The Vaal Classic Track stages a nine race meeting tomorrow and Kilrain could make amends in the highest rated race of the day, an MR 87 Handicap over 1700m.

In his penultimate start over 1700m the six-year-old gelding by Dynasty was staying on well over 1800m when he and most of the field were taken out by the hanging antics of the runner up Hidden Agenda. Tomorrow he faces Hidden Agenda on 1,5kg worse terms despite being beaten by him in that aforementioned race, but he could well have beaten the latter with a clear run that day. His only run since then was not a bad 3,6 length fourth in the Michaelmas over 1900m on the Greyville polytrack, considering he was found to be coughing.

Gavin Lerena

Gavin Lerena up is a bonus and as a hold up type the tricky draw of six in a nine horse field should not be too bothersome. Tommy Waterdevil has improved with the application of cheek pieces and went close from a similar draw last time over 1600m in soft going at Turffontein despite being bumped twice. He did make a respiratory noise that day though and also has to overcome a two point merit rated raise. Hidden Agenda is distance suited and should be right there but he has had a busy campaign. This will be his third run with blinkers on. Malinga rose through the ranks last season with three nice handicap wins from 1800-2000m. However, he was well beaten by Hidden Agenda over 1800m in May, when reportedly making a breathing noise. He is better than that run and as a son of Silvano should still be capable of improvement as a five-year-old.

However, this is his second run after a layoff and the trip is sharper than ideal. Rushmore River is a six-time winner who has dropped to an attractive merit rating on his best form and this is his third run after a layoff. However, that layoff was over a year long, so he obviously has his problems. Tandava has shown signs of class on occasion so is interesting with the blinkers removed over a trip which is longer than he is used to running over. Bold Viking has talent and appears to be effected by breathing issues so can’t be relied on. However, he is tough to ignore off a 78 merit rating. Street Flyer looks likely to be stretched by the trip. Odd Rob would prefer further and his resolve is sometimes questionable as he  moves up well but then does not find a lot.

The best bet of the day could be in race 8, where Star Of Joburg runs in a MR 66 Handicap over 1200m. When he won his maiden last time in an uninspiring field he was drawn on the wrong side of the track and only won by half-a-length. Therefore his 74 merit rating could be lenient and this time he is well drawn with Gavin Lerena up.

In the previous race the talented Alex The Great could also provide a winner for Championship-chasing Lerena. He has been dropped a further point by the handicapper and has his third run after gelding from a good draw over a suitable trip.

By David Thiselton

…who raised him only half a kilo to 107 for his narrow defeat in last Saturday’s Premier Trophy. Legal Eagle is rated 123 and Edict Of Nantes 118.

Dean Kannemeyer

But Dean Kannemeyer was unruffled by this news yesterday, saying: “He is improving and he has come out of the race fine. My feeling is that he will go straight there as I would rather have fresh legs for the Met. I don’t want to rip his guts out in the Queen’s Plate in the interim.”

This year’s Cape Guineas was a couple of kilos or so below last year’s race when William Longsword came out of it on a mark of 109 and second-placed Gold Standard was rated 108.

The handicappers have raised Tap O’Noth five points to 104 and runner-up White River 11 to 103. Like A Panther (third off 94) and Cot Campbell (fourth off 87) have both been re-assessed at 100.

Matthew Lips said: “The winner may well be better than this but he seems to be one of those that doesn’t win by big margins. Also there weren’t too many highly rated horses going into the race and many of them finished in a heap.”

Tap O’Noth was reported in good shape yesterday by Vaughan Marshall who confirmed that the colt will not run again before the Investec Cape Derby on Met day. “Years of experience – never rush things,” he said.

Bold Respect, who warranted a stipe-ordered veterinary inspection after dropping out rapidly in the final two furlongs to finish with only two behind him, was also reported fine. “He pulled very hard and didn’t settle,” said Brett Crawford who now intends dropping him in trip.

Last Winter

African Night Sky is as short as 17-2 for the Met and so his 1 400m gallop before racing at Kenilworth last Saturday was particularly interesting. Bernard Fayd’Herbe rode the Winter Series winner who was tucked in behind as Robert Khathi set a decent pace on Heartland from Star Chestnut (Grant van Niekerk). Another Night Sky moved up well early in the straight but he tired before the end and couldn’t get past the other two.

First impressions were not encouraging but Chris Snaith pointed out that he was giving away up to 10kg to the other two and Fayd’Herbe said: “It was a good gallop and I am sure he will progress from this. He is still a bit heavy but then that is why he was galloped.”

Justin Snaith added: “It was what I expected. I deliberately made it very hard for African Night Sky – the other two are the best 1 400m horses I have and they were super ready. I think a lot of him and I wouldn’t be doing all this if I didn’t think he has a chance in the Queen’s Plate and the Met.”

Brother Jonathan, an astute student of the form book, reckons that the four-year-old is a better horse than his 102 rating would suggest although he makes the point that the gelding is “more of a Met horse than a Queen’s Plate horse.”

By Michael Clower

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to work out that the heavy rain and persistent showers over the past three days would result in today’s scheduled Scottsville meeting moved to the Greyville poly track.

However, the move has led to a plethora of withdrawals due to the change of surface and punters are advised to get up to date before placing bets.

Louis Goosen

Louis Goosen, successful with a double on the weekend, will have taken the switch of surface in his stride as the chances of his filly Shifting Gears were given a boost with the scratching of two of her more prominent rivals, Fiorella and Sitia.

Shifting Gears has come into her own on the poly track and romped home in her maiden win two starts back. That form has been franked with second-placed Green Fairy a subsequent winner.

Lightly raced, she could prefer this shorter trip.

Pearl Glow was a recent maiden winner but does look progressive and could rate the biggest threat to Shifting Gears. Second-placed Holy Flame in that maiden was down the field at her next start but returned with a swollen eye which will account for that poor showing, so Pearl Glow does look capable of following up.

Emma’s Oracle and High Altar are two further casualties of the change in surface but Duncan Howells has a third strong to his bow in Miziara who can provide effective back-up.

Although never in the hunt behind Hastagyolo in the KZN Fillies Guineas Trial, she had shown promise before that and with poly track master Anton Marcus back in the irons she could prove too strong for Miss Carrera and recent maiden winner Everlasting Love.

Racing is on the Greyville poly on Friday evening where the Frank Robinson-trained Roy’s Riviera can add to the Christmas coffers. Robinson had a tilt at the lucrative Highveld races on offer on Summer Cup day and Roy’s Riviera, although beaten nearly five lengths by Folk Dance, was far from disgraced and should have a bright chance of adding a second victory to her CV.

The Australian-bred has yet to finish out of the money and although she takes on some more salted opposition the signs are that she is capable.

The Highveld is never an easy place to raid but Roy’s Riviera acquitted herself well and showed that the form behind the promising Hashtagyolo and Fiorella does hold some water.

She shed her maiden on the poly and over what looks to be her optimum trip at this stage and a handy weight, she looks a serious contender.

Dangers include Parabola, winner first time out on her KZN debut for Brett Crawford and bottom weight Bridal Veil who should much prefer this mile to the 1000m dash of her last start.

By Andrew Harrison

Alec had initially been concerned when Tap O’Noth drew widest of all in the 14-horse field.

However, trainer Vaughan Marshall, who has now won the Cape Guineas five times, put his mind at rest when pointing out he had twice won the big race from wide draws, with Captain Al in 2000 and with Captain Al’s son William Longsword last year.

Tap O’ Noth (Liesl King)

MJ Byleveld produced one of the rides of the season on William Longsword last year and repeated the feat on Saturday.

He bided his time out wide before choosing the right moment and acting decisively, slotting the rangy Captain Al colt into a midfield position. Thereafter he had cover throughout behind Undercover Agent.

Tap O’Noth moved up well in the straight under hands and heels and when asked the question showed a fine turn of foot to win cosily by half-a-length, despite tending to hang inward.

Alec had been privy to Marshall and Byleveld’s pre-race strategy and said, “The plan worked out perfectly. It was a fantastic ride.”

The Fosters watched from Marshall’s box and Alec understated, “There was a lot of noise!”

Later, the Foster owned-and-bred four-year-old gelding Strathdon, a Justin Snaith-trained half-brother to Tap O’Noth, won the Grade 3 Mahala TV Cape Summer Stayers Handicap over 2500m.

Alec believes Tap O’Noth will stay the trip of the Grade 1 Investec Cape Derby, but cautioned, “It’s only when they actually go over 2000m that you know.”

He also pointed out Strathdon was by the stamina influence Silvano, who is from German blood he had always liked.

Saturday’s Cape Guineas was the third Grade 1 victory for the Fosters, whose participation in South African racing stretches back to 1985, and Alec considered it their most important win.

He said, “If you go back and look at the past winners of the Guineas it has been won by significant colts who have gone on to be stallions and the Fillies Guineas has been won by some wonderful fillies. I would rather win a Classic than the Met or the July. The big handicap races are fantastic days and I always support them, but from a pure breeding perspective the Classic races are literally the classic races.”

MJ Byleveld

He spoke of the long road between planning a thoroughbred breeding and the resultant progeny winning a race.

He said, “It is a very up-and-down sport and not only do you get both geese and swans but mares can get colic, foals can be kicked and you can lose horses. So when you win a race with a horse you have bred it is incredibly rewarding.”

This would especially be the case for the Fosters as Alec describes themselves as “small breeders” and in some scenarios “very small breeders.”

Alec farms cattle in the UK, so has learnt a lot about breeding livestock and sums it up simply, “When you have a very good bull and good cows, you will produce top quality cattle. It is exactly the same in horseracing.”

Not only did Tap O’Noth’s champion sire Captain Al win the Cape Guineas, but his dam Wintersweet is by champion sire Western Winter, who has produced two Cape Guineas winners.

However, a lot is still about chance and Alec said, “Every horse you breed you have a champion in mind, but you can’t dictate whether he will be a champion or a plodder.”

Wintersweet is out of the Elliodor mare, Air Of Elegance, who was bought for the Fosters by John Freeman from Wilfred Koster in 1994.

Air Of Elegance only won one race but became a stalwart for the Fosters in the breeding shed as she also produced Wintersweet’s full-sister Grace Me Guide, a twice Grade 3-placed horse who has produced Graded winners Black Arthur and Robert The Bruce, Grade 1-placed M’Lord’s Throat, Grade 3 runner-up Glenton and five-time winner Ochoncar. All five of these horses ran in the Fosters’ familiar scarlet and gold colours.

Alec took a share in Western Winter early as he was involved in insuring the great stallion.

They had a share in Captain Al and have shares in Dynasty, Gimmethegreenlight and Twice Over, but also send mares to other stallions after doing their pedigree match ups.

They have a house in Cape Town and plan their breeding together with John Freeman shortly before returning to the U.K. in March.

Justin Snaith

Alec first visited South Africa in 1977 with the Eton Ramblers cricket team and toured with them again in 1981.

He liked South Africa and had always been interested in racing as his family were involved in the sport in the early part of last century.

On one of the cricket tours Alec stayed with Denham Rodwell, owner of the great Wolf Power. He later helped Rodwell find Hot Touch from the U.K and took a share in this horse. Hot Touch finished third in the Champions Stakes and won the Clairwood Gold Vase. When he went to stud Alec bought a mare to be covered by Hot Touch. The resultant filly Steamy Window won four races, including the Grade 1 Natal Oaks. Their breeding interest has grown from that good start. They also buy the odd filly at the sales.

They used to keep their mares at Summerhill, but the stallion strength later moved to the Cape and their mares moved down their. Their mares board at Varsfontein today.

Their horses are trained by Marshall and Snaith in Cape Town and they also have a long association with the late Stanley and Allan Greeff yard from Port Elizabeth.

The Fosters’ second Grade 1 victor was in the 2001 Gold Cup with the Greeff-trained Cereus.

The Foster’s colours are the same as those of Alec’s grandfather, who bred the 1923 Ascot Gold Vase winner.

By David Thiselton

Edict Of Nantes has gone for a walk in the Sun Met betting and since Saturday morning he has drifted from 3-1 joint favourite with Legal Eagle to 11-2 with World Sports Betting. Legal Eagle remains unchanged on 3-1. Betting World has suspended its prices on the race since Saturday.

Edict Of Nantes

The easing of the price just might relate to unconfirmed website reports that Edict Of Nantes may be sold to Hong Kong interests. Mayfair Speculators manager Derek Brugman was unavailable for comment yesterday.

In contrast the Brett Crawford-trained four-year-old is 28-10 with WSB for the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate with Legal Eagle (now owned by Braam van Huyssteen and his partners) 14-10 favourite to win the race for the third successive year.

Captain America is next in the betting at 10-1 along with Last Winter even though the latter is far from certain to run.

In the Paddock Stakes (now sponsored by Cartier) the Mike de Kock-trained Nother Russia has been installed 3-1 favourite with Gimme Six 6-1 and Nightingale 7-1. Last Saturday’s Victress winner Star Express is a 10-1 chance.

By Michael Clower

Anton Marcus could dominate today’s racing at Kenilworth where the four-time champion has six mounts and five of them are favourites.

He starts with Big Pleasure who in fact has drifted in the market for the TAB Telebet Graduation. World Sports Betting opened the Joey Ramsden three-year-old at 22-10 but he has gone out to 28-10 as the money has come for Loadshedder.

The Andre Nel runner has the form to win and is rated to do so but a few of the stable’s runners have performed a bit below par recently (Hoist The Mast in the Southern Cross was a notable exception) and the two due to run last Saturday were both scratched as they were coughing. In the circumstances the vote goes to Big Pleasure.

Anton Marcus (Liesl King)

The once-raced Power Of Peace, on the other hand, has been backed for the mile maiden 35 minutes later and has shortened from 19-10 to 11-10. He also started favourite when only third in a five-runner maiden 19 days ago but is bound to have come on from that. Psychic (4-1) from the Sean Tarry stable, and Parisian Gold (10-1) are close on last time’s run and, together with 9-2 shot Earl Of Warwick, look the dangers.

Perfectproportions steps up to a mile in the Betting World Maiden (race four) and the 12-10 favourite could be another for the former champion. The filly probably has most to fear from Anina (9-2) who went close over a furlong less last time.

Kampala Campari looks the one in race five, the Play Soccer Handicap, and the Nel runner shares 5-2 favouritism with Marcus’s mount The Great One who is certainly good enough to expose any chinks in the armour of his principal opponent.

Big Mistake is hard to oppose in race seven after his fifth from a wide draw in the Lanzerac Ready To Run but watch out for Purple Mountains who has only gone up a kilo for coming back to form last time and is still rated 20 points below the mark he had a year ago.

“He got sore in his joints when he went to Durban, he went stale and we battled with him,” recalls Glen Puller. “We sent him to the farm for a break, did physio on him and he has turned around. He has a nice low rating and he has to have a chance.”

Marcus’s final ride is on 28-10 favourite Still I Rise in race eight. This filly has been a bit a disappointing since making a winning debut and she might be vulnerable under top weight.

Prince Oracy’s last run suggests he is the one to get punters off the mark at 5-2 in the opener but it is significant that Corne Orffer rides newcomer Bwana (7-2) in preference to his two more experienced stable companions . “He is a very nice horse who has been working well although, being a first-timer, he will probably need it a bit,” says Brett Crawford.

By Michael Clower

The four-year-old might have lost his unbeaten record – albeit only by the skin of his teeth – but he lost nothing else in a performance that confirmed his potential star quality.

For much of the race 22-1 shot Milton looked like bringing off another of his now-famous front-running shocks with Gavin Lerena conjuring a bit more each time he looked under threat.

Last Winter

Indeed, when Anthony Delpech started niggling early in the straight, those who made Last Winter 12-10 favourite were preparing to tear up their tickets.

Even 100m out – by which time he was really motoring – he was eight lengths adrift and he was still five lengths down 50m from home. But Milton was tiring as fast as the favourite was quickening and had the line been half a stride later the short head verdict would have gone the other way.

Delpech said: “This is a good horse but I got caught behind horses that weren’t going forward. I never hit him – I would only have unbalanced him in the wind – and he was giving me everything anyway.”

Dean Kannemeyer, yet to win the Met, has typically been weighing up every step of the way as assiduously as a mountaineer nearing the peak of Mount Everest.

He said: “I am still keeping things open but I don’t think he will run in the Queen’s Plate and there is now a great possibility that he will go straight into the Met. I would like him to have won but I was very pleased with the way he finished. He really took off in the last furlong and, bar the winner, he spit the rest of them out.”

For Milton’s owner-trainer though it was one of the biggest wins of a long career handling only horses belonging to himself and wife Christine. It was also a perfect end to a difficult week.

The 82-year-old explained: “I was in hospital on Monday to have stents put into my heart and I then had a reaction to the medication. I might now have another think about going for the Met with Milton but I doubt it even though I’ve got no other races for him. I had been thinking of a Pinnacle in PE !”

Justin Snaith will run Sunshine Sweepstake Victress winner Star Express in both the Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes and the Klawervlei Majorca while Mahal TV Cape Summer Stayers winner Strathdon (owner-bred by the Fosters) will attempt to make it five in a row in the Chairman’s Cup on 6 January.

By Michael Clower

Tap O’Noth and White River, separated by only half a length in Saturday’s Forus Cape Guineas, will have a rematch in the Investec Cape Derby on Met day. And it’s quite possible that third-placed Like A Panther, who has already won over ten furlongs, will throw down the gauntlet to both of them.

Saturday’s Kenilworth Grade 1 triumph was as much a vindication of Vaughan Marshall’s judgement as of his training skills because he predicted that this could be Guineas winner number five when the Captain Al colt made a winning debut eight months earlier.

Marshall said: “He is a very good horse and he has done everything we asked him to do. It would be unfair to any of them to compare him with my previous Guineas winners but he is up there with them.”

Tap O’Noth (Liesl King)

The Milnerton trainer was quick to rule out suggestions of a possible Queen’s Plate challenge, saying: “Slowly, slowly. We will go for the Derby next.”

The Captain Al colt started 4-1 favourite and is the third Grade 1 winner bred by Alec and Gillian Foster. He is also the third Guineas winner for MJ Byleveld whose arm-raised victory salute revealed some of the pressure he had been under to get it right from that dreadful draw.

He got across alright but he was only able to slot in with more than half the field in front of him. “It wasn’t easy and I would like to have been a bit closer,” he admitted. “In the straight it opened up and when I asked him he turned it on a bit too quickly. As a result I might have been in front a little too early but he stayed on like a good horse.”

White River wore ear muffs but no muzzle and indeed there was no repeat of the attempted opposition-biting of the Selangor and Greg Cheyne said: “He is still a bit immature and mentally he is still not quite there either but he has huge potential.”

Brett Crawford added: “He is a Derby horse. He is still a big baby, though, and still learning.”

Interestingly Anton Marcus expressed similar sentiments about Like A Panther, saying: “The penny hasn’t quite dropped yet but it will and I thought this was a good run. He is a staying type.”

The disappointment of the race was Do It Again who was backed from 8-1 to 5-1 second favourite but lost ground at the start and managed only ninth.

Justin Snaith, although delighted with fourth-placed Cot Campbell, shouldered the blame. “I debated whether to give Do It Again another gallop beforehand. I decided to do so and I shouldn’t have. This was a flat run.”

Pack Leader, sixth and only beaten two and a half lengths, was unlucky not to finish significantly closer because he was hampered on three separate occasions in the straight.

Bold Respect (12^th) dropped right back in the closing stages but suspicions that this could be more than just lack of stamina could not be confirmed by the vet who reported that nothing showed up. Undercover Agent (tenth) and Sir Frenchie (last) were both reported unusually fatigued.

By Michael Clower

Despite some doubters, barrier trials are starting to show their worth with two trialists, Good Buddy and Anza-Borrego, filling the first two places on the card opener, a maiden for juveniles, at Scottsville yesterday.

Things may have been different had the heavily supported debutant Divine Path not pulled a shoe on the canter down and failing the vet at the start but as things panned out Good Buddy, who had caught the eye in his trial, proved the stronger getting home by just over a length from Anza-Borrego who had finished third in his trial behind Friday’s night’s Greyville winner, The Bayou.

The Duncan Howells-trained Love Theme looked to be an early Christmas gift for punters after the tribulations of her last start but as it turned out, victory was not quite as straight forward as many would have hoped.

Anton Marcus

Up with the pace throughout, she took the scenic route with Anton Marcus testing both sides of the track before winning rather comfortably. It was a win full of merit and when the penny eventually drops, Love Theme could develop into something useful.

Marcus completed a double for Duncan Howells with a hard-fought victory aboard Gingerbread Man in the sixth. In a small field, Marcus made sure he stayed connected to light-weight pacemaker Bling Swing with Draugluin at his quarters.

Marcus made an early move at the top of the straight but the opposition was far from done. Draugluin challenged but couldn’t get past and Bling Swing and Warfarer refused to go away.

However, Gingerbread Man, who looked a spent force with a furlong to run, suddenly picked it up again and crossed the line going away with ears pricked.

Catching shadows was what the opposition were left to do in the Tack & Ball Gaming Maiden as Shadow Catcher barrelled home for Dennis Bosch. Commentator Sheldon Peters called it a dozen lengths, the official margin was 9.5 – I think I would have gone with Peters.

Ivan and Darryl Moore, grandfather and grandson, teamed up with Ballymaine in the fourth, beating home Root Beer and Star Of Kazan with the apprentice rider not making the most of lightly weighted favourite Making Miracles back in fourth.

The Money Man and Toa Nui were involved in a bit of argy-bargy in the fifth with Toa Nui getting the upper hand in the struggle. The stipendiary stewards took a dim view of proceedings and demoted Toa Nui to second in the boardroom.

Louis Goosen, successful with the giant Haddington on Friday, rounded off his weekend with a double as Shwanky had her consistency rewarded with an almost end-to-end victory in the Gold Circle Facebook Handicap. Gunter Wrogemann was on his bike early and some determined opposition proved no match.

By Andrew Harrison

Do It Again and White River may follow him home.

Marshall, not a man given to mistaking his geese for swans, has been talking of this colt being a possible Guineas winner since he first saw a racecourse and he has won three out of four, albeit in workmanlike rather than spectacular fashion.

He is 9-2 favourite yet this is a doubtful honour – seven of the last ten Guineas favourites have been beaten – and the 14 draw is difficult to say the least.

Rocket Countdown (7-1) surprised everybody in the Selangor but, as his trainer said here on Wednesday, he won the race fair and square. He has also won his last three and is clearly on the upgrade. Interestingly the SA horseracing computer says he will win from Do It Again and Tap O’Noth with White River fourth.

Captain And Master

Only three horses have completed the Selangor-Guineas double in the last ten years but three times during that period the Guineas winner had finished second or third in the Selangor.

White River was only beaten half a length despite trying to bite the winner and victory would come as no surprise but, if the favourite is to be beaten, Do It Again (also a 13-2 chance) looks a better bet. He had won his previous two and he might well be going into this unbeaten had he had a clear run in the Selangor. He also lost ground at the start that day.

Bold Respect (8-1) had a terrible draw to overcome in the Lanzerac Ready To Run and he should confirm the placings with the again badly-drawn 16-1 shot Pack Leader and Sir Frenchie (12-1), although it’s worth noting that the last-named had to be switched twice.

Sean Tarry runs three headed by Ready To Run disappointment Wonderwall, 14-1 and the mount of Piere Strydom. But how on earth do the handicappers rate him seven points better than anything else in the race?

Captain And Master (9-1) only managed sixth in the Selangor and 20-1 shot Purple Diamond  seventh in the Ready To Run. It’s hard to envisage either turning the tables on the leading locals.

Mike de Kock, like Marshall, is bidding for his fifth Cape Guineas. Both 10-1 chance Sir David Baird and Like A Panther (12-1) have top jockeys and have the form to run well but neither stands out as a likely winner.

Undercover Agent (8-1), on the other hand, was only beaten three-quarters of a length by Tap O’Noth in the Cape Classic and Brett Crawford believes he has found out why the colt failed to reproduce his best in the Selangor when “he hung in the straight and never really got galloping properly.” He also believes that he has corrected the niggles that caused this.

Cot Campbell has apparently been working in a way that makes a mockery of his 25-1 price but he looks held on his Cape Classic run.

Last Winter is a 20-1 chance for the Sun Met and those odds could tumble if the Dean Kannemeyer stable star keeps his unbeaten record in the Forus Premier Trophy.  Anthony Delpech’s mount meets class opposition for the first time in his life but, on the way he won at Durbanville and on the amount he appeared to have in hand, he should win.

By Michael Clower