Anton Marcus consistently tops statistical logs and it’s no surprise that his win strike rate this season of 27,34% (or 70 wins from 256 rides) is almost identical to his overall strike rate from last season (27.30%). His numbers become even more impressive when paired with certain stables and his 100% (4 from 4) win strike rate for Alistair Gordon stands out on this list. The pair have a good chance of keeping the streak going with My Pal Al in the fifth at Greyville tonight.

Anton Marcus (Nkosi Hlophe)

My Pal Al was an easy maiden winner over 1400m on the Greyville polytrack in his second start as a gelding and impressed next time out when just touched off by the highly-rated Roy’s Magic. Both three-year-olds then made the trip up north to contest the Dingaans but My Pal Al did not appear to enjoy the soft going and faded out in the final furlong.

The Turffontein run is probably best ignored, for a number of good reasons, and closer inspection of his run to Roy’s Magic (rated 87) suggests that My Pal Al is likely better than his current mark of 80. He returns to 1400m on the polytrack tonight, jumps from an inside draw, has Marcus up and a set of blinkers have been slapped on to keep him focused. To say My Pal Al has plenty in his favour would be an understatement and he is worth chancing as a banker in smaller perms.

Anthony Delpech was a noticeable absentee around the KZN tracks over the last month after breaking his collar bone in early December. He eases his way back with four rides at Greyville on Friday night and all of them have winning chances.

Delpech has an impressive strike rate (28% winners, 50% first two) when linking up with the Dean Kannemeyer stable and the combination can improve their stats with the consistent Gusheshe in the second – a Maiden Plate (F&M) over 1400m. The drop back in trip is a slight concern for Gusheshe who tends to run on after the fact but this is negated by an inside draw which is a crucial advantage over this track and trip.

Gusheshe’s primary opponent is the Duncan Howells-trained Roy’s Kaitrina who jumps from pole position but the latter is not the most fluent out of the gates and this drop back in trip may not be ideal after running on stoutly over a mile last time out. The lightly raced A-Rod will also have his followers, with Anton Marcus in the irons, but Gusheshe has most in her favour and could be worth chancing as a Bipot banker.

Delpech teams up with Kannemeyer again with Arran Isles in the third and the lightly raced son of King’s Apostle has more scope for improvement than most of her rivals. With precious little form on offer, Arran Isles stands out in this line-up and should see you safely through exotics bets.

My Pal Al (Nkosi Hlophe)

The luckless Last Tiger gets Delpech back on board in the fourth, the first leg of the Pick 6, but this is a competitive handicap with a number of runners capable of making the frame. An inside draw will help his chances but Last Tiger, cramped for room in two of his last three starts, will need quite a bit to go his way to fend off Cutting Edge who looks well in here back on handicap terms after going close when under sufferance at the weights in a Pinnacle Stakes last timeout.

Cutting Edge does have his problems and there is no guarantee he will reproduce his improved latest effort. With this in mind, the likes of Just Ask Me, Silver Spring and Mumsy’s Jet warrant consideration.

Delpech takes a break in the fifth and it’s probably best as Marcus and My Pal Al look difficult to oppose.

The sixth looks tricky but the one to keep an eye on is Duncan Howells’ recent recruit His Legacy who is down in class and most likely better than rated. This does look a touch on the sharp side for the former Geoff Woodruff runner but His Legacy went into many notebooks after showing a good turn of foot to win his first two starts and is one to follow.

Delpech completes his night on Delicious Damowin in the seventh who ran on strongly over the minimum trip last time out and has two wins over this track and trip (1200m). He also jumps from an inside draw for a change and should be fighting out the finish. The main danger could be Russian Speed who has dropped dramatically in the ratings (87 > 55) and gets a good draw after staying on well on his poly debut from the widest gate of all.

The eighth is a minefield and recent maiden winners Patroclus and Portman Square, together with Rockefeller (rating slide), are preferred.

The younger Fit For Fun and Quality Matters will be popular choices in the last but the more experienced Disrupt may have the edge from a decent draw and with the confidence of Marcus in the saddle.

By Brendan Pather

Aldo Domeyer had a red letter day at Kenilworth yesterday riding six winners from just six rides on the eight race card.

He started off with a treble for his chief stable, Andre Nel, the private trainer to Sabine Plattner.

Aldo Domeyer (Nkosi Hlophe)

Ready Set Go (Race 2) converted favouritism at 28/10, Loadshedder (Race 3) was the bookmakers 2/1 favourite, although not Tote favourite, and Guilty Pleasure (Race 4) won at odds of 6/1.

His next winner was in the fifth aboard the Shane Humby-trained 4/1 shot Midnight Vision, who recorded his third win in succession.

Domeyer then won the seventh aboard the Mike Stewart-trained 6/1 chance Icon King.

Domeyer rode a confident race in the last over 1200m aboard the Mike Bass-trained Wake Up Maggie, who travelled well throughout before storming home to an impressive victory at odds of 9/2.

The young rider could be forgiven for standing up in the saddle in celebration at the line to mark a memorable day at the office.

Domeyer did not have rides in either race 1 or race 6 making it a perfect day at the office. The archives will have to be searched to see whether Domeyer’s perfect six broke a South African record for the number of winners from the same amount of rides on a day.

By David Thiselton

Joey Ramsden yesterday supplemented last Friday’s Jamaica Handicap winner Epona for the Klawervlei Majorca on Sun Met day together with Supercilious who won a 1 400m fillies conditions plate the following day. Both horses carry the Mayfair Speculators colours.

Craig Du Plooy (Nkosi Hlophe)

Also supplemented for the mile fillies Grade 1 were Party Crusher (Glen Kotzen) and the Justin Snaith-trained Fear Not while Snaith put last Friday’s easy Kenilworth handicap winner Copper Force into the Investec Cape Derby. Durban trainer Frank Robinson has supplemented Winter Is Coming for the Derby after the way the colt floored the odds laid on Red Chesnut Road in the Racing.It’s A Rush Progress Plate over 1 400m on the polytrack at Greyville on Monday.

Kotzen’s Cape Guineas runner-up Gold Standard has come in for further Sun Met support and has been cut from 16-1 to 12-1 with Betting World while Queen’s Plate runner-up Captain America has shortened slightly from 25-1 to 22-1.

Legal Eagle (15-10) continues to head the market with Marinaresco (33-10) and Whisky Baron (9-2). Rival firm World Sports Betting has the trio much the same at 15-10, 7-2 and 9-2.

Craig du Plooy, who broke several bones in his right hand in a racecourse fall at the beginning of November, won’t quite make it back in time for Met day but declares himself to be ready soon afterwards. However he is going to have to be patient because there is no racing in Cape Town for a fortnight after the Met.

Du Plooy has a two inch scar between his thumb and forefinger where the surgeon took out some of the damaged cartilege and anchored the bone.

Real Princess, who disappointed in last Friday’s Sceptre Stakes, was yesterday reported fine by Dean Kannemeyer who said: “She was bumped but she was already under pressure at that stage. She has come through the race well and I am seriously considering the Majorca.”

Andre Nel had the first treble of his short but highly successful training career yesterday when Ready Set Go, Loadshedder and Guilty Pleasure all obliged in successive races at Kenilworth yesterday. Aldo Domeyer, who rode all three, promptly followed up with Midnight Vision for Shane Humby.

By Michael Clower

Gold Circle will stage an additional race meeting at Greyville on Saturday, 28 January 2017, to coincide with the running of the R5-million SunMet (Gr1).

“It’s a no-brainer for us to embrace the Kenilworth festivities and to provide our racing fans the opportunity to enjoy the SunMet and supporting races on the big screen at Greyville, while taking in some local action at the same time,” said Gold Circle’s Marketing Executive Graeme Hawkins.

“We race on Friday night the 27^th at Greyville and also Sunday the 29^th at Scottsville, so the additional meeting creates a first-time-ever weekend carnival of horseracing in KwaZulu-Natal. The Friday night meeting features the popular “Prize-Nite”, in partnership with Hirsch, and also a Night Market in the Paddock Area, while the Scottsville meeting features the Marula Sprint over 1200 metres,” added Hawkins.

For the added race meeting on Saturday 28^th, the official 8-race programme at Greyville will comprise six local races as well as the SunMet (Gr1) over 2000m and the Blue Label telecoms Cape Stayers (Gr2) over 2800m as races 3 & 5 respectively. The first local race is due off at 16:05 but on-course betting facilities will open at 12:00 to allow for wagering on the Kenilworth and Turffontein meetings.

The Durban View restaurant will be open to the public and bookings can be made with Gail Klopper on (031) 314 1780. All other on-course catering facilities, including the Braaizone and the Lightning Shot Bar, will be available to the public.

The dual L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate winner and reigning Equus Horse of the Year Legal Eagle is viewed by many as unbeatable in the Gr 1 Sun Met. And so it is with some irony that 2017 marks the 50^th anniversary of the great race’s biggest ever upset.

Years ending in seven have generally produced exceptional Mets and this year’s race has already made history by carrying a R5 million stake, the highest stake for an open race in SA history.

Legal Eagle (Liesl King)

In 1967 the immortal Sea Cottage started at odds of 5/10, likely the shortest odds in Met history, but he was reportedly nearly brought down in the running and finished only fourth. He was beaten 2,5 lengths by the winner, the JW Bell-trained colt Ding Dong, to whom he gave 19 pounds. Ding Dong was ridden by the great James Maree who has done so much for workriders in Gauteng in recent times.

In 1977 the race provided the first of three successive wins for jockey great Bertie Hayden, who won five Mets in all. He won that year on Bahadur, owned by popular Durban couple Roy and Gladys Meaker. The following year was the first year of J&B’s 39 year-long sponsorship and Hayden won aboard the great Syd Laird-trained Politician. Politician and Hayden won again in 1979 in one of the most celebrated Met finishes of all time as the big chestnut was stuck in a pocket until about the 200m mark and had been written off by most of his supporters.

Thirty years ago in 1987 the race had to be staged in April due to the equine flu epidemic. The connections of the Paddy Lunn-trained favourite Model Man took the risk of paying R32,000, a vast amount in those days, to fly the horse down. He would have to finish in the first three to pay his way. He duly won the race by 0,25 lengths under Basil Marcus and the connections took home the first prize of R175,000.

Model Man is incidentally the grandam sire of Legal Eagle, who is from the family of 1968 Met winner William Penn.

In 1997 the great Alec Laird-trained London News became the first since Politician to do the Durban July-Met double. Two months later he put South African racing on the map by famously winning the Gr 1 QE II Cup in Hong Kong.

In 2007 the great Mike Bass-trained Pocket Power won the first of his three successive Mets. He remains the only horse to have won the prestigious race three times.

By David Thiselton