Ten horses ranging from Do It Again on a 136 merit rating down to Crown Towers on 103 will line up for Saturday’s premier weight for age mile, the Grade 1 L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate, and it will arguably be the best field seen in South Africa this century. 

There has been a record sale of early tickets for the glamorous event and there should be a vibe on course in keeping with the meeting’s status as “the Royal Ascot of South Africa.”   

Last year’s Queen’s Plate was dubbed “the race of the century” due to the presence of Do It Again, Rainbow Bridge, Undercover Agent, Soqrat, Legal Eagle and the filly Snowdance. The first four of those mentioned will be lining up again and with the addition of Hawwaam, Vardy, One World and Twist Of Fate it could be argued that it is an even better field this year, although it does not contain as many Grade 1 winners. Hat Puntano’s presence ensured seven Grade 1 winners were in the race last year, compared to five this year. 

The second lowest merit rated horse this year is the 116 merit rated Pack Leader, who did beat both Undercover Agent and Do It Again in the Grade 2 WSB Green Point Stakes over 1600m last time, although he was receiving 2kg and will now face them at level weights.

Do It Again is the Queen’s Plate title holder and is the reigning Equus Horse Of The Year as well as being the Equus Champion Miler, Champion Middle distance horse and Champion Older Male.

That he is at such big odds compared to the hot favourite Hawwaam is partly due to his below par Green Point run.

However, trainer Justin Snaith is not concerned about that outing.

He said, “It was a bit of a quiet run but it was extremely rough. He was bullied the whole way around the turn and in the straight he wasn’t going well enough and was cut off. But he also just needed the run. It was too long since his previous race.  There was nothing for him to run in and he fell asleep just sitting waiting for the Green Point. But he has now had that run plus a gallop on the Kenilworth grass last Tuesday. Under the circumstances he is going to make up a lot of ground on those that beat him in the Green Point. He is ready but it is a very good field. It’s very exciting.”

Snaith admitted that Crown Towers had been entered to ensure a good pace. This four-year-old Camelot gelding has landed the perfect draw to make the most of this role, ten out of ten. Bernard Fayd’Herbe will thus be able to decide what he is going to do as the race unfolds.

Track And Ball have the Mike de Kock pair Hawwaam and Soqrat at the top of the boards at 9/10 and 5,25/1 respectively. Do It Again and Rainbow Bridge are next best on 5,50/1 apiece and the Green Point winner Vardy is quoted at 6,5/1. One World is 14/1, Twist Of Fate and Undercover Agent are each 28/1, Pack Leader is 44/1 and Crown Towers is 66/1.

Hawwaam is a winner of eight from just nine starts. However, he can still be called unexposed as he has won most of his races with consummate ease. The one win where he did have to do a little bit of work was in the Grade 1 Daily News 2000 where he beat Twist Of Fate by 1,60 lengths, but that race did not pan out well for him. On the other hand, despite being a three-time Grade 1 winner, he has not faced horses as strong as Do It Again and Rainbow Bridge, so nobody knows exactly how good he is. He has some temperament issues and everybody in the country will be hoping there is no repeat of the starting stall antic which saw him having to be scratched from the Vodacom Durban July.

Hawwaam has drawn in pole.

Twist Of Fate is drawn two. He has a huge heart and will try his best. The trip is interesting considering he won the Politician Stakes over 1800m last year despite pulling. He could give some cheek.

Pack Leader is drawn three. This five-year-old was generally kept to longer trips in previous seasons, so is interesting here as he was dropped out from a wide draw in the Green Point and ran on well for fourth. He now has his third run after a layoff.

Do It Again is drawn four as opposed to six out of nine last year.

The Green Point winner Vardy is drawn five. He has always had class and a turn of foot and he was always going to come into his own as a four-year-old this season. He faces Rainbow Bridge, Undercover Agent and Do It Again on 2kg worse terms but should still beat them on paper, although obviously the Green Point can’t be taken at face value as most of the runners were returning from layoffs, Vardy included. 

Soqrat is drawn six and will be hoping to go one better than his narrow second last year. He is the ultimate professional as he can be turned on and off at will and he has a fine burst of speed and the ability to sustain a finish.

One World, who was runner up in the Green Point is drawn seven, He is versatile and can lead or run on from off them.

Rainbow Bridge, who has a fine turn of foot, is draw eight compared to four last year when staying on for a 3,05 length third.

Undercover Agent, who likes to be up there, is drawn nine and although courageous he looks held by Do It Again, Rainbow Bridge and Soqrat. 

This not to be missed race is off at 16h45 at Kenilworth on Saturday. 

By David Thiselton

There is a nine race meeting at the Vaal tomorrow and the exotics look the way to play it.

The meeting begins with an intriguing Maiden over 1200m which pits Makara against Masaaqaat. The former has not raced since March last year but her form is good with the highlight being a narrow loss to Mill Queen, who has gone on to be a Graded winner. Giving her extra hope after her long rest is that her chief protagonist here Masaaqaat seems to always find one to beat her despite possessing plenty of ability. Another one who could improve to be in the shake up is Malvern. She is by Oratorio so should be improving and her dam was speedy. Furthermore, Warren Kennedy now takes the ride. Samoa and Serenity could also be included in the quartet.

In the second race over 1600m Creation is not a straight forward horse but is well regarded and looks to be full of ability. He can be forgiven his disappointing last start as it was his second run after a long layoff and this 1600m down the straight should suit him. S’Manga Khumalo rides him for the third time in succession. Shenandoah River stayed on after a slow start over 1200m on debut and will also relish the step up in trip. Afraad is a R2,4 million son of Dynasty and is a half-brother to Graham Beck Stakes winner Zen Arcade. He has been disappointing to date but now gets the blinkers on.

The third over 1600m also looks like a three cornered contest. Tilmeeth is improving and having run on late over 1450m she will enjoy the step up in trip. She is a R2.6 million daughter of Captain Al and her half-sister won South Africa’s longest race, the Port Elizabeth Gold Cup over 3600m, so her pedigree also suggests she can win this. Seven Patriots has run three good races over this trip and will be a danger as will Zuluonmystoep who improved last time in her second start over this trip and should be right there if getting a better start.

In the next over 1200m the tall grey filly Sekhmet made a good impression on debut over this trip when staying on strongly to get up and the form has been franked. She starts off handicapping off a lenient mark of 77 so can follow up. Miss Khalifa is interesting stepped down in trip as she stays on well and does have done speed. The Great Queen has hard knocking form over this trip. Midnight Top was narrowly beaten by Sekhmet when they met and now gets 1kg so has a shout on paper. Jenny McGee could earn if reproducing her best.

In the fifth over 1400m Written In Stone is off a good handicap mark at present and proved he likes this trip last time when staying on strongly. Baahir is also off a competitive mark and ran on over this trip last time. Captain Chorus’s debut win over 1200m has been franked and he should relish the step up in trip so has a shout despite carrying top weight.

In the sixth over 1500m the classy pair In The Dance and Vistula should both find this in between distance ideal and will likely fight it out. Mill Queen has had an interrupted campaign but she has class and always give her all so she has to be considered.

In the seventh over 1600m Full Mast became disappointing at one stage but now appears to have come into his own and should go close after running on well in the Grand Heritage. Captain Of Tortuga also ran on well in the Grand Heritage and has a shout here. Lake Kinnaret has a sustained finish and should also be right there despite carrying top weight.

In the eighth over 1600m Elusive Butterfly is knocking on the door and is distance suited. She went close in first time cheek pieces last time and Khumalo stays aboard. Wild Date returns to the trip of her easy Maiden win and the consistent Eightfold’s Lass can’t be ignored. Jetorio is a touch disappointing but this trip might be the answer. Machali won her Maiden well over this trip but looks to have been given a harsh merit rating.

In the last race over 1600m Oh Mercy Me can get it right having improved lately to go close twice over this trip. Miss Lexi might well enjoy the step down in trip. Littlewood has a shout too.

By David Thiselton

Robert Khathi will be out of action until the end of March after breaking his arm when unseated from Twice As Sleek nearing the start of the 1 000m maiden at Kenilworth on New Year’s Eve.

Khathi, 35, said yesterday: “Twice As Sleek is a strong horse and he was handful in the parade ring. My foot came out of the irons as the groom let him go and the horse bolted. I came off just before we reached the start and I broke my left arm.  It’s one of those things but it’s unfortunate that it should have happened just as I was doing well.”

Indeed the break could hardly have come at a worse time with the Cape season heading towards its height and, even more importantly, as Khathi was beginning to establish himself as number two jockey at the all-powerful Justin Snaith operation. He had been due to ride Crown Towers in Saturday’s L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and Platinum Class in the Cartier Paddock Stakes.

Hawwaam, fractionally odds-on for the big one, pleased the Mike De Kock stable when partnered by Anton Marcus in a spin at Kenilworth on Saturday according to a report in the Sporting Post which quoted De Kock as saying: “Anton worked him over the 1 000m straight. He strode out well and he is in a good place. We are all set for Saturday and then he will go straight into the Sun Met.”

De Kock is also expected to run last season’s Cape Guineas winner Soqrat. I spoke to the trainers of the Cape Town-based runners on Saturday and all eight horses are reported on course for the country’s premier mile race which, thankfully, avoided the stakes cuts and remains an R1.5 million attraction.

Brett Crawford reports that Dynasty’s Blossom will miss the Cartier Paddock Stakes to run in the Peninsula Handicap. Glen Kotzen sends his WSB Cape Fillies Guineas third Third Runway for the Cartier Sceptre on Friday before going for the Majorca while Cape Guineas runner-up Viva Rio will use a progress plate, rather than the Politician, as a stepping stone to the Cape Derby on February 22.

By Michael Clower 

Parterre may have Tony Millard’s Hong Kong stable on his long-term agenda but a more immediate objective is next month’s Cape Derby following his success In the Interbet.co.za Handicap at Kenilworth on Saturday.

Brett Crawford, whose yard is now sponsored by Interbet, said: “The Politician on Sun Met day would probably be the right route but I will have a good look at it because the conditions are a bit funny [although a Grade 3 the weights are largely determined by merit rating] and I need to make sure that he is well in.”

This was the middle leg of a Crawford treble and Count Jack, who spearheaded the stable’s one-two in the last under Keagan de Melo, will also be seen next on Met day – but in his case the considerably more lucrative CTS 1600 with R5 million split between the first five.

Smart William, ridden like Parterre by Corne Orffer, kicked off the treble when odds-on for the Tabonline.co.za Maiden Handicap. But he fly-jumped as the starter pressed the button, was left three lengths and only caught the pace-setting King Saladin in the dying strides. “Absolutely nerve-wracking – particularly at my age!” exclaimed owner Cheryl Gabler who has had to be ultra-patient with this horse – he sat out the whole of his two and three-year-old careers after fracturing a pedal bone.

Warren Kennedy has not got where he is today – top of the log and heading towards a first championship – by getting things wrong but apparently the Cape crawl caught him out when Miraculously Ours started favourite early last month. “He came in saying he didn’t ride that very well,” recalled Glen Kotzen but the four-year-old repaid the losses – punters’ as well as the owners’ – when justifying odds of 15-10 under Morne Winnaar in the TAB Telebet Handicap.

In the days before wooden rails were largely replaced by plastic, scribes were apt to write of winning jockeys riding so close to the inner that they came back with paint on their boots. Usually it was no more than literary exaggeration but when Sandile Mbhele returned on his winner number 57 – Mario Ferreira’s well backed (12-1 to 13-2) White Lace – interviewer Grant Knowles pointed out the tell-tale evidence of contact with the rails. “It was a terrific ride,” said an admiring Vaughan Marshall, “but he was damn lucky he didn’t go over them.”

Marshall also won the 1 200m maiden with the M.J. Byleveld-ridden Speed Of Night but some of the gloss was taken off Ken and Jane Truter’s celebrations by the filly being suspended for 60 days for bursting a blood vessel.

Bernard Fayd’Herbe made it look a good deal easier than it actually was when getting the Dennis Drier-trained Perfect Air home by a head in the 2 000m handicap – “With her 61.5kg weight I felt I would have to track M.J. (Fynbos) but I thought he would pull me through longer than he did,” explained the jockey. “And I knew that Richard Fourie (Rattle Mouse) was coming for me.”

Greg Cheyne, Kennedy’s nearest pursuer but some 30 winners adrift, had no such problems on Proclaimer in the first. He was well clear from before halfway and the 7-4 favourite came home under hands and heels to give Candice Bass-Robinson and Ridgemont the honour of Cape Town’s first winner of 2020.

BLOB Orffer, Fourie and Grant Behr were each fined R 1 000 for using their whips more than the 12-stroke limit and Anthony Andrews was fined R1 500 for the same offence. If the National Horseracing Authority officials mean business with this rule they need to look at it again. The present version is not working.

By Michael Clower

Chantyman, who wanders around his yard like a pet dog is a terrier on the track, making short work of a quick field in the African Holly Handicap (Non-Black Type) at a blisteringly hot and humid Hollywoodbets Scottsville yesterday.

Obviously a stable favourite, both Dennis Bosch and rider Anton Marcus were enamoured with the win. “He has the nicest disposition and one day will make someone very happy,” said Bosch obviously referring to the gelding’s retirement from the hard grind of the racecourse. “I’m not usually an emotional person,” said Marcus. “But this horse is close to my heart. He can’t breathe, you should hear it, (when under pressure in races) but he gives it his all.”

Chantyman has only twice been out of the money in 18 starts and yesterday’s win was one of his easiest.

It was always going to be a quick race with the likes of Effortless Reward and Calvary in the line-up, so Marcus tracked the pace on the outside where Calvary, with his 4kg claimer up, was cutting the pace. Pressing Chantyman to keep up with the pace a long way out, the cards folded up front and Chantyman was singing the right tune a long way out as Marcus geared him down to a comfortable win without calling for any extra encouragement.

Earlier, Brilliant Disguise was most pundits best bet on the card and he duly obliged, rollicking home under Marcus and leading from the jump. He went down to the start sporting red ear-muffs, now standard equipment for horses that may get upset in the preliminaries but removed at the start.

They worked a treat for Brilliant Disguise who ghosted to the start and was hardly off the bit in the race.

“He’s a bit hot,” said Duncan Howells, “but if we can keep his temperament under control, he will win a few.”

It was from high to low come the second for Howells as favourite Trip To Africa trailed in last. Solid Gold set a smart pace under Serino Moodley under instruction from Michael Roberts and the regally-bred son of Rock Of Gibraltar was never in danger. “He has a few issues at the gate,” confirmed Roberts when quizzed on the gelding’s temperament, “but otherwise he’s fine. You must just let hm do what he wants and Serino gets on well with him.”

Trip To Africa jumped awkwardly and was reported lame after the race.

Whether you are an owner, trainer or punter, close finishes are what make this sport what it is. Winter Retreat, in front, then behind and then in front, will have had many hearts pumping. In front for much of the race, replacement rider Gareth Wright got the best out of Shane Humby’s filly when it counted, snatching the decision on the line as the hard-charging Electric Surge was short-circuited one jump before it counted.

It was a trying afternoon for Marcus and more pertinently Robbie Hill, with Electric Surge beaten on the line and Moon In June and Marcus suffering a similar fate next up.

Red Al and Arizona Sunset looked to have it wrapped up going down the inside rail, but Escape Club and Moon In June roared home on the outside rail to run them out of it two jumps from the line.

Apprentice Denis Schwarz, out of his time after a five-year stint at the South African Jockey Academy, has been making a name for himself with a steady supply of winners for Gary Alexander and more recently with a variety of high-profile Highveld trainers as he has honed his talents.

He indicated that he will be a regular visitor to KZN and did his reputation no harm as he guided Celebration Rock to a narrow, if somewhat fortunate, win. “He’s not a horse that you can boss around, you just have to let him do it on his own,” said Schwarz.

Possibly unluck was Letaba who ducked off a straight course under relatively inexperienced apprentice Joshwin Solomons, but to his credit, he did gather his mount and come for a second bite, only to be denied by a piece of paper.

Beaten in a couple of close-up finishes, it was not all gloom and doom for Marcus who rounded off the meeting with a quick double, bringing his afternoon total to a healthy four wins as he obliged on favourites Divine High and Han Solo to round off the day.

By Andrew Harrison