With a feature race stakes pot of some R30-million for owners and another R17-million also available to them for supporting events during the three-month feast of high-class thoroughbred racing from May to July, South Africa’s Champions Season in KwaZulu-Natal is ready and set to blast off at Greyville in Durban at the end of next week.

The Independent On Saturday evening race meeting at the Theatre of Champions on Friday, May 3, will open the feast of 51 feature events that will attract the best horses from the leading stables in the country, promising racegoers, general racing fans and the average public plenty of excitement and entertainment throughout the three-month programme.

Champions Season, one of the biggest and most comprehensive festivals of racing in the world that attracts international interest, includes feature race involvement of all categories of racing from the exciting juveniles to the mature stars over distances from 1 000m to 3 200m with Africa’s greatest racing event, the world famous R4.25-million, Vodacom Durban July, standing out as the iconic centerpiece of the festival and the 13 Grade 1 races to be run.

A total of 34 graded races will be staged with the R600 000, Grade 2 KRA Guineas, R500 000, Grade 2 KRA Fillies Guineas and the R500 000, Grade 2 Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes getting the festival action under way.

Traditionally, the R500 000, Grade 2 World Sports Betting 1900 at Greyville on May 18 is where the preparation for the Vodacom Durban July begins “on site” and over the years a number of runners that have won the tough 1 900m race have gone on to win the premier event.

There are five “super” days during the season, the first being the unique Tsogo Sun Sprint meeting at Scottsville in Pietermaritzburg on May 25 where four Grade 1 sprints over 1 200m will be run. The best speed horses in South Africa gather at the venue for the R1-million Tsogo Sun Sprint, the R750 000 South African Fillies Sprint and the first two Grade 1 events for juveniles, the R750 000 Gold Medallion and the R750 000 Allan Robertson Championship for fillies.

The country’s top three-year-olds take centre stage a week later on June 1 in the R2-million, Grade 1 Daily News 2000 and the R1-million, Grade 1 Woolavington 2000 at Greyville. It is from the three-year-old ranks that the champions of the future emerge and a number of winners at this meeting have gone on to win the Vodacom Durban July, other major events and international success.

The battle for a place in the final 18-horse field for the Vodacom Durban July will close on June 8 with the running of the R1-million, Grade 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge and the Grade 3 Cup Trial with the meeting also featuring the Grade 2 Tibouchina Stakes and six other exciting feature events.

With the feature programme continuing at pace over the following weeks the Grade 2 Post Merchants will provide a “sprint breather” before the Track & Ball “Derby” and Track & Ball “Oaks” at Scottsville with the KZN Breeders Club adding excitement to the festival with the eight-race programme for horses qualifying under the terms of the KZN Breeders Series headed by the R1-million KZN Breeders Million Mile.

Vodacom Durban July day dawns on Saturday, July 6, when some 50 000 excited fans will fill the Greyville racecourse for the 12-race feast headed by the R4.25-million, iconic Grade 1 “July” over 2 200m. With an exciting entertainment programme, fashion shows and parties raging in the massive marquee village, racing goes through to the evening including the R1-million, Grade 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes and the two Grade 2 Juvenile clashes over 1 400m, the Durban Golden Horseshoe and the Golden Slipper.

The racing action continues through July and includes the New Turf Carriers Rider Cup where provincial teams will do battle before Champions Season comes to a dramatic close with the grand finale on Saturday, July 27, featuring the famous R1.25-million, eLAN Gold Cup over 3 200m, the R1-million World Sports Betting Champions Cup over 1 800m, the R1-million Grade 1 Mercury Sprint, the Grade 1 Premiers Champion Stakes and the Grade 1 Thekwini Stakes, both worth R750 000.

Ends

The racing future of Horse of the Year Oh Susanna hangs in the balance after the 2018 Sun Met winner managed only fourth when starting favourite for last Saturday’s HSH Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes. But Justin Snaith has vowed to make no more overnight attempts to beat the altitude.

He said yesterday: “That was my final effort and I won’t be doing it again. There are certain things in life that you can beat but unfortunately nature isn’t one of them, and I have come to the point where I think I have tried enough – barring sending the horse to Jo’burg for three or four months beforehand. Indeed I had a sleepless night worrying about the altitude and about her travelling up to Jo’burg in the dark.

“The horse is fine – it just didn’t work out – but we are discussing her future at the moment including whether or not she will carry on racing.”

The Drakenstein homebred has already earned a place in South African racing history as the first three-year-old filly to win the Met since Chair Lady in 1902.

By Michael Clower

Justin Snaith introduces a pair of potentially high class two-year-olds at Kenilworth today and, despite certain reservations on the part of their trainer, it just might be worth siding with both of them.

General Franco, a R4 million CTS sale topper by wonder horse Frankel out of a Kingmambo mare from the family of Pilsudksi, has already been backed from 22-10 to 14-10 for the opening Maiden Juvenile Plate while the dogs have been barking about the Captain Al filly Amy Johnson who appeals at 9-2 for the fillies race 35 minutes later.

“They are both exciting babies but they have got to go out there and prove it,” says Snaith. “I don’t think General Franco is a 1 000m horse and whether Amy Johnson can win over the trip first time up is also a hard ask.

“General Franco is a beautiful individual and is everything I hoped he would turn into. We will give him a little bit of a chance early on – I want him to settle and train on to go round the turn – but if he fires up at the end I think he will be in the shake-up. Indeed I will be disappointed if he isn’t.”

Snaith also runs the more experienced Shinnecock  (22-10) – “He has had two decent runs and is very quick.” However he was beaten at odds-on on both his starts so punters may fight shy of him.

Fighter (8-1) showed promise first time and Paul Reeves says: “He has his work cut out but he will run a nice race.”

S’Manga Khumalo rides in the first three races for Joey Ramsden and 9-1 chance Stormin Norman (a R550 000 Var colt from the family of Horse Chesnut) can be expected to go well. Riding arrangements suggest that 7-1 newcomer Chaac (a R250 000 Soft Falling Rain) is preferred to fellow newcomer Three Two Charlie – “Chaac is a nice horse but he might be run off his feet over 1 000m,” fears Candice Bass-Robinson.

Most of the money so far in the fillies race has been for the Vaughan Marshall R500 000 Captain Al Mirage (backed from 7-2 to 18-10 with WSB) but Amy Johnson might just be good enough. “There is something about her and she could have that X factor,” says her trainer. “She is going to go close and, if she is as good as we think she is, she will be impressive.”

But don’t ignore Sailing Ship despite her 10-1 price. Candice Bass-Robinson says she could be ready enough “if the 1 000m does not prove too quick.” The betting also points to Ibra (33-10) even though she made a noise first time and was scratched with a dirty trach wash 17 days ago.

Drama Queen appeals in the fillies winners’ race (2.40pm) and the fact that 5-2 favourite Heaven’s Embrace (race six) is Anton Marcus’s only ride of the day is a tip in itself.

By Michael Clower

After discussion between Handicappers, Camphoratus had her rating increased from 95 to 105 following her last-stride win in the Grade 1 Empress Club Stakes over 1600m at Turffontein (standside) on Saturday.  There is no reason to doubt Camphoratus’s performance as she did win the Grade 3 Flamboyant Stakes at Greyville in December and she has now won in her first attempt at Grade 1 level.

In assessing the race, it was agreed that the right key horse to use was third placed Nafaayes to the 103 she actually achieved when she won the Grade 2 Gauteng Fillies Guineas (over the same course-and-distance as the Empress Club Stakes) and again when she finished second in the Grade 1 SA Fillies Classic. Nafaayes has been highly consistent and seems to be a logical choice of line horse.

Running Brave goes up from 99 to 104 after she finished a close second in the Empress Club.  She had finished behind Nafaayes in both the Gauteng Fillies Guineas and in the SA Fillies Classic and it seems obvious enough that she must have run a better race here.  Nafaayes was dropped from 107 to 106 and is now the equal of fifth placed Celtic Sea (whom she also beat in the Gauteng Fillies Guineas).

In other changes, Oh Susanna was dropped from 119 to 118 and so remains higher than Lady In Black (117), who finished second behind Oh Susanna in the Grade 1 Paddock Stakes during the Cape summer season.  Fiorella drops from 102 to 100, Fresnaye was dropped from 110 to 108 following two below-par efforts since she arrived on the Highveld.  Ghaalla has been dropped from 102 to 100, Cascapedia goes from 109 to 107, and Al Danza has had her rating cut from 104 to 102.

NHA

A third successive Langerman winner for Vaughan Marshall? And could this be yet another Captain Al-sired Cape Guineas winner for him?

Doubtless the Milnerton trainer will be throwing up his hands in horror at such chicken-counting predictions but Captain Of Stealth again delivered the goods like Pegasus incarnate in the opener at Durbanville on Saturday.

Starting almost unbackable at 1-3, he was nudged into the lead almost from the off and 400m out he was asked to quicken. He was then shown the whip to make sure he got the message and, when MJ Byleveld looked back it was almost as if he himself couldn’t believe it. Twice more he turned his head round while his mount coasted home six lengths to the good.

“He was giving weight to two of the others and you are always seeing horses getting beaten when they do this,” he said, explaining why he kept looking round. “I know it’s early days yet but I think this horse is special. He is very good and his big asset is his speed.”

Marshall added: “You are always a bit worried that the first run might have been a fluke but his work at home has been phenomenal and this is what I expected. He is very good. We will see how he comes out of this but the Langerman is at the end of June and we will see how we go.”

The winner’s task was undoubtedly made a bit easier by the enforced withdrawal of Minnesota Dream but beating two previous winners by six lengths easing up takes some doing, and this is an exciting prospect even if he does not look the most straightforward of rides. On the way to the start he veered right instead of left at the bend past the stands and refused to stop until he had taken his jockey almost back into the parade ring.

Owner Pat Firestone sported a tie in his yellow and blue colours and his partner in the horse, John Habib, took things a colourful stage further with a shirt to match! “We are thrilled that the Captain came back and won so easily again,” said Firestone. “We have a lot to look forward to and we are very excited.”

Bernard Fayd’Herbe’s enforced absence cost him a winner on Celestial Storm in the next (Corne Orffer deputised) and possibly another on Lip Service. Keagan de Melo replaced him in the fillies maiden, had trouble securing a clear run and was only beaten a fast-dwindling three-quarters of a length by Bella Summer.

De Melo had some compensation on the Dean Kannemeyer-trained Var’s Boy while Justin Snaith, out of luck with Oh Susanna at Turffontein, struck with Jailhouse Rock and What A Red.

By Michael Clower