The Charles Laird-trained Ice Machine is a “happy horse” ahead of the defense of his Gr 2 IOS Drill Hall Stakes crown, which is to be run over 1400m at Greyville tomorrow night.

Ice Machine (Nkosi Hlophe)

He will have to defeat the like of former Equus Horse Of The Year Legislate, but Laird’s assistant trainer Lorenzo Kariem said the brilliant Silvano gelding was in just as good a space as last year, when winning in impressive style by three lengths.

Kariem said, “In the Horse Chestnut he missed the break and they then cantered – he needs a good pace. He’s doing well but you do need luck in this race.”

Justin Snaith said about Legislate, “It is his first run back and he might need it a little, but he is doing well and is a good horse.”

Robert Fayd’Herbe said Night Trip seemed to love a right hand turn and if repeating his KZN form of last season could be in the money.

Sean Tarry said the evergreen Gold Onyx would be using the race as a preparation event.

Dennis Drier said, “Triptique is very, very well. It will be interesting to see whether he goes the 1400m trip and if he does he could be in the money. Punta Arenas has had a lovely little break on the farm and will need the run.”

The balance of the field is made up of classy horses like The Conglomerate, Saratoga Dancer and New Predator, as well as the two likely outsiders Diamond King and Mister Matchett.

By David Thiselton

Legislate has been installed 14-10 favourite for tomorrow night’s Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes despite this being his first run since finishing sixth in the J & B Met.

World Sports Betting makes Horse Chestnut third New Predator second favourite at 2-1 with last year’s winner Ice Machine next on 11-2.

Silver Mountain will be ridden by Bernard Fayd’Herbe for the first time in the Daisy Fillies Guineas (Aldo Domeyer was on her in all her previous seven starts) and is 12-10 favourite. The Cape Fillies Guineas winner’s stable companion Nightingale, who is on a four-timer, is a 12-1 chance.

Paddock Stakes third Bela-Bela is second favourite at 4-1, half a point ahead of the SA Fillies Classic runner-up Negroamaro.

In the Canon Guineas it’s the Mike Azzie-trained Rabada who heads the market at 22-10 with Justin Snaith’s Politician scorer Black Arthur 9-2 second favourite and Prospect Strike next at 11-2. Cape Derby winner It’s My Turn is a 7-1 chance.

By Michael Clower

Picture: Legislate (Liesl King)

SA Triple Crown-winning trainer Mike Azzie felt Rabada would have been the horse to beat in tomorrow night’s Gr 2 Canon Guineas if it were not for his tough draw.

Rabada (Nkosi Hlophe)

The ball now may be in the court of Justin Snaith, who has a powerful team of three, although they also face tricky draws.

Rabada travelled down to Summerveld yesterday and Azzie said, “Rabada had a great comeback win after being hurt in Cape Town and has come on in leaps and bounds.”

Snaith runs Baritone, Black Arthur and It’s My Turn, and said, “Baritone could have won last time (narrow second Byerley Turk with topweight) but for the draw, and is widely drawn again. Black Arthur is a horse everybody has to keep an eye on. Cape Derby winner It’s My Turn needs further and hasn’t got the pace to get up there from a wide draw, so will be dropped out and we will see how he runs on.”

Dean Kannemeyer runs the Byerley winner Mambo Mime, although he is now 4kg worse off with Baritone, and said, “He had a few issues last year and is learning and improving. He has a lot of potential and lost by half-a-length to Black Arthur over this trip in Cape Town when giving away 5kg and they fancy Black Arthur. It’s a strong race but he’s doing well.”

Exit Here (Nkosi Hlophe)

Charles Laird runs Exit Here and assistant trainer Lorenzo Kariem said his last run in  sloppy conditions on the poly can be ignored. He added, “He is doing very well, but it’s always a competitive race and you need luck.”

Sean Tarry has two runners and said, “Prospect Strike is the sort of horse who would have had a chance, but from the draw I can have no confidence. He is definitely looking for a mile. We probably stretched Malak El Moolook in his last two over 1800m, he will appreciate the step back to a mile, but he also has a tough draw.”

Gareth Van Zyl said the yard are having success addressing Redcarpet Captain’s haemo-concentration issues and added, “He had excuses for his last couple with bad draws and over racing and now from a good draw and with the blinkers off I make him a big runner.”

Other eye catching entries in the race are the Duncan Howells pair Sylvester The Cat and Ten Gun Salute and the Mike de Kock-trained Muwaary and the Vaughan Marshall-trained Victorious Jay, while the Lezeanne Forbes-trained Royal Armour will be attempting to reproduce some of his good polytrack form.

By David Thiselton

The Mike Bass-trained superstar filly Silver Mountain was given the thumbs up by jockey Bernard Fayd’Herbe after a workout on the sand at Summerveld yesterday and her big rival Bela-Bela has also been pleasing trainer Justin Snaith at Summerveld ahead of tomorrow night’s Gr 2 Daisy Guineas at Greyville.

However, another Cape horse, Flying Ice, “has as much chance as anything else” in the race and is at her peak according to trainer Neil Bruss.

Silver Mountain (Kenilworth Racing)

Assistant trainer Robert Fayd’Herbe said about Silver Mountain “She is doing very well at home. She won’t be quite at her peak but is fit enough to run a good race first time back.”

He said about his other two participants in the race, “Nightingale in this type of company might find the trip just a touch too sharp, but is doing very well at home. Tafferty Tart has a bad draw but if she can overcome it and get a nice position within striking distance she can put in a good effort. She has finished third to Silver Mountain twice and is up to it.”

Bela-Bela was scratched on course before the Umzimkhulu after a float incident but Snaith said, in retrospect, this had been a blessing. “That run would have come too soon. She is high quality and the Paddock Stakes, where she finished third, has turned out to be the best form race of the entire Cape season. If she can overcome the draw she will be in the money.” However, Snaith said it would be difficult to predict how well any of his three-year-olds on the night would do as they were running under lights for the first time on a course which is new to them.

Bruss said Flying Ice would definitely appreciate the step up to 1600m and gave her a big shout. He said, “She is doing really well and all we got to hope for is a clear run up the straight.”

The Geoff Woodruff-trained Alexa arrived at Summerveld on Tuesday and he said, “She is bright and fit. She ran well in both the Gauteng Fillies Guineas and SA Fillies Classic from hopeless positions.  She can make up four lengths, but she can’t make up twenty-four, and she now has a decent draw in a feature for the first time.”

Glen Kotzen runs WSB Cape Fillies Guineas runner up Our Destiny and said, “She is the type of filly who looks around a lot so I don’t blame the jockeys for wanting blinkers on, but she over raced with them on for the first time in her KZN debut and fell in a hole, so they are now off. She is a lovely filly and is fit and well but has a tough draw.”

Intergalactic (Nkosi Hlophe)

Dean Kannemeyer runs shock Umzimkhulu winner Fromafar and she put in eye catching work with her normal low head carriage on the beach sand with a companion yesterday. Kannemeyer said, “She was caught wide the whole way last time, so won a very good race. She is fit and well and we will take our chances from a wide draw, but it’s a strong field and we will be thrilled to run a place.”

The Mike Azzie-trained Shahtoosh left Johannesburg for Durban yesterday morning. She looks is a long-striding horse with a nice turn of foot and he said she was unlucky to not still be unbeaten. He added, “She has done very well in the last ten days.”

Sean Tarry said about Intergalactic, “Her run in the Empress Club was good enough for her to have a chance here (1,4 length third to Inara), but Silver Mountain looks impossible to beat from that draw.”

Doug Campbell said about Lala, “The 14 was too short, she’s looking for a mile to 1800m and is doing well, so I’m hoping for a big run. The draw is a worry, but she will be dropped out. We had to look for a jockey replacement, so Sean Veale rides her for the first time.”

Gareth Van Zyl spoke on behalf Bella Sonata’s team, “She is better than her form suggests, because things didn’t go well for her in Jo’burg. It is the strongest fillies Guineas at Greyville for many years, but a big run can be expected on the back of her Umzimkhulu run as she was running on strongly. She will appreciate this step up in trip and is doing well.”

By David Thiselton

A high class field headed by former Equus Champion Legislate and defending champion Ice Machine will line up in the Grade 2 Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes to be run at Greyville Racecourse this coming Friday evening.

Legislate, a former Vodacom Durban July winner, makes his Champions Season debut since finishing sixth in the J&B Met at Kenilworth back in January. Prior to that he was a close-up second to Legal Eagle in the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate. Legal Eagle scored a good victory in the R4-million Premier’s Champion Challenge run at Turffontein this past Saturday.

Just how Legislate fares in the Drill Hall will likely determine whether Justin Snaith supplements his charge for the Vodacom Durban July as his name was significantly absent from the initial list of 65 entries unveiled at the launch of South Africa’s Champions Season a fortnight ago.

The gallant seven-year-old Ice Machine returns to his favourite course and distance to defend his crown. It has been up and down to the Highveld this season for him but there is little doubt that Charles Laird’s runner is a different proposition over the Greyville 1400m.

Whilst Anton Marcus has been Ice Machine’s regular pilot, the former champion will forgo the ride to partner The Conglomerate for leading owners Ingrid and Markus Jooste. It will be a year to the day of The Conglomerate’s last victory that came in the Grade 2 Canon Guineas, one of two supporting features on this Friday’s card, where Marcus will ride likely favourite Rabada for the Jooste’s and trainer Michael Azzie.

Also in the Canon Guineas field are Investec Derby winner It’s My Turn and Baritone both from the Justin Snaith stable and the exciting pair of Sylvester The Cat and Ten Gun Salute from the Duncan Howells yard.

Top class filly Silver Mountain will bid for a Fillies Guineas double when she lines up in the Grade 2 Daisy Fillies Guineas, the second supporting feature on the evening. Winner of the World Sports Betting Fillies Guineas, she was a close-up fourth in the colts equivalent and most recently second in South Africa’s first million dollar race.

The meeting kicks off the three months of South Africa’s Champion Season and Greyville patrons will be treated to some high class racing come Friday night.

ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY

Apart from the thrilling horseracing there is lot’s on offer at the course with the Galloping Gourmet Beer Festival and happy hour from 6 to 7:30 pm in the Lightning Shot Bar.  It is also a great chance to catch an early evening bite at the adjacent Braai Zone, where the thrill and excitement of the night can be enjoyed right alongside the racetrack – a great meeting place for friends who gather and relish the evening’s atmosphere on the lawns.

Live entertainment this Friday evening will be provided by The Gee Jays and the popular KidZone with full supervision, fun and entertainment will be in operation throughout the racing so be sure to bring the kids along.

Lots of parking available and entrance to Greyville Racecourse is FREE.

By Andrew Harrison