Laurence Wernars has owned horses for some 25 years and looks to have a couple of chances of breaking his Gr 1 duck this season, including with Friday night’s Drill Hall Stakes winner New Predator.

Wernars has won plenty of Gr 2s and went close to landing a Gr 1 last season when the Johan Jansevan Vuuren-trained Brazuca only just failed in the Golden Horseshoe over 1400m at Greyville.

Top jockey Weichong Marwing called New Predator probably the best three-year-old around after his start to finish win on Friday night.

Wernars said he would leave it to trainer Janse Van Vuuren to choose the next target for the Australian-bred New Approach colt.

Wernars believes New Predator will get the Gr 1 Daily News 2000 trip if  “ridden cold.” However, Brazuca is a ready-made Daily News candidate, while New Predator’s speed makes him probably better suited to the 1600m trip of the Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge.

Meanwhile, a whole new career has been opened to the always highly regarded Dennis Drier Triptique, whose running on second in the Drill Hall proved he is more than just a sprinter.

By David Thiselton

South African apprentice Jose Barnes had a winner in his first meeting in the USA this weekend after being granted a work permit last month.

It was the perfect Mother’s Day present for his mother Monica, who together with Barnes’ father Milton followed his progress through telephone contact with relatives living in the USA.

“I first and foremast want to thank trainer Charles Laird for helping keep Jose’s race riding dream alive,” said Monica. “Charles will know what I mean.”

Jose Barnes (Nkosi Hlophe)

Barnes had three rides for his Santa Anita-based guv’nor Steven Miyadi in a dirt track meeting at Golden Gate racecourse in San Francisco on Saturday.

He had a chance of making a winning USA debut as he was aboard the favourite in the fifth race, but his mount broke awkwardly and could only manage fourth place.

However, in the seventh race Barnes announced his arrival in the land of the stars and stripes with a fine ride aboard Two Steps Of Glory, who paid US$11.20 a win on the Tote. Fittingly the winning owner was ex-patriot South African film producer Gary Barber. Barnes tracked the leaders to the turn, brought his mount two wide into the straight and she then responded to urgings to just get up by a head despite lugging out in the final furlong.

Barnes’ final ride of the meeting yielded a fifth place finish.

Barnes’, who grew up close to Clairwood racecourse, was mentored in his early days by jockey great Garth Puller and was later accepted by the South African Jockeys Academy.

He was officially the shortest rider in South Africa.

After taking 57 rides to break his duck he grew in confidence and became one of the most sort after claiming apprentices in the country, including having a strong association with the Charles Laird yard. He proved many detractors wrong in the process.

However, he was then struck down by a debilitating back injury, which saw him side-lined for months. After an operation he made a brief comeback, but was written off by all and sundry once again after being forced back on to the side-lines.

Monica Barnes then spent her life savings on an operation for Jose performed in the UK by renowned spinal surgeon Martin Knight.

The Barnes family are thankful to Knight as Jose’s back has not given him any problems since.

Jose rode 27 winners and had 141 places in 449 rides in South Africa and having improved his record in just one meeting in the USA the determined youngster is deservedly back on the path to success.

By David Thiselton

At Kenilworth yesterday Joey Ramsden won the Somerset 1200 for the fourth successive year when 5-2 shot Attenborough led two furlongs out under Donovan Dillon and romped home to win pretty much as he liked.

Donovan Dillon (Nkosi Hlophe)

Ramsden said: “He is a smashing horse and he has come on by leaps and bounds since his first run. We are quite keen to keep him here rather than send him to Durban and so he will do the two-year-old winter series – the Cape Of Good Hope Nursery (May 28) and the Langerman four weeks later.”

The Milnerton trainer was optimistic that he would double up with Miranda Frost in the Perfect Promise Sprint but the 8-10 favourite went out like a light inside the final furlong and was found to have a significant nasal discharge.

Bernard Fayd’Herbe slipped The Merry Widow through on the inner to extend the unbeaten record of Gaynor Rupert’s homebred 5-1 chance to three. She will come back for the Fillies Nursery in three weeks’ time.

She is no more than 15 hands and Jonathan Snaith quipped: “She is the smallest horse in the yard and Justin was eyeing her for polo!”

It was a red-letter day for Lungese Geledu. The 27-year-old has been with Vaughan Marshall for four years but has only started race-riding relatively recently and Indigo Storm in the Work Riders’ Maiden was his third ride. He led 50m out to record his first success.

By Michael Clower  

Captain America, only sixth behind Legal Eagle in the Premier’s Champions after finishing second to the same horse in the Horse Chestnut, will not be seen again this season.

Brett Crawford (“He will come back home to Cape Town for a rest and he will stay off for the rest of the season”) will again aim him at the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and the J & B Met. He finished fourth and third in these two races in January.

By Michael Clower

Picture: Captain America (Liesl King)

Black Arthur, the new favourite for the Vodacom Durban July, came out of his win in Friday night’s Canon Guineas in great shape but no decision has yet been taken on whether he will run in the Daily News en route.

Justin Snaith said yesterday: “Black Arthur pulled up as well as I could have asked. We are undecided about the Daily News at the moment. We will have a chat with the owners and make a decision.

Black Arthur (Nkosi Hlophe)

“But the aim for Bela-Bela (winner of the Daisy Fillies Guineas) has always been the Woolavington on May 28 so she will go for that.”

However there is a question mark about the 2014 July winner Legislate who had been due to contest the Rising Sun Gold Challenge on June 11 before being retired to stud. He started favourite for the Drill Hall and managed only fifth.

Snaith said: “He was very quiet before the race which is unlike him and in the parade ring I was a little bit concerned. Anthony Delpech also felt he was quiet in the race. He is fine this morning – there is no sign of anything – but the owners are in discussion about him and the decision will be made by them. It’s out of my hands.”

Nightingale, a generous 12-1 when beaten only half a length by Bela-Bela, will renew rivalry in the Woolavington but plans for 12-10 favourite Silver Mountain (sixth) have yet to be confirmed.

Candice Robinson said: “Nightingale is a good filly and she has improved. Also the 2 000m will be better for her but it was a disappointing run from Silver Mountain. Bernard Fayd’Herbe said she didn’t quicken up at all. We can’t find anything wrong and she pulled up fine. We will take bloods in the morning.”

Mike Bass’s successor confirmed that Winter Guineas winner Marinaresco will run in the Winter Classic on May 21 “and we will the take it from there,” while Inara remains on target for the Jonsson Workwear Garden Province on July day despite finishing with only one behind her in the Premier’s Champions Challenge nine days ago.

Candice said: “It was a tough task but Grant van Niekerk said that she got badly cut into and lost it behind. She was never going after that.”

By Michael Clower