Former national champion trainer Charles Laird has been in top form at present and fittingly his four-year-old Kahal gelding Top Form emphasised the point at Greyville last Friday night.

Top Form is one of a few horses who gives the Laird yard SA Champions Season hopes.

Charles Laird (Nkosi Hlophe)

The speedster dominated a strong 1200m Pinnacle Stakes race, overcoming a draw of eight and leading from start to finish under Anton Marcus to complete a course and distance hattrick. Once in front Top Form stretched out nicely and was enjoying himself, but he still had a lot in hand and quickened away to win by two lengths. He had some useful types like Rodney, Captain Chaos, Angel’s Power, Cutting Edge, Captain Swarovski and Highway Explorer well beaten. Among those the favourite and topweight Captain Swarovski deserves a special mention as he broke well but began fighting for his head and will come on from the run, while Rodney ran on well from behind and Angel’s Power was doing some eyecatching late work.

Laird said he was unlikely to enter Top Form in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint over 1200m at Scottsville, which could be tempting as he would come in with a low weight off his current 101 merit rating. He will instead be aiming him at the Post Merchants over his favourite Greyville 1200m. This event is on the turf, but Top Form did win last season’s KZN Winter Challenge 1200 on the Greyville grass.

Laird’s best chance of landing a Champions Season Gr 1 must be with the Var colt Varallo, who is unbeaten in two starts over 1000m and 1200m respectively, both at Scottsville. In the latter start he was very green, but still won comfortably. He is superbly bred, being out of the Western Winter mare Covenant, who was bred in the purple and won a Gr 1 over a mile and three Gr 2s over sprints. On the combination of pedigree and style of racing Varallo should comfortably stay further than sprints. However, his first big Champions Season target will likely be the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion on May 27 at Scottsville.

Top Form (Nkosi Hlophe)

Laird will run the Warm White Night gelding Buffalo Soldier in the Gr 3 Byerley Turk over 1400m at Greyville this Sunday. He has no doubt this horse will stay even as far as a mile. In last season’s Gr 2 Golden Horseshoe, Buffalo Soldier set the pace and stayed on well for a 3,75 length fourth to the subsequent Gr 1 Investec Cape Derby runner up Zodiac Ruler. From draw three and with the blinkers on it would be no surprise to see Marcus taking him to the front again in the Byerley Turk. However, Laird had not yet looked at the field and said this would not necessarily be the tactic.

Laird recently sent out the three-year-old Dynasty filly Hot Toddy to win on debut by 6,5 lengths over 1600m at Scottsville. However, she was restless in the stalls that day and had to be removed and reloaded and she also needs ground. Therefore, he is taking it slowly with her and she is not entered in Sunday’s Gr 3 Umzimkhulu Stakes over 1400m.

The yard’s Listed winner over 1400m Palladium has been gelded and is one to watch during the Champions Season.

Laird will continue to take “baby steps” with Captain Of Rock. This Seventh Rock three-year-old colt is out of a five-times winning Captain Al mare. He took five runs to win his maiden, but followed up with a nice win on the Greyville poly when stepped down to 1000m for the first time and looks to have potential.

Four-year-old Trippi gelding Monte Christo is another speedster who could do well for the Summerveld-based yard up to 1400m.

Friday night’s Gr 3 King’s Cup third-placed Secret Warning is a consistent miler and will also held his own in handicaps during the winter.

Meanwhile, Laird’s useful older horse Stormy Eclipse had been sent to Tara Laing’s Port Elizabeth yard in order to take part in races like the Algoa Cup.

By David Thiselton

A remarkable set of circumstances will bring evergreen jockey Jeff Lloyd to the Sunshine Coast track in Caloundra tomorrow, as he aims to break Chris Munce’s Brisbane jockeys’ premiership record of 103 winners in a season.

Jeff Lloyd salute (Nicola Lloyd Twitter)

Lloyd, 55, will take five rides on the eight-race metropolitan program at the same track where he suffered a life-threatening stroke in 2013.

It will also be on the same track where he rode seven winners in one day on November 29, last year.

In another incredible twist, it was also at Caloundra in 2012 when Munce became the first Brisbane-based hoop to ride 100 metropolitan winners in a season, after he guided Belltone to win the listed Glasshouse Hcp.

Sunshine Coast Turf Club (SCTC) chief Mick Sullivan remembers the day well, and never thought the record would be broken so soon. “And (Lloyd’s) still got four months to go. To break the record in eight months is unbelievable,” he said.

Lloyd drew level with Munce’s record on March 25, and after a stint on the sidelines through suspension, will start the meeting aboard the Desleigh Forster-trained Sun Deck in Race 2 (1.10pm).

One of his best chances looks to be aboard the Jeffrey Chan-trained Fast Choice (Race 7), a lightly- raced 6yo stallion by Redoute’s Choice, which saluted as an odds-on favourite at Corbould Park on March 12.

He’ll also ride She Goes Pop (Race 3) and Prontezza (Race 8) for the trainer he’s become synonymous with in recent seasons, Toby Edmonds.

Asked why Lloyd was so popular among trainers in Queensland, Sullivan said it was simple. “His record speaks for itself,” he said, referring to Lloyd’s hoards of premierships in Mauritius and South Africa and stints in Hong Kong.

“He has ridden winners all over the world.”

–        https://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/

Catch live coverage this morning of the Sunshine Coast racemeeting on Tellytrack [DSTV 239]

The first of four legs in the inaugural KZN Breeders “Level The Playing Fields” Series saw 21 horses line up at Scottsville on Sunday over two pools. The Yellow Star-bred Putchini took the first pool of the day for owner Ashley De Klerk together with a boosted stake of R100 000.

Ashley De Klerk and Putchini (Candiese Marnewick)

The innovative competition saw jockeys drawn out of a hat for the rides in each of the pools and accumulating points according to their finishing order. Billy Jacobson drew Putchini and did well to steer the chestnut Bezrin gelding home over 1200m by a nose from Bankable gelding, Reactive. Cipher (Overlord) and Poivre (Silvano) placed third and fourth respectively.

The second pool of the day saw Glen Kotzen’s Mogok filly Royal Agree, bred by Scott Bros, scoring a convincing win under Athandiwe Mgudlwa. Owned by Mr PG De Beyer, the filly out of Royal Promise by Royal Academy secured her second career win under the care of Lunga Gila, who is managing the Kotzen yard in KZN. Royal Agree finished a length clear of multiple winners Brave And Bold and Fire The Rocket over the 1200m-turf trip.

The “Level The Playing Fields” Series takes place on turf with trainers only able to enter one horse for all four legs. The jockey for each race is drawn out of a hat. The horse must have the ability to win from 1200m – 1600m in distance.

The final round, for a stake of R200 000, will run on the Greyville turf over 1400m on 25 June, with the winning jockey, owner, breeder and trainer each taking home R50 000.

The second leg of the series takes place on 30 April over 1400m at Scottsville. Keep an eye out for the log updates of horses and jockeys participating in this exciting new series.

By Candiese Marnewick for KZN Breeders

The Dean Kannemeyer-trained Trippi three-year-old Summer Sky showed the benefit of gelding at Scottsville on Sunday and offers the hope of a SA Champions Season classic contender for the top yard.

Dean Kannemeyer (Nkosi Hlophe)

Kannemeyer said Summer Sky had become a real handful during the summer and he had battled to saddle him in his previous start on Sun Met day. He wore first-time blinkers that day and produced a late surge to win a MR 78 Handicap over 1400m by a short-head under Anthony Delpech. Kannemeyer was then granted permission by owners Drakenstein Stud to geld him.

On Sunday Summer Sky was well drawn in three and Delpech soon had him in a handy position. He galloped on resolutely in the straight and won easing up by five lengths from a field which consisted mainly of older horses, including the Listed winner Way Of Light. Summer Sky was a bit keen in the running and Kannemeyer confirmed he would improve for the outing. However, he said he would not be ready in time for the Gr 3 Byerley Turk over 1400m, which is usually used by classic contenders as a springboard into the Gr 2 Daisy Guineas.  The Byerley Turk will be run at Scottsville next Sunday and the Daisy Guineas is on May 7 at Greyville. However, Kannemeyer said he would nominate him for the Guineas and decide at the time whether it would be wise to run him. That race will represent Summer Sky’s last opportunity to run in a classic as races beyond a mile will likely stretch him.

Kannemeyer’s SA Champions Season string looks a “bit thin”, but this was also the case two years ago and he ended up winning the Vodacom Durban July with Power King.

Summer Sky (Nkosi Hlophe)

His string thus year has been weakened by one of his July runners from last year Mambo Mime having a bout of colic, which has put him out for the season.

He admitted his chances of winning the July this year, or even having a runner, looked remote but added, “You never know what can happen.”

Last year he arrived in KZN thinking his five-year-old Dynasty gelding Solid Speed would campaign in staying races. However, this classy sort ended up jumping as joint-third favourite for the July, where he unfortunately went wrong and had to be retired.

A horse with a similar profile is Kannemeyer’s four-year-old Ideal World gelding Cape Speed. Kannemeyer said he would be aimed at the big staying events and defending his Gr 3 Track And Ball Derby crown will be one of his goals. Four of Cape Speed’s five career wins have been in KZN and he is a horse to keep an eye on.

Another Kannemeyer horse who thrives in KZN is his Gr 1-winning sprinter Real Princess.

He said her last start when finishing last in the Gr 1 Klawervlei Majorca Stakes over 1600m on Sun Met day could be ignored as it coincided with a virus in his yard and she returned with “muck” in her lungs.

She hasn’t run since, but Kannemeyer put her on the Summerveld grass the other day and she went well. He will prepare her for the defence of her Gr 1 SA Fillies Sprint crown.

Real Princess’s six career wins have all been in KZN and five of them have been at Scottsville.

By David Thiselton

Silver Coin will be the subject of considerable attention in the first at Kenilworth today as this Silvano colt is the highest–priced yearling to race in South Africa.

The half-brother to Halve The Deficit attracted some ferocious bidding at last year’s Cape Premier Yearling Sale before the hammer came down at R6 million. The owners are Mayfair Speculators, Sue Magnier, Diane Nagle and D.M. Graham.

Halve The Deficit (Nkosi Hlophe)

But what matters to punters today is whether he will be ready enough to go close first time out. “Yes, I think he will – and I like him a lot,” says Joey Ramsden.

The colt opened 33-10 favourite with World Sports Betting and he has a lot more riding on him than he will have when the gates open at 12.40pm. The Coolmore involvement is of the utmost importance for this country’s racing and breeding industries and it is likely to mushroom if this one proves a star.

So is the trainer feeling under any pressure? “I would feel more pressure if I didn’t have the horse,” answers Ramsden, echoing the response given by Aidan O’Brien when he was asked the same question in his early tentative days at Ballydoyle.

Mind you, Ramsden has been in this position before with Brutal Force who at R4.5 million was the highest-priced of his day and he found one too good for him in his first two races.

Perhaps more significantly not one of Ramsden’s six Cape Town two-year-old winners this season has won first time so, while Silver Coin should go close, it might be prudent to look elsewhere for the winner.

The Barry Burn is Bernard Fayd’Herbe’s first ride since his return from Dubai but Justin Snaith is not optimistic about the 8-1 shot being a winning one. “He is a nice type but this will be a gallop for him,” he says. “I have no gallops at the moment.”

The Brett Crawford-trained Valbonne is a Var colt out of the Prix Du Cap and Final Fling winner Sunsational. He was entered for last year’s National Yearling Sale but was withdrawn. He is joint second favourite at 5-1.

The twice-raced Victorious Captain is also on 5-1. He started favourite last time but was returned shin sore and now wears blinkers. He could be the one.

Herodus, nibbled at from 8-1 to 6-1, is also expected to get into the shake-up despite disappointing when upped to 1 400m last time. “That was too far for him and this time we are going to give him a chance,” says Candice Bass-Robinson.

Whatever Ramsden’s fortunes with Silver Coin he should win the Itsarush.co.za Handicap with the vastly improved Professor Brian who has gone up ten kilos for three straight wins. He gave away a lot of ground at the start last time and didn’t get a clear run so his 2 ¼ length win looks value for more than the 3kg the handicappers put him up. He is favourite at 28-10 and probably has most to fear from Bobby Dazzler (7-2), Greenflashsunset (5-1) and the blinkered 10-1 chance Seven Wood.

By Michael Clower