Trainer Bob Baffert keeps steering back to the present those who want to talk about Dubai World Cup favourite Arrogate in forward-thinking terms, reminding all that ‘gimmes’ simply do not exist in competitive sports.

“Right now we are just trying to stay focused that he is doing well, because you have to make sure that they show up,” Baffert said. “Right now, we know he is an exceptional horse. He is the heavy favorite. But he still has to have racing luck.”

Arrogate (Liesl King)

The luck of draw was the latest obstacle to be cleared in Arrogate’s favor with the 4-year-old gray colt landing post No. 9 in a field of 14 for the March 25 Dubai World Cup.

The draw for the 2,000m test was largely kind to its main contenders as fellow Gr 1 winner Gun Runner drew post No. 5, Mubtaahij drew the outside gate 14 with Keen Ice, Neolithic and Hoppertunity set to break from posts 10, 11, and 12, respectively.

“He’s settled in pretty well and everything has gone pretty smooth,” said Baffert, who will also saddle Hoppertunity. “We’re just playing the waiting game now. The draw is over so that’s the last of the suspense. We just have to keep him happy the next couple of days.

“As long as he shows up, that’s the key. But he’s done everything well here. If he runs his race, we know what he can do.”

What Arrogate can do is set a track ablaze and break his opponents’ hearts all while looking like a big, goofy kid out for a stroll. What the connections of Gun Runner hope their colt can counter with is a high cruising speed that, when left to its own devices, has its own track record of running foes into the ground.

With Arrogate not always the fastest out of the gate, Gun Runner will likely have every chance to set the pace in the Dubai World Cup and make his champion rival have to go through him at the finish.

“I was happy with it,” co-owner Ron Winchell of Winchell Thoroughbreds said of the draw. “Just let him use his natural speed and hopefully they’ll let him go on the lead. The track seems to play speed-favoring.”

-Bloodhorse.com

Veteran jockey Andrew Fortune will be having knee surgery this week, but on the bright side he is only expecting to be out for three weeks.

Fortune had made recent inroads into Gavin Lerena’s lead in the National Jockeys Championships, but he now admits a top five finish would be a good result.

Andrew Fortune (Nkosi Hlophe)

Meanwhile, Greg Cheyne, who is in second place on the Jockey’s log, did not lose much ground to Gavin Lerena during his three week injury layoff as the latter has been through a rare dry spell.

Fortune booked off his rides on Saturday due to swelling in the knee and cancelled his rides for Monday’s meeting at Flamingo Park. However, he did ride yesterday (Tuesday) and notched up his 100th winner of the season. The years of attrition from jockeyship has led to arthritis in the knee. He has no cartilage left in the joint. The operation will be in order to clean the knee out, i.e. to get ride of the bone chips etc. Fortune recently copped a ten day suspension for a riding misdemeanour and will take it while recuperating.

The jockeys title looks likely to be a two horse race between Lerena and Cheyne, although stalwarts Anton Marcus, Anthony Delpech and Richard Fourie would all be within striking range if any of them decided to chase the title.

Lerena ended the weekend still locked on 110 winners, the number he has been on since February 28. It is amazing by his standards to not have had a winner for the whole of March to date.

Cheyne was two winners off the lead at the time of his nasty fall on Nebula on February 25 at Kenilworth, an incident which saw him laid off for three weeks.

He made his comeback on Friday at Fairview. A winner there plus another winner at Kenilworth on Saturday put him on 106 for the season, just four off the pace. Fortune rode eleven winners during Cheyne’s absence and has surged into third place on the standings.

He was philosophical about the pending layoff and said, “After years of riding there is wear and tear on the body, it is going to happen, and you just have to take it on the chin. But a top five finish will still be an accomplishment, I will be turning 50 in about two months’ time.”

Fortune started the season like a greyhound out of a trap. He was generally riding at four centres, Gauteng, Kimberley, Cape Town and Kimberley, and was 24 winners clear midway through October. However, a filly he was riding on October 13 at Turffontein reared over backwards and the consequent injury put him out for seven weeks.

Greg Cheyne (Liesl King)

By the time he had returned on December 2, Cheyne had gone top of the table, although the latter’s 58 winners had him only one winner ahead of Fortune. Lerena at that stage was six off the pace.

However, Fortune then curtailed his schedule and by the end of last month had dropped 21 winners off the pace, which was now being set by Lerena.

Both Lerena and Cheyne ride in Port Elizabeth on top of their home bases of Gauteng and Cape Town respectively.

They both commandeer excellent support wherever they go. However, Cheyne definitely has the upperhand in PE as the first call rider to Alan Greef, who is well clear in the Eastern Cape Trainers Championship.

Marcus and Delpech both ended last weekend on 95 winners and Fourie, who had a treble at Kenilworth on Saturday, was on 92. However, none of this trio appear to be chasing the title.

Ceaig Zackey had a treble at Turffontein yesterday to move ahead of Fourie on to 93 winners and sixth place on the log. The jockeys who has had most rides this season, Muzi Yeni, is in eighth position on 91 winners. Apprentice Lyle Hewitson is 9th on the log on 85 winners.

Reigning champion S’Manga khumalo served a 60 day suspension at the beginning of the season and is in 10th place on 80 winners, so is probably too far back to mount a challenge.

Table topper Lerena proved two seasons back that he is lethal when the pressure is on. In June 2015 he set a South African record for the number of winners in a month, 42. Of those 42, 12 were at Turffontein, nine were at Fairview, eight were at The Vaal, six were at Scottsville, four were at Flamingo Park and three were at Greyville, which is an indication of how taxing it is to chase the title. However, those winners saw him forging clear of S’Manga Khumalo, who had been level with him at the beginning of that month.

By David Thiselton

Iron man Greg Cheyne bounced back from last month’s horror fall on Nebula to ride a winner at Fairview on Friday and at Kenilworth the following day he gave Andre Nel a notable career landmark.

“I burnt the boot of my right foot (the one he broke in seven places only 15 months ago) against the rails in that fall,” Cheyne related. “The boot was a write-off but what did the damage was the horse coming up and hitting me, and the damage was to my neck.”

Saturday’s Racing. Its a Rush Pinnacle Stakes was almost as rough as Nebula’s and just under two furlongs out Asstar came off a straight line hampering Vincente, Purple Tractor, Al Wahed and Olympian. Less than 200m later Cheyne’s mount La Favourari shifted out, hampering Asstar and causing the doubly-unfortunate Purple Tractor and Al Wahed to become severely cramped for galloping room. Donovan Dillon on Asstar was given ten days for the first incident and the inquiry into the second is still ongoing.

Greg Cheyne (Liesl King)

La Favourari, who beat stable companion Ovar by nearly two lengths, gave Nel the 100^th success of his short training career. “I’m surprised – I would have been happy with a place for either horse,” he said. “And when it eventually rains La Favourari is going to love the winter.”

Racing can be almost as dangerous for trainers as for jockeys and when Nordic Breeze last ran in January Justin Snaith was left limping like a war veteran but, to mangle a phrase, once cow-kicked twice shy. When the temperamental madam’s aluminium-tipped hooves came at him this time Snaith side-stepped with all the agility of a fly-half and Grant van Niekerk did the rest in the 1 200m handicap.

The in-form rider also won the opener on Big Pleasure for Joey Ramsden but the expected treble on hotpot Shrewdy in the last failed to materialise. The 2-1 favourite managed only tenth behind Corne Orffer on the Brett Crawford-trained Miss Carrera and she was afterwards found to be not striding out behind.

Basil Marcus didn’t become seven times champion in Hong Kong without learning to read horses’ minds like an equine psychiatrist and it was largely due to his study of Golden Pass that Sihle Cele left it until the shadow of the post to get up on the 66-1 chance in the 1 200m fillies handicap. “She has been a head-scratcher,” her owner explained. “She tends to get unbalanced when she comes off the bit so we decided to sit until you couldn’t wait any longer.”

Marcus snr played a big part in the making of Richard Fourie in the top jockey’s formative years and he was understandably impressed with the rider’s quick-fire treble which ended with Gin For Genius coming good at the18th attempt to initiate a double for his own son Adam.

Indeed Fourie is riding with all the dash and polish of the heady Legislate days – “Most of it is due to the good support I am getting. That makes a big difference” – but it was only by the width of a Tote ticket that he got King Of The Corn home in a three-way photo for the Soccer 13 Handicap. “I don’t know that any other jockey would have got the horse’s nose down on the line,” said an understandably impressed Mike Robinson.

Piet Steyn, who trains both the second and third, might not have been so taken with the performance! But Fourie promptly put the record straight by scoring on Steyn’s King Of Aces while promising 21-year-old Craig Bantam brought his score to 15 when making most on 28-1 shot Benjan for Mayfair and Candice Bass-Robinson in the Tabonline Handicap.

By Michael Clower

Justin Snaith talks of this being a disappointing season for his stable but he has had 112 winners and won nearly R13 million in stakes – only Sean Tarry has done better – and Captain Alfredo can add to the tally in the Racing.Its A Rush Pinnacle Stakes at Kenilworth tomorrow.

Captain Alfredo (Nkosi Hlophe)

Richard Fourie’s mount has to give weight all round but he ran a fine race to take second to Brutal Force three weeks ago when he had the slow-starting Line Break and Asstar behind on these terms. The fact that he had the speed to get to the front after a furlong and a half should stand him in good stead over this shorter trip.

Despite its name this race is a close to being a handicap with the weights marginally favouring those at the top end. Asstar comes out just the best and probably represents the biggest danger despite his habit of giving away ground at the off. He holds La Favourari, Line Break and Vincente on Southeaster running on Christmas Eve.

“He is sluggish coming out of the stalls so 1 000m is really too short for him,” says Glen Puller. “But we are running him here to keep him ticking over before we send him to Durban.”

Line Break started favourite when finishing third 12 months ago but is not quite the force he was – or at least he is not so inclined to run up to his form – and he looks only third best.

Kuda Sprint fourth Apollo Star has the best form in the opener but the fact that he is the only one of Joey Ramsden’s quartet not jocked up is a cause for concern. Donovan Dillon, who rode him last time, is now on the promising Rock My Soul and accordingly this one gets the vote.

King Of The Corn has won three of his last five and is probably still on the upgrade so he is taken to beat Friendly Tibbs in the Soccer 13 Handicap.

Hernando’s Promise is rated seven points clear in the Racing Association Maiden but he has proved expensive to follow and has found one too good for him in each of his last four starts. Oval Office is preferred.

Shrewdy kept on well in an admittedly weak 1 200m race last time and the Andre Nel filly has a lot more on her plate in the mile maiden but the extra distance may enable her to bring out the necessary improvement.

Greg Cheyne, who returns for eight rides at Fairview today, has seven mounts here and his best chance is probably on Make It Raine in race six.

By Michael Clower

Tuesday’s Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival was a history maker as legendary trainer Nicky Henderson recorded his sixth victory in the great race, while equally famous o

wner, and punter, JP McManus reached the 50 Festival winner mark.

The six-year-old Buveur D’Air was supposed to be at the Festival as a novice chaser this year, but the ever shrewd Henderson changed his mind in January and his decision-making proved spot on once again as the bay stormed to a 4,5 length victory at odds of 5/1 to give jockey Noel Fehily his second Champion Hurdle victory.

Henderson is now the most successful trainer in the history of the Champion Hurdle, as well as being the Festival’s most successful trainer overall. McManus’s six victories in Britain’s most prestigious hurdle event is also a record.

Nicky Henderson (jpfestival.com)

McManus owned the horse regarded by many as the greatest hurdler of all time, the Aiden O’Brien-trained Istabraq, who won the Champion Hurdle three times in succession from 1998-2000.

McManus, who has a range of business interests, has always been a keen gambler too. He was a bookmaker at one stage, but gave up his license to concentrate on punting in 1982. Things didn’t initially go to plan and he needed his Edward O’Grady-trained Mister Donovan to win the Festival’s Sun Alliance Hurdle of that year.

McManus made a reported 250,000 pounds when the horse won at odds of 9-2 to give him his first Festival victory.

McManus admitted after Buveur D’Air’s victory on Tuesday he had lumped so much on Mister Donovan 35 years ago there might not have been a second Festival winner had the horse lost. McManus hired the most successful jockey in jumps history, Tony McCoy, for a reported one million pounds a year retainer in 2004. McCoy’s first Festival success in McManus’ famous green-and-gold hooped colours was on Reveillez in the Jewson’s Novice’s Handicap Chase in 2006.

The horse had opened at 6-1 and was backed into 9-2, including a bet of 100,000 pounds. “I couldn’t let him run loose at 6-1,” whispered McManus. Henderson has now trained 57 Cheltenham Festival winners. He surpassed Fulke Walwyn’s previous record of 40 five years ago.

His first Cheltenham winner was See You Then in the Champion Hurdle in 1985. This horse went on to win the Champion Hurdle three years in succession.

Henderson saddled seven winners at the Festival in 2012, a record which was surpassed by top Irish trainer Willie Mullins, who sent out 8 winners in 2015.

Henderson has won the Cheltenham Gold Cup twice, with Long Run in 2011 and with Bobs Worth in 2013, while McManus has won the meeting’s flagship race only once, with the Jonjo O’Neill-trained Synchronised in 2012.

Henderson has no Gold Cup runners tomorrow, while McManus has two, the O’Neill-trained pair More Of That and Minella Rocco.

By David Thiselton

The race meeting on the Vaal Classic track on Tuesday afternoon was abandoned after the running of Race 4.

This was the first race meeting on the surface since it was closed last November for its annual maintenance programme, during which time the track’s drainage was enhanced.

Vaal

The first two races, both down the straight, went off flawlessly but concerns were raised after Race 3 over 1700m about inconsistencies in the going in some areas where the drainage had been enhanced.

A track inspection was held and in the interests of safety the distance of Race 5 was reduced from 2000m to 1700m.

After the running of Race 4 over 1700m, however, the jockeys expressed concerns about the safety of the track around the turn.

It was then mooted to switch the remaining races round the turn to the Outside Track using bollards to demarcate the inside of the straight 1600m course. After due consideration this was deemed unsafe.

The only alternative was to move the running rail from the Classic Track to the Outside Track, which had not been prepared for racing. But despite every effort it was found it would take too long to remove and re-install the running rail. Consequently there was no option but to abandon the meeting.

The state of the track will be reviewed by the track management team tomorrow (Wednesday) and any shortcomings in the surface will be remedied as quickly as possible.

According to the ruling that at least two legs of any Exotic bet must to run to effect a payment, a dividend for both the BiPot and Place Accumulator was declared. The BiPot paid out R2.20 and the Place Accumulator R1.20.

All Pick 6 and Jackpot bets will be refunded.

By Phumelela

Elusivenchantment and Call Me Winter will be warming up for Champions Season when they clash in the Racing.It’s A Rush Pinnacle Stakes over 1000m at Scottsville this afternoon.

Duncan Howells has high hopes for the Elusive Fort half-sister to the exceptional sprinter Via Africa and has another crack at the Gr1 City of Pietermaritzburg Sprint in mind. In that feature last year she was in contention until the final 50 m before being swamped and finishing sixth, beaten two lengths by Real Princess.

Elusivenchantment (Nkosi Hlophe)

Elusivenchantment subsequently followed up with two comfortable victories, the last over course and distance, but that was back in October last year with Howells giving the filly an extended break. She has enough talent to more than match this field even though the lengthy lay-off may not see her at her best.

After making a cracking start to her career, Call Me Winter went off the boil towards the latter part of last season but after a break, returned looking like a stakes race contender for Mike Miller.

She won two on the bounce in lesser company, the last shouldering the welter burden of 64.5kg. The handicappers were impressed and gave her an eight-point shunt up the handicap for that win and as a result she shouldered a big weight against males at her next outing where she finished a game third giving the winner, Highway Explorer, 4kg.

That was back in early January but she should strip close to her peak this afternoon, the one doubt being the switch from poly to turf, so just how she shapes against Elusivenchantment will give Miller and owner-breeders Steve Sturlese and Peter de Marigny an inkling as to their filly’s Champion Season possibilities.

Miss Varlicious and Littleblacknumber are always game but look comfortably held in this company.

Paul Lafferty, away in Australia for the Magic Millions Sale, had a treble at Scottsville on Sunday and Moon Shadow can make it a more profitable week in the Itsarush.co.za Maiden Plate where the gelded son of Breeders Cup Juvenile winner Pluck should prove difficult to beat after two runners-up berths at recent starts.

Littleblacknumber (Nkosi Hlophe)

Danger is Kildonan Lad from Paul Gadsby’s yard who has finally come to hand. He gave notice when fading late at his penultimate start and was only caught in the last few jumps last time out, that being on the Greyville poly over 1200m. The drop in trip should see him close again.

The balance of the card looks tricky. Very Vary has his third run after a break in the Track & Ball Gaming Handicap and caught the eye with a late burst behind Hot Chilli.

Puchini is another iron horse from the Chris Erasmus yard who lines up nearly every second week. He takes a drop in class and with the blinkers back on could have his efforts rewarded in the Rockafellas Restaurant Handicap in a race that is decidedly open while Accidental Tourist could give Howells and stable rider Keagan de Melo a double on the day in The White Horse Function Room Handicap.

Rounding off the day is another difficult handicap but Cape Town-based Hester Kuhn, Gold Circle’s Owner of the Month for April, will be on course to receive her prize and a possible bonus with Seattle Spell one of the fancied runners to round off the meeting although Coral Lights and Notacademicatal could upset the party.

By Andrew Harrison

Former Vodacom Durban July-winning trainer Glen Kotzen’s string of 21 has arrived at Summerveld from Cape Town, but the disappointing news is crack three-year-old Gold Standard is not among them.

Kotzen said, “Gold Standard had a slight setback after the Met, so has stayed behind, but we might send him later in the season.”

Glen Kotzen

Kotzen said he would be monitored to see how he went, but reckoned at this stage it was likely he would only arrive in Durban in time for the Champions Cup. He would in that case miss the three-year-old classics and the July.

Among the horses in the string which have arrived at Summerveld are Banner Hill, Final Judgement, Party Crasher, Our Destiny, Bon Bon, Gold Image and Princess Peach as well as some promising unraced two-year-olds.

Banner Hill was the winner of the Gr 3 BMW Chairman’s Cup over 3200m in her last start, despite being 3kg under sufferance off her 81 merit rating, and she will be aimed at the eLan Gold Cup, which has been downgraded to a Gr 3 but will keep its R1,25 million prize money. The four-year-old Tiger Hill gelding has won five times, including three wins over staying trips. She will be one of the stayers to follow in the Champions Season as she is still quite lightly raced.

Final Judgement won the Gr 2 Gold Circle Golden Slipper over 1400m at Greyville last season, when given an enterprising front-running ride. The long-striding daughter of Judpot did not have much going her way in the Cape Summer Of Champions Season, yet still managed a one length third in the Gr 2 Choice Carriers Championship over 1400m and a 1,95 length fourth in the Gr 1 Klawervlei Majorca Stakes over 1600m, as well as two close up finishes in the Gr 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas and Gr 1 Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes over 1800m. She will be a big runner in the Gr 2 Daisy Fillies Guineas on May 7.

Party Crasher, a lightly raced daughter of Philanthropist who has won two of her five starts, will also run in the Fillies Guineas but her main aim will be races over further such as the Gr 1 Woolavington 2000.

Our Destiny finished second in the Cape Fillies Guineas last season, but has shown excellent promise since being kept to sprints. Unfortunately, she has issues with the starting stalls and these will need to be sorted out in order for her to be competitive at the highest level.

Bon Bon, who is described as a “decent” filly by Kotzen, is by Bold Silvano and looks likely to improve on her 75 merit rating, so is one to follow in her first few races in KZN.

Gold Image broke the Kenilworth course record over 800m on debut. This daughter of Horse Chestnut then finished a fine 3,6 length third in the R1 million Kuda Sprint, despite being one of only five horses carrying a 2kg penalty for a win. She was the first filly home and beat the colt Barrack Street by 1,55 lengths. The latter won the Listed Storm Bird Stakes over 1000m at Turffontein on Saturday by a facile 3,5 lengths in his only subsequent outing.

Princess Peach, by Captain Al, won very well on debut over 1000m at Kenilworth and the second and third horses have both won since. She was fancied in a Listed race over 1000m on Sun Met day but was undone by an unfavourable high draw and finished unplaced.

Both Gold Image and Princess Peach are both likely to be aimed at the Gr 1 Allan Robertson Championship over 1200m on May 27 at Scottsville.

Kotzen will be hoping some of the “nice” unraced two-year-olds in the string will be joining those two in Gr 1 features during the Champions Season.

By David Thiselton

Dean Kannemeyer is an astute trainer of horses that stay a trip and he looks to have a bright prospect for the big staying races come Champions Season as top weight Mr Winsome blew away his rivals in the Racing.Itsarush.co.za Pinnacle Stakes over 2 400m at Scottsville yesterday.

Mr Winsome (Nkosi Hlophe)

Not only did the gelding keep his clean sheet at the course where he has recorded three wins from as many starts, but he won in facile fashion, putting plenty of daylight between himself and second-placed pacemaker Serissa with the filly Forbidden Duel plugging on from the back of the field to take third.

Roy Moodley must have close on thirty horses racing named Roy’s something-or-other but they have a good track record. Roy’s Air Force and Roy’s Marciano filled the first two placings in the Blinkers Bar Middle Stakes over 1 200m and just for good measure, the Moodley-owned Royalsecuritypower, named after his business Royal Security, filled third spot.

On Friday evening Roy’s Taxi was also on the mark.

Roy’s Air Force also rounded off a red-letter day for young apprentice Ashton Arries and Summerveld-based Paul Lafferty. Arries, who has come on leaps and bounds over the past month, was aboard all three of Lafferty’s winners and was particularly good on Roy’s Air Force as he punched his mount through a tight gap to get up close home. Earlier he had triumphed on Double Clutch and kicked off his afternoon on Simply Scrumptious in the All To Come Juvenile Plate.

It was a tough day for the backers of favourites, compounded by odds-on favourite Indian Tractor only managing to plough his way into third in the final race of the afternoon as Admiral’s Guest gave Brandon Lerena a double for the day and Mark Dixon a double for the weekend with the diminutive Courageous King winning at Greyville on Friday.

By Andrew Harrison