Elusive Heart, the only horse ever to beat Snowdance, added another illustrious label to her name by leading throughout the Vasco Prix Du Cap at Kenilworth on Saturday – and Glen Kotzen is already eyeing rich pickings at Greyville.

He said: “The course there will suit her because she can turn it on so quickly. Also she has matured – she used to race quite light but she is now a super filly.”

Richard Fourie added: “After she beat Snowdance I thought she might win the Fillies Guineas but Snowdance killed us that day. However my filly is now very good. We went a bit fast here – she was travelling too hard – but she kept going.”

Not only that but the 6-1 Elusive Fort filly won a bit snugly at the end to fill Hugo Hattingh and Peter de Beyer with KZN hope.

Rose In Bloom, the 11-10 favourite, did best of the rest but Robert Khathi had no excuses – ”The winner was gone at the top of the straight. Even if I had sat right behind her I wouldn’t have beaten her. She was the best horse on the day and she must be very good to have beaten Snowdance.”

Miss Katalin, the third of the three three-year-olds, was only a rapidly-dwindling neck further back and she would surely have been second but for throwing away a good two lengths at the start.

The Cape Town Prawn Festival attracted a huge crowd with marketing manager Jenna Adams and the rest of the Kenilworth team convinced it was easily the biggest and most successful yet. Critics often carp that such events do little to attract people to racing but the queues at the bookmakers – six deep at times – suggested otherwise.

Perovskia’s success in the Kepu Trading Jet Master Stakes made it a red-letter day for two of Cape Town racing’s unsung heroes, Harold Crawford and Lucien Africa. Both are quiet, self-effacing individuals and so are up against it in a game where it pays to blow your own trumpet.

Crawford, though, is a shrewd punter albeit usually on a modest scale and he said: “I felt very confident because Perovskia had a bit in hand when he beat Summer Sky last time.”

But he had only a neck to spare over Mambo Mime at the line and it might well have been even closer had not the runner-up carried half a kilo overweight. “It was a gutsy performance from a horse who has gone through hell but still pays his way,” said Dean Kannemeyer.

Dan Katz was understandably delighted at third-placed Mac De Lago’s return to form, saying: “If he hadn’t been slowly away he would have challenged the winner but at least this shows I am on the right path with him.”

Corne Orffer’s sudden virus attack had trainers rushing for last-minute replacements like buyers on Black Friday and few had more reason to be pleased with their choice than Brett Crawford’s assistant Barry Donnelly.

Keagan de Melo’s talents have been known to those in KZN racing for quite some time but he is something of an unknown quantity for many in Cape Town. Not any longer. The bold front-running tactics he employed on Looking At Stars in the Hi Fi Corp Maiden – and the stylish way he executed them – impressed almost everyone who witnessed them.

Vasco put a lot into the promotion of this day and so victory for the Piet Steyn-trained Man About Town in the Bryn Ressell colours in the SAB Maiden was popular far beyond the confines of those who backed Fourie’s mount down to odds-on. But make a note of the runner-up.

Magnificent Seven had several lengths to find when the winner set sail for home but the Horse Chestnut gelding stretched his head out, lengthened his stride and set about making up the leeway like a real racehorse. He was only a short head behind at the line.   His turn will come and, on this performance, that day won’t be far away.

By Michael Clower