Garth Puller leads the KZN trainer’s championship at this early stage of the season.

He said whilst he was always striving to improve and build his clientele he was realistic enough to admit he did not have the firepower yet to hang on to this lead.

He said, “We usually have a good run at the beginning of the season but I know how these things change and we don’t have the top horses to compete with the big yards in the Champions Season.”

The former jockey great has 68 horses at present although a lot of them are youngsters.

He has had 15 winners this season from 100 runners, so his strike rate is 15%.

Among the promising ones is the three-year-old Gimmethegreenlight filly Travelling Light, who won by 4,80 lengths on debut last season before finishing unplaced in the Grade 1 Allan Robertson Championship. She has had two starts since in a handicap over 1000m at Hollywoodbets Greyville for a narrow second and a win in a Graduation Plate over that same course and distance. Her merit rating is 99. She is currently resting on the farm after being given her African Horse Sickness vaccinations. 

Puller said, “She is very fast and will be back in training in three weeks’ time.”

Puller’s long-striding four-year-old Jackson gelding Jack Of Hearts has won his last two starts over 1950m and 2200m respectively. The Jacksons are starting to shine throughout the country and Puller rates Jack Of Hearts “an improving stayer.”

His promising three-year-old colts Bay Tibbs (Bold Silvano) and Brass Bell (Pathfork) are both owned by Hong Kong residents and Puller expected them to soon be on their way overseas to David Ferraris’s yard.

Puller is hard working and arrives at Summerveld at 20 to four every morning and only leaves at half-past six in the evening.

He was known as a fine horseman during his riding years so it is not surprising he has become a good trainer.

Meanwhile, the nine times KZN champion trainer Dennis Drier is currently lacking in big race firepower and will only be sending a “low key” string down for the Cape Summer Of Champions season this year.

Drier is sure to make a bold bid for a tenth KZN championship, although he is currently only in fourth place with nine winners gained at a strike rate of 10,59%.

Dennis Bosch and Gavin Van Zyl are in joint second place on eleven winners apiece, achieved at a strike rate of 18,97% and 17,19% respectively.

Johan Janse van Vuuren is in joint-fourth place with Drier on nine winners.

Former KZN champion trainer Duncan Howells is in a rebuilding phase following the departure of his chief owner Dave McLean, but he has still managed to send out seven winners this season to put him in joint sixth place on the KZN log together with Alyson Wright.

Next on the log with six winners each are Tony Rivalland, Kumaran Naidoo, Dean Kannemeyer and Brett Crawford. 

Drier and Howells have dominated the KZN championship over the last few years.

However, this season it looks to be more open, although Drier is still the overwhelming favourite to win it.

By David Thiselton

Head Honcho should be able to get the better of Tap O’Noth in the clash of the titans in the TAB Telebet Pinnacle Stakes at Durbanville today.

The six-year-old, ridden this time by Richard Fourie, has not raced at the country course before and has not been seen since dropping back in the closing stages of the Vodacom Durban July. But he was good enough to take third in the Sun Met and on adjusted merit ratings he has 4.5kg in hand.

It is easy to picture him going off in front at a strong gallop and being difficult to peg back. “I think he will suit the course,” says Andre Nel. “I was really pleased with the way he went when he went there recently for a gallop.

“He is the type of horse that can run well fresh and I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins but it is a prep run and I want to give him at least two of them before he goes for something like the Premier.”

Tap O’Noth, winner of the 2017 Cape Guineas, has not raced since the Met in January. “We gelded him and then sent him to the farm but he has come back a much better horse,” reports Vaughan Marshall. “He has been doing well and he galloped on the course with One World recently but whether he is quite sharp enough I am not sure.”

Nel has three others in the race but, while Kampala Campari is far from certain to run, he expects a good showing from Capoeira – “He is doing very well and I think he is worth watching.”

Most bookmakers had Head Honcho favourite at around 16-10 and Tap O’Noth on 7-2 yesterday morning but those odds will shorten considerably if Kampala Campari comes out. Man About Town is probably the pick of the remainder but it will be a surprise if he comes home in front.

Mr Cobbs has the form to change Candice Bass-Robinson’s luck in the Play Soccer 6 Maiden (race two) but Anthony Andrews’ mount has a difficult draw to overcome and preference is for Stormin Norman, the second of eight rides for S’Manga Khumalo.

Imperial Rage was the stable’s second string when going under by less than a neck to Veratrum early last month and the Justin Snaith runner may have come on enough to account for Lit in the Interbet.co.za Maiden (race six).

By Michael Clower

The progeny of the late Soft Falling Rain proved their father was going to be a great loss last season and they now appear to be blossoming as three-year-olds.

Last weekend Soft Falling Rain’s daughter Gin Fizz excelled against older horses and this weekend his son Donderweer stole the show.

This big Paul Matchett-trained Fanie Bronkhorst-owned gelding had a hard task in his race, a Progress Plate over 1200m, in just his third career start. He faced the like of Grade 1-winner Eden Roc, Grade 2-winning filly Cockney Pride and other useful sorts, although as a one-time winner he did receive 6kg from Eden Roc. He opened at 20/1 but looked a picture in the preliminaries and shortened into 11/1.

Ridden by Jarryd Penny, he showed good pace from draw three and took the lead. However, Cockney Pride, carrying just half-a-kilogram more than him, was still under the hands when cruising to his quarters in the straight. But then Donderweer showed himself to be a useful prospect, quickening and using his big action and big heart to keep the filly at bay. The Pecan Hill Stud-bred gelding won by three-quarters-of-a-length. Dublin Quays and Informative were third and fourth respectively and Eden Roc was 3, 25 lengths back in fifth.

Donderweer has scope for further improvement and another encouraging point is that the filly Gin Fizz, who is similarly speedy, had enjoyed the step up to 1450m the previous weekend.

She pulled early in the Grade 2 Joburg Spring Fillies and Mares Challenge but thereafter relished the good pace and in the end was only beaten a quarter-of-a-length by the highly regarded four-year-old Vistula.

Donderweer won his second career start well over 1000m on the Vaal Classic track on September 26. He showed good speed, a fine turn of foot and plenty of resolve to see off the Captain Of All gelding Captain Hindsight.

Jockey Devin Habib called him “well above average” in the post-race interview.

Bronkhorst added he had always shown good work at home and believed he could “go on from here”, although he revealed he did not have “the best legs.” He also revealed how he was named. He said the Soft Falling Rain’s are the opposite of what his name suggests, they are “like thunderstorms.”

On Saturday Donderweer’s maiden win was franked in the first race on the card over 1450m, won by Bouncing Tigger, who had finished a 6,25 length third in the September 26 Maiden.

The champion freshman sire last season was Captain Of All with 14 winners of 16 races but Soft Falling Rain also had 14 individual winners and they won 17 races but they did not accumulate as much stakes.

Soft Falling Rain’s percentage of winners to runners was 40% while Vercingetorix’s 13 winners were at a percentage of 41,9% and Captain Of All’s were at 36.8%.

This season Soft Falling Rain has had six winners of seven races and his winners to runners percentage is 18.2%, the same as Captain Of All’s, but it is still early days and they are some way behind the new boom sire on the block Vercingetorix, who is the leading sire of three-year-olds this season Vercingetorix’s 12 winners of 17 races this season have come at a winners to runners percentage of 31.6%.

Soft Falling Rain has produced one stakes winner to date, the Grade 2 Debutante Stakes winner Montreal Mist, while Gin Fizz is multiple stakes placed and the colt Alramz has been twice stakes placed.

Soft Falling Rain’s second crop sold well and 22 lots fetched an average of R334,535 at session one of the National Yearling Sales.

He will have three full crops.

Both Soft Falling Rain and Vercingetorix were trained by Mike De Kock, another feather in the cap for the South Africa’s most internationally celebrated trainer.

By David Thiselton

The Mike De Kock-trained Soqrat would probably be of the quiet unassuming sort if he were human as he is not at all imposing and has impeccable manners.

However, this does not prevent him from being an exceptional racehorse and he proved this again at Turffontein on Saturday under Callan Murray.

He once again obeyed his jockey’s every command in the Pinnacle Stakes event over 1600m, going to the front from a wide draw and then switching off, allowing Flying Winger to take the lead.

In the straight he crept up under the hands and when asked the question changed into a higher gear.

He was soon forging clear and won easing up by 1,10 lengths from his heavily backed and running-on stablemate Like A Panther, who was returning from a layoff but nevertheless shortened from 20/1 to 113/20. Flying Winger was a 2,75 length third.

Soqrat was comfortably best in at the weights but did have to carry 62kg, no easy task first up, so this was a fine start to a season in which the races he will contest like the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate might well see their strongest ever renewals.

By David Thiselton

Pomodoro is the latest in a long list of headline makers left by his famous sire Jet Master and three of his progeny won in one meeting at Turffontein last week.

All three, Ballon D’Or, Golden Belle and Westlife are trained by Pomodoro’s former trainer Sean Tarry and were ridden by Raymond Danielson.

The first two were bred by Klawervlei Stud and the other by Guillaume Stud.

Tarry has the midas touch in the sales and breeding rings and by now people should know to sit up and take notice when he supports the unfashionable.

Pomodoro could not have been considered a highly sort after sire when he first appeared and Tarry also supported the Jet Master sire Skitt Skizzle, who was not a stakes winner but is proving a useful sire.

Pomodoro’s five lots at this year’s Cape Premier Yearling Sale sold for an average of R295,000.

The former Vodacom Durban July winner can be considered a miracle horse as he had to be nursed back from serious illness by Baker and McVeigh veterinarians while still in training.

His best progeny to date are the twice Grade 1-winner Return Flight and the four time Grade 1-placed Cirillo.

By David Thiselton