If you think racehorse trainers are a bunch of clowns, forget it! The successful ones, like five-star generals, know the strength of their troops and plan a campaign accordingly – no blood is shed but a few rands may be!

For most of the year races are spread like globs of butter, marge if you don’t fancy Prof Tim Noakes’s recommendations, with ‘feature days’ the flavour, but South Africa’s Champion’s Season is unique in that it crams some of the country’s most important races into a three-month frenzy and with those races in mind trainers plot for months.

Scottsville’s Festival of Speed is the pinnacle of the sprint racing calendar and with four Gr1 events settled on one afternoon and likely make-or-break for the year-end Equus Awards, the first Saturday in June is cut-throat.

The Gr1 Tsogo Sun, being handicap, has its detractors but given that past winners who retire with their crown jewels intact have a good record at stud it is a race that amounts to more than just a winner’s cheque.

With the new handicap conditions in place one needs to be a boring mathematician to work out the mechanics of the weights – and most punters couldn’t give a damn anyway. But while numbers may take you to a point in handicapping they do not transcend the perceived ability of an individual. As legendary race-caller Trevor Denman commented after American Pharoah wrapped up the Triple Crown in America, handicappers were so busy with the numbers that they forgot just how good the horse was and went against him.

Captain Alfredo stamped himself a strong contender for the Gr1 Tsogo Sun as did runner-up Captain Causeway in the Listed In Full Flight Stakes at Scottsville on Sunday but as alluded to, good generals plan their attack and Captain Alfredo, as strong as his formline suggests, will find the Tsogo Sun a much tougher assignment.

Possibly of more interest are the Gr1 Alan Robertson Championship and the Gr1 Tsogo Sun Medallion.

Exquisite Touch ran well below her earlier form in the SA Fillies Nursery at Turffontein on Saturday and barring anything untoward she must be given the benefit of the doubt if indeed she takes her place in the Alan Robertson.

After her SA Nursery win, Sean Tarry set last Saturday’s Computaform Sprint winner Carry On Alice the task of the Gr1 Tsogo Sun Medallion where she came up just short. Given that Carry On Alice came from possibly the best three-year-old crop of fillies ever, Cloth Of Cloud could find the males a touch stronger – also given that she runs in the Medallion.

Moreover, her antics approaching the finish are of concern and given the tricky Scottsville track any hesitation before the line will cost her.

The Gold Medallion form is up in the air after Cloth Of Cloud put one over the speedy Riverine in the Nursery and some exciting KZN runners have emerged.

Robbie Hill’s charge Red Chesnut Road has simply destroyed the opposition in his two starts but given the strength of the Godolphin Barbs Stakes field the form needs to be taken with a pinch of salt even though Rob’s Jewel, close-up in a Highveld feature and a subsequent winner, was soundly beaten fourth.

Gio Ponti’s Legacy, in the Godolphin pack, did Secret Captain’s form no favours but Duncan’s Howell’s charge won so well that one can possibly add four or five lengths onto that showing.

In all it does well to sum up what’s on the horizon for a bit of an edge.

By Andrew Harrison

Cold As Ice is to stay in Britain and presents plans are for her to remain at the English National Stud at Newmarket for her breeding career.

Ridgemont manager Craig Carey said: “Wayne Kieswetter is keen to mate her with Fastnet Rock and he and Brian Finch aim to have a lot of fun racing her babies in England.”

The Choice Carriers, Sceptre and Laisserfaire winner was retired after damaging a tendon when starting odds-on for the All-Weather Fillies & Mares Championship at Lingfield on Good Friday.

By Michael Clower

Legal Eagle has been promoted to 5-2 favouritism for the Vodacom Durban July even though Sean Tarry hinted after Saturday’s Premiers Champions Challenge win that the four-year-old was unlikely to run.

Tarry, asked about future plans at the presentation ceremony, said: “I don’t think we are over-keen about the July but Derek (Brugman) and I will talk through the weeks to come -possibly the Champions Cup at the end of the season, maybe just a rest.”

Legal Eagle was previously second favourite – 33-10 with Betting World and 7-2 with World Sports Betting – but Triple Crown hero Abashiri has been marked out from 28-10 to 7-2 with Betting World and remains on 33-10 with WSB.

Samurai Blade, beaten less than a length when third in the SA Derby, is the big mover. Tarry’s colt has been slashed from 40-1 to half that price with WSB and to 25-1 with BW. Inara, who finished with only one behind her in the Premier’s Champion, has gone out from 25-1 to as big as 50-1.

Betting World: 5-2 Legal Eagle, 7-2 Abashiri, 14-1 French Navy, 20-1 Silver Mountain, Rabada, Deo Juvente,Brazuca, New Predator, Black Arthur, 25-1 and upwards others.

World Sports Betting: 5-2 Legal Eagle, 33-10 Abashiri, 14-1 French Navy, 16-1 Silver Mountain, Rabada,Brazuca, 18-1 Black Arthur, 20-1 Deo Juvente, New Predator, Mac De Lago, Samurai Blade, 25-1 and upwards others.

By Michael Clower

Trainer Mike Azzie said the racing public would not understand the magnitude of Abashiri’s Gr 1 SA Derby win until they had walked the Turffontein track and seen for themselves how frighteningly steep the hill from the 1400m mark up to the 800m long straight is.

On top of being thrilled for owners Adriaan and Rika Van Vuuren, Azzie said the landing of the SA Triple Crown by Abashiri was particularly pleasing due to the impact it would have on South African racing.

Azzie has helped turn around the career of jockey Karl Zechner by remaining loyal to him and deserves huge credit for this decision, which is not something many top trainers would have done.

Zechner has responded by producing rides of consummate professionalism throughout and now deserves his place among the country’s top echelon jockeys.

However, Azzie felt Zechner had asked Abashiri to do it the hard way on Saturday by dropping him out to the tail of the field from a wide draw and would have preferred to see him slotting the horse in, especially considering the good pace stablemate Scheme Of Things had set had been discussed beforehand.

Azzie felt Zechner had then panicked and sent him for home coming up the hill and had asked him to do too much too early in the straight.

These are understandable sentiments coming for a man who had done a magnificent job in preparing the horse for the Triple Crown goal from day one of the season.

However, many would jump to the defense of Zechner and here is an example of the differences of opinion which make racing the great sport it is.

Zechner appeared to make a snap decision to drop Abashiri out after he was slow out the gates and in some eyes this could have been a race winning move. He was on the best horse in the race and  Abashiri had never gone the 2450m trip before.

Dropping him out after the slow start ensured he did not waste energy being moved up and then more energy attempting to slot in.

Furthermore, the last three in the running, Abashiri, Rocketball and Smaurai Blade, were the first three home, which emphasises how strong the pace was.

Rocketball, who was beaten only 0,2 lengths in the end, was also sent for home earlier than Abashiri. Zechner remained patient until the last few metres of the hill, but with Rocketball scything through the well strung out field like a knife through butter, it was understandable he moved early. He also found a Standside rails run and the sprint races appeared to show this to be the favourable side.

Had he waited longer would Rocketball have moved to the rail, forcing Abashiri to switch inside of him?

Zechner admitted yesterday he had hit the front too soon and for a moment or two felt Rocketball might catch him.

He said, “I think Abashiri knew I was in trouble and he responded.”

Zechner said in the post race interview, “He’s a champion and you’ll never see good horses beat, they always put their heads down at the right time.”

In the end the only thing which counted was Abashiri had won and the dream of the connections, the operators and the public had been delivered.

Azzie said, “We are blessed to have a horse like this. Racing needs champions.”

The public’s new hero was feeling “a bit stiff” yesterday.

Azzie said this was to be expected and added, “Campaigning a horse in The Triple Crown is a very tedious and tough task.”

He added, looking back, the pressure during the series had not been as big as he had expected. “He is a very straight forward, easy horse to train. He is so laid back.”

Azzie has always been known for his bold pre-race predictions, but took a different approach throughout the series and allowed the horse to do the talking.

He said, “I’m keeping it low key, if you shout your mouth off you can have egg on your face. In the end it is only winners that pay for the whisky.”

Looking at the previous Triple Crown winner Louis The King’s subsequent career it would be understandable if Abashiri was rested and brought back for a crack at next year’s J&B Met. However,  it has been a lifelong dream of Adriaan Van Vuuren to win the country’s premier race, the Vodacom Durban July.

Azzie will therefore be sitting down with the Van Vuurens to discuss this target.

However, he did add Abashiri would definitely not be taking part in the Gr 1 Daily News 2000 and would not even be entered for this big classic event.

Abashiri would either take part in a Pinnacle Stakes race or have a racecourse gallop before going straight into the July, if it is indeed decided to have a tilt at the big one.

Azzie said, “He is the sort of horse who can win the July and an owner in such a position would wonder if the opportunity would ever arise again.”

There are no plans to send the giant-striding horse overseas, which is good news for South African fans.

His victory would have also been celebrated by his breeders Lammerskraal Stud as this should put their always underrated sire Go Deputy, who was completely snubbed by breeders last season, back in favour.

By David Thiselton

Chevauchee is to be upped to feature company after displaying her potential when chasing home Varumba in the Racing.It’s A Rush Conditions Plate at Kenilworth on Saturday.

Despite a five-month absence, a trip too short for her and without a gallop worth the name, the Australian-bred was narrowing the gap all the way to the line and an impressed Sean Veale said: “Over another 200m I would have run the winner down. This is a very nice filly and I don’t know why she’s not in Durban.”

A delighted Ridgemont manager Craig Carey, busy fielding texts from Brett Crawford at Turffontein, said: “He now wants to aim her at a couple of features including the Olympic Duel on May 21.”

It will be interesting to see what the filly can do when she is tried over a trip commensurate with her pedigree – she is by a dual Derby winner out of a daughter of an Irish Oaks winner.

Veale was also involved in an objection to the All To Come Maiden and reckoned he was robbed when the stipes ruled against him. The close circuit pictures suggested he was making a fuss about nothing because he never stopped riding Imperial Dancer and, even though he was only beaten five millimetres, Aldo Domeyer on 4-1 favourite Sherlock had his whip in the correct hand and the interference was minimal.

However it looked very different on the head-on in the boardroom. This showed the action all the way up the straight with Imperial Dancer the early villain, taking the winner several horses wide. In the final furlong, though, it was Sherlock who hung in, seemingly taking Veale’s mount with him.

Chief stipe Ernie Rodrigues said: “We have to be sure that the second would have won if we are to change the result and we took the view that the two horses moved in independently.”

It would do wonders for public relations, particularly among punters, if the boardroom films were shown on the close circuit and Tellytrack, preferably with a stipe explaining what happened.

Let no-one say this can’t be done. The technology is already in place and there is enough computer genius in the employ of the operators to make it work. There might not be time to show it in Tellytrack’s busy live schedule but there is more than enough during the late night replays and on-course between races.

Vaughan Marshall and his stable jockey won three of the last four with M.J.Byleveld giving a brilliant display of waiting in front on 16-1 shot Variance in the mile handicap, keeping enough up his sleeve to be able to kick beyond recall halfway up the straight.  “It was a very clever ride,” said assistant trainer Adele Alsop. “He caught them a bit flat-footed and the others then had too much work to do.”

Who is to say that they would not also have won the opening Maiden Juvenile had William Longsword not been scratched with a ‘stacked leg’ (Ms Alsop: “It’s a virus – the leg swells up. The stables around us have got it”).

A New Dawn had no problem justifying odds of 1-4 but he wasn’t that convincing even though Joey Ramsden rates him (“a smashing horse, looking for this trip and more”) and is considering a crack at next month’s Langerman.

Four-year-old Words Of Wisdom avoided banishment to Kimberley’s big hole by springing a 20-1 surprise under Heavelon van der Hoven in race four. “It’s tough in Cape Town when the younger horses are coming through so we had thought of sending her to a weaker centre,” said Piet Steyn.

Part owner Jaco Reverchon, a Cape Town architect, had his first winner when Robert Khathi sprang a 35-1 shock on the Paddy Kruyer-trained Foxy Princess and tool-making boss Jason Coenraad got the same buzz when Grant Behr on Elusive Rose fought off all-comers four races later.

By Michael Clower