The five-year-old Sean Tarry-trained gelding Legal Eagle joined the greats at Kenilworth on Saturday by becoming the first since Pocket Power to win back-to-back L’Ormarins Queen’s Plates (LQP).

He is now unbeaten in five starts over a mile, which includes his maiden, three Gr 1 weight-for-age miles and a Gr 2 weight-for-age mile. This is a remarkable feat for a horse who first achieved prominence when romping home to a three-length victory in the Gr 1 SA Derby over 2450m in just his fifth career start.

Pundits who felt he was lucky to be named Equus Horse Of The Year last season, above his J&B Met conqueror Smart Call, will have to now put up their hands and admit he fully deserved the accolade, as the mile has now been confirmed to be his best trip.

With Smart Call now overseas, he will be hard to oppose in the Sun Met.

Legal Eagle’s greatness as a miler can be seen in the way he controls his races from the off. There can be some comparisons between him and the 2013 Queen’s Plate winner Variety Club, a twice Equus Horse Of The Year, who had unbelievable gatespeed and simply controlled the race from then onward.

Variety Club and Legal Eagle were both ridden by the masterful Anton Marcus.

On Saturday Legal jumped as well as usual and there was never a moment before the business end in which he was not beautifully relaxed. The writing was on the wall for his chief rival, Marinaresco, before they had reached the first turn as he was in the box seat and the two ahead of him Midnite Zone and Captain America were going to provide protection from the stiff headwind in the straight.

Marcus was able to sit in Captain America’s slipstream until the 300m mark. Legal Eagle, like Variety Club, then found the gears necessary to take him clear.

He won by 2,25 lengths from the gallant Captain America, a Brett Crawford-trained six-year-old gelding. This was the exact same margin of victory of Variety Club’s win over the Crawford-trained Jackson in 2013.

The Crawford yard also clinched third with another six-year-old gelding, Sail South. The latter has always struck as classy, but his headstrong antics have proved costly throughout his career. Brilliant jockey Richard Fourie had the strength to rein Sail South back into an unfamiliar last place on Saturday. Even then he still over raced a bit, so it was a fine performance to run on strongly, pass Marinaresco, and finish just three lengths behind the winner.

However, Marinaresco, 0,3 lengths further back, was disappointing in fourth.

The six-year-old Jay Peg gelding Silicone Valley proved his versatility by finishing a 4,55 length fifth in just his second attempt at a mile, having finished a half-a-length second in the Gr 2 WSB Cape Merchants over 1200m at the beginning of December.

Legal Eagle will reportedly be leaving the country at the end of the Cape Summer Of Champions season together with the like of Marinaresco, Rabada and Silver Mountain.

Derek Brugman, racing manager to Legal Eagle’s owner Markus Jooste, has done a fine job together with Tarry in managing the horse’s career. Legal Eagle has had his targets carefully picked and his 15 career starts have yielded nine victories. He still looks to have plenty in the tank for overseas.

The three horses who won the Queen’s Plate between Pocket Power’s and Legal Eagle’s victories were the only entires to have won the race since the late great Jet Master’s back-to-back wins in 1999 and 2000. Those three were Gimmethegreenlight, who is already proving himself to be a stallion with a future, Variety Club, who was sadly found to be infertile, and Futura, who had a book of at least 100 mares in his first season at Drakenstein Stud.

The gelding dominance might seem strange for a race which is the most prestigious weight-for-age mile in the country, but is likely due to it being a very hard race for three-year-olds to win. Gimmethegreenlight was in fact the first three-year-old to win it for 39 years.

Gaynor Rupert of the sponsors L’Ormarins can be thanked for turning the Queen’s Plate into the top notch racing event it is today. She has a keen appreciation of the history of the sport of kings and has always tried to bring an English feel to the Queen’s Plate. Racing is an integral part of the British culture and over there the horse as an athlete, coupled with socialising, are central to most meetings.

This year’s effort in making the Queen’s Plate into a two day festival was another fine innovation. The Friday garden party looks set to become an integral part of the event’s tradition. The bond between racing purists and the Queen’s Plate will likely become stronger and stronger in a climate where turnover is paramount.

By David Thiselton