2012 J&B Met Odds and Betting Preview: Gauteng runner Igugu hot favourite with bookmakers

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA - All eyes will be on Kenilworth this afternoon as star filly Igugu bids to win another J&B Met for her trainer Mike De Kock, but the daughter of super-sire Galileo has had a troubled preparation for South Africa’s premier horse race.

The J&B Met is about fashion and food as much as the horse racing, but nevertheless plenty will be descending on Kenilworth and will be placing their hard-earned cash on the four-year-old. ‘Met Fever’ has very much hit Cape Town, so much so that Igugu made the front page of the Cape Times today.

Igugu is the hot favourite to win the J&B Met, a race dominated by Pocket Power in recent years, and can be backed at 5/4 with Sporting Bet and Ladbrokes to win the R2.5 million contest. She is trained up in the Gauteng province by the maestro Mike De Kock and has already done plenty of favours for punters in her short career, as she romped to victory in the R3 million Vodacom Durban July at Greyville racecourse.

She crowned a great year for her sire Galileo in 2011, who also had star miler Frankel flying his flag for him in the UK, but many pundits are concerned that she is having to be stabled at the quarantine station due to the outbreak of a disease affecting horses in the Johannesburg area. Despite concerns voiced by De Kock, punters are still happy to back Igugu, especially after the trained won another big race in Dubai this week with Musir. bet365 have seen plenty of action for her this morning, and go evens (1/1) from the earlier quote of 5/4.

With concerns surrounding the favourite, some are turning to Gimmethegreenlight to win the J&B Met over 2000 metres. The Australian-bred colt can be backed at 8/1 with Paddy Power and looks to have a great chance of at least making the frame. He will be ridden by Piere Strydom, known as the ‘blond bomber’, and has ridden over 4,000 winners in his glittering career. Gimmethegreenlight is only a three-year-old, and is it a positive that he won one of the key trials for the Met recently, the Queen’s Plate.

Beach Beauty is a 9/1 with Sporting Bet but has seen a bit of action this morning. The filly will be in receipt of weight from her Met rivals and will be ridden by Alec Forbes from trap five. Trainer Denis Drier is clearly in excellent form, as he advertised last weekend when his great sprinter Val De Ra beat the legendary J J The Jet Plane in a Grade One contest.

At 10/1 is Tales of Bravery who could be a popular each-way pick for the Met. His forte is his consistency, and with doubts surrounding the favourite, he could be a better shout just to hit the frame. The five-year-old needs to break from stall 15, which is not ideal, but he was placed in last year’s edition of Kenilworth’s big race. The gelding’s jockey MJ Byleveld is one of the leading riders at Kenilworth.

He should not be confused with Bravura, who occupies a similar position in the betting lists at 12/1 with Sporting Bet. He was beaten by Igugu in the Vodacom Durban July but he has a decent chance of exacting revenge here at Kenilworth as he took the Investec Cape Derby over course and distance a couple of years ago.

The Apache is next at 14/1, but he often gets going too late in his races. He is certainly not a selection for the faint-hearted but he does have the talent to beat Igugu if things go his way this afternoon.

Ilsanpietro is also trained by Mike De Kock, but he is best over further than today’s 2,000 metres. The five-year-old gelding remains steady at the 20/1 mark, along with Run For It and Emerald Cove.

The rest of the field are all available at 40/1 or longer with the bookies.

The J&B Met is due off at 4.30pm local time on Saturday 28 January, which is 2.30pm in the UK.

Betting Odds for the 2012 J&B Met