Ryan Moore has an international schedule as extensive and wide-ranging as an airline pilot in the days leading up to his first experience of Kenilworth in Saturday’s Sun Met.

On Saturday he was in Florida to partner the Aidan O’Brien-trained Magic Wand in the Pegasus World Cup Turf International Stakes (he was second) and today he rides More Than This in the Classic Mile at the big Chinese New Year meeting in Hong Kong, replacing Karis Teetan who had won all his three rides on the horse.

From there he goes to Saudi Arabia to ride work on horses entered for the world’s richest horse race, the $20 million Saudi Cup on February 29. Only after that can he set his sights on the Met.

“I hope he will get a chance to sit on Rainbow Bridge before Saturday but, if not, he is a professional and he knows what to do,” says Eric Sands who seems likely to show him extracts from Garth Puller’s fascinating interview with David Thiselton on the challenges facing Moore in the Met. This appeared in the Daily News last week and former champion jockey Puller, who won the Met three times, is Sands’ former brother-in-law.

Puller made specific reference to the interference problems caused by all the jostling for position in the early stages. “The reason is because jockeys want to find cover from the South-Easterly wind. They have that in mind from the jump and, with everybody trying to hide from it, the field takes some time to sort itself out.”

Indeed the South-Easter is the reason why most Cape Town trainers regard ‘Thou shalt not go three wide’ as the 11^th of the Ten Commandments (and more important than most of the others!) whereas in many parts of the world covering a bit of extra ground is often regarded as preferable to getting boxed in, or using up valuable energy by having to check and ease back in order to get a run.

Puller has no doubt that Moore will listen to what Sands has to say and adapt accordingly. “I have watched Ryan ride and he is definitely one of the best five jockeys in the world. No new track or horse will make any difference to him. Also he is not the sort of jockey who is going to ride the horse blind. He will watch the re-runs and probably give the horse a blow-out beforehand.”

By Michael Clower

The Paul Peter-trained Rebel’s Champ took a while to hit top gear in yesterday’s Non-Black Type Marula Sprint over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville but when he did he stormed home to convert 12/10 favouritism under Warren Kennedy.

The five-year-old Rebel King gelding carried topweight but looked hard to beat under the conditions of the race. He was 2,5kg well in with the second best weighted horse, Tribal Fusion, according to official merit ratings.

Rebel’s Champ was a touch slowly away as Cumulus set the fractions on the inside. Kennedy positioned the 12/10 favourite behind the third favourite Celebration Rock who was prominent in the centre. Towards the inside the second favourite Ishnana had started slowly and then pulled his way alongside Celebration Rock. At the 400m mark Rebel’s Champ had a wall of horses in front of him but Kennedy was able to switch him towards the outside for a clear run. He was looking a touch laboured until Kennedy changed the whip to his left hand and the horse then changed legs to a left lead and took off. Kennedy had to change whip hands again as the horse began hanging inward but his momentum carried him past Cumulus in the shadow of the post to win by a quarter of a length. The Drunken Sailor ran on well on the outside for a half-a-length third and it was then two lengths back to Goliath Heron and Waywood who were separated by a head.

The win clinched a double for Peter and Kennedy as they had won the third over 1400m with the five-year-old Pathfork mare Promise, who has now won six times from just 17 starts.

Garth Puller and Luke Ferraris also scored a double together. 

Puller consequently reached 30 winners for the season, which gives him a lead of eight in the KZN Championships from second-placed Gavin van Zyl.

Puller’s three-year-old Philanthropist gelding Rasputin’s Remedy came from last under Ferraris in the fifth race, a Maiden over 2400m, to catch the favourite Jet Lignite and win by half-a-length at odds of 41/10.

In the next race, an apprentice handicap over 1200m, Ferraris extracted a powerful finish from Puller’s four-year-old Oratorio gelding Krishnie’s Jet to catch the rank outsider Maa Nonu and win by half-a-length.

Anton Marcus also scored a double, winning the fourth over 1600m on the hard-knocking Johan Janse van Vuuren-trained four-year-old Twice Over filly On The Double, and the last race on the improving Mike Miller-trained Ideal World filly Basetsana, who can go on to win more as she was still green in first-time blinkers. 

Louis Goosen’s three-year-old Captain Of All gelding Elementary was backed in the first and got home by a quarter of a length under Craig Zackey.

The next over 1400m saw a win for Nathan Kotzen and Kabelo Matsunyane with the three-year-old gelding Walton Hall, who is by the promising sire Wylie Hall. 

Puller had many runners on the day and roared into the lead on the Hollywoodbets Sizzling Summer Challenge trainers’ table. He started the day five points behind leader Paul Lafferty and after gathering 104 points to Lafferty’s 47 he is now 52 points ahead of the latter.

Marcus started the day two points clear of Warren Kennedy on the jockeys’ table and finished the day nine points ahead of him. 

By David Thiselton

Equus Horse Of The Year Do It Again improved enough in well-being this week for trainer Justin Snaith to have kept the big bay’s Sun Met aspirations alive.

Do It Again was among the 14 horses announced in the big race’s final field yesterday.

Snaith had expressed doubts about the five-year-old Twice Over gelding lining up in the Met after his below par L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate run. 

He had expressed concern about Do It Again’s lacklustre demeanour.

However, the big horse appears to have turned the corner and Snaith said, “Horses can’t talk unfortunately, but I can see a change and am happy with him. He is looking a lot more upbeat and has been freshing. There has been a lot of thinking, a lot of hard work and a few sleepless nights.”

Snaith also has the Dynasty gelding Bunker Hunt in the race. 

This four-year-old has almost certainly not shown his best yet as his three-year-old campaign was interrupted after a superb running-on third in in the Grade 2 KRA Guineas.

In his last start, his second of the season, he finished a 2,25 length second to Hawwaam in the Grade 2 Premier Trophy over 1800m, although he was receiving 2kg from the latter. 

Snaith said, “He is doing very well. He is the dark horse of the race. He needed that last run, it was a prep for this race, and I think he will be in the first four.”

Snaith said the yard would be saving the Grade 2 Peninsula Handicap winner Belgarion for a tilt at the Vodacom Durban July. 

Snaith’s Equus Champion Sprinter Kasimir will be defending his Grade 1 Cape Flying Championship crown on Met day.

He said, “He is very well. He needed his last outing and is flying. I think the only one he has to beat is Run Fox Run, who is unbeaten but this is her first real test.” 

Snaith also has three runners in the Grade 1 Majorca Stakes, Sleeping Single, Miyabi Gold and Silvano’s Pride, but he said this trio were more suited to 2000m so would have to run big races to be involved. He rated the Sean Tarry-trained Celtic Sea as a top horse and believed she would give the current race favourite, the Mike de Kock-trained Queen Supreme, “a good go.” 

By David Thiselton

Hawwaam has a seven-year hoodoo on favourites, as well as 13 rivals, to overcome if he is to give Mike de Kock and Anton Marcus their fourth Sun Met victories at Kenilworth on Saturday week.

Ever since the eight-time champion trainer last won South Africa’s most valuable conditions race with the odds-on Australian-bred filly Igugu in 2012 the favourite has been beaten – and three of them didn’t even make the frame.

Hawwaam, despite managing only fifth in the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate, is rock solid at around 17-10 and not even the presence of the man who is the most successful big race jockey in the world at the moment on last year’s winner Rainbow Bridge has convinced the bookmakers that they need to lengthen the favourite.

The Eric Sands runner remains third best at 9-2 with Queen’s Plate winner Vardy (28-10) considered a bigger danger. Ten different stables are represented and only Brett Crawford (with just 45-1 outsider Undercover Agent) can match De Kock’s three Met winners. Vaughan Marshall (One World) has won it twice, Justin Snaith (Do It Again and Bunker Hunt) once while Eric Sands’ victory 12 months ago was also his first in the great race.

Bernard Fayd’Herbe (Bunker Hunt) equals Marcus with three Mets to his name but Piere Strydom ( Head Honcho), Greg Cheyne (More Magic) and Aldo Domeyer (Twist Of Fate) are the only others in the line-up to have won the race before.

Bunker Hunt is a 33-1 chance but his trainer’s observations suggest he could be each way value at that price. “I rate him the dark horse of the race,” says Snaith who was pleased with the way the gelding went when ridden by Fayd’Herbe in a gallop with Wild Coast on the course last Saturday. “His second to Hawwaam in the Premiers was a prep and, by not running in the Queen’s Plate, he comes into this feeling good.”

It was at this meeting four years ago that Snaith equalled the eight-winner world record for the number of races won on the same card and this time he again has the most runners with 36. Glen Kotzen has 17, Brett Crawford 15 and Candice Bass-Robinson 14.

Richard Fourie will be the only jockey riding in all 12 races but Cheyne, Fayd’Herbe and Morne Winnaar each have 11 mounts. Interestingly Ryan Moore, who has never ridden at Kenilworth before, will get the chance to assess the course on mounts for Sean Tarry in the two R5 million CTS sales races. He also rides the part-Coolmore owned Dynasty’s Blossom for Crawford in the Western Cape Stayers.

Candice Bass-Robinson and Domeyer hope to repeat last year’s Bidvest Majorca win with Clouds Unfold but seemingly Front And Centre will prove a major threat despite managing only fifth when odds-on for the Cartier Paddock Stakes last time.

“I think she didn’t stay the nine furlongs that day,” said Crawford. “She is unbeaten over seven and she won a Group 1 over a mile. At Greyville she got away with it because of the short straight.”

By Michael Clower

Garth Puller still finds himself out in front in the KZN Trainer’s Championship approaching the mid-point of the season but he does not believe he will have the firepower to hang on to this lead or to hold on to his lofty position in the Hollywoodbets Sizzling Summer Challenge trainers’ table.

Puller has had 28 winners in KZN this season, six clear of second-placed Gavin van Zyl and eight clear of the joint third-placed trainers, Dennis Drier, Dennis Bosch and Dean Kannemeyer. Johan Janse van Vuuren and Gareth van Zyl are ten winners behind in joint sixth place.

Puller lies in second place in the Hollywoodbets Sizzling Summer Challenge trainers’ table, five points behind leader Paul Lafferty. The latter is on 485.5 points, Puller is on 480.5 points and they are followed by Alyson Wright on 414 points, Duncan Howells on 352.5 points and Gareth van Zyl on 341 points. The competition finishes at the end of February, so Puller and Lafferty still have eleven meetings to negotiate. 

Puller is in fact the 2.86/1 favourite with Hollywoodbets to win the Challenge with Lafferty on 3.03/1 and Wright on 5/1.     

However, Puller said, “Neither the Championship or the Challenge are foremost on my mind. I don’t want to be influenced into running horses for the sake of running them. My main aim is to keep the horses happy and fresh so I can keep them racing, or in other words keep them good enough to run often enough without hurting them. I started the season well and have been in front ever since. But this is a relatively weak time of the year and I don’t think I will have the firepower in the SA Champions Season. I have been told I am five points behind in the Challenge table but I might run out of horses as I have a lot of two-year-old unraced horses but not many older horses.”

Two of Puller’s best horses Brooklyn and Bay Tibbs will shortly be going in to quarantine on their long journey to join David Ferraris’ stable in Hong Kong. 

By David Thiselton