Legal Eagle has -a little surprisingly perhaps – been installed favourite as short as 18-10 for the Premier’s Champions Challenge at Turffontein on May 5.

Legal Eagle (Liesl King)

The dual Horse of the Year’s suspected vulnerability over 2 000m was confirmed when he was beaten by 25-1 shot Deo Juvente in last year’s race. He managed only fourth when tried over the distance again in the Sun Met and, although he went off favourite once more, his price was 57-20.

World Sports Betting makes Triple Crown winner Abashiri second favourite at 11-2 for the Grade 1 with last year’s third Nother Russia next on 8-1. Deo Juvente is a 45-1 shot this time while French Navy (fourth last year) is quoted at 35-1.

Glen Kotzen is going to send his Cape Derby third Pack Leader to Durban as well as Eyes Wide Open who won that race.

He said: “Both will go for the Daisy Guineas (May 6) and the Daily News (June 2) but Pack Leader could be the July horse as he is likely to have less weight while Eyes Wide Open could go for the Champions Cup.”

Both horses carry the yellow and blue checked diamond colours of Hugo Hattingh’s Chrigor Stud but Pack Leader’s breeders Bruce and Ann Nicholas are partners in the Philanthropist colt.  Kotzen famously made a clean sweep of the Guineas, Daily News and Vodacom Durban July with Big City Life in 2009.

By Michael Clower

It took a little longer than expected! Stuck on 284 winners, Lyle Hewitson needed just one more winning ride to eclipse the number of victories by an apprentice after he had equaled Gavin Lerena’s mark of 284 wins at Greyville on Sunday.

With almost a full card of rides for Sean Tarry at The Vaal yesterday, it proved a frustrating afternoon until he finally broke the ice on Shenanigans, his last mount of the afternoon for Tarry.

Lyle Hewitson

It was fitting that his record-breaking ride was for Tarry as the champion trainer has been a pillar in the 20-year-old Hewitson’s career.

Hewitson only comes out of his apprenticeship early next year and after he won on Roy Had Enough and reached the magical 284 wins on Sunday, he said: “I’ve still got nine months to run and I intend to build up as big a lead as possible during the time.”

Hewitson had extensive work riders experience and was crowned champion before being accepted at the SA Jockey Academy after matriculating at Kearsney College and his apprenticeship was cut to three years.

He had his first ride as a fully-fledged apprentice at Scottsville on March 6, 2016 and trainers were quick to capitalise on his experience and 4kg claim. In a little over three months 60 winners were in the bag and he was in with the big boys without his apprentice claim.

It was more than 10 years ago that Lerena broke the original record set up by Michael Roberts of 260.

While exact stats on Roberts’ performance are not available, we do know Lerena took 3,326 rides to reach his record while Nooresh Juglall, who rode 248 winners as an apprentice, took 3,237 rides. Hewitson has ridden his 285 winners in 2,790 rides.

By Andrew Harrison

Flying Free has toured the country in his short career and although only managing a single victory in his 11 starts he races off a hefty MR of 97 that sees him carrying top weight in the Track & Ball Stanger Handicap that heads a testing Greyville card – all races on the poly.

Flying Free was close to the top of the pile as a juvenile, finishing a close-up fourth to Purple Diamond in the Gr2 Golden Horseshoe on July day and was caught late in two subsequent starts.

Founding Father (Candiese Marnewick)

Gavin van Zyl then shipped him to the Highveld where he disappointed in the Graham Beck Stakes behind the then promising but now deceased Zen Arcade.

His best run to date was in the Dingaans, beaten just over a length by Monks Hood, and not having much luck in the running from his outside draw.

He makes his poly debut under a hefty burden but strikes as a horse with some potential and could prove up to the task although it will not be easy against some hard-knocking older horses.

He was firm at 11-2 with raceday sponsors Track & Ball early yesterday.

Founding Father, 5-2 ante-post favourite, has registered all four of his victories on the poly and comes off a recent demolition of the game and consistent El Ciberano for which he took an eight-point hike in the handicap. Judging by the gaps between his races he is obviously a horse with issues so Dennis Bosch ensures that he is fully tuned when making it to the track.

Stable companion Varallo has attracted the early money, in from 7-2 to 33-10. The gelding has been disappointing given his form in some useful company and he surrendered tamely when fourth behind Sunset Eyes at Scottsville. That was however, his first run for Bosch and his first since gelding, so can possibly be given another chance. Certainly, a win would not be out of turn.

Louis Goosen has enjoyed an 18.6% winning strike rate since arriving in Ashburton and one of his stable stalwarts is the giant Haddington who had one win behind his name in 21 starts before arriving in KZN. His next seven starts resulted in four wins and three in the money and another win looks possible when he lines up in the Track & Ball Shelly Beach Handicap. A mile on the poly is possibly at the bottom of his optimum range but he is a relentless galloper and barring accidents should be involved.

The Brett Crawford / Anthony Delpech combination is proving lucrative to follow and Haddington could have his hands full fighting off Border Control, favourite at 3-1 with Haddington and Subtropical bracketed at 4-1. Border Control’s last win was over course and distance beating Forceful Rush and he has been close-up at his last two.

Prosperous is the early market mover in the Track & Ball Pietermaritzburg maiden, opening leg of the Pick 6. The Candice Bass-Robinson-trained filly has been improving slowly in soft ground but the initial 22-1 on offer has been snapped up and she is now 15-1 but Dark Sienna remains 2-1 favourite although there are five horses quoted at 5-1 and shorter in a race that typifies a difficult card.

By Andrew Harrison

Defending Vodacom Durban July champion trainer Candice Bass-Robinson said she would be unlikely to have a runner in the big race this year and her chief focus of this year’s SA Champions Season will be the Scottsville Festival of Speed meeting where she will likely run Dutch Philip, Live Life and Magical Wonderland.

Her best male sprinter Dutch Phillip, who became an instant multi-millionaire when winning the US$500,000 CTS 1200 on Sun Met day, has been merit rated 115, so his task won’t be easy in the Grade 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint over 1200m on May 26 at Scottsville. Bass-Robinson said this three-year-old What A Winter colt was the only one of her horses who would be a possibility for the Grade 1 weight for age Mercury Sprint, although she was not yet sure what route he would be taking.

Dutch Philip (Liesl King)

Bass-Robinson also won the CTS 1200 last year with the filly Live Life and she is coming off a fine third place finish in the Grade 1 Betting World Cape Flying Championship over 1000m. The Grade 1 SA Fillies Sprint over 1200m is her obvious target. This Trippi four-year-old has responded well to the use of a new bit after choking up on her seasonal reappearance in the Laisserfaire Stakes over 1100m. However, her two best efforts in three subsequent runs were both over 1000m. In her other run over 1200m she was perhaps too handy, so settling in the running and finding cover will still be a slight issue at Scottsville. She raced twice at the Pietermaritzburg track last season, finishing a narrow third in the Grade 3 Poinsettia Stakes over 1200m and a disappointing 5,65 length ninth in the SA Fillies Sprint.

The three-year-old What A Winter filly Magical Wonderland will also be going for the SA Fillies Sprint and will likely be the yard elect. She went into the CTS 1200 unbeaten in five sprints and had proved her class by also finishing second and fourth respectively in the Grade 2 WCF Championship over 1400m and the Grade 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas. However, sprinting is her forte, and starting 11/10 favourite for the CTS 1200 she finished a good two length third, 1,65 lengths clear of the next best filly. Bass-Robinson did not mention whether Magical Wonderland would be earmarked for the Grade 2 Tibouchina over 1400m two weeks after the SA Fillies Sprint, but she would be a good candidate for that race.

She mentioned Ollivander and Leaves Of Grass as two other horses who would be among the smallest Bass yard SA Champions season string for many seasons.

The former, a four-year-old Silvano gelding, has achieved numerous stakes places from 1800m up to 2800m. In his penultimate start he finished a 2,05 length third in the Grade 2 Western Cape Stayers and in his only other attempt at a staying race, he finished third in last year’s Grade 3 Winter Derby. The 99 merit rated-gelding looks likely to be a candidate for the Gold Cup and other middle-distance and staying events.

Leaves Of Grass, an Australian-bred four-year-old filly, won the Listed Jamaica Handicap over 2000m last time out when 2kg under sufferance off a 76 merit rating. She has been raised to an 84, but minor features look to be her target.

Bass-Robinson said her hopes of having a July runner would rest on any of her three-year-olds excelling in the Cape Winter classics. However, after mentioning two candidates for that series, Selangor Cup winner Rocket Countdown and the improving Ben-Hur, she added they had some way to go to be up to July standard.

By David Thiselton

Featured Image: Candice Bass-Robinson (hamishNIVENPhotography)

Vodacom Durban July hero Marinaresco and Sun Met runner-up Last Winter fly out for their 90-day quarantine stint in Mauritius next Monday.

Dean Kannemeyer, who has Hong Kong ambitions in December for Last Winter, is relieved that the decision was taken for the horse to leave the country this month rather than travel after running in the Durban July.

He said: “It means that we have plenty of time for him to recover and get acclimatised. Had we waited for the July that might not have been the case.”

Cape Town racing returns to Durbanville for four consecutive meetings on Saturday with a further two in April. The course will stage its first two-year-old races since February 2016.

More use is being made of Durbanville since the racing surface was improved and there are 27 meetings scheduled there this year compared with 29 on the Kenilworth summer course and 25 on the winter course.

In 2016, Durbanville’s last full year of operation, there were 16 meetings at the country course – primarily in February and September/October but now there will be at least one meeting a month with the exception of May, November and December.

Betting turnover there used to be low relative to Kenilworth but, according to manager Dean Diedericks, it has improved significantly since the re-opening.

By Michael Clower