Dixon won the inaugural running of the event in 2007 with the Muhtafal gelding Umngazi, but unfortunately for him and owner Bruce Lin the total prize money back then was a relatively paltry R500000, despite their charge having beaten the like of Imbongi, who went on to become a dual Guineas victor and winner of Group races in both the UK and Dubai.

Oi Yoi Yoi, who is also owned by Lin, impressed jockey Brandon Lerena when stepped up to the 1400m trip of the Ready To Run Cup last time out in a Maiden on the Greyville polytrack on September 29. She came from last with a powerful run, despite the race having been run at a slow pace, and scooted clear in commanding fashion to win by 2,5 lengths.

That was only her fourth career start and it will now be up to the panellists to decide whether she is good enough to make the final Ready To Run field. She was only in 28th place on the latest log, but a few of those above her are yet to prove they stay the 1400m trip.

Whether she makes the race or not, she is one to follow this season as the yard rate her and Dixon confirmed yesterday that she was improving all the time.

Justin Snaith said yesterday: “He broke down on both suspensories – the ground was too firm – but I will look after him for the rest of his life. He gave me everything he had and so I will give him everything for the remainder of his days.”

The seven-year-old was frequently unlucky, hence he won only four of his 33 starts, but he was placed in 15 other races and his earnings were almost R1.9 million.

Gaynor Rupert said “I am very much looking forward to seeing the offspring of these two superstars on the track one day.”

Ebony Flyer was a three time Grade 1 winner of the Cape Fillies Guineas, SA Fillies Sprint and Majorca Stakes for trainer Justin Snaith and owner’s Drakenstein Stud (Nom: Mrs G A Rupert), Team Valor International (Nom: Mr B Irwin), Mrs Vanashree & Mr Anant Singh. CEO of Team Valor International Barry Irwin said about the mare: “Ebony Flyer was the most talented female to carry our colours at Team Valor and we are thrilled to welcome her first offspring.”

Ross Fuller (Farm Manager) commented that the colt was “a good size, well balanced and correct for a first foal we are thrilled”. Ebony Flyer visit’s champion sire Captain Al in 2014.

Picture: Ebony Flyer and foal (Drakenstein Stud)

That was no mean feat for an early three-year-old running off a merit rating of 84, especially considering she was only receiving 1kg from the well regarded four-year-old old filly Stay Amazed and gave her a 1,25 length beating. Van Zyl gave credit to owner Brian Burnard for the purchase of this Lammerskraal Stud-bred filly. Burnard phoned Van Zyl while the latter was down at the Cape Premier Yearling Sale Book 1 and asked him to have a look at Kileigh as he had been impressed by a picture he had seen of her. Van Zyl, who admitted he had not considered looking at her as she was by an unfashionable sire, also liked what he saw and they went ahead and bought her for what is now looking good value at R250,000.

She will be aimed at races like the Starling Stakes and Fillies Mile, before going for the Johannesburg classics next year. Van Zyl said, “What is particularly exciting about her is that she will get better the further she goes and the older she gets as Go Deputy’s usually get better with age.” Kileigh has won her last three races in succession since getting off the mark in her third career outing with a facile victory over 1600m at Scottsville last June.

The Van Zyl yard have already landed one Johannesburg feature this season courtesy of No Worries, who won the Gr 2 Joburg Spring Challenge over 1450m last weekend. They have the like of Pioneer Spirit, Heart Of A Lion, Banbury, Sun On Africa and Respectable Ruler waiting in the wings so should be on their way to a fruitful season.

Shea is booked for two rides at Greyville on Sunday, including aboard the promising Duncan Howells-trained Saratoga Dancer, who will likely need to win the MR 73 Handicap over 1600m that he is involved in to get a run in the lucrative R3,85 million Emperor’s Palace Ready To Run Cup.

Shea has been riding work without pain since core training and other measure taken have enabled his strength to reach the necessary levels.

He went to great lengths to speed up the process and has visited various medical practitioners or centres, including a masseuse, the spinal injury unit at a local hospital, a physiotherapist, doctors and even a man in the centre of Durban who has practised traditional Chinese medicine for decades.

The latter doctor used a technique to remove the damaged blood from the bruised area, which speeds up the process of healing the bruises. Suction cups are first placed above the bruised area and then removed. An incision is then made and the cups are put on again, thereby sucking the dark, damaged blood out of the system. Fresher blood should then move in to replace it. With each session the removed blood becomes redder, indicating it is fresher. Shea is not sure whether this treatment sped up his recovery, but he said he had been “desperate” to be back riding, so had been willing to give it a try.

During the healing process he has picked up various preventative measures for the future from the different practitioners he has visited.

He said, “I have been riding for 37 years, so can expect some wear and tear, but little things I have now been made aware of like not bending down and a million things the spinal unit taught me should help prevent injury.”

Shea, who last rode on August 31, was grateful when tests in early September showed that no long term damage had been done to the nerves by a “bulged C3 vertebra”, but he went through indescribable pain for about a week as the disc had been touching one of the nerves.

His sports medicine consultant is former Sharks team doctor Craig Springate, who, like Shea, believes there are better ways of fixing a problem than going under the knife.

Shea will build up his number of rides with each successive meeting in order to be ready for the Johannesburg feature season which is fast approaching.