National Horseracing Authority (NHA) judges posted the incorrect result for Race 5 at Borrowdale Racecourse last Sunday and as a gesture of goodwill to customers, TAB will add R31,686 – the value of the total net Win pool on the race – to the Win pool on Race 5 at the next Borrowdale race meeting.

TAB paid out all winning bets on the race as per the official result of 1-4-3-7-5 declared by the NHA judges, but it later emerged that the judges had made a mistake and that, in fact, No 4 Print The Pounds won the race from No 1 Eurakilon.

Corporate bookmaking chain Betting World is paying out all win bets on both No 1 Eurakilon and No 4 Print The Pounds, also as a gesture of goodwill.

The NHA has completed an investigation into the result of the race and has amended the result for statistical purposes to 4-1-3-7-5.

The provisions of NHA rule 65.8 will be applied: “Should it be proved after the ALL CLEAR has been announced that there was an error in the placings declared by the judge, the result shall stand save for the fact that the error shall be corrected for statistical purposes.  Where such correction affects stake money such money shall be returned to the RACING OPERATOR for re-distribution.”

The NHA said in a media release that the error was regretted and that an internal inquiry has been opened into the matter.

The National Horseracing Authority has taken a decision to downgrade four races from Grade 1 to Grade 2. The races to be downgraded in 2016 are:

• Golden Horseshoe
• Golden Slipper
• S A Oaks
• Gold Cup

The downgrading of these races followed a recommendation from the Graded Races Committee.

The Graded Races Committee had received a letter from the Asian Pattern Committee expressing concern that the number of Grade 1 races in South Africa was excessive compared to other countries.

The Asian Pattern Committee has in fact suggested that ideally South Africa should have no more than 25 Grade 1 races and against this background, the Graded Races Committee has agreed to aggressively review all of South Africa’s Grade 1 races over the next few years. The down grading of the aforementioned races is the first phase of this process.

In 2011 South Africa agreed to comply with the Ground Rules of the Asian Pattern Committee. In terms of the Ground Rules all races must justify their grading by the quality of its runners. The quality of the field is assessed primarily by the annual race ratings of the first four placed horses over a three year period.

The Asian Pattern Committee also expressed concern that a number of South African Grade 1 races did not measure up to the international standards.

In recommending that the Golden Horseshoe and the Golden Slipper be downgraded, the Graded Races Committee was of the view that the number of Grade 1 races for 2-year-olds was excessive. These races had also not measured up to the international standards over the past years.

The S A Oaks and the Gold Cup also fell short of the international requirements for Grade 1 races. Notwithstanding that these are of the best races in their category, the overall quality of staying horses in South Africa unfortunately does not compare with other countries in Part 1 of the International Cataloguing Standards.

Justin Snaith made a clean sweep of the first three two-year-old races of the Cape season and he can strike again with Soweto Moon in the opening Maiden Juvenile Plate at Kenilworth tomorrow.

This Australian-bred colt was cheaply bought by Hassen Adams for AUS$17 000 at last year’s Magic Million Sale and Snaith says: “He has only been on the grass once and out of the pens once but he is a powerful horse and he could be interesting.”

The former champion trainer, who has had just two reverses on the two-year-old front this term (they were second and fourth), also introduces Gimme Green in the Adams colours but riding arrangements point to the stable companion who opened at 8-10 with World Sports Betting on Monday. Gimme Green was 7-1. By yesterday afternoon, though, the firm had removed the race from its betting list.

Dancer, bought by owner Martin Wickens for R275 000, is out of a mare that won twice at 1 400m and is Joey Ramsden’’s first juvenile runner of the season. He opened at 7-2.

Paul Reeves has been busy with his two-year-olds and his pair have both run once and shown promise. They are obviously capable of improvement.  Moulina was the shorter-priced  at 33-10.  Stable companion Navarone, who started favourite on debut and was reported striding short behind when disappointing last week, has gone lame and been scratched.

Andre Nel is making a big success of his new role as Sabine Plattner’s private trainer. He has a strike rate of virtually 20% at Kenilworth (12 wins from 61 runners) and he can land a double with Weskus Klong and Leisure Trip.

The former would have finished closer to second-placed Castlewood on debut three weeks ago had he not thrown away valuable ground at the start. Castlewood was due to oppose again in the Racing.It’s A Rush Maiden but has unfortunately fallen victim to the cough and, as a result, Weskus Klong is now a prohibitive 3-10.

“Leisure Trip has done pretty well and has improved,” says Nel. “However I would like the form of her debut second to have worked out better.”

He is referring to Oli Miranda and My Cherry, third and fourth when Leisure Trip was second, managing only fifth and sixth behind Hilaria in the first last Saturday. That certainly casts a slight doubt and is probably why Leisure Trip opened at evens rather than odds-on for race four. She has since been backed to 8-10. Vaughan Marshall’s Queen At War (15-4) looks the alternative.

Boomtown Belter receives weight all round in race two and can justify 2-1 favouritism. “I am bringing her back from 1 200m and she will like that,” says Adam Marcus who is hoping that the gallop will be a strong one. “She likes a good pace and to chase them.”

By Michael Clower

Saturday’s Investec Day Of Dreams meeting will have two Gr 1 events but the focus will be on the Non-Black Type CTS Million Dollar, which will have a total stake more than four times bigger than the previous richest race in South Africa.

The final field consists of a variety of different types of horses, some of whom are packed with speed but might not stay the 1400m trip, while others are perfectly suited to the trip and others who would likely appreciate a touch further.

Those able to stay further will want the pace as quick as possible in order to maximise the stamina factor. The highest rated make among them, Exit Here, landed pole position, the ideal draw from which to force the pace. Exit Here enjoys being in front and does not tear away, so could be called a natural front runner, and he has top jockey Anthony Delpech aboard. However, the other horse contestant, who like Exit Here might go the Derby trip in time, Hard Day’s Night, is also a natural front runner, and amazingly enough he is drawn in barrier two.

He will have the cool, calm and collected Piere Strydom up, and some pundits, when discussing the race, ventured the opinion that there will be a mad scramble from the off followed by a furious pace, and Strydom will simply lick his lips while restraining his mount and mow them down in the straight. Strydom does not look to have the right horse to employ those tactics, but is sure to have some sort of wily plan up his sleeve. One probability is that he and Delpech, two of the best and most experienced riders in the race, are unlikely to be dicing for the lead and burning their mounts out.

On the other end of the scale are the speedsters with stamina doubts and they include the filly Jo’s Bond, who has never raced beyond 1000m, Tar Heel, whose best form is over the minimum trip, and to a lesser extent Vurumba and Swift Sarah. Vurumba is speedy but has won up to 1300m. Swift Sarah  had excuses the only time she tried 1400m as she burst through the stalls, but she does pack a lot of speed.

Among these Swift Sarah is a front-running type and if a gamble is taken by taking her to the front in the belief she will see out the trip, she might offer a lead to Exit Here and Hard Day’s Night as she is drawn three. Jo’s Bond, Vurumba and Tar Heel are likely to be dropped out to give them a chance of seeing out the trip. If the pace is slow and they manage to settle, their speed will come into play in the straight and give them a shout. In the likely event of a fast pace they can be ridden cold but will need cover all the way around the turn, which will be tough from a draw of 15 and 20 for Jo’s Bond and Vurumba respectively, but manageable for Tar Heel from draw six. Jo’s Bond and/or Vurumba could therefore be gambled with and sent to the front.

The best merit rated male is Seventh Plain, who has won a Gr 1 over 1400m, but the feeling is that he is probably better at 1200m. He attempted to get to the front from a wide draw in the R2,5 million Lanzerac Ready To Run Stakes over 1400m, but the eventual winner Budapest scuppered this chance and he ended up racing handy but wide, and didn’t find his normal strong kick. That was his first run after a layoff, so he probably needed it, but the pace is likely to be on again, so it will be interesting to see where Anton Marcus places him in this race. He has a big stride and a fine turn of foot so would likely enjoy using that stride behind a fast pace before running on.

The highest rated horse in the race is the filly Silver Mountain, who will be very well weighted as she also receives a 2,5kg fillies allowance. She has a plum draw of five, which will likely come into four, so she will be able to afford to relax if the pace is on as she has good gatespeed and a superb turn of foot. However, Aldo Domeyer will remember being left a touch out of his ground in the Grand Parade Cape Guineas and will not want a repeat.

Redcarpet Captain is  perfectly distance suited and will be hoping for a fast pace so that gaps can open, allowing him to find cover from a wide draw as he has a fine turn of foot. Victorious Jay has proven he gets a mile and will love a fast-paced 1400m. However, he will also need some luck from a wide draw. Prince Of Thieves looks ideally suited to the trip and, jumping from a likely draw of eight, he will love to use his nice stride to sit within striking distance before unleashing his telling turn of foot, so will also enjoy a fast pace.

Ernie defeated Prince Of Thieves as a two-year-old over 1400m and finished strongly to win a Listed 1200m event last time, but he will be 4kg worse off with Seventh Plain from that 1200m race, and is another with a wide draw to overcome. Illuminator was in that race too and beat Seventh Plain by a short-head, but is now 6kg worse off. However, he has no stamina doubts and will likely jump from a the enviable position of six.

Lunar Approach has won over a mile and proved last time to be perfectly suited to 1400m when obliterating a strong field at Turffontein in a three-year-old handicap. He is likely better than his 95 merit rating and is the dark horse, although he has a tough draw to overcome.

A Time To Dream’s wins have been from 1200-1400m, but she will have to reverse a 6,9 length defeat by Silver Mountain from the WSB Cape Fillies Guineas.

Melliflora is the lowest rated horse in the race but has a Gr 1 second to her name over 1600m. She is courageous and will likely be running on from a likely draw of nine.

The atmosphere will be electric on the day and the event will appeal to the racing purist too as the tactics employed by the jockeys are likely to be paramount to ultimate success.

By David Thiselton
Picture: Hard Day’s Night (Liesl King)

Apprentice Eric Saziso Ngwane clinched the first treble of his riding career at Scottsville on Sunday on A P Strike, who ironically also provided him with his first ever ride back in April last year.

It is fitting A P Strike is trained by former jockey great Garth Puller as he taught both Ngwane and Jose Barnes the ropes for over a year before they had entered the South African Jockey’s Academy. Both youngsters came from Merewent, the suburb neighbouring the now defunct Clairwood racecourse, where Puller used to train.

Puller, now at Summerveld, still guides Ngwane today in tandem with the tutelage the latter gets from the Academy’s riding masters. He said, “He has a very bright future, I won’t allow his head to get too big, it is important if you are going to make it to not think you are too big for your boots. He is lacking in experience, so still has one or two faults, such as not getting out of the pens quickly enough and not securing a good position quickly enough, because obviously the apprentices can be a bit intimidated, but he makes up for it with his good hands and balance.”

Ngwane rode five winners last season at a strike rate of 6,76%. He rode A P Strike to a 1,75 length third at odds of 33/1 on his race riding debut over 1200m at Scottsville on 15 April last year. This year he has added a further 22 winners at a strike rate of 10,28%.

It had taken A P Strike more than two years to drop from a merit rating of 75 after his maiden down to a  mark of 58. However, he was backed in on Sunday from 10/1 to 4/1 and found a good finish after being handy throughout to win by 0,5 lengths from outsider Dreamy Forest. The win gave Puller a weekend double having sent out Suzie’s Arrow to win a Maiden under Anthony Delpech at Greyville on Friday night.

Ngwane made full use of his 2,5kg claim in the slightly soft conditions on Sunday and had earlier won a maiden over 1200m on the Julie Dittmer-trained Lockheed Star and a fillies and mares handicap over 1200m on the Chris Erasmus-trained Cayenne.

Academy Riding Master Laurence O’Donoghue said, “He is a very well balanced rider and should go along way if he stays level headed. He is a natural lightweight and shouldn’t pick up any more weight as he is already in his early twenties.”

By David Thiselton

Picture (Nkosi Hlophe): Eric Ngwane winning on Lockheed Star at Scottsville on Sunday

Fourteen will take on hot favourite Legal Eagle in the J & B Met at Kenilworth on Saturday week. The field size is one less than the average of the last ten years.

The race conditions permit as many as 20 – which used to be the norm just over two decades ago – but big hitters like last year’s winner Futura and his stable companion Legislate have discouraged no-hopers and there were no real surprises among those not declared earlier today.

The public gallops and draws take place on Thursday but the bookmakers were quick to react yesterday with Betting World going 12-10 about the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate winner who, as a four-year-old, receives a half kilo weight-for-age allowance from 3-1 second favourite Futura, 5-1 chance Legislate, Summer Cup winner Master Sabina (12-1) and Captain America (13-1) .

Smart Call, the only filly in the race and bidding to give Alec Laird his first Met victory since London News 19 years ago, is a 12-1 chance.

World Sports Betting go fractionally longer about Legal Eagle at 13-10, a point shorter about Smart Call and a point longer on Master Sabina.

Supplementary entry Act Of War was a notable omission from the 15 declared for the Betting World Cape Flying Championship in which last Saturday’s Sceptre beaten favourite Carry On Alice is highest rated.

The Mike de Kock-trained Kingston Mines and champion jockey Gavin Lerena head a field of 16 in their bid to win the J & B Jet Stayers for the second successive year.

Mike Bass’s Cape Fillies Guineas winner Silver Mountain is a short-priced favourite (evens with BW and 18-10 with WSB) for this Saturday’s CTS Million Dollar. Cape Guineas runner-up Brazuca heads the market for the Investec Cape Derby at a best-priced 5-2 and Same Jurisdiction is 16-10 for the Klawervlei Majorca.
By Michael Clower

Met prices:

Betting World: 12-10 Legal Eagle, 3-1 Futura, 5-1 Legislate, 10-1 Deo Juvente, 12-1 Master Sabina, Smart Call, 13-1 Captain America, 20-1 Paterfamilias, Mac De Lago, 50-1 Light The Lights, 60-1 Punta Arenas, Helderberg Blue, 80-1 Gold Onyx, King Of Pain, 150-1 Krambambuli.

World Sports Betting: 13-10 Legal Eagle, 3-1 Futura, 5-1 Legislate, 11-1 Deo Juvente, Smart Call, 13-1 Captain America, Master Sabina, 18-1 Paterfamilias, Mac De Lago, 45-1 Light The Lights, 55-1 Punta Arenas, Helderberg Blue, 75-1 Gold Onyx, King Of Pain, 125-1 Krambambuli.

Picture: Legal Eagle (Liesl King)

Abashiri, the joint top-rated runner in Saturday’s Investec Cape Derby (Grade 1) over 2000m at Kenilworth, looks unlikely to take part.

Abashiri won Saturday’s Sea Cottage Stakes at Turffontein and trainer Mike Azzie suggested in the post-race interview that the Go Deputy gelding would be held back for the Triple Crown races in Johannesburg instead of travelling to the Cape this week, citing his bad No 16 draw as the primary reason.

The Cape Derby is one of three rich feature races on the Investec Day Of Dreams at which the inaugural Million Dollar and the Klawervlei Majorca Stakes will also be run.

Azzie will not be empty-handed in the Cape’s premier classic. He will saddle joint top-rated Rabada, winner of the Grade 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes at Greyville last season but without a win in two starts this term. Rabada is not optimally drawn at No 13 but a double-digit draw is not considered that important over this trip.

Brazuca, from the Johan Janse van Vuuren yard, is the other top-rated runner in the field. He is well drawn at No 1 and will be trying further than 1600m for the first time. He finished second to Noah From Goa, considered by many to be the best three-year-old seen out so far this season, in the Cape Guineas and will have quite a few supporters.

Rabada and Brazuca are rated 10 points or five lengths superior to Eighth Wonder, the next best-rated runner in the 16-horse field but there is every chance a few of the horses are underrated at this early stage of their three-year-old campaigns.

One of those could be Black Arthur, who rose to the occasion when beating Marinaresco in the Politician Stakes over 1800m, one of the trials for the Cape Derby. He is trained by Justin Snaith, who has three other runners, two-time winner Star Chestnut, It’s My Turn and Prince Of Wales.

Same Jurisdiction, only fourth when starting favourite from a wide draw in last Saturday’s Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes, has struck lucky this time. The Duncan Howells-trained filly is the highest-rated horse in the Grade 1 Majorca Stakes and will jump from draw No 2. She is rated 3.5kg better than anything else in the race, the next highest being last year’s winner Inara, and could well be hard to beat.

Entisaar, second to Silver Mountain in the Choice Carriers Championship (Grade 2), will represent Mike de Kock and is one of only three three-year-olds in the race.

Final field and draws for the Investec Cape Derby over 2000m at Kenilworth:

16 Abashiri  60 109 A G Lerena Mike Azzie
2 1 Brazuca (AUS)  60 109 T A W Marwing Johan Janse van Vuuren
3 13 Rabada  60 109 A A Marcus Mike Azzie
4 18 Eighth Wonder  60 99 A S Randolph Greg Ennion
5 5 Black Arthur  60 96 A B Fayd’Herbe Justin Snaith
6 11 Star Chestnut  60 94 A A Delpech Justin Snaith
7 14 Liege  60 93 A S Khumalo Sean Tarry
8 7 Royal Badge  60 92 A A Domeyer Adam Marcus
9 6 Jet Air  60 90 A D Dillon Mike Bass
10 17 Marinaresco  60 90 A G van Niekerk Mike Bass
11 12 Kemal Kavur  60 89 A R Danielson Vaughan Marshall
12 3 Eastern Charm  60 88 BA M Byleveld Vaughan Marshall
13 15 It’s My Turn  60 87 A R Khathi Justin Snaith
14 2 Nebula  60 84 A C Orffer Brett Crawford
15 10 Prince Of Wales  60 84 A P Strydom Justin Snaith
16 4 One Away  60 80 BA B Lerena Brett Crawford
17 8 Paladin  60 77 BA Reserve 1 Vaughan Marshall
18 9 Mega Secret  60 76 A Reserve 2 Patrick Kruyer

Final field and draws for the Klawervlei Majorca Stakes over 1 600m at Kenilworth:
1 2 Same Jurisdiction  60 115 A A Marcus Duncan Howells
2 6 Inara  60 108 A G van Niekerk Mike Bass
3 16 Bichette  60 107 A S Khumalo Sean Tarry
4 5 Lanner Falcon  60 107 A B Fayd’Herbe Mike Bass
5 7 Alexis  60 100 A C Orffer Brett Crawford
6 9 Fear Not  60 96 A W Marwing Adam Marcus
7 1 Deputy Ryder  60 95 XA G Lerena Neil Bruss
8 15 Double Whammy  60 95 BA S Randolph Glen Kotzen
9 3 Eventual Angel  60 95 A P Strydom Dennis Drier
10 8 Crystal Cavern  60 92 BA R Danielson Adam Marcus
11 4 Sea Cat  60 91 A J P v’d Merwe Paul Reeves
12 14 Sensible Lover (AUS)  60 84 A R Khathi Darryl Hodgson
13 12 Lohnromance (AUS)  60 73 A A Domeyer Andre Nel
14 10 Entisaar (AUS)  55 103 A A Delpech Mike de Kock
15 11 Taffety Tart  55 99 A D Dillon Mike Bass
16 13 Moonlight ‘n Roses  55 93 A M Byleveld Mike Bass

– TABnews
– Picture: Same Jurisdiction (Nkosi Hlophe)

The CTS Million Dollar to be run next Saturday at Kenilworth has brought with it a fervour normally associated with the Vodacom Durban July due to the stakes money on offer, and next week’s CTS Cape Premier Yearling Sale will be busier than ever because buyers have been gripped and will be dreaming of standing in the winner’s enclosure of this innovative race in two-years-time.

Buying power is one factor in ultimate success, but the dream factor has been kept alive by the frequency in which horses with relatively low sales tags become champions.

Recent R2,5 million Lanzerac Ready To Run Stakes winner Budapest was unfashionably bred and cost just R160,000; the current highest merit-rated horse in the country Legal Eagle was dear at R425,000, but was far from being the most expensive; the four-time Gr 1-winning July victor Legislate was knocked down for a mere R100,000.

Therefore, it is apt sponsors Investec have called next Saturday’s racemeeting the Investec Day Of Dreams.

Central to Saturday’s winner will be one of the ten racehorse trainers involved. Firstly, the trainer would probably have liked what he had seen in the horse before accepting him  into his yard. He would then have readied him-or-her for possibly the most important race of his-or-her career, the debut, in which a good experience is paramount because horses have excellent long term memories. Having assessed the horse’s potential, he would then gradually have brought him-or-her on to the point where he or she was ready to take on the best of the crop, or in the case of Saturday’s race, the best of the Sales catalogue.

To the vast majority of observers, including the most experienced of them, racehorse training is a complete mystery. This is one reason a book on the market called Strictly Classified by Marten Julian could be essential reading for those wishing to buy that dream horse at next week’s Sale.

The Racing Post described the book thus: “Strictly Classified offers readers a unique insight into the workings of a horseman’s mind, notably in relation to their understanding of a racehorse’s psyche, emotions and character. Calling from his training in psychotherapy and other disciplines, Marten Julian sheds light on how those who work with horses try to unravel the innermost workings of a horse’s mind. He has asked many of the world’s top trainers and handlers how they identify and relate to a horse’s individual personality and thereby encourage it to realise its full potential.

Reference is made to how they address the potential effect of a racehorse’s formative years, their integration into a yard, their emotional range of experiences, their spirit, their will to win and their end days. This is a book specifically about horse people, how they respond to a horse’s character and psychological disposition and it is illustrated with examples of a few well-known horses with which they have been involved.

Robin Oakley wrote an excellent synopsis of this book recently in The Spectator:

Oakley said, “Do horses have souls or a ‘spirit’? When form expert Marten Julian was looking to buy a horse, he asked Declan Murphy to assess it. The former jockey watched it walk then studied its face closely before giving the thumbs-down. ‘That horse,’ he said, ‘has had its spirit broken.’ Murphy’s response led Marten to roam the world of those who work with horses to ask how they try to assess a horse’s individual personality and seek to maximise its potential. In Strictly Classified, the experts debate whether racehorses are still flight animals driven by fear, expecting the slowest to fall to a predator, or whether they have been converted by centuries of human contact, selective breeding and stable disciplines to react more to routine. The result is an anecdotal treasury which confirms that many trainers act as much on sheer instinct as on any structure of historical knowledge. The great Vincent O’Brien paid as much attention to heads and faces as he did to pedigrees. Oliver Sherwood, who trained Many Clouds to win last season’s Grand National, echoes that. ‘The first thing I look at in any horse is the eye, then the limbs and the backside — it’s like looking at a girl.’ Veterinarian and trainer Dermot Weld says, ‘The eyes and the head tell me a lot.’ But is that soul or spirit that they see?

Heartening for those of us who love the sport — and bad news for those who would ban it— is the emphasis so many trainers place on kindness. John Gosden agrees that in the old days ‘breaking’ a horse meant almost precisely that. But now, he insists, ‘The more gently you break them the better. If a horse is frightened by what it is being asked to do then it may become cautious to the point of really wanting to withdraw itself.’ Of the new wave Dan Skelton says, ‘My first job, when I am sent a horse, is to look after him and try to ensure he does not get hurt.’ The scholarly John Oxx insists, ‘The pure business of training a racehorse is to try to get that balance between how hard you work them and how happy they can be.’ For me the best definition Marten Julian drew from a trainer was Luca Cumani’s. In the TV Quiz show A Question of Sport, says Luca, ‘There was a blurred pixelated image of somebody, which they gradually brought into focus. That is how the horse comes to you. They arrive like a blur and step by step the picture clears in your mind and you discover how best to train them.’”

By David Thiselton

Legal Eagle is expected to emerge as a warm favourite for the J & B Met when the market undergoes a major shake-up this morning following his decisive win over a trip widely considered too short for him in Saturday’s L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate.

Some bookmakers were yesterday talking about the four-year-old shortening to as low as 2-1 while previous favourite Futura goes for a friendless walk to 5-1 or more  as punters cast major doubts about his ability to repeat last year’s win.

Sean Tarry, speaking immediately after Saturday’s triumph, said: “Legal Eagle has gone from strength to strength and his five months off the racecourse has really done him well. I was very confident in his preparation and in his ability but not of beating the likes of Futura over a mile. It was a fantastic performance.”

Markus Jooste’s Avontuur-bred Greys Inn gelding was a first Queen’s Plate for Tarry but the champion trainer won the 2005 Met with Alastor. He also has last year’s second Gold Onyx  in the January 30 spectacular as well as French Navy who missed his run in Saturday’s London News Stakes when the last four Turffontein races were abandoned. Tarry indicated that the SA Classic winner is now doubtful for the Met unless owner Chris van Niekerk insists.

However Justin Snaith was far from disheartened about the Met prospects of runner-up Legislate and fifth-placed Futura, reasoning: “Legislate hadn’t run this season and he will come on from this as will Futura who had only had one race this term.”

But Noah From Goa (third) is unlikely to take advantage of today’s final supplementary stage or, for that matter, Wednesday’s Investec Cape Derby equivalent. Matthew de Kock said: “We will see how he pulls up and what my Dad says but he is probably limited to a mile.”

Captain America, who ran on take fourth after being squeezed at the start, came back minus his right front shoe, while the course vet reported Act Of War (sixth) coughing and Power King (last) in mild post-race distress.

Light The Lights’ strong run to get up close home under Stuart Randolph in the Glorious Goodwood Peninsula Handicap filled Glen Kotzen with Met hope. “This is a different horse since we cut him,” said the Woodhill trainer. “We had to teach him to settle and we sprinted him. Now it has all come together.”

Geoff Woodruff was just as taken with the third of Deo Juvente who chased home long-time leader Milton, saying: “We were never going to beat the winner but it was a super run from a bad draw and the 2 000m of the Met will be that little bit more up his street.”

The Conglomerate, backed from 6-1 to 4-1 favourite, came in with only one behind him and the vet reported him not striding out.

> The legendary Lester Piggott, now 80, was among the crowd which was the biggest for Queen’s Plate day since Gaynor Rupert began her efforts to restore the event to its glory days of old.

By Michael Clower
Picture (Liesl King): Anton Marcus and Legal Eagle