Legislate was thought to be unbeatable having broken the Kenilworth Old Course record in his previous race and started at odds of 9/20. However, he didn’t settle well in the running behind a crawl set by the outsider Ashton Park and just did not have the fuel in the tank to produce his normally devastating finish.

Futura was relaxed in last place in the running and showed no ill effects from his far from ideal preparation, which had seen him missing a race as well as a racecourse gallop due to a bout of coughing.

Ashton Park looked at one stage a possibility to pull off a shock 40/1 victory as he led for much of the straight. Futura finally reeled him in, but then had to repel a late burst by the Triple Crown and Sansui Summer Cup winner Louis The King.

Futura won by 0,75 lengths clear, much to the excitement of Fayd’Herbe, who shook his fist with delight. Fayd’Herbe has tasted success in the Queen’s Plate on a number of occasions as he partnered the great Pocket Power to three of his famous four victories in the prestigious weight for age event.

The 33/1 outsider Gold Onyx finished strongly to be only 1,75 lengths behind the winner in third, a head in front of Jet Explorer. Gauteng horses therefore filled the second and third places and also fifth place with Tellina. Ashton Park, Kingvoldt and Paterfamilias were next best. A tired Legislate trailed in last, 5,25 lengths behind the winner.

Crawford had finished second in the last two running of the Queen’s Plate with Jackson and was thrilled to taste victory at last. The Dynasty colt Futura is owned by the passionate racing men Ian Longmore, Jack Mitchell and John Freeman. Mitchell might have had mixed feelings as he also has a share in Legislate.

Futura was bred by Guy Murdoch and was conceived in Colesberg on The Gary Player Stud Farm, born in the KZN Midlands at Yellow Star Stud and raised in Kimberley at Mauritzfontein Stud.

The big race result was a massive disappointment for the owners of sponsors L’Ormarins, Johann and Gaynor Rupert, as Legislate runs in the colours of their Drakenstein Stud. However, they still enjoyed a great day as those Drakenstein blue and white colours had earlier run first and third in the Gr 1 Maine Chance Paddock Stakes with the Mike Bass-trained Inara and the Glen Kotzen-trained Jet Belle respectively. Furthermore, Drakenstein bred Inara, who is by their stalwart stallion Trippi. Trippi had a treble on the day, and one other of them was also owned and bred by Drakenstein Stud.

Gaynor Rupert has done an immense amount of work to transform the Queen’s Plate into one of the top five rated racemeetings in the world, so thoroughly deserved the success. The course was awash with the blue and white colours that have now become tradition for patrons to wear and the crowd was thought to be a record for the meeting.

Inara gave a massive boost to the three-year-old form. She also left pundits asking just how good the mighty Mike de Kock-trained Majmu must be, as the latter had beaten her hands and heels by 2,5 lengths in the Gr 1 Avontuur Estate Cape Fillies Guineas.

Inara was allowed to go off at 20/1 as there was heavy support for Jet Aglow, who was bidding to give Dennis Drier and Sean Cormack a Paddock Stakes hat-trick.

Van Niekerk did well to tuck Inara into a midfield position from a wide draw and she then settled well. In the straight most of the horses made a bee line for the outside, as was the trend on the day, and Van Niekerk had to switch Inara inward for a run. She finished strongly but had to run all the way to the line to get the better of the Joey Soma-trained Gauteng raider Athina and Jet Belle in a thrilling three-way tussle.

She won by a neck and there was also a neck between Athina and Jet Belle. Another Gauteng raider, the De Kock-trained three-year-old Pine Princess, finished next best ahead of Jet Aglow. It has to be said that Jet Belle was probably an unlucky loser having to be snatched up and eased on two occasions, once down the back straight and then again in the straight.

Justin Snaith, trainer of Legislate, still had a good day with four winners, two of them ridden by his stable jockey Richard Fourie. Snaith and Fourie combined to win the Gr 2 Glorious Goodwood Peninsula Handicap over 1800m with Arion.

Snaith has always rated this four-year-old Silvano colt, not surprisingly as he finished as quickly as Legislate when finishing a 2,75 length 3rd in last year’s Investec Cape Derby and then beat Legislate in a gallop before they were both due to leave for KZN. However, he then chipped a knee, so was off for seven months.

Snaith had him primed for yesterday’s race, his fourth since the layoff. However, he was allowed to go off at 10/1 as the money poured on to the Mike Bass-trained Helderberg Blue, who went off at 15/10, while Power King was also fancied and was backed into 4/1.
Chestnut’s Rocket and Serissa ensured a fair gallop, while Helderberg Blue lay handy in about fourth place with Arion behind him. Power King was in midfield one wide.

Helderberg Blue had every chance but Arion was always travelling better and soon had his measure. Power King had crept up on the outside but the late burst he produced was not enough to catch Arion, who had swept clear and won by 1,25 lengths under a well-timed ride. Fourie saluted one of the owners Greg Bortz, who watched from a box high in the stands, as he passed the line as part of a pre-arranged celebration. Arion was bred by Maine Chance Farms.

Joey Ramsden had a hattrick on the day. Ramsden’s Australian-bred colt by Lohnro, The Conglomerate, won the Gr 3 Julius Baer Politician Stakes over 1800m under Piere Strydom at odds of 28/10. Derek Brugman represented owner Markus Jooste on course and said that this fine specimen had been bought at a bargain price, as he had been one of the early lots on the sale that Brugman and Ramsden attended.

The favourite MLJet set the fractions and The Conglomerate sat in about sixth place in the field which had cut up to just nine runners. The Conglomerate made his run down the outside and as MLJet had also drifted outward the pair became involved in an exciting tussle on the outward rail. However, Strydom was able to extract the necessary extra from The Conglomerate to win by 0,5 lengths.

MLJet has to go down as one of the season’s disappointments but he did have to concede 3kg to The Conglomerate and was 5,25 lengths clear of the third-placed Arniston.

Snaith and Ramsden’s fourth and third winners respectively came in the tenth race, a Pinnacle Stakes event over 2800m, when Current Event and Coltrane dead-heated. They were ridden by Fourie and Strydom respectively.

Bass and Van Niekerk also had a double together and both Sean Cormack and Karl Neisius rode doubles. The sires Silvano and Lohnro also had doubles.
One interesting result was in the third race, a maiden plate for fillies and mares over 1000m, as the winner Cathy Pacific, a 40/1 first-timer filly by Royal Air Force, was trained by Glen Kotzen, owned by his son Kuyan and bred by his mother-in-law Judy Wintle.