Paul Lafferty said there was a valid excuse for the below par run of his highly regarded horse Share Holder on eLan Gold Cup day and he expects this horse to be a feature race contender this season.

The strapping Zoffany colt started a weak favourite for the Grade 2 Haval Motors South Africa Umkhomazi Stakes over 1200m but could only manage a 6,80 length eleventh.

However, Lafferty put it down to there being no size eight aluminium bar shows being available throughout the country that week so they had to put on normal shoes for the race and he returned with his “foot on fire.”

He had earlier ripped part of his hoof off when overreaching on the training track which explained his long layoff after an impressive 3,90 length debut win over 1000m at Scottsville on February 6.

Before his Gold Cup day engagement he had impressed in a Barrier Trial.

Lafferty felt he would likely follow the same route as his stalwart Harry’s Son did in the 2014/2015 season so the Graham Beck Stakes and the Dingaans, run over 1400m and 1600m respectively on Turffontein Standside, are the likely first targets. 

By David Thiselton

Mike de Kock said he was taking a one to two year view on getting his pending training operation in Australia going and thus his star horse Hawwaam would be racing in South Africa for the whole of this season.

De Kock commenting on Hawwaam’s starting woes said, “He is fine in the pens, in my opinion he just doesn’t need a handler, he becomes unsettled when they are standing above him.”

Hawwaam will thus be on course for the three-way clash of the century in next year’s Sun Met.

The country’s three big guns, Do It Again, Rainbow Bridge and Hawwaam are due to do battle in that race.

They were set to face each other in the Vodacom Durban July last month in an Equus Horse Of The Year decider.

However, Hawwaam had to be scratched after charging the gate and hurting himself.

Fortunately, the lameness was temporary and he was sound by the time he had returned to the parade ring.

Do It Again went on to beat Rainbow Bridge by 0,40 lengths despite giving him half-a-kilogram, thus exacting revenge for his 0,75 length defeat in the weight for age Sun Met.

De Kock still has to have stables built in Australia, work through the red tape of visa requirements and send staff over for work experience.

He said Hawwaam would obviously be a candidate to run for him over there when things were in place but it would all depend on the instructions of his owner Sheikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. 

By David Thiselton

Justin Snaith has had two significant retirees from his stable, Oh Susanna and Snowdance, who will both be standing at Drakenstein Stud, and the rest of his top horses have just come back into light work.

Snowdance will be covered by Drakenstein’s new stallion Lancaster Bomber, who is the only Group 1-winning son of leading international sire War Front to be standing in either South Africa or the UK. A decision on who Oh Susanna will be covered by is yet to be made. 

Among the horses back in light work at the Snaith yard is Equus Horse Of The Year Do It Again.

Next year’s Sun Met is being billed already as the clash of the three titans, Do It Again, Rainbow Bridge and Hawwaam, but Snaith said, “There will be more, it is going to be a very competitive season and there are a lot of good horses around.”

One of the challenges he is facing is how to place General Franco, who was lumbered with a 103 merit rating after his debut win.

Snaith felt his career was set back six months by this rating and felt the handicappers should have allowed him one more run, where they could have seen something more, “before penalising him so drastically.”

He said the plate races usually did not stand up due to lack of entries and putting him as a young three-year-old into a handicap with such a merit rating might discourage him.

His plan was therefore to nurse him at home and build him into what the handicappers believed him to be.

He said the same had happened to Oh Susanna and the handicappers had been proven right but added if they were not proven right in this case he would be dealing with a three-time winner at most due to the mark he was being asked to start off with.

Snaith said General Franco had returned a bit shin sore after his second start but it was not enough to explain his poor last place finish.

He said jockey Greg Cheyne had reported him to be the “first horse gone” in that race.

Snaith was nonetheless looking forward to another good season and said he would have one of his strongest recent strings. He added he had particularly exciting two-year-olds.

He said his first call rider Richard Fourie would be one of his biggest assets considering the current jockey situation in South Africa where a few big names are on the sidelines while others have left for Hong Kong.

By David Thiselton

One World, winner of more than R3.3 million and beaten only twice in nine starts, may bid to resume his winning ways in the Matchem Stakes at Durbanville on October 5.

Vaughan Marshall said: “I haven’t worked out a programme for One World yet but he could possibly start in the Matchem.”

The four-year-old won a progress plate on the day of the Matchem last year and his other victories included the Langeman, Concorde Cup, CTS 1600 and the Winter Guineas. His only two defeats came in the Cape Guineas (third) when things did not go according to the trainer’s plan and in the Winter Classic in which he finished second to Vardy. Marshall last won the Matchem with Tales Of Bravery in 2010.

Stable companion Captain Of Stealth, who raised hopes for big race glory when romping home by wide margins in his first two starts, is to have his injury rescanned at the end of October but at this stage there is no suggestion that the original prognosis of being out for ten months is likely to be changed. He did the damage by rapping himself below the joint and just above the coronet.

By Michael Clower

The Hollywoodbets Greyville poly has an eight race meeting on Sunday and punters could have a better time of it than they did on Wednesday.

In the first leg of the PA over 2000m the three-year-old Greys Inn gelding Uncle Frank is 2,5kg under sufferance but his maiden win over 1600m has worked out well as the 1,75 length runner up has won his next two starts. He also looks likely to enjoy this trip as quite a big immature sort who ran on well in that last start. However, he can’t be bankered with that hard task facing him. The back up is Samsonite, who won the last time he tried this course and distance and is now well drawn off an effective five point higher mark.

In the first leg of the Pick 6 Indigo Tractor and Velvet Season are both hard knocking course and distance suited four-year-olds and must both be included. The former is given the vote as he has a better draw. Myrrh is a frustrating sort to follow as he has ability but does not really put it in. However, he has a plum draw and will relish the step back up in trip, so is an outsider to consider. 

In the first leg of the Jackpot over 2000m Highveld raider Gottalottaluv has always had plenty of talent and has a fine record over this trip with one win and four seconds in seven starts. If Luke Ferraris can find a good position for her from a tricky draw of six she should be right there, although this is the Var mare’s first run on the poly. Irish Wonder Girl is a four-year-old filly on the up and being by Irish Flame she loves this sort of trip. She has a plum draw of four and is going for a hattrick, so will be a big threat.

In the fifth over 1200m Johnny Black had some useful Cape Town form and after two runs in KZN should be cherry ripe. He stayed on over the tough Scottsville 1000m on his first KZN start so should enjoy this step up in trip. He has a plum draw of five and is effectively two points lower in the merit ratings so looks the one to beat. Bestday Of Mylife has been running over further in the strong centre of Cape Town, where merit ratings often become suppressed due to the high class of horse. From pole position he will be an interesting runner and must be included. Missibaba has two wins and three places in seven starts over this course and distance and has been competitive off this sort of mark before, so she could be a threat, although it is never easy against the boys.

In the sixth over 1200m Cherry Road starts off handicapping off a reasonable mark having showed natural pace on debut over 1000m and finding extra. She looks likely to relish the step up in trip, but does have a tough draw of ten. La Valette also has a tricky draw of eight but has the form to go close. Keep It Real ran an improved race last time under the improving 4kg claimer Jabu Jacobs and from a plum draw of four she could be in the shake up.

In the seventh over 1400m Mastagambit comes off a flying win over course and distance and has a fine chance of following up. Triple Fate Line is fulfilling the early promise he showed and this trip should be ideal so from draw two he can overcome the effective two point raise he was given for his 1600m win last time and be right there. Zanzibarian runs fresh over a trip sharper than ideal but has some class and will be staying on so must be included.      

In the last race over 1400m Cavalieri went close on debut over 1400 on the turf. He was green and should improve, Jalapeno has a wide draw but has shown enough to be able to earn. Red Hot Night is a hard knocking distance suited four-year-old with a plum draw so he has to be included too.

The meeting starts with an uninspiring 1000m maiden for fillies and mares where the right one looks to be Dune Dance, who improved with blinkers on over this trip last time and was a touch unlucky as she was bumped early. 

By David Thiselton