Justin Snaith finished second on the national trainer’s log for the second year in succession in the season just passed and will be crowned Western Cape Champion trainer for the fifth time in succession. Snaith, who was national champion trainer in 2013/2014, also finished highest in the standings for stakes earned in the Western Cape and this was the third time he had achieved this feat.

However, the big race limelight among Western Cape trainers was stolen by Brett Crawford, who won six Grade 1 races and finished third on the National Trainers log. In the August of 2009 Crawford left Plattner Racing to go on his own and in his first full season thereafter, in the 2010/2011 season, he finished 58^th on the National log. His prowess as a trainer is highlighted by his rapid climb to the top of the tree.

Justin Snaith (Nkosi Hlophe)

Candice Bass-Robinson finished in fourth place on the National Trainers log in her first season as a licensed trainer following the retirement of her legendary father Mike. She also became the first lady trainer in history to win the country’s premier race, the Vodacom Durban July.

Vaughan Marshall, Glen Kotzen and Joey Ramden were the other three Western Cape trainers to finish in the top ten in the National Trainers Championships.

Snaith became the third trainer in SA history, after Mike de Kock and Sean Tarry, to break through the R20 million mark for stakes earnings in a season. His star performer was the brilliant grey filly Bela-Bela, who won two Grade 1 events, the Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes over 1800m at Kenilworth and the Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes at Greyville. In the latter race she proved a mile was her best trip and produced the female performance of the season, annihilating a top class field. She also finished third in the Grade 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge over 1600m and fourth in her swansong in the Grade 1 Champions Cup over 1800m. Snaith, who has a satellite yard in Port Elizabeth in addition to his chief operation, a private establishment at Phillippi in Cape Town, also won three Grade 2s, seven Grade 3s, nine Listed races and five Non-Black Type events.

Crawford was R1,619,750 behind Snaith on the national log but in earnings in Western Cape races was only R369,963 behind him. He was only one behind national champion trainer Sean Tarry in the Grade 1 count, but he led the way together with Mike de Kock in the number of individual Grade 1 winners with five. He won the Grade 1 Met, sponsored now by Sun, for the third time in his career and this time it was with Whisky Baron. The latter was gelded at the end of last season and won all five of his races this term, which also included a Grade 2. He departed for an overseas campaign after the Met. Crawford’s only dual Grade 1 winner was Edict Of Nantes, who won the Investec Cape Derby and the Daily News 2000. His other Grade 1 winners were Captain America (Rising Sun Gold Challenge), Lady Of The House (Woolavington 2000) and Sail South (Champions Cup). Crawford also won three Grade 2s, three Grade 3s, three Listed races and both of his Non-Black Type victories were in R1 million events.

Bass Robinson won the July with Marinaresco and this classy and courageous little horse also won the Grade 2 IOS Drill Hall Stakes over 1400m. Bass-Robinson also won the Grade 1 Klawervlei Majorca Stakes with Nightingale, who went on to finish tie-fourth in the July. She won two other Grade 2s, two Grade 3s and eight Listed races. One of her season’s highlights was winning the Non-Black Type $500,000 CTS Sprint with the classy sprinting filly Live Life.

Vaughan Marshall finished seventh on the National Trainers log with stakes earnings of over R10 million. He was trainer of the highest earning horse of the season, the brilliant three-year-old William Longsword, whose five victories included the Grade 1 Grand Parade Cape Guineas and the Non-Black Type US$500,000 CTS Mile. William Longsword accumulated R4.065,000 in the season and was retired mid-season as a six-time winner in order to succeed his late great father Captain Al at stud. Marshall also won two Grade 3s and two Listed races and one other Non-Black Type event.

Brett Crawford and Anton Marcus (Nkosi Hlophe)

Glen Kotzen, who finished ninth on the National log, ended the season with a bang by landing the Grade 1 Premier’s Champions Stakes over 1600m at Greyville with the exciting colt Eyes Wide Open. He scored a four-timer that day and this included a Grade 3. However, his best horse was undoubtedly the three-year-old Gold Standard, who won the Listed RA Stakes in PE and the Grade 2 Selangor Cup, before finishing a narrow second in the Cape Guineas, which was dominated by himself and William Longsword. Gold Standard then finished a fine fourth in an ultra-strong Sun Met. Unfortunately, he was laid off for the rest of the season. Kotzen had two other Grade 3 wins, one other Listed race victory and one other Non-Black Type win.

Joey Ramsden finished in tenth place on the national log. His best horse was the three-year-old filly Just Sensual, who won the Grade 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas, the Grade 3 Prix du Cap and the Grade 2 Tibouchina. She also finished second in the Grade 1 SA Fillies Sprint. Ramsden won one other Grade 3 and five Listed races.

Dean Kannemeyer, who also had a satellite yard at Summerveld, finished 19^th on the national log and won one Grade 3, two Listed races and one Non-Black Type event.

Andre Nel finished in twentieth position on the national log in his first full season as Sabine Plattner’s private trainer. He won one Grade 3 race.

Mike Robinson and Adam Marcus both won one Grade 3 race each.

Other Western Cape trainer achievements included a Listed victory for Eric Sands.

By David Thiselton

The Vaal Outside track tends to favour high draws and there could be one or two opportunities for punters in the eight race card today.

It is a low key meeting and three MR 72 Handicaps are the joint highest rated races.

Sam Mosia

The first of these is the fifth over 1600m and Plum British goes for a hattrick over the trip. This four-year-old gelding by Great Britain used his naturally decent cruising speed to go the front from a favourable standside draw over the course and distance last time out. His relaxed disposition together with his suitability to the trip was proven by the extra he found and in the end he won cosily by 2,5 lengths. He was given a five point raise but looks capable of further improvement and he has a draw of nine in the 14 horse field which will give him a chance of repeating the tactic. Nephrite won the last time he ran over this trip and has been staying on strongly in his last two starts, both over 1400m, so will relish the step back up to 1600m. He has a tricky draw by trends, but being capable of a strong finish can afford to be dropped out in a race which should be run at a fair gallop. Devil’s Peak is a full brother to Dancewiththedevil, who won multiple Gr 1s from 1600-2000m, and he should relish the step up in trip after winning his maiden in good style from a difficult draw over 1400m. The form of that race has been franked, but he enters handicaps off a tough 81 merit rating, which is never an easy mark to win off for a young three-year-old. Furthermore, he has another unfavourable draw. Blue Diamond Road was not disgraced in a MR 80 handicap over course and distance last time and a repeat will see him involved here. However, a low draw is against him. Rain Shadow was never in the latter mentioned race after having to be reloaded, but he has dropped to a mark just one point higher than his last win, which was in January over 1700m, and he has a plum draw so should be staying on strongly.

Mphumelelo Mjoka (Nkosi Hophe)

The seventh race, a MR 72 Handicap for fillies and mares over 1200m, looks to be the toughest race on the card, but fortunately there are only eight horses involved so it will be possible for punters to include the whole field in the exotics. The selection to win is the bottom weight Modjaji, who jumps from the plum standside draw and has a useful 1,5kg claimer in Mpumelelo Mjoka aboard. This horse has won his last two starts, both over 1000m on the Flamingo Park sand. However, his turf merit rating was unaffected, so he has obvious claims. He has won over the course and distance before so the trip will not be a problem. Embrasiatic looks course and distance suited and has a favourable draw. Claremorris ran on well to win going away over 1000m first time out the maidens, so should enjoy the step up in trip. Nitrogen is interesting with blinkers on as he has shown good ability on occasion. Bally Swiss is in good form and is likely to be prominent in the betting. However, all of Burundi Bush, Secret Vision and Waity Katie are capable of winning too.

The last race is an open MR 72 Handicap over 1000m and Tiger’s Legacy looks to be a possible banker. He has good cruising speed coupled with a kick and will likely relish the step down to 1000m after hitting the front over 1200m last time and being run out of it. In his previous race over this trip he ran on strongly and only just failed. Gun Fighter has a plum draw and is capable of a strong finish, so looks to be the chief threat. They could be enough to get punters through the exotics, although Roman Evening looks to be a horse who is capable of doing better than his form suggests and has Weichong Marwing up from a favourable draw.

The meeting opens with a workrider’s maiden over 1000m and one of the only horses with any kind of form, Royal Standard, is ridden by the Champion workrider Sam Mosia from a favourable draw, so he can get punters off to a good start.

The best bet of the meeting comes in the second, a Maiden for fillies and mares over 1200m. The Mike de Kock Dynasty filly Holiday Romance caught the eye showing good pace over 1160m before staying on well to finish 4,5 lengths behind the fair sort Twelve Oaks. She finished just half-a-length behind second placed Brave Mary, who went on to win the Grade 1 Allan Robertson. With expected improvement Holiday Romance will be hard to beat from a fair draw and coming from the De Kock yard should be fit enough after a 117 day layoff. The first-timer Tamarina is interesting from a good draw, being a full-sister to the Grade 1 winner Forest Indigo. The big filly Orinoco Rock has plenty of scope and showed pace in Cape Town, so from a good draw on her Highveld debut could finish in the money.

By David Thiselton

Onesie, just over three lengths back to Lady Of The House in the Gr1 Woolavington 2000, has a strong chance of landing the third win of her career for Gareth van Zyl when she lines up in the sixth on the Greyville poly tomorrow.

In the saddle will be Brandon Lerena, back from his Mauritian ordeal, where he, along with Raymond Danielson, were cleared of all charges and had their three-month riding ban lifted on appeal.

Onesie is a daughter of Ideal World, the stallion responsible for the first two past the post in the recent Gold Cup, is well tried over the distance and if the Speed Ratings in the Computaform hold any water where she is rated 20 points clear of her nearest rival, then she should finish well clear.

Onesie (Nkosi Hlophe)

That’s the theory but Onesie also has the form to back her claims when running a cracking race in a Fillies Handicap at Scottsville last month where she was beaten less than a length by Silver Willow.

Warren Kennedy, who rode Onesie in her last four starts, will be aboard the confirmed poly specialist Seek The Summit who has recorded all five of her career victories on the synthetic surface. Of some concern is that she has not been further than a ‘mile’ this year but on the other hand has cracking form and now that she is older, the 2000m could be well within her compass.

Also rated lengths clear of his opposition is Ratso Rizzo in the opening leg of the Pick 6. His speed rating is 36 points clear of Epic Sword but it may not prove quite so straight forward as his speed figures could be misleading. He shows exceptional early pace but has been swallowed up late in all his starts. He had 2.5kg claiming apprentice Serino Moodley aboard at his last two and he has been replaced by the vastly experienced Anton Marcus. The drop to 1400m may also prove beneficial but most of the opposition should be fully aware of his front-running tactics and Marcus is unlikely to get away too easily.

Majestic Moon was the subject of an inspired gamble last time out. Stretched to 1600m for the first time, he was backed in from an opening call of 40-1 to 10-1. He made the expected improvement but not enough to master Winter Marchen who was some four lengths clear at the line.

But Paul Gadsby’s runner appears to have come to hand and could be the one mostly likely to be pressurising Ratso Rizzo come the final 100m.

By Andrew Harrison

Brett Crawford flies to England on Thursday to check over Whisky Baron before the Sun Met winner begins serious work in preparation for his British campaign.

Crawford said: “Whisky Baron works on grass at Newmarket next week for the first time since he arrived in England. He is doing very well and everything is fine with him. He will have his first British race at Newmarket either in the Shadwell Joel Stakes on 29 September or in a seven furlong race the following month.”

By Michael Clower

Summerveld trainer Kumaran Naidoo has always had notable success when raiding sand race meetings on the Highveld and this trend continued when he sent out two feature race winners at the Flamingo Park Festival on Saturday. He had three winners in all at Kimberley’s biggest race day.

Royal Zulu Guard (Nkosi Hlophe)

Naidoo put it down to simply identifying horses suited to sand and said, “The horses work on sand virtually every day and those with high actions are usually the ones who enjoy it.”

Naidoo once won the Listed Hampton Handicap over 1000m on the now defunct Vaal sand for three years in succession and that included a stable trifecta and a stable exacta respectively.

Nine of his horses were on a float which left Summerveld at three o’ clock last Friday morning and arrived in Kimberley 12 hours later.

The first of them to run was the formless four-year-old filly Show Me The Light. She raced in the first ever Workrider’s event at Flamingo, a Maiden over 1000m, and Kleinbooi Hlakabe, having his first race ride, got her up for second.

Sweet Vittoria then ran unplaced in a Maiden.

Northern Storm followed by finishing a narrow second in a MR 72 Handicap for fillies and mares over 1400m under Eric Saziso Ngwane.

Next up was Royal Zulu Guard, who had finished third when raiding Kimberley in March for a 1600m handicap. However, his best form is over a mile and this enigmatic sort finished unplaced in Saturday’s 1800m handicap.

However, there was plenty of confidence in Naidoo’s next runner, the Golden Sword four-year-old gelding Sabre Charge, who is owned by Alesh Naidoo. His two previous wins were both over 2400m and he was backed into 2/1 favourite for the R110,000 Non-Black Type The Department Of Economic Development and Tourism Diamond Stayers over 2200m. The out and out stayer loped along in relaxed fashion in the running and after improving position to within striking distance he stayed on strongly in the straight to win by 0,2 lengths under Lyle Hewitson.

Sabre Charge (Nkosi Hlophe)

Roy’s Magic, a disappointing type who had shown a return to form last time out off a much reduced merit rating, ran in the big one, the R200,000 RA Flamingo Mile, where he was 1kg under sufferance. He was not disgraced in sixth place.

Roy’s Marciano was next up in the R135,000 RA Sprint over 1000m. He went in with uninspiring form and duly started at 20/1. However, he has the high action Naidoo spoke about and this five-year-old Roy Moodley-owned Toreador gelding ran on strongly under Ngwane to win by 1,25 lengths.

Naidoo and Moodley then combined again to win a MR 66 Handicap over 1200m with the Argentinian-bred Tuscan, who was ridden by Hewitson.

A few hours earlier Naidoo and Moodley had combined to win a race at Greyville with Roy’s Yevahn.

Naidoo’s final runner at Flamingo Park was Roy’s Zaire, who finished unplaced in a MR 62 Handicap for fillies and mares over 1200m.

Naidoo’s outstanding start to the season, in which he has already sent out five winners, sees him the National Trainers log of the current one week old season.

By David Thiselton

Kenilworth today sees seven fancied rides for Callan Murray, the first Dan Katz runners for Hassen Adams and, perhaps above all else, Power Grid out to prove that last time’s giant-killing performance was no fluke.

Three of the Murray rides are favourites and two more are second favourites. He has only limited experience of what can be a deceptively difficult course – such rare visitors tend to underestimate the impact of the head winds and go too fast or too early – but he had five rides on Lanzerac day last November and won the Kenilworth Cup on Smart Mart for Mike de Kock.

Callan Murray

“He is a top jockey and I feel he is going to have a good day,” says Snaith who, pressed to name those he fancies most, singles out Dynamic Diana in race two – “She was unlucky first time and I think she will run a stormer.”

Unfortunately so do the bookmakers and World Sports Betting have her far shorter than any of the other Murray rides at 6-10. Lady Sutton at 7-2 is the only other in the field on offer at less than 10-1.

Murray should also win the first on 15-10 favourite Varside even though this one carries a red warning light after proving expensive to follow. He has finished second or third in all his last five runs and started either favourite on second favourite in the last four. Such horses tend to go on proving vulnerable.

Above Eleven (33-10) has sound claims in race four. She is rated 4.5kg better than 3-1 shot I Am Captain but is meeting what surely represents Katz’s best chance of the day on 5.5kg worse than weight for age. Know The Ropes is favourite at 28-10, wears blinkers for the first time and may beat them both.

The one race in which Murray does not have a ride is the 2 400m Tabonline Maiden and this looks good for Aldo Domeyer’s mount Rokatenda even though the 8-10 price is pretty miserly.

Power Grid, though, appears to be the bet of the day despite his famous flying fetlock. When he lowered the colours of Tevez and Silicone Valley in last month’s Pinnacle I calculate that he ran to a rating of 95 or 96. The handicappers were only allowed to put him up six points – which they did – and so in the Interbet.co.za Handicap he runs off a mark of 84.

In other words he has 5kg in hand. You don’t need me to remind you that plenty of such racing certainties get stuffed but Andries Steyn reports the horse in great form and the 11-2 on offer looks unbelievably – and uncharacteristically – generous.

By Michael Clower

Anthony Delpech is part of the Rest of The World Team’s taking place at Ascot in England in Saturday’s Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup 2017, the world’s premier international jockeys’ team competition that includes a ladies team headed by Emm-Jayne Wilson.

Delpech, from South Africa, and Japan’s Keita Tosaki are both making their Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup and British debuts. Delpech, 48, champion jockey in South Africa in 1998/1999 and 2002/03, has ridden internationally, while Tosaki, 37, has been the Japan Racing Association’s top rider for the last three years.

Kerrin McEvoy is making his second appearance at the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup and will captain the Rest of The World Team. Formerly a Godolphin stable jockey, the Australian guided Rule Of Law to victory in the 2004 St Leger at Doncaster and has ridden three winners at Royal Ascot. The 36-year-old captured the Melbourne Cup for the second time in November.

Canada’s Emma-Jayne Wilson, the most successful female jockey of all-time in her homeland, is riding at her sixth Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup. She captained The Girls Team to a historic victory in the 2015 Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup and will be in charge again this year.

Australia’s Michelle Payne became the first female rider to win the Melbourne Cup in 2015 on 100/1 outsider Prince of Penzance. She also makes her Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup debut.

– Ascot Racecourse

The new season may be only a week old but the rich Ready To Run races are seemingly already acting as an irresistible magnet – and one of the first things Joey Ramsden said after Wine Festival ran away with a 1 400m maiden at Kenilworth yesterday was that she is qualified for one of the best of them.

This filly, owned by a quartet that includes the trainer’s partner Steph Grentell, was backed down to odds-on and drew further and further away under Grant van Niekerk to score by more than five lengths.

Joey Ramsden (Nkosi Hlophe)

Ramsden said: “I am not sure about the quality of the rest of the field but this is a lovely rangy filly.”

The start was delayed for ten minutes after some of the jockeys spotted what looked like a dangerous patch close to the inside rail. “It turned out to be just an old divot but felt we couldn’t take any chances,” explained senior stipe Nick Shearer.

A bigger problem for Ramsden was his left hand, bandaged after painfully making contact with a red hot hob when he was cooking some bacon. He ended up in hospital.

Seemingly Riaan van Reenen’s problems were more with the Almighty after running Janice’s Secret in totally unsuitable conditions a fortnight ago. “It was p***ing with rain that time, she hated it and I couldn’t sleep for days afterwards,” he related. “But I was blessed when they postponed the meeting after the rain came down again last Tuesday.”

Richard Fourie completed the benediction by bringing the 9-2 chance with a strong run to lead 50m out. Fourie had already scored on Tripple Explosion for Glen Kotzen – when 17-20 favourite Captain Ram flopped and was found to be not striding out. Kotzen also scored with Essenceoflife and he and Fourie completed trebles with Dragon Flame in the last.

But it was 26-year-old Mauritian Akshay Balloo who stole the riding honours – quite literally on the Glen Puller-trained Flying Ryan in the Tabonline.co.za Handicap. He pinched a five-length lead on the 61-10 chance and, despite dropping his whip inside the final furlong, the advantage he gained was enough to keep him in front to the line.

Two races later he doubled up, for the third time in his career, when getting up in the final stride of the 1 200m handicap on Storm Front. Maybe he was fortunate to find a gap big enough to drive a bus through but the acceleration he persuaded the Eric Sands runner to produce was more reminiscent of a Ferrari.

Vaughan Marshall scratched two horses with pharyngitis but there was nothing wrong with Captain Falcon (Van Niekerk) who made no mistake after being heavily backed in the first despite being “a big baby and still very green.”

BLOB The Gnostic Wholistic Festival packed the top two floors of the grandstand and the Psychic (at R60 a time) proved a big draw. Madam Irma had travelled from Pretoria and, according to her reports, she had no problem forecasting one winner after another.

By Michael Clower

One of the unluckiest horses in Equus Awards history has been the Sean Tarry-trained Carry On Alice and there is a chance she might be denied for the fourth time in succession.

Carry On Alice won one Grade 1 in each of her first three seasons. However, in her fourth and final term just passed, she boosted both her Equus Champion Sprinter and Equus Champion Older Female award chances by winning two Grade 1s in a season for the first time.

Carry On Alice (Nkosi Hlophe)

However, her stable companion Bull Valley then joined her on two Grade 1 sprint victories when landing the Mercury Sprint.

A strong Champion Sprinter case can also be made for the Mike de Kock-trained Rafeef.

The panellists will have had a hard time separating this trio.

Carry On Alice won the Grade 1 weight for age Betting World Cape Flying Championship over 1000m and the Grade 1 SA Fillies Sprint, a level weights championship race for females over 1200m.

Bull Valley’s weight for age Mercury Sprint 1200m win followed his victory in the Tsogo Sun Sprint, a handicap over 1200m in which he carried third top weight of 58kg and won comfortably by 1,5 lengths.

However, Rafeef was unbeaten in four races from 1000-1400m during the season. In his only ever attempt at the minimum trip of 1000m he won the Grade 1 weight for age Computaform Sprint impressively by a cosy 1,3 lengths. Significantly, he beat third-placed Carry On Alice by 1,6 lengths in the latter race. Earlier, Rafeef won the Gr 2 Hawaii Stakes over 1400m.

Carry On Alice’s other sprint races during the season saw her finishing second in two Grade 2s and winning a Pinnacle Stakes event.

Bull Valley (Nkosi Hlophe)

However, Bull Valley also won a Listed sprint over 1000m, which puts him on top in terms of stakes sprint wins for the season. In his other sprints he finished second and fourth in two Grade 2 sprints respectively.

The Older Female category will have been a boat race between Carry On Alice and Bela-Bela. 

Bela-Bela also won two Grade 1s during the season. However, significantly, both were against the girls, whereas Carry On Alice beat the boys in a weight for age Grade 1. On the other hand Bela-Bela’s 3,75 length demolition of a top class field in the Grade 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes over 1600m was undoubtedly the most impressive performance by a filly during the season. Bela-Bela also had a weight for age Grade 1 third against the boys to her name and ended her career by finishing fourth in the Grade 1 Champions Cup over 1800m against the boys. 

The Older Female award will thus have been as difficult for the panellists as the Sprinter award.     

It will be tough for Carry On Alice’s connections to endure yet another Equus Awards disappointment.

Maybe the panellists will have been swayed by her overall career record coupled with her Equus Awards emptyhandedness. If not, it will be no surprise to see her given a special Equus award.

By David Thiselton