Johannesburg for the Summer Feature Season and then aim him at the Cape Classics. But we'll see, he has more racing to do.”

Heavenly Blue (Aus), c, 2, Snitzel (Aus)–Simply Carina, by El Prado (Ire). Turffontein, 7-9, Juvenile Plate, 1400mT, 1:25.52. B-Arrowfield Group Pty Ltd, Cloros Bloodstock (NSW). *A$200,000 Ylg '15 INGEAS.