Lyle Hewitson is confident he will do the featherweight of 50.5kg on Rockin Russian when the Sean Tarry-trained filly takes on the colts in the Cape Classic at Kenilworth on Saturday.

He said yesterday: “I took the ride as I knew I could do it and I have been dieting for the past fortnight. I will sweat off the final kilo on the day of the race.”

Dean Kannemeyer reports that Last Winter came out bouncing after his impressive return at Durbanville last week and the trainer is already talking in terms of the Sun Met.

He said: “Last Winter came through the race very well. In fact he has never been better and he doesn’t look as if he has even had a race.”

Kannemeyer is still agonising over where to run the horse next but his choices are limited unless he is prepared to stay in handicap company and, after a seven point rise to 106, that does not appeal.

The principal options are a 1400m Pinnacle on November 11, the Green Point over a mile on December 2 and the Premier Trophy over 200m further a fortnight later. The horse would escape a penalty in either of the last two.

Kannemeyer said: “I will enter him for all three and take it from there. I will also nominate him for the Met.”

Breeding suggests he might struggle over the 2 000m Met trip being by Western Winter out of Cape Fillies Guineas winner Field Flower, even if she is by Silvano.

Kannemeyer said: “Anthony Delpech is convinced he will stay ten furlongs because you can switch him off whenever you want to, and his being a completely relaxed horse will help.”

Brett Crawford is discuss future plans for last season’s Met winner Whisky Baron when he meets Wayne Kieswetter tomorrow and these could include Dubai.

Crawford said: “Whisky Baron is progressing well at Newmarket. He is at a rehabilitation place at Longholes with spas and water treatments. He is there for ten days.”

Mike Stewart, who had long predicted that Al Wahed would come into his own in soft ground, secured special veterinary treatment that enabled the six-year-old to return to something like his best on good going last Saturday.

He said: “Al Wahed has a deformed knee and when he was in Durban the vets said he would never race again. I train him only on the softer sand at Noordhoek as a result but just over a fortnight ago I got an Irish vet to work on the knee. He used a pulsating machine and the result was amazing. Normally he is crippled after a race but this time he was much better.”

Stewart was so impressed that he persuaded the vet to use the machine on his sore back. The result was much the same as with the horse and yesterday the trainer had the sort of spring in his step that normally only a winner can produce – and that was before Celtic Charm’s success in the Supabets Handicap.

By Michael Clower