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

Jockey Keagan de Melo escaped with soft tissue bruising after a nasty fall on Kinshasa on the Greyville poly on Monday and expects to be back for Greyville’s Friday night meeting.

In the second race Kinshasa suddenly staggered sideways towards the inside rail before falling over, throwing De Melo on to the poly surface.

On course staff feared the worst for the horse and a screen was erected. However, he was found by the on course veterinarian to have suffered a pulmonary haemorrhage (bleeding), albeit a massive one.

Kinshasa has duly been suspended from racing in accordance with the rules relating to bleeding.

De Melo said he was feeling “tender” yesterday, but was due to begin a physiotherapy programme to repair the damage.

By David Thiselton

The Gr 2 Diadem Stakes over 1200m will be the headliner at Kenilworth on Saturday and it has attracted a top class field, although some of the contenders might be using it as a springboard into the Gr 1 Betting World Cape Flying Championships.

The Sean Tarry-trained Trip To Heaven will be hard to beat, especially considering this is his chief target for the Cape Summer Of Champions Season. Tarry believes the 1000m trip of the Cape Flying is too short for the brilliant five-year-old Trippi gelding, whose optimum trip is probably 1400m. He does hold an entry in the Cape Flying, but is not a certainty to line up. He has a merit rating of 117 which makes him officially the best weighted horse in the Diadem as he only has to carry a 1kg Gr 2 penalty as opposed to the 2kg Gr 1 penalty allotted to all of Talktothestars, Red Ray and Gulf Storm.

Trip to Heaven (JC Photographics)

Trip To Heaven beat Talktothestars by 2,4 lengths over 1160m at Turffontein on Sansui Summer Cup day in the Citizen Merchants. He is now only 1,5kg worse off, so on paper should confirm the placings. Furthermore, he has an exceptional turn of foot and the tough 1200m of the Kenilworth track should be more down his alley than the fast 1160m of Turffontein.

The 118 merit rated Talktothestars is officially only 0,5kg under sufferance with Trip To Heaven. He is the reigning Equus Champion Sprinter and should give a good account of himself, considering he was an easy winner of the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint over the tough 1200m of Scottsville when carrying topweight under handicap conditions. On the other hand he did finish unplaced in two runs over the Kenilworth 1200m last season. As usual he will not be wearing shoes on Saturday.

Gr 1 Mercury Sprint winner Red Ray is only 1kg under sufferance with Trip To Heaven. He has shown in the past to be capable of running well fresh, although he does seem to need a run to bring him back to his absolute peak. This will be his first run since winning The Mercury six months ago.

Gulf Storm will have a good chance as it will be his third run after a rest over an ideal trip and he was unlucky last time in the Listed Southeaster Sprint over 1100m, which was also a handicap meaning he had to carry 62kg. He is merit rated 110, which puts him 4,5kg under sufferance with Trip To Heaven. However, he was also 4,5kg under sufferance with the best-weighted Carry On Alice when winning last year’s Cape Flying.

Red Ray (Liesl King)

Search Party is the unknown factor as he beat two Gr 1 winners, Real Princess and Gulf Storm, over 1000m in November despite only receiving 2kg and 4,5kg respectively. He followed up by winning the Gr 2 Betting World Cape Merchants, a handicap over the Kenilworth 1200m, when 0,5kg under sufferance off a 96 merit rating. He is now merit rated 103, so officially has a tough task, especially considering he has to carry a 1kg Gr 2 penalty. He is officially 7kg under sufferance with Trip To Heaven.

Seven-year-old Tevez loves the Kenilworth 1200m and showed he has lost none of his edge when winning the Listed South Easter Sprint last time over 1100m with 60,5kg on his back last time out. He carries no penalties and is officially only 1,5kg under sufferance with Trip To Heaven.

Captain Alfredo improved to run a 2,5 length third in the Merchants when giving Search Party five lengths, but like the latter has a tough task at the weights here even off his 107 merit rating.

Victorious Jay was fourth in the Merchants so on paper has a very tough task. However, in his favour is he is not fully exposed over sprints, having raced over further for most of last season, and this is his third run after a six month layoff. He could be the dark horse.

Exelero, La Favourari and Line Break are fully exposed in sprints and would be shock winners, while Brilliant Crimson and Purple Mountains, who are dropping back in trips, have hopeless tasks at the weights.

By David Thiselton

Anthony Delpech will be returning to action on Friday night at Greyville stronger than ever and he has already been confirmed as rider of the Justin Snaith-trained champion filly Bela-Bela for the Gr 1 Sun Met on January 28.

Delpech broke his collarbone when falling off Payne’s Grey after the line at Turffontein on the night of December 6. He had broken this same bone before.

On this occasion the repair operation required a bone graft as well as a plate being fitted. The surgery was successful and the injury has healed well.

Anthony Delpech (Nkosi Hlophe)

In fact Delpech said with the plate now in place the collarbone was stronger than it had been before. He has been riding work this week and has four rides on Friday night, three of them for his biggest KZN supporter, Dean Kannemeyer.

Delpech watched Bela-Bela winning the Gr 1 Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes over 1800m under Anton Marcus on Saturday and agreed with Snaith it could have been a bit of a “flat run.”

He said, “She usually quickens quicker than that, she took a while to get going. But it was her second run after a layoff and came only three weeks after her comeback.”

Snaith qualified his own opinion, “It was by no means a bad run. The filly she beat Safe Harbour is a very, very good filly, in fact she beat Sergeant Hardy (in the level weights R2,5 million Lanzerac Ready To Run Stakes over 1400m) and he is now rated 110.”

Bela-Bela showed fine resolve on Saturday to get up by 0,4 lengths. She should be at her absolute peak for the Met.

However, Delpech is under no illusions about the task she faces and said, “It is going to be hard for her.”

The Met weights were published yesterday and Bela-Bela is set to carry 57kg, which includes a 2kg Gr 1 penalty.

She is merit rated 109, which means she will officially be 4kg under sufferance with the Met favourite Legal Eagle, who is merit rated 123 and carries joint topweight of 60kg.

Delpech rode Bela-Bela to victory in both the Gr 2 Daisy Fillies Guineas and Gr 1 Woolavington 2000 during last year’s SA Champions Season. He said after the latter win he regarded her as the second best filly he had ever ridden and only Vodacom Durban July and J&B Met-winner Igugu was better. Bela-Bela was duly named Equus Champion Three-year-old Filly.

By David Thiselton

Brett Crawford, who has a big chance of landing the third Met of his career, can start Kenilworth punters off on a winning note tomorrow.

Whisky Baron’s trainer has a third of the field in the noon maiden and Kingston Passage showed enough first time to suggest he has what it takes to land this 1 000m race.

Greg Cheyne’s mount was little fancied when racing green but taking second to comfortable winner Head Honcho on debut three weeks ago and needs to make only normal improvement to beat these. Indeed he opened odds-on (15-20) with World Sports Betting yesterday. Stable companion Pop The Question has not raced for nearly four months but the 4-1 chance has some decent form and looks the most obvious danger.

Greg Cheyne (Liesl King)

Joey Ramsden has weeded out most of the less competitive members of his string and as a result his team is down from 145 to 90, of which half are two-year-olds. It is significant that he has elected to persevere with Dance At Dawn who is still a maiden at the age of four. True, she is a full sister to Real Princess and closely related to Victory Moon so worth going on with if at all possible.

She beat all except the winner in her last two races before running inexplicably badly on Christmas Eve. Donovan Dillon came back convinced something was wrong and the racecourse vet wrote down “poor recovery.”

She tries again in race two and at 4-1 she looks worth backing. Lady Diddeo (11-2) ran below form last time (it was a work riders’ race) butappears held by Gypsy Beauty (4-1) while Ready Set Go (also 4-1) was not disgraced after being nibbled at (33-1 to 18-1) on debut. The sahorseracing computer has Gypsy Beauty, Dance At Dawn and Lady Diddeo in a multiple dead-heat. Talk about hedging your bets! Surely the machine can do better than that?

Loadshedder, thought to be crying out for a mile, seemed to have a touch of the slows when he finally got it but maidens are frequently won by horses you have given up on and he is going to get it together soon, maybe even tomorrow. He is 5-2 second favourite for the Racing Association race and the choice of the computer.

Gadget Man, beaten only a neck by Icon King last time, heads the market at 18-10 but the one that makes most appeal is 3-1 chance Redeemer, not least because he is a full brother to Captain America. He finished three lengths off Gadget Man on debut but didn’t get a clear run.

Grant van Niekerk rides Sabina’s Dynasty for Justin Snaith in race four rather than the Bass-Robinson runner Leaves Of Grass. But the 12-10 favourite is drawn even worse than Marinaresco and Richard Fourie’s mount makes more appeal at 5-2. Watch out for the Andre Nel-trained Guilty Pleasure (6-1) because he had to ease off the heels of the fourth-placed horse 50m out on debut, and 10-1 chance Come On Inn because that is the computer tip.

By Michael Clower