Snowdance will get her 1 400m Pinnacle outing at Kenilworth on Saturday after all. There were fears that last season’s Cape Fillies Guineas and Majorca winner might frighten away all the opposition but five have been declared against her – just enough to save the race.

Snowdance

Justin Snaith also decided to run Platinum Class (Greg Cheyne) but it was Glen Kotzen who saved the race, declaring Prix Du Cap winner Elusive Heart (Bernard Fayd’Herbe) as well as Luna Child (Craig Zackey). Michael Robinson runs Goodtime Gal (Sindile Mbhele) and Andre Nel will be represented by his Diana winner Love To Boogie (Aldo Domeyer). Richard Fourie rides Snowdance.

The sponsors make the unbeaten Brett Crawford-trained Front And Centre 5-2 favourite for Saturday week’s World Sports Betting Fillies Guineas with Western Cape Fillies Championship winner Clouds Unfold second favourite at 33-10. Temple Grafin, a length and a quarter second to Candice Bass-Robinson’s filly in that race, is next on 7-1. Mike de Kock’s Ghaalla (8-1) is the only other quoted at less than 15-1.

In the Cape Guineas Vaughan Marshall’s unbeaten One World heads the market at 16-10 with De Kock’s Dingaans scorer Hawwaam (also unbeaten) on 22-10. His stable companion Soqrat is next on 11-2 and then it’s 6-1 Chimichuri Run, 9-1 Twist Of Fate, Cirillo, 16-1 bar.

Oscar Foulkes, who with his mother Veronica runs the Normandy Stud, appears to have picked up a bargain at the WC Equine Trust meeting at Kenilworth last Saturday. He went to R35 000 to outbid all opposition to secure a service to the hugely successful Twice Over whose fee for the current season is billed at R50 000. Foulkes also runs the catering at Kenilworth.

By Michael Clower

Paul Reeves may have been demonstrating his training talents for nine years now but he was still David taking on Goliath in the first Cape Town two-year-old race of the season at Kenilworth on Saturday.

His R250 000 Chilly Winter cost little more than half the Justin Snaith-trained Shinnecock and at 13-1 only one other horse in the field started at a longer price. Yet the more Reeves heard about what a certainty the 9-20 favourite was the more he convinced he became that his single sling shot was going to fell the champion.

Paul Reeves

“She hadn’t been here or Durbanville to gallop, only at home where we can only go 600m. But I had put her against some very fast horses and she hadn’t been beaten by any of them,” Reeves explained as he was toasted by the filly’s eight owners in the hospitality room afterwards. “So I had a lot of confidence in her and I am sure that there is more to come.”

Richard Fourie on Shinnecock determinedly threw down the gauntlet throughout the final furlong but Sandile Mbhele’s mount kept pulling out more to hold on by a fifth of a length. Now Reeves’ sights are set on the Met day Listed race.

It was a tough day for Snaith. He might not have had his head severed with a sword but it certainly felt that way. Three more favourites bit the dust and what really hurt was that arch rival Sean Tarry went R1.8 million clear at the top of the trainer’s log. Not exactly a fitting prelude to the champion’s 44^th birthday today.

Mbhele can talk as well as he rides – a considerable asset for any apprentice – and he followed up on the curiously-spelt Summer Olimpics for Michael Robinson in the Klawervelei Stud Handicap while Xola Tshayisa, 26, rode his second winner when making all on Spring Burst for his boss Glen Kotzen.

You often hear jockeys praising their mounts after winning on them and so it was particularly unusual to hear Fourie and Aldo Domeyer saying how difficult their horses actually were.

Fourie, after getting up close home on Gyre, reported: “He doesn’t like to be in front. If you get there too soon he will throw the anchor. When I pulled him out he went straight back behind the horse ahead of him and he was already pulling himself up when I hit the line.”

Domeyer added about Vikram: “He is not an easy horse to ride. When he hits the front he starts messing around and tries to drop the bit.”

Corne Orffer had no such problems with his Brett Crawford double on Senatla and Princess Irene while Paddy Kruyer went home convinced that Greg Cheyne had stolen the last on Rush Hour Girl – “The track is very fast, Greg got away from them and they couldn’t peg him back.”

Interviewer Fee Ramsden remarked to Piet Steyn that he was looking a bit down before Morne Winnaar just got up on Metorite in the Khaya Stables Handicap. The trainer replied: “Things are not going my way at the moment. But one or two more drinks and I will be a lot better!”

By Michael Clower

Legal Eagle warmed up for his bid to win the Green Point Stakes for the third successive year at Kenilworth on Saturday with a good work-out over 1 100m on the course last Saturday.

The seven-year-old was ridden by usual pilot Anton Marcus and went with Safe Harbour (Anthony Andrews) who was runner-up in the Paddock Stakes, Cape Fillies Guineas and SA Fillies Classic two seasons back. The final stages of the gallop were shown on closed circuit TV during racing and Legal Eagle finished particularly well.

Legal Eagle (Liesl King)

The dual Horse of the Year is 14-10 favourite with World Sports Betting to bring the unbeaten run of Rainbow Bridge (16-10) to an end with Gold Challenge winner Undercover Agent next on 4-1 and Durban July hero Do It Again a 13-2 shot. It will be the smallest Green Point field this century with Copper Force 18-1 and 22-1 outsider Hat Puntano the only others declared.

There were just ten entries in the first place and the most notable not declared are Grade 1 scorers Eyes Wide Open and Tap O’Noth who are both in Saturday week’s Premier Trophy. Eyes Wide Open is 4-1 favourite for this with last season’s Cape Guineas winner on 6-1. The Mike de Kock-trained Buffalo Bill Cody is 9-2 second favourite.

The Green Point market is in marked, and significant, contrast to that of the Sun Met. WSB has Rainbow Bridge 7-2 favourite for the 26 January showpiece and Do It Again second favourite on 6-1. Last year’s winner Oh Susanna and De Kock’s Cape Guineas hope Hawwaam are both 8-1 chances but you can get 10-1 about Legal Eagle. The layers are clearly taking the view that the three-time beaten favourite is not as effective over 2 000m.

The Candice Bass-Robinson-trained Magical Wonderland (Aldo Domeyer) is 18-10 favourite for the Southern Cross Stakes and Strathdon (Justin Snaith/Richard Fourie) heads the market at 22-10 to repeat last year’s win in Saturday’s third feature, the Cape Summer Stayers Handicap.

The huge stakes of the CTS sales races have put the appeal of the traditional Grade 1s firmly in the shade and Adam Marcus has had little hesitation in giving the Cape Guineas a miss in order to have Vardy (impressive winner of both his starts) at his peak for the R5 million CTS 1600 on Met day.

He explained: “We didn’t even enter him for the Guineas – it would have been only two and a half weeks from his last run – and my main aim going into the CTS race is to build his confidence, and I feel that putting him up against hard-knocking horses like One World wouldn’t be the right thing to do. There is a lot to come with him but he showed last Wednesday how mentally immature he still is.”

By Michael Clower

There was plenty to celebrate at the KZN Breeder’s Awards held at Forduin in Nottingham Road on Saturday night but the most heartwarming story was of a new breeder, Nothemba Mlonzi, whose first two runners had both recently won on debut. She attempted to keep her 100% record at Scottsville yesterday but it was not to be.

Nothemba owns a farm in the Midlands where she had been growing tomatoes. A Cedara graduate was managing this operation and thoroughbred breeding doyen Anton Procter, who lives nearby, was also regularly helping out. The manager one day recommended she should do something with the section of empty land she had, where the kikuya grass would provide good grazing. He informed her of Procter’s success in breeding racehorses in the area and advised her to chat to him.

Procter recommended she should first travel to watch the Epsom Derby, where the winner represents the pinnacle of breeding achievement, and this would give her a good idea of what the game was all about.

He had soon organised her a Derby ticket with the help of Larry Nestadt.

Nothemba Mlonzi (Candiese Marnewick)

Nothemba, who works in Johannesburg for the company she herself founded, Econ Oil, had a wonderful time at the Derby, where she was hosted by Bernard Kantor. She came home with no more doubts about starting the new venture. She had soon purchased two mares, On A Wing (a three-time winner over 1200m by Tiger Ridge) and Celestial Cloud (a twice-winner by Toreador and a half-sister to Grade 1-placed Patchit Up Baby). The resulting progeny were the filly Master Keys and the colt Galaxy Tunes. The pair  were sold at the National Yearling Sales and the KZN Yearling Sale for R100,000 and R50,000 respectively through her Mwetwood Stud.

Master Keys gave Nathan Kotzen his first winner as a trainer when scoring on debut and Galaxy Tunes also won on debut for Mark Dixon.

Master Keys had her second start at Scottsville yesterday and finished unplaced.

Procter has advised Nothemba throughout and she could not have asked for a more experienced and passionate mentor.

Procter played cricket for Natal together with his legendary brother Mike. However, he was always destined to be a farmer and horseman. He began following pedigrees in his school days as he was keen to find out why different horses by the same sire kept on winning. Later he became involved in amateur horseracing as an owner and trainer in Donnybrook. He travelled all the way down to Umtata to win his first race, the horse being ridden by a young African who had never ridden in a race before. It felt like winning the July to Procter and his passion grew. His later career in thoroughbreds included being secretary of the Richmond Gymkhana Club; he had a public trainer’s license in Zimbabwe; and he spent nine years working for perennial KZN champion breeders Summerhill Stud. He also had a stint as a bookmaker. He had been unhappy at his place of employ at the time in the late 1960s and when a bookmaker’s license became available in Greytown he purchased it for R1020. On Durban July day in 1970 just about the whole town descended on his premises thinking it was a Tote and he stood to lose a fortune on the favourite Naval Escort. Fortunately the latter ran unplaced and an outsider his wife had dreamed vividly about winning the race, Court Day, duly won. An exhausted Procter arrived home on the Saturday evening and asked his children to count the contents of his satchel. It came to a princely R34,000, which was three times more than it had cost him to buy the property and build the house where they were staying.

Procter’s influence is still felt in SA breeding as he was instrumental in bringing Rakeen over to South Africa. This son of the great Northern Dancer went on to sire the phenomenal champion racehorse and seven-times South African National Champion Sire, Jet Master. It was Nestadt who had given Procter an instruction to find a horse good enough to win a stakes race in South Africa and have a pedigree good enough to stand at stud. The buying team’s first option was on Mark Of Distinction, but the deal fell through. Then, Procter, with the help of pedigree fundi Robin Bruss, identified all of the Northern Dancers left in the world and they found Rakeen, a four-year-old trained by John Gosden who had not yet raced but who had a superb pedigree. They approached Sheik Mohammed’s manager Anthony Stroud and he agreed to sell for £100,000. However, a few days later Rakeen won comfortably on debut over nine furlongs and the deal was off. Three days later he ran over a mile and was beaten as odds on favourite. Stroud did an about turn and said he would sell for £125,000 and the deal was done. Procter went to watch Rakeen’s next race a few days later at Doncaster with Henry Cecil’s assistant and a Sheik Mohammed representative. Under Walter Swinburn he won the ten furlong event by five lengths. Rakeen won four races in South Africa and finished third in the July of 1991, the same year the celebrated import Al Mufti ran second.

Procter was working for Aldora Stud in the KZN Midlands when Rakeen stood there. He recalled the late Hugh Jonsson wanting to send his mare Jet Lightning to him but stalling as he was convinced R5,000 for a live foal was too much. Procter, in a session of bartering which lasted about two hours one morning, eventually convinced Jonsson the fee was worth it for such a well bred stallion and the resulting progeny was Jet Master.

Procter, with the help of veterinarian John McVeigh, also identified the successful stallion Toreador on a visit to Coolmore and he was also instrumental in bringing over Crusade, who was announced as the KZN Stallion of the Year at Saturday night’s awards.

Nothemba currently owns six mares and has also bought a share in the exciting new Maine Chance Farms-based Dubawi stallion, Erupt.

Her enthusiasm will surely rub off on others so her importance to an industry which needs new participants can not be underestimated.

By David Thiselton

Mike Miller is not one to let the grass grow too long when it comes to two-year-olds and his runners made up most of the field in a recent barrier trial for juveniles. Bound By Duty was one of the first contestants and had already had two warm-up trials before yesterday’s first 800m scurry of the season at Scottsville, finishing at the head of affairs both occasions.

At his second trial, Bound By Duty was pressed to the line by the filly Enterthedebutante and yesterday Kom Naidoo was quietly confident that his filly could turn the tables.

It was not to be for both Enterthedebutante and apprentice Xola Jacobs hunting the first winner of his career. The more experienced colt and rider proved too much for their rivals although there was only a half-length in it at the line with the balance left gasping for air.

Wealthy (Candiese Marnewick)

Naidoo had better luck in the third when the aptly named outsider Innocently Naughty caused a major boil-over in the results and at the start.

Twice Over Satin had her starting stall certificate withdrawn as she played up in the gate after being loaded, injuring Warren Kennedy who was laid off the for the balance of the afternoon with an injured foot. To add to the starter’s problems, Twice Over Satin got away from the starter’s assistants and bolted the course.

All the commotion triggered Innocently Naughty who reared up and came within a degree or two of tipping onto her back.

“I got all unbalanced,” recalled Jarred Samuel, who has had his fair share of bad luck with falls. “I thought to myself that I was not going to be planted at Scottsville and managed to bail.”

Re-loaded, Innocently Naughty held off the attentions of visiting Florence and Dancing Princess, favourite Awayinthewoods fourth after a difficult passage.

Trainer’s Louis Goosen and Duncan Howells were in the boardroom after the race complaining about the ride from Anton Marcus as Awayinthewoods hampered both of their runners at various stages of the race. Howells felt particularly hard done by as Starlight took a knock shortly before the line to finish a short-head back in fifth.

The stipendiary stewards however, were unmoved in their assessment, although both complaints came after the all-clear had been sounded. “We were satisfied with what we saw,” said head stipe Shaun Parker. “If they saw it differently then they should have objected and tried to convince us otherwise.” The official stipes report noted that Awayinthewoods had been hanging out throughout.

It was hard going for punters over the weekend with the Pick 6 and Place Accumulator paying rockets on Friday although Byron Forster, assistant of Cape-based Andre Nel in KZN, had a fine evening saddling three winners and a second but the luck ran out a tad yesterday as Q The Music and Silver Rose had to be content with second.

Approaching the final furlong, Q The Music looked all over a winner in the 1600 KZN Summer Challenge but stand-in rider Serino Moodley signed off on his apprenticeship with a winner. Replacing the indisposed Kennedy, Moodley came from the clouds on the Paul Lafferty-trained The Bayou, threading his way through the traffic to collar Q The Music and win going away. Moodley and Eric Ngwane have completed their five-year apprenticeship and from today are fully fledged jockeys.

National Champion jockey Lyle Hewitson, because of his experience in workrider races, was only indentured for three years and will also lose his apprentice moniker but his superb record may be challenged by second-year apprentice Luke Ferraris, who rode his 60^th winner at Turffontein on Saturday to lose his claim. Ferraris showed yesterday that he was capable, with or without his claim, as he scored on the Sean Tarry-trained Live As One. Tellingly, it was Tarry who was quick to realise the talents of Hewitson and provided him with the bulk of his winners in his national title triumph.

By Andrew Harrison

The R2 million GBets Summer Cup over 2000m is the highlight of the weekend feast of racing and there are plenty of other class races to look forward to at Turffontein tomorrow also.

Coral Fever has a tough task in the Summer Cup giving 5,5kg to the second highest weighted horse but he has earned it. He has the perfect racing temperament being one who can relax well in the running and reserve fuel for his strong and resolute finish. He could mow them down in the shadow of the post as he did with topweight in the Charity Mile.

Cascapedia is a big classy sort who has won six of her nine starts including four of five starts over 1800m. She will be a big threat from a good draw.

Takingthepeace has proved her class and her suitability to this course and distance and she has a plum draw.

Cascapedia (JC Photographics)

Like A Panther struck as being a Derby sort last season but on form he is likely best at this trip and he should be cherry ripe.

Noble Secret will come into his own this season and middle distances have always looked likely to be his game.

Liege comes in off a similar effort in the Victory Moon to last year and with the same weight he carried to victory last year, but he has a tough draw.

Secret Potion is from the Geoff Woodruff yard who have dominated this race this decade and she is a scopey sort with a long stride who loves this galloping track and this distance, although she was beaten 1,15 lengths by Takingthepeace in last year’s SA Fillies Classic and now has to give her 1kg.

Tilbury Fort has done little wrong since gelding and is the dark horse as he should get the trip.

Arctica has proved lately he is up to this class and his middle draw is the best he’s had for a while.

Sabina’s Dynasty was beaten 0,75 lengths by Takingthepeace in the Victory Moon over 1800m and is now 1kg better off and drawn in pole, so has a chance on paper.

Dawn Assault has a tough draw but if he gets a good position he will be staying on strongly.

Social Order is capable of running on too if finding a good position from a tough draw.

Roy Had Enough has a tough task with Noble Secret and Like A Panther who both beat him in the SA Classic last year and now get weight from him, but he was reportedly not at his best that day so has claims.

The Woodruff-trained Deo Juvente has gone close in this race before and has a light weight but he has to put a poor run in the Victory Moon behind him.

Cash Time did well in the Victory Moon from the front and his plum draw will suit his front-running style but he is 2,5kg under sufferance.

Tandava is also 2,5kg under sufferance. He will need to be ridden from further off the pace than he was in the Victory Moon as he is capable of a strong finish but there is a stamina doubt.

Fort Ember finished second last year but has not been in as good from and she is the sort who needs a good draw as she needs to be handy but lacks early pace.

Kilrain officially has a hopeless task at the weights but has to be respected as one of nine-time Summer Cup winner Mike de Kock’s five runners.

They are selected in the order mentioned.

Nafaayes is taken to win the Grade 2 Ipi Tombe Challenge despite a slight pedigree doubt over her staying the 1600m as she comes from a strong formline and carries only 51kg.

Captain And Master is full of class and can mow them down in the Grade 2 The Goldrush Derby Run Merchants.

By David Thiselton

Shinnecock can get punters off to a winning start in the opening Morris Vee Sports Bet Maiden Juvenile Plate at the WC Equine Trust charity meeting at Kenilworth tomorrow.

This is the first two-year-old race of the Cape season and Richard Fourie’s mount opened odds-on at 8-10 when World Sports Betting put up the prices on Wednesday. The Var colt is out of a Danehill Dancer mare and went through the ring at R450 000 at the National Yearling Sale in April.

He carries plenty of confidence with Justin Snaith’s brother, Jonathan saying yesterday: “You have to treat first time juveniles with caution because of their inexperience but this one is as quick as they get and he will take a power of beating. Indeed Justin has said that he will be very disappointed if he does get beat.”

Richard Fourie

Snaith Racing is overdue a win in this opening two-year-old race. At one time theirs was always the one to be on but in the past six runnings the yard has only been successful once and 12 months ago Captainofthesea started a warm favourite only to finish out with the washing.

Indeed the winner hasn’t been that easy to find in recent years and in the last four there has only been one winning favourite. Vaughan Marshall won last season’s race and his Lasata is 22-10 second favourite. By Philanthropist out of a Western Winter mare, the colt was withdrawn from the National Sale but the booking of Aldo Domeyer looks significant.

Putontheredlight (9-2) represents three-time champion trainer Sean Tarry who looks like again being Snaith’s main rival for the title. The only other runner in single figures is 9-1 shot Grey Ferrari who will be out to give Greg Ennion a belated 70^th birthday present.

Grand Silvano has won four of his last six and the Brett Crawford 15-10 favourite probably has Gyre (3-1) to beat in the Drakenstein Stud Handicap. He has gone up a kilo for his last win whereas Gyre has come down a kilo even though that October 30 run was his first for nearly four months.

A good jockey is an essential ingredient for success in work rider races and Contessa’s Glance ticks all the boxes in the Vaughan Marshall-sponsored race three except for proving an expensive failure in her most recent run. Richard Fourie reported that she was not striding out that day although the course vet could find nothing wrong.

“You can ignore that last run because she is completely sound now and she will return to form,” predicts Jonathan Snaith, adding: “She will be one of the horses to beat.”

She looks value at 9-2, particularly as she is best on ratings, and she can prove too strong for 18-10 favourite Secret Path.

There is much less to choose between 13-10 favourite Vikram and 17-2 shot Dubula than the betting might suggest in the Snaith Racing Maiden (race four). But Vikram possibly has more scope for improvement – he has only had three starts – and therefore gets the vote.

By Michael Clower

Royal Frost made an excellent seasonal debut when downing Gr2 Daisy Fillies Guineas winner Fiorella in a Pinnacle Stakes last month and looks set to build on the victory when she contests the Shevanie Gopee Handicap at Greyville tonight.

It is a card seemingly littered with pitfalls and if successfully negotiated in the exotics one should be in for a lucrative pay-out.

It will be Royal Frost’s first venture onto the poly but Dean Kannemeyer has never been shy of running his charges on the synthetic surface. Yet she faces some useful opposition including stable companion Miss Smarty Pants and recent winner Heart Of A Legend who finally hit top gear and is in receipt of 7kg from the current 2-1 favourite.

Miss Smarty Pants has her third outing for Kannemeyer and is the mount of stable jockey Keagan de Melo but I fancy that Anton Marcus has the better ride.

Tony Rivalland sends Wynkelder to try his luck at Turffontein tomorrow but will be looking to Pollard to hit them for six in the opening leg of the PA. Gelded after his barrier trial, he put in a late charge on debut only to go down half-a-length to Ultra Boost.

Wynkelder (Candiese Marnewick)

Biggest threat, in the market and on course, could be Canadian Bolt. Robbie and Shannon Hill’s runner has gone down narrowly in both outings and has the benefit of a god draw and having had a proper race on the poly. Others to consider are Stealth Admiral and Stone Tiger, both recently gelded and showing signs of life.

The fourth holds more potholes than Wally Hayward Drive in Ashburton but Magical Java could successfully navigate them all. Dennis Drier’s filly was all at sea on debut but stayed on in the 1000m dash. She should much prefer the extra two furlongs of this race and one can expect reasonable improvement. The front-running Adorned By Beauty should set a decent pace but will have to work from her outside draw while Fleek is way better than her last effort. Not a race to go light in.

In the sixth, Archilles and Field Marshal Fenix hold entries for Scottsville on Sunday so check for possible scratchings as both have reasonable winning chances this evening. However, Unbelievable Chad can take advantage of a drop in class and rating the land the spoils. A number of fancied runners appeared not to handle the soft going at the recent Scottsville meeting and although Unbelievable Chad took a hike in the market, he is way better than that run would suggest. He was a touch unlucky behind Golden Pheasant after his apprentice rider dropped his stick and he has been replaced by the much more experienced De Melo.

Novice Plates are generally hotly contested affairs and the Jonsson Workwear Depot Durban Plate is no exception. Sigismund finally got the race that he was looking for when romping home in a maiden over course and distance and second-placed Cruz Giovanni paid tribute to that form by winning last Sunday.

However, Tierra Del Fuego slammed the opposition in his maiden win at only his second outing while Michael Roberts has high hopes for Solid Gold although the gelded son of Rock Of Gibraltar has not been out since his narrow maiden win over the Scottsville shortcut back in early September.

A Hill double is a possibility in the eighth with Moon In June at the top of the ante-post boards after two close-up finishes on the Greyville turf. The step up in trip should suit although she may be hard-pressed by My Wish where Roberts has replaced her apprentice rider with title chasing Anton Marcus.

Louis Goosen has been hard at work setting up his Wonder Water franchise but now that it is up and running he is back in business with seven runners on the night, Wendylle and Yaas doing duty in the last. The grey Wendylle has been up against much stronger in his two outings out of the maidens and with Marcus a past master on front runners, the pair could have this field off the bit from a long way out.

By Andrew Harrison

The Pick 6 is well worth catching on the big race days, although the first three legs and last two legs are not going to be easy and sandwiched between them is the open looking GBets Summer Cup.

Class in horseracing is defined as those who are supreme at middle distances but can also beat the best sprinters at their game. Captain And Master, who runs in Grade 2 Goldrush Derby Run Merchants over 1160m, has this sort of potential but unfortunately has had a tendency to race a bit strongly over further trips. He is feature class, having finished third in the Grade 2 Golden Horseshoe as a two-year-old and second to Undercover Agent in the CTS Mile, so his merit rating of 103 is competitive. He has a long stride, some pace and a fine turn of foot so should be running on strongly and has a chance as the sprinting division is relatively weak at present. The low draws are often hard to win with down the Turffontein straight on big days and some of the fancied horses are drawn low.

Captain And Master

Africa Rising, who gets on well with Lyle Hewitson, has a fair draw and can do better than last time over this course and distance as he was slow away that day. He is capable of running handy and then staying on. Rivarine bounced back to his best last time after a long layoff and he can also be included off just a three point higher mark. Pinnacle Peak has earned topweight and his pace and long stride will give him a chance from a standside draw. Wonderwall is 1,5kg under sufferance on official merit ratings but can do better than last time when racing too freely in front. Romi’s Boy returns from a layoff but has a fine record over course and distance and has to be included. Those six are taken to get punters through although it is tough to ignore any of the runners.

The first leg of the Pick 6 could be won by the classy Gimme A Wave, who will relish the step up in trip. His wide draw is a concern but he looks to be a sort who can relax well and produce a resolute finish so he can be dropped out. He should rise above his 84 merit rating in time so should go close carrying just 54kg. Shuckra off a merit rating of 81 and having to carry just 52,5kg has to be included as he made a good winning debut over 1600m and should have improved. He has a nice draw. Against The Grain did not beat much last time over this trip but did it effortlessly. He can come from off the pace and Hewitson is up. Firdoas and Bold Eagle have class but it will be tough having to give so much weight away so the first three mentioned could be enough to get punters through.

The second leg for fillies and mares is the Epol Magnolia Handicap over 1160m. Schippers looks to be banker material off just a 90 merit rating. She has a long stride, speed and a turn of foot and is drawn on the right side. She has come into her own this season as a four-year-old. In her last start she was slow away and was up against the boys, so finishing just 2,5 lengths back under handicap conditions was no disgrace. Winter’s Forge has dropped to an attractive merit rating and should be running on from a nice high draw. Covered In Snow has won three times over course and distance and has her third run after a layoff, which follows a fine performance last time out over 1000m. Frederico’s Dream and Kissable are pacey and will attempt to take the race by the scruff of the neck so have to be considered too. Wrecking Ball has had a new lease of life lately. She looked to be one who could not quite stay 1000m, but after being tried over 1400m and 1450m she has since being running on strongly over 1000m so can get this trip, although she was raised four points for her last run and now has a low draw. Ouro has some good recent form but has a low draw and if she is considered then Captain’s Princess also has to come into the reckoning. Pretty Penny looks talented and returns from a bleeding suspension so can’t be ignored.

The fifth leg is the Grade 2 World Sports Betting Ipi Tombe Challenge over 1600m. Nafaayes finished a fine second in the Starling Stakes and the form has been franked plus she should be improving. She looks the one to side with carrying just 51kg. Fiorella has had a good preparation and Roy’s Riviera is coming into her own. Redberry Lane could resort to her old favourite tactic of leading. The course-and-distance suited Green Top should be cherry ripe. Al Danza only just failed to beat the top class Nother Russia the last time she went this course and distance so also has to be considered.

In the last leg Zillzaal will relish the step up in trip having been outpaced and running on strongly on debut over 1200m. However, he has a tough draw as does the course and distance suited Indy Ice. Epic Dream has class and looked likely to enjoy this trip but failed the first time he tried it so is given another chance. Stalking should improve and The Sands is better than his last start.

That leaves only the Summer Cup which will require plenty of homework.

By David Thiselton

Hawwaam, so impressive when winning last Saturday’s Dingaans , is the only three-year-old among the 29 horses entered for the R5 million Sun Met at Kenilworth on January 26 but this exciting colt is just one of six nominations from Mike de Kock.

Hawwaam (JC Photographics)

De Kock, who said he would consider the Met if Hawwaam looked like going overseas, is no stranger to winning the great race with a three-year-old. He did it with the great Horse Chestnut in 1999 and he repeated the feat with Badger’s Coast 12 months later. He also won it with the four-year-old filly Igugu in 2012.

Justin Snaith has also entered six – last year’s winner Oh Susanna, his first three in the Durban July – Do It Again, Made To Conquer and Elusive Silva – as well as Doublemint and Platinum Prince. In contrast Brett Crawford, bidding for Met number four, has only one entry – the Gold Challenge winner Undercover Agent. Vaughan Marshall, who has won it twice before, also has just a single candidate – Tap O’Noth who won last season’s Cape Guineas.

The highest rated horse in the ten furlong Grade 1 spectacular is the perennial Met challenger Legal Eagle who has started favourite in each of the last three seasons – twice finishing second and fourth last time. At seven the Sean Tarry-trained gelding is, jointly with Billy Prestage’s Milton, the oldest horse in the field.

Other big names entered include Hawwaam’s year older half-brother Rainbow Bridge who is unbeaten in five starts for Eric Sands and the Dean Kannemeyer-trained Gold Cup winner It’s My Turn.

The weights will not be officially released until January 7 but there is no great mystery about them and they could easily have been issued yesterday. The conditions stipulate that the race is run on weight-for-age terms with a 2.5kg filly and mare allowance. There are also allowances for any Northern Hemisphere horses – 2.5kg for three-year-olds and a kilo for four-year-olds.

It cost R5 000 plus R750 VAT to enter yesterday. There are supplementary entry stages on December 11 (R18 966) and twice that figure if you wait until until January 7.

By Michael Clower