The opening races at the Turffontein Inside track today probably provide punters with their best opportunities, although the exotics will provide more attractive pools and are certainly worth a crack.

In the first race, a Workrider’s Maiden over 1450m, Light Indigo’s pole position draw will suit her front-running style. She will be getting 3kg from the boys and has very little to beat. She has a good rider up too. The main danger will be the gelding Play Misty For Me, who should enjoy the further step up in trip, but Light Indigo’s form looks a touch stronger.

In the second race the classy Negroamara could be vulnerable despite it being an ideal 1800m trip, as this is likely to be a preparation after a close to three month layoff. The chief threat is Pagoda, who is a progressive son of Mogok and is drawn in pole over a trip he should enjoy. Amsterdam might have benefitted from his decent effort last week over the too sharp 1400m and can also be considered.

In the third, Unchained Melody showed early pace and hit the front over 1160m last time before finding no extra, so should enjoy the step down to 1000m from a plum draw of two. Seattle Seahawk over raced over 1200m last time and will relish this step down in trip too.

The first leg of the Pick 6 is a tricky maiden for fillies and mares over 1600m. Trumpets Calling will enjoy the step up in trip, but her slow starting habits are a bit of a concern. Sheema could attempt to gallop them into the ground from her nice low draw over a suitable trip, so Trumpets Calling will need to get after her early in the straight.

In the next, a Maiden over 2000m, the hard knocking Aristocrat should enjoy the trip on the evidence of his last start and so will the unexposed Student Grant. They could get punters through the exotics.

In the sixth, a Maiden for fillies and mares over 2200m, Prada Princess stayed on over 1800m last time so should stay. However, it’s an open race and Just A Jet, Hot Talent, Island Bliss and Eversilver have to be considered.

In the seventh over 1600m, Bold Viking could fulfill the regard he is held in over this step up in trip. Top Shot and High Drama have performed well against decent sorts. Life Is Good looks to have ability and Fareeq ran a cracker last time.

In the eighth over 1600m, Patric should be improving being by Silvano and his only win was over this course and distance from a similar low draw.

William Nichol is back to his last winning mark and could win the last leg of the Pick 6 over 1200m.

By David Thiselton

Aldo Domeyer, riding on the crest of a wave, has hit rough water and is sitting out a ten-day suspension for his part in the fall of Greg Cheyne at Kenilworth nine days ago.

The stipes ruled that he “failed to take sufficient corrective measures and was a source of interference” when riding the winner Victorious Jay.

It is not easy keeping half a tonne of horseflesh straight at nearly 60kph, particularly when it is beginning to tire, your weigh only 55kg and you are perched on little more than a postage stamp but Domeyer is taking the ban on the chin.

He said: “I didn’t have much control of my horse, he is very strong and he tends to do that (hang) but neither I nor MJ Byleveld on Milton (in the lead) was aware that Greg was where he was. However I understand where the stipes are coming from – somebody gets hurt so they have to act – and I am taking the suspension immediately.”

He signed off with an Andre Nel double on Saturday on Straat-Kind and Skip A Beat and then won the finale on River Cam, the first winner in his new role as number one to Candice Bass-Robinson. “It’s nice to be promoted from making tea to being stable jock,” he commented drily – a reference to his early days as a teenage wannabee doing anything at the Bass yard just to be involved.

Cheyne, who missed three of Alan Greeff’s five Fairview winners on Friday, also sat out Saturday explaining: “I never made the improvement I was hoping for during the week.” Indeed jockeys were in as short supply as water in the Steenbras dam. Craig du Plooy was too badly bruised in a fall on the sand track that morning to meet his commitments and Grant Behr, who had a nasty fall on Friday, was forced to call it a day after only one ride.

The day began with a shock victory of almost Trump proportions when Kasimir, supposedly unbeatable at 1-5, could never get in a meaningful blow behind 16-1 shot Al Mariachi on whom Corne Orffer led from pillar to post.

Brett Crawford, just back from Australia where he bought four yearlings for Ridgemont and one on spec, said: “I fancied him the first time but he was as green as grass. I wasn’t sure we could beat the favourite here but he is a horse with a bit of a future.”

Robert Khathi, who leaves for Mauritius on Wednesday, also sprang a surprise bringing 28-1 shot Chisanyama in the Mayfair colours fast and late to snatch the Soccer 6 Handicap. On her most recent start, in December, the Joey Ramsden filly finished 11^th of 12 and rider Ossie Noach reported that she took no interest but the fact that she wore a tongue tie on Saturday could be the key. The stipes advised that she should also wear one in future races.

Former English trainer Gavin Hunter, who bought Quickfire as a yearling, was talking in terms of the Winter Series after the gelding came good at the second time of asking in the 1 200m maiden and Glen Kotzen, sending out his 50^th winner of the season, confirmed this view.

Richard Fourie, who rode the horse, was seen at his skilful best on Gyre who has seen more seconds than a professional boxer. Ten times, including all his last five races, the Adam Marcus gelding has managed to find one too good for him but Fourie got him up on the line, saying: “Everything has to go his way and even here I thought I had hit the front a bit too soon because he began to put the brakes on.”

Piet Steyn recalled picking up Racing Association Maiden winner Lady Vogue for a mere R20 000. Judging by how well she travelled for Heavelon van der Hoven in the 1 400m maiden there is more to come.

By Michael Clower

Sun Met winner Whisky Baron is in the quarantine station at Kenilworth racecourse as a preliminary to a major international campaign under Brett Crawford.

Craig Carey, manager for the Kieswetter family’s Ridgemont Stud operation, said yesterday: “We felt that the weights would be all wrong if we went for the Vodacom Durban July so our hands were tied to a certain extent.

“Whisky Baron will go to Mauritius and join up with Mike de Kock’s horses going over and from there he will go to Mary Slack’s Abington Place stables in Newmarket where he will stay for four or five months before going to Dubai.

“However Dubai will not be his main mission. That will be Hong Kong for whatever we can get an invite. Brett will have control of the horse which will be nice for him as it will be his first big international campaign.”

Glen Kotzen has also abandoned plans to go for this year’s July with Gold Standard, fourth when the only three-year-old in the Met after winning the Selangor and finishing second in the Cape Guineas.

Kotzen said: “He has had a month off but he will now miss the Natal season – or at least, if he does go, he will travel at the end of it for the Champions Cup. In the meantime the Winter Series in Cape Town is more than likely.

“He is still a young horse and his main missions are next season’s L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and Sun Met.”

By Michael Clower

On the face of it, the addition of blinkers would account for My Pal Al’s current good form but Alistair Gordon was not so sure. My Pal Al was a most impressive winner of the Kas Govender Memorial Handicap at Greyville yesterday leading stable companion Marshall That and Roy’s Strike Force a merry dance as Anton Marcus took the race by the scruff of the neck from the jump.

“He’s finally learning what racing’s all about,” said Gordon. “The blinkers may have helped but you can see in the morning’s that he wants to race and he’s starting to enjoy his racing.”

“It’s still too soon but we may even take the blinkers off at a later stage. Anton says he’s still a big baby but I haven’t had time to have a good chat to him so I’ll see what he says before we decide. For now we will keep him to weaker opposition and take it from there,” Gordon concluded.

There was certainly a lot to like about the victory as My Pal Al hammered away from the break and showed no signs of stopping come the line. My Pal Al is owned and was bred by father and son combination of Dr Nic and Kim Labuschagne.

There is a fine line between being fit and at peak fitness as Anthony Delpech alluded to at Greyville yesterday. Quizzed about his ride Al Sahem in the G2 Gauteng Guineas at Turffontein on Saturday he said his mount had missed some vital work because of the rain and that was the difference between winning and losing.

Al Sahem went down a short head to pacemaker Janoobi and Delpech added, “He’s a very smart horse and will have a big chance in the other two legs of the Triple Crown.”

Delpech opened the batting yesterday on the filly Osprey for Dennis Drier where the sister to Met winner Martial Eagle and Algoa Cup winner Nebula opened her account. The opposition was nothing to write home about but Delpech rated her “a bit better than the other horses in this race. She’s decent.”

Delpech took his tally to three for the afternoon as Napoli rattled home for Alyson Wright in the fifth.

It was David vs Goliath in the second but Goliath winning this round as Good Grace scored a narrow victory over Mark My Card. Good Grace comes from the all-powerful Candice Bass-Robinson yard while Wayne Bardenhorst trains a small string out of a private establishment that borders Doug Campbell’s yard near Richmond.

Robert Fayde’Herbe does an excellent job with the Bass-Robinson satellite string and the switch to poly may have been the secret. “She didn’t travel in Cape Town,” referring to her action, “but she’s travelling now.”

Part owner Eric Buhr concurred. “It was a good move to bring her up from Cape Town for the poly,” as Good Grace recorded her fourth victory.

“I don’t come down here for nothing,” warned Gauteng-based Brian Wiid after he picked up his second winner of the weekend. Racing Socks did the honours on Friday night and Lee’s Pick rounded off a profitable weekend with the gelding proving far too strong for some modest opposition.

Former jockey turned trainer Jeff Freeman has been through a quiet spell of late but What A Scorcher was given a peach of a front-running ride in the fourth by apprentice Lyle Hewitson who was recording the 154th success of his short career.

By Andrew Harrison

Horseracing has a habit of stamping milestone moments. The latest occurrence was on Saturday at Turffontein when Mike de Kock registered his 3000^th winner in the Gr 2 Betting World Gauteng Guineas. The colt Janoobi also secured a feature treble for the De Kock yard on the day.

Fate could not have ordained a more fitting jockey to have been aboard Janoobi than Piere Strydom.

If there was ever a vote for greatest South African trainer De Kock would probably win it, while Strydom is the only South African to have ever ridden 5000 winners and is peerless in this country in terms of natural talent.

The reason eight-times SA Champion Trainer De Kock would likely win the vote is due to his overseas exploits. He has virtually single-handedly put South African racing on the map.

Therefore the final fitting stamp on the 3000^th winner was the famous blue with white epaulettes colours Janoobi carried.

These colours of Sheik Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum have been carried to victory twice in the world’s most famous flat race, the Epsom Derby, and are synonymous with British racing. Twenty years ago nobody would have dreamed of them being a regular fixture in South Africa.

De Kock inherited a string of 50 horses in 1988 at the age of 23 when his then boss Ricky Howard-Ginsberg passed away unexpectedly.

The owners had unanimous faith in the young De Kock taking over the string due to the natural affinity he had shown for horses. In his time in the army’s equestrian unit he had learnt how to get horses to peak fitness for both combat and endurance races. In his subsequent stint with Ormond Ferraris he had learnt the importance of attention to detail. These two aspects of training have been the cornerstones of his success today.

His first winner was with Evening Mist in a Listed race at Newmarket on December 21, 1988, a fitting start because it was growing up close to this racecourse which had attracted him to horses and racing in the first place.

Evening Mist gave him his first Gr 1 winner in April the following year when beating the boys in the Administrator’s Champion Stakes over 2000m at Turffontein, despite odds of 25/1.

De Kock’s career took off at the end of the last millennium through his training of Horse Chestnut, who is widely regarded as the greatest racehorse in South African history. The versatile colt was a facile winner of the Cape Guineas and followed up by winning the J&B Met by eight lengths. He then went on to land the Triple Crown. He was an easy winner of his only start in the USA. However, a subsequent training injury forced an early retirement, having won nine of his ten career starts.

But, the great horse had given De Kock a penchant for overseas travel.

De Kock had soon boldly set up a yard in Dubai. On a historic night for South African racing at the Dubai World Cup meeting in 2003, De Kock landed the UAE Derby with Victory Moon and the Gr 1 Dubai Duty Free with the filly Ipi Tombe.

De Kock went on to become the second most successful trainer in Dubai Carnival history and is still a force to be reckoned with out there today. He also has a yard in Newmarket in England. Two years ago he became the first South African to have a runner in the Kentucky Derby.

The benefit to South African racing of De Kock’s overseas success will only be truly felt when the iniquitous export protocols imposed on South African horses by most countries around the world are relaxed. This situation remains De Kock’s biggest bugbear and causes him immense frustration.

He has been heard to say “the floodgates” for SA racing will be opened once it has been resolved.

De Kock said in the build up to the 3000^th winner, he was not much one for milestones as a person who tended to look ahead rather than backwards.

However, he would have gained great satisfaction from his son Mathew being at the helm for the three feature victories on Saturday, courtesy of Rafeef, Nother Russia and Janoobi, as he himself was away in Dubai.

Mathew also saddled the Gr 2 Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas runner up Al Hawraa and looks ever more capable of filling his father’s huge boots.

De Kock’s most apt statement in exposing what made him tick came in reply to a question posed on South Africa soil on whether he was still learning about British racing. He said, “I am still learning over here.”

David Thiselton