He completed a hattrick when winning a competitive MR 68 Handicap over 1600m at Kenilworth on Saturday in impressive style under Richard Fourie and Snaith said, “We will find out how good he is if he runs in the Guineas, but he has done nothing wrong to date. All the best horses are fighting out the features and taking strain so it can be interesting to run a fresh horse. He has always shown ability and the secret is his incredible temperament, very much like the Dynasty’s, who are easy horses to train.”

The yard’s other classic male hopefuls that Snaith mentioned were Heartland and Sieze The Throne.

The Dynasty colt Heartland was impressive on debut over 1200m at Kenilworth when winning by nearly ten lengths. He wasn’t disgraced last time out in the Gr 3 Cape Classic when finishing a 3,8 length third. He did admittedly receive 6kg from the winner Act Of War, but his chances were effectively gone after he had been rushed three wide around the field on the turn. Snaith described it as “an ordinary ride” and said that “in time Heartland will be a very nice horse.”

The big colt Seize The Throne is also by Dynasty and impressed second time out over 1600m when cruising to a 2,25 length victory. He looks full of potential.

Heartland is entered in a 1400m handicap at Kenilworth next Wednesday and Seize The Throne is also entered there as well as in an 1800m handicap. The latter gave the impression that he would appreciate a step up in trip.

Other three-year-old males in the yard that are sure to make their presence felt are Harry Lime, who almost led from start to finish in his reappearance over 1200m at Kenilworth despite carrying 59kg, Arniston, Door Of Deception, Alpha Pegasi and Bianzino. The last mentioned is also a Dynasty colt and he stormed home from the tail of the field in a MR 78 handicap over 1600m last time. He was only running off a merit rating of 77 but is an entry in the Gr 2 Selangor Cup over 1600m on November 22 as well as in the 1800m handicap next Wednesday.

Door Of Deception is entered in the same 1400m race as Heartland next Wednesday and Arniston is entered in a race at Fairview next Friday.

Alpha Pegasi is being kept to sprints at present and runs on Sunday over 1200m at Kenilworth.

Meanwhile, Snaith’s Equus Horse Of The Year Legislate (pictured) is “doing well” ahead of his reappearance in the Gr 2 weight for age Green Point Stakes over 1600m on November 22 at Kenilworth.

Snaith said, “He will need the run. He could still win but it is his first run of the season and he is going straight into the mile.”

Snaith will have a strong hand in the race as he also runs Jet Explorer and Readytogorightnow.

He couldn’t separate them for this particular race, although he confirmed that stable jockey Richard Fourie would be on Legislate.

He said, “It would take a pair of plyers to get Richard off Legislate!”

He added that Fourie had fully recovered from his most recent injury and was stronger than ever.

“He is like a machine.”

A former regular ride for the stable, Felix Coetzee, is once again a valuable member of the yard’s team, as he is breaking in their young two-year-olds. Coetzee attended classes of the legendary “horse whisperer” Monty Roberts a few years ago and it had such an impact that he has furthered his knowledge at every opportunity since. He is therefore well versed in the most modern and kindest methods of breaking in horses.

The Snaiths are currently excited about a Sabine Plattner-owned Captain Al baby, who is out of the Gr 2 winner She’s On Fire, that Coetzee is breaking in.

In overseas news last season’s Equus Champion three-year-old filly In The Fast Lane is doing well in Mauritius on her way to the UK. She will arrive too late in England for Dubai to be an option so will remain in Mike de Kock’s Newmarket yard. The plan is to race her in the UK and she will appear under Snaith’s name.

Snaith concluded by speaking about the health of Western Cape racing at present and said, “The spring has been very competitive, I’ve never seen Cape Town this strong before. We are very fortunate that the Cape guys spend at the sales and that we’ve got the stock. But I take my hat off to the trainers too as they do their homework and get the owners to buy these horses.”

Pictures: Charles Lytton, Legislate (Liesl King)

Last year’s Cape Derby runner-up has the proverbial stone in hand and in theory he should win by six lengths. He is going to start hot favourite – he was 1-2 with Betting World yesterday – but he is a classic red-warning light case.

Most trainers will tell you that they don’t believe in the second-run-after-a-rest theory except when a horse is coming back after injury – and Dynamic damaged a tendon 18 months ago. On his first run back, at Durbanville eight weeks ago, he performed way above expectations to win comfortably.

“I do believe in the theory for certain horses but it depends on the horse,” stresses Justin Snaith. “For example Another Idea was in the same situation at Kenilworth on Saturday and he ran second to Generalissimo. Dynamic has done well since his win and I purposely haven’t galloped him.” In other words he should be OK. But there is an element of risk and punters should bear that in mind, particularly with the price so short.

Dennis Drier only brings horses to Cape Town if he thinks they are going to win and so newcomer The Tripster catches the eye in the opening maiden. “He has taken a bit of time and, although he is a staying type, he is showing plenty of pace,” says the trainer who cautions that it looks a strong field.

Power To Please is the form horse and should be hard to beat. He has already been backed from 4-1 to 3-1. One who could also go well at a good price is Winter Trade who last time lost far more ground at the start than he was beaten and now wears blinkers for the first time. He was as big as 14-1 yesterday.

“He doesn’t concentrate and he looks at everything,” says Darryl Hodgson, explaining his decision to fit the blinds. It could be worth bearing in mind that Winter Trade was considered good enough to run in the Cape Nursery on his previous start, and he was far from disgraced behind Kingvoldt.

Jet Revez has shown useful form but Karl Neisius is on stable companion Captains Corner in race two. “A beautiful filly with a magnificent action,” says Dean Kannemeyer. “But I haven’t galloped her.” In other words she can be expected to go well but she may need the run. Her price of 16-10 looks too short.

Kannemeyer’s Evil Woman has proved costly to follow, largely because she loses a fatal amount of ground at the start every time she runs. But this course will suit her much better than Durbanville and she may finally get her head in front in the Racing Association Maiden. She opened 12-10 favourite and was 22-10 yesterday.

Philosophy (6-1) is an obvious danger. She was only three-quarters of a length adrift last time and now wears blinkers because, says Paddy Kruyer, “she is very one-paced.”

Without Permission ran well enough first time to suggests he will be hard to beat in race four while Line Break, reported “a smart horse” by Mike Bass when he floored the prohibitive odds laid on Dynastic on debut, should be able to follow up in the Rugby 5 Handicap off a mark of 82.

 Picture: Dennis Drier who saddles The Tripster in the first at Kenilworth tomorrow.

In the last race on Sunday on the Greyville turf, Marcus’ mount Admiral’s Eye, according to the stipendiary steward report, “jumped a patch” at about the 1200m mark “and faltered badly.” The consequent sudden pull on the rein must have caused the injury.

Admiral’s Eye, who started favourite, was fortunate not to have fallen and soon faded in the straight. Marcus eventually stopped persevering with her. He called for the on course doctor immediately after the race and his left thumb, which couldn’t even be touched due to the pain, clinically resembled a fracture.

However, Marcus reported after x-rays yesterday that it was in fact a “snapped tendon”.

Marcus suffered a virtually identical rupture to the tendon of his right thumb in May last year. He didn’t go for surgery immediately on that occasion as he had some plum rides in the ensuing days, including Variety Club, whom he steered to victory in the Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge.

He didn’t race ride for a period of about eleven weeks after the operation that was performed in the week after Variety Club’s victory. However, he did attempt to make a comeback in time for the Vodacom Durban July and the delaying of the operation as well as the work riding he did before the July likely set the recovery process back.

Kevin Shea was out recently due to a “bulged vertebra.” He is now out with the same problem on a different vertebra that is lower down. Fortunately, there has been no damage to the nerves on either occasion.

He has had cortisone treatment to ease the pain and has started the rehabilitation process, which involves strengthening the core area of the body as well as the ligaments near the vertebra. Shea said the cause of the injuries was simply due to wear and tear after 37 years in the saddle.

He concluded, “It has been very frustrating as I will be missing races like the Summer Cup, but it is unfair on trainers to take rides when you are physically unable to perform to your best.”

He also has a dominant record in the Gr 2 Selangor Cup, which is considered the chief pointer to the Cape Guineas. He last won the Selangor in 2009, when saddling the one-two, Past Master and subsequent Cape Guineas winner Noodrdhoek Flyer. However, up to that point he had won six of the first eight runnings of the race.

Afrikaburn, an athletic colt by Trippi, already has a Gr 1 under his belt having won the Gr 1 Durban Golden Horseshoe over 1400m at Greyville as a two-year-old. He caught the eye on his reappearance when appearing to be labouring halfway down the straight but then suddenly taking off to finish a two length second to the older horse Reim in the Gr 3 Kuda Matchem Stakes over 1400m.

Kannemeyer confirmed that Afrikaburn had needed that run and added that he might consider quarter cup blinkers next time out too. He has drawn 9 out of 17 entries in the Selangor, which is to be run on the Kenilworth Old Course over 1600m on November 22. He will be a leading contender in both that race and the Cape Guineas, although Kannemeyer pointed out that the Western Cape had “the most competitive racing in the country”, so it is very tough to win these big events.

Balance Sheet is a Silvano colt whom Kannemeyer thinks highly of. He is an improving sort and to date has won two out of his three starts. Both his wins have been over the 1600m distance of the Selangor and the Guineas.  Balance Sheet drew barrier 11 in the Selangor. The two colts worked together on Saturday and should be rearing to go by Saturday week.

Picture (Afrikaburn) by Nkosi Hlophe

Easy Lover had proved his class in his previous outing when beating some useful older horses in a handicap over 1200m despite being an early three-year-old running off a merit rating of 92.

This was the first time he had raced over further than 1450m, but after sitting at the back he looked as if he had been dropped into the race at the 200m mark and won effortlessly by 2,5 lengths from the Mike de Kock-trained favourite Trip To Rio and the Mike Miller-trained Melson.

The second favourite Split To Breeze was next best, but finished 7,75 lengths behind the winner, while the promising Rif Raf was beaten eight lengths into fifth which underlined the class of Easy Lover’s performance.

However, Howells does not believe Easy Lover is quite Gr 1 class and will instead be aiming him at a Cape Thoroughbred Sales R2,5 million sales race at Turffontein in February.

Easy Lover drifted from 22/10 to 9/2 and this was a welcome win for KZN’s champion trainer as his yard has been through a rare quiet spell.

In the previous race, a MR 74 Handicap over 1200m on the polytrack, the Dennis Drier-trained four-year-old Horse Chestnut gelding Ho’oponopono (pictured) looked one of the best bets on the card as he was running off a likely capped merit rating of 70 having won his maiden over 1000m by over three lengths. He duly won by 4,5 lengths under Sean Cormack and will probably still be ahead of the handicapper next time out.

Cormack completed a double when the ever improving Paul Gadsby-trained Lundy’s Liability gelding Candy Moon narrowly won the last, a Conditions Plate over 1600m, which was one of only two races run on the turf.

Anton Marcus added another winner to his treble on Friday night by scoring in the second race on the heavily backed Garth Puller-trained odds-on favourite Snow Rose.

Anthony Delpech rode a winner on Friday night, one at Turffontein on Saturday and followed suit by having one winner yesterday on the Sean Tarry-trained Strategic’s Pride who won a maiden over 1600m.

Mark Dixon has only had the four-year-old Trippi filly San Trip for two runs and she has now won both of them, having got up in a fillies and mares MR 84 handicap over 1900m yesterday under Keagan de Melo. This big, rangy sort could have more wins in her.

The most exciting finish yesterday was the fifth over 1000m and saw 2,5kg claimer Callan Murray only just prevailing on the Colin Scott-trained Stormy Cat.

However, the ride of the day could well have come in the first from the much underestimated jockey Derryl Daniels, who won on the 150-1 shot Mullins Bay first-timer filly from the Lola Crawford yard Dream Bay. The poly is being called a “jockey’s track”, as pace judgement and timing are of the essence and Daniels poly statistics in October and November tell a story, 26 rides, eight wins and a strike rate of 30,77%. Furthermore the return for a R1 bet on every one of his mounts in this period has been R114,30.

Pictures: Nkosi Hlophe