The unbeaten Duncan Howells-trained Querari filly Cosmic Light is one of the most exciting three-year-old fillies in the country and her Ashburton-based trainer said it would take a good horse to beat her tomorrow in the sixth race over 1200m at Scottsville, despite this being a preparation event before she is taken down to Cape Town for the Cape Summer Of Champions Season. Howells has travel plans to either Cape Town or Johannesburg for a number of his best horses, including the brilliant filly Same Jurisdiction.

Regarding Cosmic Light’s run tomorrow Howells said he was repeating the successful preparation he gave to the champion sprinter Via Africa before her two successful journeys down to Cape Town. He believes Cosmic Light would be best from 1400-1600m and is aiming her at the Gr 1 Avontuur Estate Cape Fillies Guineas. The imposing Maine Chance Farms-bred filly is out of a Silvano mare who won once over 1200m. There is a lot of speed in Cosmic Light’s pedigree and her dam Cosmic Dream is a half-sister to the useful sprinter Cosmic Tom (Black Minnaloushe) as well as to the five-time winning sprint-miler Showroom. Furthermore, her third dam Blushing Dove is by the speed influence Comic Blush and won the Gr 2 Southern Cross Stakes over 1000m.

However, Blushing Dove was effective over a mile and produced the Gr 1 J&B Met runner up Lion Tamer, who is now a sire, so there is a chance that Cosmic Light will see out the mile. In her two impressive career starts to date, she won over 1200m at Scottsville and then was hugely impressive when winning the Gr 2 Debutante over 1200m at Greyville. In the latter race she was climbing all over them around the turn after being dropped out from a wide draw, and this was a clear sign of her natural speed. However, she ran on well in the straight, an indication of her class and reason to be optimistic she will stay further.

Howells is under no illusions regarding how difficult a task it is for a young three-year-old to win off a merit rating of 92, the task which faces Cosmic Light tomorrow, and he mentioned the presence of the unbeaten Ivan Moore-trained four-year-old Mark Your Card, who has won both of her career starts over the course and distance. However, Howells added, “She hasn’t taken on the best horses yet but is well above average and if she reproduces her grass work last Tuesday it will take a good horse to beat her.”

Howells runs the decent five-year-old mare Surefire in the same race and described her as a problematic horse but “good if you can catch her right on the day.” However, even at her best he did not think she would be good enough to give Cosmic Light 5kg and match her.

Meanwhile, Howells is planning to give Same Jurisdiction a preparation run in a forthcoming Pinnacle Stakes event over 1400m and was hoping the field would stand up. She will then be taken down to Cape Town, where her big targets will be the Gr 1 Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes and the Gr 1 Klawervlei Majorca Stakes. She proved how good she was when winning the Gr 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes over 1600m at Greyville on Super Saturday, after a luckless Johannesburg campaign, and there are not many who would back against her doing the Paddcok Stakes/Majorca double, despite there being some top class fillies around, including her cotemporary Inara, who achieved that very double last season.

Howells is also intending to take a horse he thinks a lot of, the three-year-old Black Minnaloushe colt Sylvester The Cat, down to Cape Town to compete in the Gr 1 Grand Parade Cape Guineas. This horse won his second start over 1200m at Scottsville by 6,75 lengths and although Howells admitted he still had a lot to prove, he added, “He shows exceptional work and is well above average.”

Howells’ three-year-old Elusive Fort filly Lauderdale, who won the Gr 1 Thekwini Stakes over 1600m on Super Saturday, will be aimed at two big sales races which she qualifies for, the R2 million Ready To Run Cup over 1400m at Turffontein on October 31 and the Cape Thoroughbred Sales Million Dollar over 1400m at Kenilworth on January 23, 2016.

The yard will be aiming their ever improving Mambo In Seattle gelding Saratoga Dancer at the Gr 2 Peermont Emperor’s Palace Charity Mile. He was only a length back to the useful Brutal Force over the too sharp 1200m in his seasonal reappearance at Scottsville. He is only merit rated 95 at present, so he might need to win his forthcoming preparation race in order to get into the Charity Mile, but he might well do so, because the best has not yet been seen of this horse yet.

Howells also rates the lightly raced four-year-old Dynasty filly Sabaha, who has won three out of five starts from 1200-1600m and beat a promising sort in Deputy Ryder comfortably over 1600m last time out. He said, “She is making her comeback over 1400m at Scottsville on Sunday and will need the run, but she is above average. Unfortunately, she is a temperamental filly so is difficult to work with, but she will be aimed at the weight for age Gr 2 Joburg Spring Fillies and Mares Handicap over 1450m at Turffontein on October 3.”

Howells will raid for the Johannesburg races and his Cape Town string will as usual stay at Eric Sands’ Milnerton yard.

Howells said his string was very well at present and most of them had completed their African Horse Sickness vaccine obligations. He added some horses whom the yard had sat back with during the winter would now be in a good place for the new season.

Howells failed to defend his KZN Trainer’s Championship crown last season and this was partly due to his initially relatively below par results on the Greyville polytrack. However, he believes he is now on top of that hiccup and said, “I panicked a bit when our results weren’t good on the poly and maybe started giving the horses the wrong type of work, but they are running a lot better on the surface now. Also the poly surface is being much better maintained now that it was, I think there were a few teething problems in the beginning, but now the horses are all pulling up very sound.”

Howells said he would not be targeting the KZN Trainer’s Championship and said, “If it happens it happens but I won’t be putting myself before the well-being of the horses.”

– David Thiselton