The four-times champion will be bidding for his second consecutive Cape Classic, having won last year’s race on Red Ray for Act Of War’s trainer Joey Ramsden who has booked Aldo Domeyer for the exciting Kingvoldt in the 1 100m Pinnacle Stakes.

Marcus also rides the record-priced Brutal Force who needs to win the opening maiden in good style to be sure of getting into next month’s R2 million Lanzerac Ready To Run Stakes.

The Classic is dominated, at least according to the handicappers, by the Vaughan Marshall-trained MLJet who has his first outing since his unlucky third in the Premiers Champion Stakes nearly three months ago. MJ Byleveld’s mount has a minimum of 7.5kg in hand on merit ratings.

Western Cape trainers, as so often in the past, mount a massive assault on Sunday’s Betting World Algoa Cup and account for nine of the 16 runners in the Fairview feature. They have won seven of the last eight runnings.

Marcus partners last year’s winner Disco Al for Ramsden while Justin Snaith runs four in his bid to win the  2 000m Grade 3 for the first time. His quartet include Cape Derby third Arion (Piere Strydom) and he has snapped up champion S’Manga Khumalo for the smart Bonnard.

Jet Explorer smashed his jaw in several pieces after a horror fall in the Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge back in June this year, but his life and his racing career were saved by the remarkable veterinary skills of Dr Ralph Katzwinkel and his Summerhill Equine Hospital team.

Jonathon Snaith said, “It is amazing to see him back and so soon. If you had seen him that day you would have said it would have been impossible for him to be racing even six months later. He will be just having a gallop on Saturday though and the L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate will definitely be his main aim again.”

Richard Fourie was injured in the Rising Sun Gold Challenge fall and it put him out for a while, but he is currently on the sidelines due to a fall four weeks ago on Red Disa in a workout. He hurt his neck on that occasion and is due back in the saddle on the 29th of this month.

Sean Cormack will ride Jet Explorer on Saturday in the Pinnacle Stakes event over 1400m, that also features the like of the Snaith-trained Readytogorightnow and the much-improved Michael Robinson-trained Blarney Bay.

Cormack is unable to make the 52kg weight of Heartland in the Cape Classic, so the Snaiths had originally booked Grant van Niekerk for the ride as the latter had been under the impression that he would be available. However, Van Niekerk’s guv’nor Mike Bass ended up accepting with his charge Sheer Trouble, which left the Snaiths with a headache. Ultimately, they offered to fly the lightweight jockey Muzi Yeni in for the ride and the latter was glad to accept.

Jonathon believes that the Vaughan Marshall-trained MLJet is without doubt the horse to beat in the Classic. He said, “It has to be taken into account that Heartland beat a poor field on debut even if he did win by nearly ten lengths. He is also a typical Dynasty in that he will take a few runs before we see the best of him. The Investec Cape Derby, which his brother won, is his ultimate aim, but we hope Saturday’s run shows that he can hold his own against the best, and the race will also bring him on for the Grand Parade Cape Guineas.”

He continued, “It also has to be taken into account that Act Of War beat fields in the middle of the Cape winter and was really only running against himself. On the other hand MLJet won two seriously strong races in KZN and was then unlucky in a Group 1. He could be a superstar and we could all be running for second.”

Snaith also pointed out that MLJet would be receiving 4,5kg from Act Of War. Heartland on the other hand will be receiving 2kg from MLJet.

Jonathon concluded, “I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Cape Guineas winner coming out of this field.”

Picture: ML Jet (Nkosi Hlophe)

The colt’s plans to travel to Cape Town were scuppered by a 40-day ban on travel imposed by the state veterinarians due to a horse having tested positive for African Horse Sickness at Summerveld recently. However, the Australian-bred colt’s connections have not ruled out a tilt at the Gr 1 Grand Parade Cape Guineas on December 20 at Kenilworth, the race that was his original target. If he is able to make it for the Guineas he is likely to stay on for the Gr 1 Investec Cape Derby over 2000m on J&B Met day, January 31, 2015.

Other races that are in the offing for the Australian-bred colt by Haradasun are the Gr 2 Dingaans over 1600m at Turffontein on November 29.

Harry’s Son drew pole position in the Graham Beck, although supplementary entries were still being accepted at time of going to press, so it is possible for him to move out by a barrier position or two.

The stand out entries among the rest include six fillies, the Gr 1-winners Alboran Sea and Carry On Alice, the Equus Champion Two-Year-Old filly of last season Majmu, the Gr 1 runner up One Fine Day, the Gr 1-placed Pine Princess and the unbeaten Maria Theresa. All of those fillies bar Carry On Alice are from the yard of Mike de Kock. However, they could end up running in the Gr 3 Starling Stakes for fillies over the same course and distance on the same day.

Among the colts the Gr 1-placed Anjaal, the exciting prospects Belong To Me and Precursor, the impressive maiden winners Trip To Heaven and Zambezi River, the improving Amazing Strike and the classy Easy Lover, who has been targeted at this race, are the immediate stand outs.

The two supplementary entries that had come in by the time of going to press were the improving Gavin van Zyl-trained Out My Way, who won a maiden over 1200m in facile fashion last time out, and, interestingly, the Seb D’Aquino-trained Zimbawean horse Will Pays, who won his maiden over 1100m on debut at Borrowdale by six lengths.

Will Pays is owned by a large syndicate that includes several South African owners including Gareth Pepper, the well known Tellytrack presenter who is a frequent visitor to Borrowdale, Gareth’s father Brett, Sean Phillips, Nico van Niekerk, Mervyn Green, Devan Naidoo, Stephan du Toit and Yusuf Jackson.

He said: “Hopefully I can give it one more stint and then maybe in a year or two call it a day.”

Weight is the 47-year-old’s problem and he was fined R1 000 for weighing in at 62.4kg after weighing out at the correct 61kg. Tellytrack presenter Stan Elley, unaware of this, asked Fortune about his weight and was answered with: “Do you want me to give up everything? I gave up drugs and I gave up sex but I love my food.”

Typically he aimed a couple of playful digs at his rivals, saying: “I look at the TV and see who is riding winners. My God – and they haven’t got half the talent I’ve got. “On Miss Saigon I thought that if I could make them commit behind me, I’d have them. They are not the brightest bunch!”

Eric Sands believes that he has put his poor-feed nightmare behind him after Greg Cheyne completed a four-timer on Study The Stars in the last. This was a belated first winner of the season for the Milnerton trainer. He said: “For two months I had no runners and for a further month there were no gallops but I think you are going to see a big swing from now on.”

Anthony Andrews has been stood down until Friday week after pulling ligaments in his neck when Canyoucan flipped over with him in the parade ring at Durbanvile last weekend.

Justin Snaith said: “Jet Explorer runs in the 1 400m Pinnacle at Kenilworth and it would be good to see him have a safe race. He is working nicely but Readytogorightnow is the one of mine in that race who is more ready.”

Dean Kannemeyer has a number of his stars in this Pinnacle Stakes including Capetown Noir, fellow Grade 1 scorer Afrikaburn and Power King who won both the Winter Guineas and Classic last season. But none of the three is certain to line-up.

Kannemeyer said: “Capetown Noir is doing very well. I am having a look at the race and will decide on Monday but I think I am going to run him in the Cape Merchants on 16 November.

“I am setting up Afrikaburn for the Selangor Cup on 22 November and the Grand Parade Cape Guineas four weeks later but I will see about Power King.”

Last season’s leading Cape-based two-year-old Kingvoldt returns on Saturday but not in the Cape Classic in which he has a whopping 6.5kg penalty. He was to have run in the Kuda Matchem but had a throat infection.

Joey Ramsden said: “Kingvoldt is doing fantastically well and runs in the 1 100m Mr Brooks Pinnacle. Act Of War (winner of the Langerman) runs in the Classic and maybe Prince Of Eden will too.”

Last season’s Selangor winner De Kock, who bounced back from a fractured knee to win a sprint last month, will be among those in opposition to Kingvoldt. Brett Crawford said: “Corne Orffer again rides and after this De Kock goes for the Merchants and the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate.”