Eric Sands’ Cape Town yard has played host to Met winner Smart Call, Queen’s Plate hero Legal Eagle and several other stars including Same Jurisdiction in recent weeks, with their trainers repeatedly singing the Milnerton trainer’s praises.

Eric Sands (hamishNIVENPhotography)

But Sands is concerned that the credit is not going to the right people and said yesterday: “I help where I can but I no more deserve credit for this than I deserve the blame when things go wrong. It is the visiting assistant trainers and their staff who do the work and the successes are due to them.”

Sands is no stranger to big race victories in his own name having won three Cape Flying Championships and Mercury Sprints, two Cape Derbies,  the Cape Fillies Guineas, Paddock and Champion Stakes.

Paul Lafferty reports that last season’s Cape Guineas runner-up Harry’s Son will have his next Dubai race at Meydan on February 25. Lafferty was thrilled with the four-year-old’s second to Safety Check in the Group 2 Al Fahidi Fort, the colt’s first race for nearly ten months.

Lohnromance, forced to miss the Klawervlei Majorca by an over-reach, is back in light work and has the Prix du Cap at Kenilworth on February 20 as a possible target.

Andre Nel said: “That is if she gets in and she might struggle to do that. She is only rated 73 and the race is normally quite full.”

The AUS$550 000 purchase has not been easy to train but she has won both her starts with consummate ease.

Last season’s Cape Nursery winner Captain Chaos has been gelded. It was not a straightforward operation because he is a rig but he is progressing well.

Ronnie Sheehan said: “He is now back in full work. There is no race for him at the moment so I will have to run him in an ordinary merit-rated handicap.”

By Michael Clower