“It’s going to be a great race,” enthuses Glen Kotzen  whose Double Whammy is the only Graded winner in the field and who led throughout to gamely shrug aside all challengers in last month’s Lanzerac Diana.

Indeed the quality of the line-up has persuaded him to change his plans, particularly with the filly being faced with the worst of the draw. “We are going to have to ride her forward. We were going to tuck her in but I don’t think we should do that now.”

Double Whammy is officially rated just over two lengths better than Cold As Ice but the latter was having her first race when the two met three months ago and the way she won a 1 200m handicap last week suggests she is the one they all have to beat – even over this extra furlong.

Her dam Viva won seven races including the Champagne but nothing beyond 1 200m and, according to Kotzen who trained her, she was an out-and-out sprinter.

“I think Cold As Ice will be alright over 1 400m,” says Joey Ramsden. “Indeed I’m not worried about the trip although I might be over a mile.”

Jet Set Go is the only unbeaten horse in the field and she won the last of her three starts with ease over the trip at Durbanville last month. So, can she beat the other two? “Wait and see on Saturday,” was all I could get out of a smiling Vaughan Marshall, seemingly intent on playing his cards close to his chest.

The bookmakers, though, believe he doesn’t hold the ace and Betting World yesterday opened his filly at 3-1. Double Whammy is second favourite at 5-2 and Cold As Ice heads the market at 18-10. It’s worth noting that favourites have won all the last four runnings and six of the last seven.

Justin Snaith has won this four times in the last seven seasons and  is rueing the knee-breaking injury suffered by Red Disa who he is convinced was so good that she worked with In The Fast Lane. Instead he is putting blinkers on three-time winner Harvard Crimson (12-1).

“She takes a bit of a ride and you can’t be sitting there pushing your horse along in a race like this,” he explains. “But it’s going to be tough.”

The highest-rated horse is Grey Light who was odds-on when beaten by the year older Acrostar on her return 13 days ago and is surprisingly short at 4-1 here. “She didn’t receive the full weight-for-age allowance and I wasn’t that disappointed,” says Ramsden. “But this is way too short for her.”

Stable companion Thaler Point (40-1) is there in the hope of picking up black type and Grant van Niekerk has chosen 16-1 chance Inara from Mike Bass’s three. But their trainer says: “Mine are more milers and I will be surprised if I win this.”

Dancing Natasha has been scratched as she gave a couple of coughs after working yesterday. “Disappointing,” says Alan Greeff. “I thought she was capable of running into the money.”

So which will it be? Pedigree and ratings are against Cold As Ice and the favourite sequence must be getting ominously close to breaking point but, even so, Bernard Fayd’Herbe’s mount still looks the one.

Picture: Double Whammy (Liesl King)

The four-year-old, who had a merit rating of 105, won his last three starts for Glen Puller and son Chris, and really came into his own when front -runnning tactics were adopted. He was also second in the Winter Guineas.

The Dolf Maeder-trained maiden Roventas, second in his last four starts, has also been sold to Mauritius. He will join Ricky Maingard.

Picture: Reim – Christopher Puller (Liesl King)

Stating  “personal reasons”  his resignation is effective from next January and he will be taking up a new position overseas. McGillivray has over 25 years’ experience as a stipendiary steward and will be sorely missed as the NHA have without doubt upped their game since his appointment.

After returning from an overseas stint, he had noticed that standards had slipped and immediately set about reversing the trend.  The stipendiary reports for each racemeeting have been much more detailed since his appointment and other improvements, such as providing information to the public as soon as possible after a race, have been implemented.

The NHA have also taken a noticeably tougher stance in out of competition testing for performance enhancing substances and on “non-triers”.

He said of the information dissemination, “It is important to be proactive. For example, if a horse bled, the information must be disseminated as fast as possible as it could put out a spark before the fire. Sean Parker (the chief stipendiary steward  in KZN) has been very good at getting this sort of information out quickly. We have spoken to the television producers as we would like to get important stipendiary information out consistently between races.”

On out of competition testing, he said, “It is very important to level the playing fields and the more this can be achieved the better it is for racing. An increase in out of competition testing is definitely the way the world has been going in all sports.”

Raids on yards are being done unannounced nowadays, although in the interests of fairness and transparency the stipendiary stewards will always wait for a trainer or assistant to be present before, for example, extracting a blood sample from a horse.

McGillivray’s pet hate is form inconsistency and he has given a recent directive to clamp down in this regard.

He said, “A trainer saying that the explanation for a below form run is that the horse ‘needed the run’ is not acceptable. Saying that it was the horse’s first run after a layoff is not going to help the punter who backed it at 5/2. Maybe in this sort of case we need to watch a horse gallop before it can be allowed to run again. We have an obligation to the punting public and a horse must arrive at the races fit. We also need to determine whether the excuse is what the trainer really means. These are the sort of run of the mill things we must chip away at.”

Objections are another aspect where consistency is vital. Workshops are held every couple of months in which all of the stipendiaries around the country go through all of the recent objections in each centre together, although this was implemented before McGillivray took charge.

During McGillivray’s control, there have been some heavy penalties dished out under rule 62.2.1 which states that a jockey should take all reasonable and permissible measures to ensure that a horse is given a full opportunity to win or obtain the best possible placing. McGillivray has praised the stipendiary stewards in all South African racing centres for their support and efforts in implementing the improvements.

He said, “The NHA had been through a tough time as we have lost a lot of talent in a short period and in this field they are not easily replaced. It takes several years before a new employee in such a position can reach the required level. However, in all centres there has really been an effort to up the game and their support for the changes we have tried to implement has been fantastic.”

The stipendiary stewards of yesteryear are often remembered and reminisced about and statements such as “it would never have happened when he was chief stipe” are common place.

However, McGillivray touched upon how different the world was 25 years ago. He pointed out that two key aspects of society, discipline and respect, have changed for the worse and as a result life was generally a lot tougher these days.

He said, ”You just have to look at the way people dress to go to the races these days and you can also look at something like the July objection. There were three highly qualified stewards making that decision and that was their opinion, so you don’t have to agree with it, but it should at least have been respected. These days people have a tendency to get personal and to sling off.”

McGillivray first joined the NHA, then known as the Jockey Club, in 1987 when taking up a position in Port Elizabeth before moving to Durban and then Johannesburg. He took up a position in Malaysia in 1996 and returned for a stint in Cape Town in 2006, before going back to Malaysia in 2009. His stipendiary roles in Malaysia and Singapore included the senior position of Professional Racing Steward.

McGillivray is strong in his views on the obligations the NHA have to punters knowing that the happier they are the better it will be for the industry.

He has provided help and direction to the stipendiary stewards underneath him and the respect he has earned from the latter is one reason why his all too brief reign has made a difference.

In 2013 Bloodstock South Africa’s (BSA) Emperor’s Palace Ready To Run Sale held annually at the Thoroughbred Breeder’s Association (TBA) complex at Gosforth Park returned an aggregate of 47,560,000 from 248 lots catalogued. At this year’s sale, which was held on Sunday, the aggregate was R22,440,000 from 125 lots catalogued. Meanwhile, the Cape Thoroughbred Sales Ready To Run Sale, held at the Inanda Club in Sandton on Friday, returned an aggregate of R24,680,000 from 146 lots sold.

Therefore, the two aggregates combined yielded R47,120,000, slightly down on last year despite there being 23 more lots in total catalogued. However, the BSA sales had only 94 lots sold this year (6 lots withdrawn, 12 unsold and 13 vendor buy backs), compared to 229 sold last year (6 withdrawn, 1 unsold and 12 vendor buy backs), so their average price actually increased from R207,686 last year to R238,723 this year.

The CTS sale had 138 lots sold and their average price was R178,841. The BSA’s median was up to R150,000 from R140,000 last year, while the CTS’s median was R90,000.

At the CTS Sale Derek Brugman’s Mayfair Speculators, which invariably represents perennial champion owner Markus Jooste,  were the leading buyers, purchasing 17 lots for a total of R7,315,000. This figure represented 29,6% of the Sale’s aggregate. Summerhill, who pulled their draft off the BSA Sale at around the same time that CTS announced their new Johannesburg Sale, were the leading vendor. Their 104 lots fetched R18,260,000.

Brian Burnard

The leading buyer at the BSA Sale was Brian Burnard, who is Summerveld trainer Gavin van Zyl’s chief owner. Burnard bought four lots for an aggregate of R2,295,000, which represented just 10,2% of the total Sale’s aggregate. The leading vendor was Balmoral Stud, who sold 57 lots for R15,685,000.

At the CTS Sale, Mayfair Speculators bought the highest priced horse, lot 76, a Var colt who is a half-brother to the Gr 2 Gauteng Fillies Guineas winner Go Indigo. This Summerhill-consigned colt impressed at the breeze up gallops at Summerhill, where he really stretched his toe out. Mayfair Speculators had to go to R1,6 to secure him.

The highest priced filly at the CTS Sale was an Australian-bred by Redoute’s Choice out of an unraced mare by Dehere, lot 108, who showed off her huge action at the breeze ups. Her third dam is the Epsom Oaks winner Moonshell and she looks to have plenty of scope. She was bought by trainer Mike Azzie’s chief owner Adriaan van Vuuren for R1,2 million.

The other lot that reached over R1 million at the CTS Sale was lot 10, a beautifully-bred Captain Al filly, who is a half-sister to the Royal Ascot Kings Stand Stakes third-placed Sweet Sanette. She was consigned by Summerhill Sales and was bought by Mayfair Speculators for R1,1 million.

The most popular colt among the CTS breeze up panellists, lot 110, an  Australian-bred Encosta De Lago colt, was bought by Rainbow Beach Trading for R900,000.

The CTS sales topping filly was the joint most popular filly at the breeze ups together with lot 69, a Summerhill Sales-consigned Kahal filly out of a KIngmambo mare. The latter filly  was  knocked down to Rainbow Beach Trading for R400,000.

At the BSA Sale Alesh Naidoo bought lot 27, an Australian-bred colt by Bernadini, for the joint sales-topping price of R1,2 million. He is out of five time-winning USA-bred mare and his giant stride impressed many at the Yellow Star Stud breeze ups.

Brian Burnard went to R1,2 million to buy lot 35, a Captain Al colt, who is out of a half-sister by Kabool to Gr 1 winner Divine Jury and to the speedy Divine Jet.

John Freeman bought an Australian-bred Star Witness colt, who is out of the Gr 1 winning Zimbabwean-bred Goldkeeper mare Battle Maiden, for R1,1 million.

Each of the sales companies will have their own Ready To Run sales race next year. The stake for the CTS sales race was recently increased from the original R2 million to R2,5 million. The buyer’s levy for this race was R7,500, and was compulsory, and the vendor’s levy was the same amount.

The BSA’s sales race will be run for a stake of R2 million. The buyer’s levy for the race was voluntary and was R10,000. The vendor’s levy was R8,000. All in all, it looks likely that both Sales will remain strong as the vendors and buyers that supported one or the other, or both, had little to complain about.

His four-year-old son Bezanova, a gelding bred by Clifton Stud and trained by Alec Laird, has developed into a magnificent specimen and showed his class at Turffontein on Saturday when winning the Gr 2 Peermont Emperor’s Palace Charity Mile under Weichong Marwing.

The following day the Paul Gadsby-trained Royal Colours, who is both owned and bred by the man who currently just can’t stay out of the winner’s enclosure, Roy Moodley, won a 2000m handicap on the Greyville polytrack under Sean Cormack and thereby achieved the rare feat of six wins in succession.

Bezanova is a big rangy horse and looked promising from the beginning. He won on debut over 1200m at Clairwood, when backed into 7/2, and followed up by winning over 1600m at Turffontein. He improved consistently in the three-year-old features last season, culminating in a three length third and 1,65 length fifth to the Equus Horse Of The Year Legislate in the Gr 2 KRA Guineas and Gr1 Daily News 2000 respectively.

He has latterly grown into his rangy frame and is now unbeaten in two starts this season. He will relish the 2000m trip of the prestigious Gr 1 Sansui Summer Cup so can’t be written off in that race, although he will likely be given a merit rated raise so will find it tough to beat Louis The King, who was fairly flying at the finish on Saturday despite needing the run.

Royal Colours took twelve starts to win his maiden and after beginning his handicap career on a merit rating of 61, has now risen to 80. He could add another win to his sequence due to his style of running, in which he is produced only in the last 300m. This means he never wins by far, so is never unduly punished by the handicapper.

Trainer Gadsby explained that this horse had always had the ability he is now displaying and there had never been a “turnaround” as such.

He said, “We fancied him strongly in the maiden at Scottsville in February (where he was stepped up in trip to 1950m). He was just touched off by the Mike de Kock-trained Ilitshe, who then went on to win his next two races, so the form was good. If he had happened to win that race he would likely have been given quite a high merit rating and we wouldn’t be in the position we are now in. But that race took a lot out of him, so he needed his next race and was then unlucky in his following start.” Following that, he didn’t have much luck in his tenth and eleventh starts from wide draws.

Anthony Delpech rode him for the first time in his eleventh start and if there was a turnaround with this horse it came due to something this experienced professional noticed next time out when winning his maiden aboard him over 2400m at Scottsville on July 20.

Gadsby said, “Anthony got off and said that at the top of the straight he felt that he had so much horse underneath him he would win by 20 lengths.” Royal Colours plugged on after hitting the front at the 300m mark to win comfortably by 2,25 lengths, but Delpech’s words struck a chord with Sean Cormack when Gadsby recounted them to him. It explains his tactics of waiting for as long as possible on Royal Colours before producing him.

Gadsby admitted that from the stands he always becomes a bundle of nerves when watching Cormack sitting still at the 300m mark. However, a combination of the top class jockey’s fine hands, his judgement and the tactics he has employed have certainly reaped dividends. Cormack’s record on Royal Colours is a perfect five out of five.

Gadsby concluded, “This horse really tries, he once had the reputation of being a brass, but that’s definitely not the case. The Bezrins do have to be entertained though, that’s why you will see Sean sitting patiently on him if he stops and looks at something on the way to the start. You have to be considerate to them.”

Gadsby still has to give Royal Colours his compulsory African Horse Sickness (AHS) vaccinations. However, he will try to get one more run into him in order that he can win Gold Circle’s Summer Challenge prize for gathering the most points before the Challenge finals in December. He won’t be able to run in the finals due to the necessity of doing the vaccinations, which usually puts a horse out of serious action for at least three weeks.

Both Bezanova and Royal Colours are chestnuts with white socks and it is fascinating to discover that a high percentage of Bezrin’s best sons are of similar colouring.

One of his recent most promising horses, Big City Angel, was a chestnut with white socks and the stake performers Thunderflash, All Ablaze, Tandragee, Briar King and Jimmi Choo are all chestnuts. In fact his bay male stake performers number only three, Celtic Fire, Benbow and Coy Boy.

The owner of Bezanova Chris Gerber joked in the winner’s enclosure on Saturday that former CEO of the Thoroughbred Breeders Association Tom Callaghan had told him during the 2012 National Two-Year-Old Sale that the sale was going well as “even the Bezrins were going for R150,000”, not knowing that Gerber had bought one of them himself, Bezanova!

Bezrin has gone backwards and forwards between KZN and the Cape a couple of times, but now stands at Spencer Cook’s Rock Stud in Paarl.

Picture: Royal Colours (Nkosi Hlophe)