Tarry warned about the Australian-bred Willow Magic, “He is obviously a class horse. This is his second run after a rest and he is significantly worse off at the weights with some of the others. I still expect him to just about win it but am not overly confident that he is going to do what he did last time. At the end of the day he has bigger fish to fry and I was in two minds whether to run him here. But looking at the program there was no perfect race for him between now and his first big target the Senor Santa in about two months time so I decided to run him here and he can then come into the Senor Santa a little bit fresh.”

Tarry explained the reason for his long layoff, “He had inflammation of the tendon, but there was never a core lesion and he is fit and well.”

He said about Siren’s Call, who on 102 is merit rated seven points higher than any other horse in the race, “She is clearly the horse to beat and my only concern is that 1400m is a bit too short for her and if they go fast I hope she is not too far out of her ground.”

Captain’s Clipper is merit rated joint third highest on 94, but returns from a long layoff and he said, “I would have liked another couple of weeks, but he has done well enough to run a good race, although the draw doesn’t help.”

Trophy Wide is a progressive merit rated 84 and he said, “She has had the perfect prep and will run very well. She stepped up in class last time and coped nicely. I think she’s a runner.”

Jupiterandmars come into the race after the scratching  of Cotton Hill and Tarry said, “She should have it all to do. I’m surprised they didn’t accept Seventh Heart, who is five lengths better, but they chose to give her a 76 and gave Eliza Doolittle an 81 for winning a workrider’s maiden.”

Tarry’s older stalwarts Whiteline Fever and Halve The Deficit return from layoffs in the fourth, a Conditions Plate over 1400m. He said, “I am happy with Whiteline  Fever and expect a forward run. His target is the Hawaii again. Halve The Deficit was nominated for the Met, but things didn’t go smoothly so I had to make a plan B. This is a prep run for the features in the season. The Johan Janse Van Vuren filly (Winter Star) is very well weighted and will be hard to beat.”

Tarry gave the Jet Master filly Off The Mark “a big chance” in the third race over 1160m, but added, “Coming back in distance is my only concern.”

Vaal-based Peter is “leaning towards” the Dupont gelding Forest Fox as his chief contender in the Sales race, where he also runs the impressive debut winning Judpot filly Eliza Doolittle and the promising Rebel King filly London.

He said, “They are all extremely well. Forest Fox’s prep has gone perfectly and he is a decent horse.”

Sean Cormack

This gelding looked to be going nowhere over 1400m at the Vaal last time off an 87 merit rating against older campaigners, but then suddenly got his mind on the job and sauntered clear to an impressive  2,5 length win. The penny appeared to have dropped in that race, which was just his fourth career outing.

Peter confirmed that Forest Fox, having tended “to fall asleep early in his races early”, now appeared to have “woken up” and had been “more enthusiastic” in his work. He continued, “There looks to be a bit off pace in the race, which will suit him.”

Eliza Doolittle hardly came off the bit on debut in a moderate workrider’s maiden to win by seven lengths and impressed with her long, comfortable stride. Peter said afterwards that she had only been “about 70% fit” for that race.

He said, “She has tons of improvement to come. But this race does come a bit soon and she is drawn wide.”

London impressed when stepped up to 1450m for the first time last August in a decent maiden on the Turffontein Inside track, finding a strong finish to beat useful sorts like Gold Cup Girl and Will I Do by 4,5 lengths and 10,75 lengths respectively. She was disappointing in her next two starts, but was running on quite well last time out over 1600m. Peter said, “She had a muscle problem which we have sorted out and she has been working well.” London is well drawn and if she finds her best form she could be an outsider to consider.

Peter has taken all three horses to see the course.

Derreck David is usually Peter’s first choice jockey, but in this case Sean Cormack rides Forest Fox (draw 8), Gunther Wrogemann rides Eliza Doolittle (draw 14) and JP van der Merwe rides London (draw 5). Peter explained, “Hassen Adams wanted Sean Cormack to ride Forest Fox and we weren’t sure whether Eliza Doolittle would qualify so Derreck accepted the ride on Dominic Zaki’s horse (The Stones). Derreck did want to ride Forest Fox.”

Peter’s Mod Barley looks well held in the Gr 3 Tommy Hotspur Handicap, but he said, “He is working well at home.”

He said about his charge Mogok Master, who gives weight to the rest of the field in a Juvenile Plate over 1000m, “He is an extremely good horse and is strong in the field. He should follow up on his debut win.”

He said: “I have no choice now but to go for a fusion which is the last case scenario. I have been told that it means losing a lot of the movement in my wrist and hand so I won’t be able to ride. The whole reason for having the first op was to avoid the fusion but it wasn’t a success.

“In a way it has come as a surprise and, while I have obviously thought about the future, I don’t yet know what I will do. I don’t think I will train – it’s not my cup of tea.”

Hatt,50, calculates that he rode some 2 300 winners and the tally includes J & B Mets on Bunter Barlow (2001) and River Jetez (2010), and three Queen’s Plates on Wainui (1989) and Winter Solstice (2005 and 2006).

He said: “I had so much to look forward to with Futura and the others in Brett Crawford’s yard, as well as my great relationship with Brett. Things were going so well but I’m not complaining. I’ve had a great time and I wouldn’t have done anything else. Indeed, if I were to come back in another life, I would be a jockey again!”

The Philippi trainer said: “I normally have a stable of 24 but I am now down to 11 and the yard is a mere shadow of what it used to be.

“A lot of people have promised to help me and some have already come to the party. I said to Lionel Adams ‘Please, I need horses’ and he bought this filly out of Dean’s yard. It shows the faith he has in me and he has been rewarded at the first attempt.

“Before this I was very despondent because, if you haven’t got the stock, you can’t produce the goods. You work hard but you don’t get results. This win shows that I just need a bit of support and I will be back to myself.”

The win was also a change of luck for Morne Winnar who had ridden only two previous winners this term. It was the fourth for Van Reenen, 43, who has a string of Graded races to his credit including the Final Fling three times, the Victress, Cape Summer Stayers, Winter Derby and Winter Classic.

Greg Ennion pulled off a remarkable feat in sending out Rhona Beck’s Monsoon Magic (Greg Cheyne’s 80^th winner of the season) to win for the second time in her last three starts because the three-year-old filly has loose bone chips in both fetlock joints.

Ennion said: “She chipped the joints in her first start in October. We put her legs in ice for 40 minutes twice a day and she lives on a type of aspirin that is legal. She will have to be operated on but I would like to keep her going until after the Fillies Winter Series.

“Had it not been for the chips I would have stuck my neck out and run her in the Cape Fillies Guineas and the Paddock Stakes. She will go for next year’s Paddock Stakes.”

Grant Behr went to hospital for x-rays yesterday but he is confident that he will be cleared to resume at Kenilworth on Wednesday when he has four rides for Dean Kannemeyer and one for Eric Sands. He was hurt on the way to the start on Steady Beluga in the Macsteel Maiden.

He said: “She stopped dead at the road, reared up twice and smashed me in the face with her head.”

The 19-times champion jumps jockey announced at Newbury on Saturday that he will retire at some point this season, but he still plans to ride at the Cheltenham Festival and in the Grand National ahead of the final day of the jumps season at Sandown on April 25.

He told Sky Sports News: “I want to hopefully be able to ride at the Cheltenhams and the Aintrees – the big Festivals – and then take a view.

“I’m not looking forward to it but I haven’t set any specific day or any specific date. I will just take it as it comes and see how it happens.

“I want to ride in the Grand National and I want to ride in a lot of those bigger races that are left in the season so I honestly don’t know when the day will come.

“It could be the last day of the season, it could be beforehand, it’s not something that I’ve set a specific day or date on.”

Barring injury McCoy will be crowned champion jockey for an unbelievable 20th successive year after riding his 200th winner of the season on Mr Mole at Newbury shortly before he announced his retirement.

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