Justin Snaith realised a long-held family ambition on Saturday by winning Cape Town’s premier race, the Sun Met, and he made racing history in the process.

He regards it as the best day of his racing career as he also won two other Grade 1’s on the card and has opened up a big lead in his bid for second National Trainer’s championship.

Australian-bred Street Cry filly Oh Susanna became the first ever three-year-old filly to win the Met over its current distance of 2000m and historians have to go back to Chair Lady in 1902 to find the last three-year-old filly to win the great race.

Earlier he won the Grade 1 Betting World Cape Flying Championships with Captain Al gelding Sergeant Hardy and the Grade 1 Klawervlei Majorca Stakes with the brilliant Captain Al filly filly Snowdance and also won two other races on the card.

Snaith became concerned when Oh Susanna seemed to not be kicking on in the straight. He added, “But all of a sudden she kicked properly.”

In the end Grant van Niekerk could afford to begin celebrating 50 metres from the line, which caused a few heart stopping moments for her supporters as Last Winter flew in the final stages.

Snaith reckoned Oh Susanna had extra and would have seen off Last Winter if he had challenged earlier.

Regarding Van Niekerk’s early celebration he said, “He was very confident, he looked after the horse a little.”

Snaith said nothing had yet been discussed about Oh Susanna’s future. However, he said if she were given a “ridiculous” merit rating she would likely avoid the Vodacom Durban July. She is currently headed for a break on the farm of her owners, Drakenstein Stud.

Snowdance’s win was equally impressive and Snaith reminded, “Nothing went her way, they went flat out and she then had to sit one wide on her own for a while. She was then green in front and ducked, Grant (Van Niekerk) thought it might have been a bird.”

The commentator was deceived by this movement and said, “She’s getting weary”. Snaith commented, “The only body running out of breath was the commentator! She has plenty of gears.”

Snaith said, “It is rare to have an exceptional pedigree coupled with exceptional performance and that is the best part about Oh Susanna and Snowdance (the latter is also part-owned by Drakenstein Stud). You can’t put a value on them.”

Snaith admitted Sergeant Hardy was done a favour by the false start and particularly so because he was dawn alongside the horse which broke through, Tevez, so Bernard Fayd’Herbe was able to see what had happened and consequently pulled him up immediately. However, nothing should be taken away from him as he is unbeaten in three starts over course and distance and deserved a Grade 1.

Snowdance’s and Sergeant Hardy’s future has not yet been discussed yet either.

Snaith said the latter did not like the turn and he lamented the fact that the only race for him in the SA Champions Season would be the Grade 1 Mercury Sprint at Greyville.

He said if the export protocols did open soon, as is being anticipated by some, all three of these horses would likely head overseas.

By David Thiselton

Glen Kotzen’s Investec Cape Derby winner Eyes Wide Open will likely follow the same route as his 2009 Cape Derby winner Big City Life in his forthcoming SA Champions Season campaign.

Big City Life finished second in the Grade 3 Byerley Turk before reeling off the big race hattrick of the Grade 2 KRA Guineas, the Grade 1 Daily News 2000 and the big one, the Vodacom Durban July.

Kotzen said about the Dynasty colt Eyes Wide Open, “He’s a seriously good horse and the key to him is he can be switched on and switched off so easily and then can turn it on so well in the straight.”

Yesterday was a perfect day in Cape Town and Kotzen took the Derby hero from his private Woodhill Racing Estate down to the beach at Melkbosstrand.

His big race rider Richard Fourie rode him out and Kotzen said, “He was fresh and full of himself and has taken the run well. Richard said he could race again tomorrow.”

He is owned by Hugo and Suzanne Hattingh’s Chrigor Stud, who also own Saturday’s Derby third-placed Pack Leader.

Eyes Wide Open was given an exceptional ride by Fourie. He was drawn three but looked in danger of being trapped outside of stablemate Pack Leader as they ran towards the first turn. However, Fourie asked him for a little extra to go ahead of the latter and he then switched him off after he had slotted in behind Kimberley Star. The pace was then slowed right down and rank outsider Steel Rose took it up. At one stage it looked like Steel Rose might steal it. However, Kotzen said, “It suited us to have an unfancied horse in front as I knew he would always fetch him despite the slow pace, it was just a matter of whether anything would come from behind.”

Like A Panther came around the field before the final turn as Anton Marcus realised the pace was too slow. Anthony Delpech on Pack Leader switched off the heels of Eyes Wide open to follow Like A Panther. He headed Eyes Wide Open briefly, but ended up quite wide in the straight. He then hung all the way to the inside and did well to pip Steel Rose for third. Do It Again ran on strongly for second after Eyes Wide Open had already wrapped it up.

Kotzen said about the Philanthropist colt Pack Leader, “We were confident of him going close because of the way he had been working. He was a touch unlucky so it was a nice run to finish in the first three. Anthony said he maybe didn’t quite stay the 2000m.”

Pack Leader has also taken the run well. The Gauteng classics might be an option for him, but Kotzen cautioned, “Horses can’t do all three seasons, Cape , Johannesburg and Durban, it is too hard for them, so if you do go to Johannesburg you have to give Durban a miss completely.”

A decision has not been made on him yet, but it does look likely another Kotzen-trained star, the Silvano filly Silvan Star, will head for Johannesburg to run in the Grade 1 HSH Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes on April 21 at Turffontein. She flew up for fourth from a wide draw in the Grade 1 Klawervlei Majorca Stakes on Saturday and Kotzen confirmed, “She doesn’t do well in Durban.”

Kotzen had a fine few days as he saddled a treble on Saturday at Kenilworth and his satellite yard at Summerveld also scored a treble over the weekend.

He said, “What was particularly gratifying about our other two winners at Kenilworth on Saturday (Quickfire and Ostinato) was that they are owned by racing syndicates (The L’Ormarin’s Racing Syndicate and Green Street Bloodstock). Seeing so many owners leading a horse in is priceless, it is the way of the future as it is affordable and the owners get just as much fun and satisfaction out of it.”

Kotzen recalled entering the bidding war late for lot 33 (Eyes Wide Open) at the Bloodstock South Africa Sibaya KZN Yearling Sale of 2016, “When it reached R800,000 we went in with just one bid of R850,000 and secured him. I liked everything about him. He looked like Dynasty, he had real class, a big bright eye and walked like a cat.”

The Highlands Farm Stud-bred colt was a late November 21 foal so would not have been mature enough for the earlier bigger sales. Eyes Wide Open’s Jallad dam Live Your Dreams was placed four times from nine starts and is a half-sister to National Flame, an eleven-time winning sprinter who won the Grade 3 Lebelo Sprint twice as well as the Listed Umgeni Handicap. Eyes Wide Open is a half-brother to Spectrum gelding Living With Heart, who has won three times and finished second in the Byerley Turk. All five of Living Your Dream’s foals have won.

Eyes Wide Open provided the Hattinghs with their first Grade 1 winner last year when he won the Premier’s Champion Stakes for two-year-olds over 1600m at Greyville.

A few racing purists began punching holes in the form of that race as it didn’t appear to be standing up in the early part of this season.

Then when Eyes Wide Open finished only ninth in the Selangor Cup and his Premier’s Champions Stakes runner up Ancestry finished eighth they believed they had confirmation.

However, Eyes Wide Open was found to have a respiratory infection, which caused him to miss the Cape Guineas.

Then the Premier’s Champions Stakes fourth-placed Monks Hood came out and won the Investec Dingaans.

Eyes Wide Open followed by winning the Grade 2 Peninsula Handicap and the Cape Derby, while Premier’s Champions Stakes eleventh-placed Captain And Master finished runner up in Saturday US$500,000 CTS Mile. There has had to be a re-asessment of the Premier’s Champions Stakes form.

By David Thiselton

Talk Of The Town, ante-post favourite for the CTS 1600 until his surprise scratching two days before the $500 000 race, will be out of action for between six and 12 months.

Joey Ramsden explained: “He put a hole in his tendon sheath just above his near-fore fetlock joint.”

The injury is tough on the Truters and Avontuur who bought the Var colt from Mayfair Speculators shortly before he won his third race off the reel on the eve of the Queen’s Plate.

Let It Rain, who gave Dan Katz his first Graded winner when getting the better of a final furlong battle with Master’s Eye in last Saturday’s Heineken Cape Stayers, now goes to Johannesburg to rejoin Weiho Marwing.

Katz said: “The horse was sent to me for the Cape season and winning a Grade 2 for Hassen Adams on Met day was mission accomplished so far as I was concerned. Weiho will aim him at the Gold Cup.”

Traces, the Australian-bred who sprang a 16-1 surprise in the Tattersalls Summer Juvenile Stakes, started favourite but managed only fifth on debut three weeks earlier. The explanation is unusual to say the least.

Brett Crawford said: “We fancied him that day but he is blind in one eye and he was drawn on the outside. As a result he couldn’t see the others and he didn’t know what was going on!”

Agent Of Fortune, who made a winning debut at 11-1 in the valuable Kuda Sprint, was one of those mildly affected by that respiratory virus that hit some of the Vaughan Marshall stable earlier in the month.

Marshall said: “We backed off him when we were taking all those precautions but his work since was very good.”

By Michael Clower

The Vaal Classic track stages a low key eight race card tomorrow and the highest merit rated race is a MR 80 Handicap over 1500m which could be won by Sail For Joy, although it is an ultra-competitive handicap in which all nine of the runners have a chance.

The four-year-old Argonaut gelding Sail For Joy had to be used up to a certain extent over 1600m last time when overcoming a wide draw to go to the front, so he did well to hang on for a close third to the well regarded Jubilee Line. He now has a much better draw of three and will enjoy the step down in trip, considering his last two wins have both been over 1400m. He has only been given a one point raise for his two close finishes to Jubilee Line so is competitive off this mark. Polar Ice had a cracking win over 1700m with first time blinkers on and has another good draw. He is only two points higher in the merit ratings and is 4,5kg better off with Silver God for a 3,3 length beating in the Listed Sea Cottage Stakes last time, which was over an 1800m trip which probably stretched him from a wide draw.

Front Rank is an enigmatic sort but is capable and can never be ignored. He has Tommy Waterdevil beaten on paper on the form of their meeting in November as he has dropped to a competitive merit rating. His last two runs don’t look good at first sight, but he spread a shoe in the second of them and was hopelessly out at the weights in the other in a Pinnacle event. Silver God was not disgraced in the Dingaans, finishing just 6,5 lengths back, and followed with a fair effort in the Listed Sea Cottage Stakes over 1800m when 5,65 lengths behind the promising Majestic Mambo. This is his first attempt at a handicap and he has to run off an 85 merit rating from a tricky draw of six in the nine horse field. Tommy Waterdevil is a consistent sort despite often making breathing noises. He is better drawn than last time when not disgraced in fifth behind the classy three-year-old Pietro Mascagni over this course and distance. Pietro Mascagni was comfortably beaten by Silver God in the Dingaans, but a line can be drawn through that run.

There is not much between Tokyo Drift and Sail For Joy and Tommy Waterdevil on recent form. Tokyo Drift was running on from off the pace last time over 1600m on this course from a similar draw to this one. Trip To Troy is 1kg better off with Sail For Joy for a 1,4 length beating over 1600m so there is not much in it. Machismo is 1kg better off with Front Rank for a mere short-head beating over 1400m, although his last two runs have been uninspiring. Trading Profit returns from a layoff over a suitable trip and has Strydom up from pole position. He reeled off a hattrick between June and August before being well beaten in the Grand Heritage. It would probably be advisable to include the whole field in the exotics.

Pinfanta is selected as the Pick 6 banker in the last race over 1700m. This promising daughter of Captain Al had to set sail for home early when finding herself in front down the straight over 1600m last time and did well to finish second. Muzi Yeni does not have an easy draw of six to overcome and Pinfanta has also been given a three point raise. However, the Houdalakis yard bring them on slowly but surely and this horse looks promising. The stablemate Braxton from pole position could be the main danger but it is significant Yeni sticks with Pinfanta having been the regular pilot of Braxton too.  Azkur is another one to consider, but she does have a tough draw to overcome.

The previous race could be won by Crazy Vision, who is only two points higher than his fast-finishing win over this 1700m course and distance last time. However, they did all finish on top of each other in that race so the form could be suspect. He does have another good draw and is taken to beat Cosmic Count and Shogun.

Carmalita is an interesting runner in race five over 1000m as she won her maiden from start to finish over this trip and the form has been franked. Off just a 72 mark she has a fine chance.

The previous race is a competitive maiden in which the expensive Mardi Gras is taken to win as he finished strongly on debut, although he would likely prefer further so can’t be bankered. Copper Jay did beat him in that last race, while That’s Life was backed then but over raced before fading. They will be threats and Crassus and Singfonico can’t be ignored either.

The first leg of the Pick should be fought out by the two form choices Eleni and Flying Feather.

Corné Spies has been in his usual devastating form in two-year-old races and his pair of first-timers in the first two races could give him yet another juvenile double as they are reasonably well bred and don’t have a lot to beat.

By David Thiselton

Justin Snaith has had many five-winners plus race meetings, but his three Grade 1 victories on Saturday including the Sun Met will have topped the lot as the best day of his career.

He also won had two other winners on the day.

Snaith has opened up a big lead in the National Trainers Championships and should clinch his second career title as Met winner Oh Susanna and Klawervlei Majorca winner Snowdance should collect a few more big races between them during the season. Betting World Cape Flying Championship winner Sergeant Hardy, on the other hand, would like to roll up the Kenilworth straight and take it with him wherever he goes as seven of his eight career wins have been there and he is unbeaten in three starts over Saturday’s 1000m course and distance. Exotic punters were grateful to him for winning on Saturday after the false start led to the scratching of three horses, including the original favourite Naafer, as he ended up the Tote favourite.

Oh Susanna couldn’t match Snowdance over a mile, although she did have a wide draw to overcome that day in the WSB Cape Fillies Guineas, but in terms of class she has now proved herself at least the equal of her stable companion as she has subsequently won both the Cartier Paddock Stakes and the Met with contempt. Oh Susanna’s performance on Saturday will be better on paper than Snowdance’s as the latter was the highest rated runner in the weight for age Majorca for fillies and mares off 108, while Oh Susanna beat the unexposed Last Winter, rated 107, and the 118 rated Marinaresco and 123 rated Legal Eagle. The Equus Award panellists are going to have a headache separating them. Snaith will also now have a problem singling out the best filly he has ever trained and it will likely between this pair.

Snowdance is another feather in the cap for Cheveley Stud, who bred the champion three-year-old filly of two seasons ago, Bela-Bela, as well as Legislate, the 2013/2014 Equus Champion three-year-old colt, Champion Middle Distance Horse and Horse of the Year. She is also another feather in the cap for the late great champion sire Captain Al and for last season’s Equus Champion Broodmare Mystic Spring, as she is out of the latter’s daughter Spring Lilac.

Oh Susanna continues the phenomenal legacy of her sire Street Cry, whose other best progeny around the world include the legendary females Zenyatta and Winx.

By David Thiselton