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 He was entered for last year’s National Yearling Sale but was withdrawn.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

The Frank Robinson-trained dual Gr 3 winner Olma is in foal to Trippi, but there is a plan to run her while in foal on Vodacom Durban July day. She will run in the Gr 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes, in which she was runner up last year.

Meanwhile, Robinson’s Antonius Pius filly Under The Stars impressed on her debut on the Greyville poly on Friday night and the yard have high hopes for her. Olma was bred to Northern Hemisphere time and will travel later in the year to Europe. Her owner Zalim Bifov has a breeding operation in Ireland. Robinson said there was also a plan in the pipeline to send Olma to the mighty Frankel.

Olma (Nkosi Hlophe)

Racing a mare in foal is not unusual and they sometimes actually show significant improvement. The USA-based record stakes earner Spain won a Gr 2 while in foal to Storm Cat and there are many other examples, a South African one being the Ormond Ferraris-trained Overarching, who finished second to Ilha da Vitoria in the Gr 1 Horse Chestnut Stakes while in foal to Fort Wood.

Spain’s trainer D. Wayne Lukas said back in 2002 after Spain was impregnated that little had changed in her training regimen. He added, “Since she got in foal, from knowing her and being around her her entire career, I could see that she was really blossoming. Her hair coat was unbelievable and her whole glow and demeanour were excellent.”
Dr Michelle LeBlanc, a veterinarian specializing in equine reproductive issues, said at the time that this wouldn’t have been a coincidence.

She said, “Progesterone is a wonderful calming drug. Once they get pregnant, you have high levels of progesterone, so you don’t have to deal with the nervousness or the finickiness and they become less high strung.”

On Friday night the rangy Under The Stars was backed into 9/2 in a Maiden Juvenile Plate over 1000m. She was slow away before using her big stride to get within striking distance under Muzi Yeni.

She ran on strongly in the straight and at the line was pulling away from the running on Pathfork first-timer Tweed Valley. She won by 1,75 lengths and there was a further 2,5 lengths back to the third-placed horse, the Querari first-timer So Vain. The rest of the field were spread out like the washing, which is often the sign of good form. On the downside the time was nearly half-a-second slower than the following race, which was a weak maiden plate contested mainly by three-year-olds.

However, Under The Stars was extending at the line and Robinson confirmed she is definitely looking for further. He will be looking at Juvenile races over 1400m for The Alchemy-bred filly and how she performs will determine whether she goes for the Gr 2 R600,000 Golden Slipper over 1400m or the Non-Black Type KZN Yearling Million over 1300m. Both race are run on Vodacom Durban July day and the one carries a black type opportunity, while the other is more lucrative.

The Under The Stars’ formline should be worth following, such was the impression she created.

by David Thiselton

Former national champion trainer Justin Snaith said recently his KZN campaign this year had panned out to be the most important period of his current season. He duly got his feature race campaign off to a good start at Scottsville yesterday when winning the Listed KwaZulu-Natal Stakes over 1000m with the speedy Captain Al filly Jo’s Bond, who was ridden by Richard Fourie.

Justin Snaith

Fourie travelled from Cape Town for just the one ride and sat just off the pace. Jo’s Bonds powerful turn of foot saw her drawing clear of the favourite Elusivenchantment to win by a length. Our Destiny and Cosmic Burst ran on well for third and fourth and Vision To Kill was next best.

Earlier, the Gavin van Zyl-trained Oratorio gelding Arianos Bagofgold produced a good finish from off the pace to win the Non-Black Type Sentinel Stakes over 1000m under Eric Saziso Ngwane. Autumn In Seattle was giving the winner 2kg and had to be switched, so did well to finish a 0,5 length second. Northern Rebel was next best.

The first round of the newly introduced KZN Breeders “Levelling the Playing Fields” series of races kicked off at yesterday’s meeting. Trainers were invited to nominate one KZN-bred horse with a rating of 78 and below to compete in three races over 1200m, 1400m and 1600m respectively.

In Round 1’s first heat the Chris Erasmus-trained outsider Putchini just got up under Billy Jacobson to deny the Tony Rivalland-trained Reactive. The Garth Puller-trained Cipher, the Greg and Karen Anthony-trained Poivre and the Paul Gadsby-trained Roy’s Power were next best. The favourite Beckedorf dwelt in the stalls and lost many lengths.

Jo’s Bond (Nkosi Hlophe)

In the second heat, the Glen Kotzen-trained three-year-old filly Royal Agree won cosily by 1,25 lengths under Athandiwe Mgudlwa from the Wendy Whitehead-trained Brave And Bold, with the Doug Campbell-trained Fire The Rocket, the Paul Lafferty-trained Tropical’s Son and the Sean Tarry-trained favourite Kahula next best.

Both Putchini and Royal Agree are effective up to 1600m at least.

Later, the Dean Kannemeyer-trained three-year-old Summer Sky won a MR 86 handicap over 1400m by five lengths under Anthony Delpech. On that showing the Trippi gelding could develop into a feature campaigner.

There were also wins at the meeting for Wendy Whitehead and Alec Forbes, Paul Gadsby and Sean Veale and Mark Dixon and Marco van Rensburg.

By David Thiselton

Anthony Delpech will be reunited with CTS Mile runner-up Copper Force in the Byerley Turk at Greyville on Sunday…

Anthony Delpech (Nkosi Hlophe)

Delpech rode the gelding for the first time in the Met day $500,000 sales race and came from a bad draw to beat all except Cape Guineas winner William Longsword. “Anthony has other commitments but he comes to ride work for me every day at Summerveld,” said Snaith.

Vaughan Marshall will gallop The Secret Is Out tomorrow before deciding whether last season’s Allan Robertson winner contests the Umzimkhulu Stakes on the same card. The filly has only raced once since an epistaxis ruled her out of the Cape Fillies Guineas and she managed only fifth of eight despite starting favourite although, to be fair, she was giving weight all round.

Marshall said: “I was quite happy with that run. She had had no gallops and she was only beaten just over two lengths.”

Bernard Fayd’Herbe returns to South African action at Kenilworth tomorrow after stints in Mauritius and Dubai. He rides in all eight races with five mounts for Snaith, two for Joey Ramsden and one for Candice Bass-Robinson.

By Michael Clower

Mayfair Speculators racing manager Derek Brugman said the reigning Equus Horse Of The Year Legal Eagle, who won his sixth career Gr 1 at Turffontein on Saturday, would be “unlikely” to take part in the SA Champions Season.

Legal Eagle (Liesl King)

Meanwhile, their best three-year-old William Longsword will not race again as it has been decided to retire him to stud.

Legal Eagle’s next race will be the defence of his Gr 1 Premier’s Champions Challenge crown at Turffontein on May 6.

Brugman said he would thereafter follow the same route as he had done this season i.e. the L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate and the Sun Met.

If Legal wins the Premier’s Champions Challenge he would have successfully defended three separate Gr 1s in one season. On Saturday he defended his HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes crown, having defended his Queen’s Plate crown in January.

Variety Club (Liesl King)

The last horse to successfully defend three Gr 1s in one season might well have been the immortal Sea Cottage, who in 1967 defended his crowns in all of the Queen’s Plate, the Newbury Stakes over 1200m at Greyville and in the Clairwood Winter Handicap over 1800m.

Legal Eagle remains unbeaten in six starts over a mile, and this includes four Gr 1 weight for age events and one Gr 2.

However, Brugman still rates the great Variety Club as Mayfair Speculators’ best ever horse and doubts whether they will ever have one as good as him again.

Variety Club was a facile winner of a Gr 1 overseas (in Hong Kong) and Brugman believes Legal Eagle could also win at the highest level overseas. However, unfortunately his efforts to get him to the Breeder’s Cup this year were thwarted by travel costs. Brugman has not given up on an overseas campaign for legal Eagle, but said the champion racehorse would never go the Mauritius route.

William Longsword’s retirement coincides with his sire Captain Al nearing the end of his stud career.

The latter did a lot to put Klawervlei Stud on the map. Markus Jooste, the owner of Mayfair Speculators, is a major shareholder in Klawervlei.

By David Thiselton