Alec Laird has two runners in the Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge over 1600m at Greyville on Saturday, Bouclette Top and Bezanova. He was hoping that the two big guns in the race Futura and Legislate would be below their peaks, thereby giving him a chance of landing a second Gr 1 at Greyville in the space of a week.

Laird won the Gr 1 Woolavington 2000 last Saturday with the Ideal World filly Smart Call, whom he is now likely to rest until next season. He has prepared both Bouclette Top and Bezanova from Randjesfontein. They will travel to Summerveld on Thursday.

He said, “Bouclette Top has been bursting for a run since his Drill Hall second, so he will be ready for this. Bezanova has had a nice little prep and ran very well at Greyville last year.”

The Argentinian-bred Giant’s Causeway gelding Bouclette Top had struck as a middle distance to staying type after running on well last season for fourth in both the Gr 2 Gauteng Guineas and the Gr 1 SA Classic over 1600m and 1800m respectively.

However, Laird believes now that a mile is his best trip, although he did win the Listed Drum Star Handicap over 1800m in March. The Drum Star was his first start with blinkers and the headgear appears to have brought a new lease of life as he followed up by running a decent third in the Gr 1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes over 1600m. He then ran a three length second in the Gr 2 IOS Drill Hall Stakes over 1400m at Greyville, when staying on well despite being keen in the running. The bay four-year-old deserves his 107 merit rating.

The four-year-old Bezrin gelding Bezanova has filled into his big frame this season and showed his class when winning the Gr 2 Peermont Emperor’s Palace Charity Mile at Turffontein last November. The latter is a handicap race and was raised from a 104 merit rating to 107. He probably found the 2000m of the SANSUI Summer Cup too far and he was then rested for three months before running unplaced in the Gr 2 Hawaii Stakes over 1400m and fourth in a Conditions Plate over 1450m. Last time out he ran on well over the more suitable 1600m trip to finish a 3,8 length fifth to Halve The Deficit at level weights.

The factor that augurs well for this good looking chestnut on Saturday is that he ran a three length second to Equus Horse Of The Year Legislate in last season’s Gr 2 KRA Guineas over the course and distance of Saturday’s Gold Challenge. He followed that with a 1,65 length fifth to Legislate in the Gr 1 Daily News 2000, so appears to enjoy the tight Greyville circuit.

Bouclette Top is drawn seven with Woolavington-winning jockey Weichong Marwing up and Bezanova is drawn eleven with Gavin Lerena aboard.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Alec Laird

The Sean Tarry-trained Count Dubois gelding French Navy has been raised three points for his Gr 1 Daily News 2000 win on Saturday and will go into the Vodacom Durban July with a merit rating of 113. This means, based on July favourite Futura’s current merit rating of 120, he would have to carry 54,5kg in the big race as things stand.

The 108 merit rated third-placed The Conglomerate was used as “the line horse” in the Daily News and his merit rating will remain unchanged, so as things stand he will go into the July 1kg under sufferance carrying the minimum weight for a three-year-old male of 53kg. Second-placed Ertijaal was raised four points to 110, meaning he will scrape into the July’s handicap with 53kg, while fourth-placed Rampant Ice was raised six points to 106 and it remains to be seen whether he will be supplemented for the big race.

The Alec Laird-trained Gr 1 Woolavington winner Smart Call was raised eight points to 109, based on her 2,25 length defeat of the 103 merit-rated line horse, third-placed Trophy Wife. However, Laird has said Smart Call will likely be rested for the remainder of the season.

Second-placed Pine Princess, beaten a quarter-of-a-length, remains on a 109 merit rating so will go into the July with 52,5kg as it stands. Fourth-placed Zante was the only other horse to be affected and her merit rating was raised nine points to 101, although she is not currently a July entry. The fifth-placed favourite Inara remains on 110, but she was scratched from the July yesterday (Monday) morning and will likely be aimed at the Gr 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes over the more suitable 1600m distance.

By David Thiselton

Picture: French Navy (Nkosi Hlophe)

Mikedekockracing.com report that preparations with Mubtaahij for Saturday’s Gr1 Belmont Stakes have gone smoothly and, as this picture shows, he has taken well to his new surroundings.

Picture: Mikedekockracing.com

S’Manga Khumalo, who this week will pass through the 1 000-ride marker for the season, says that it was in February that he really decided to put his foot down in earnest and go for a second successive jockeys’ championship.

He explained: “I was doing quite well for Sean Tarry at the stage and his horses were really flying. I thought ‘I’m still young and I’m still fresh. From now on I must try and travel everywhere as I did last season and hopefully it will pay off.’

“But I also said to myself that, if it goes the other way and I don’t win it, I can still be happy because at least I have won it once before.

“Going round the country, getting rides and support, has shown me that I just have to give it a try. It’s not like I’m riding just in Jo’burg, I am riding everywhere and getting the support.”

He admits that he makes a conscious effort not to worry about how Gavin Lerena and the others are doing, or get concerned when they ride a double (or worse, a treble!).

He said: “I have to try not to let any of that get to me because, if I do, it is just going to put the pressure on. I have to make sure that I enjoy what I’m doing and just carry on doing the best I can.”

Lerena, his nearest pursuer and now almost certainly his biggest danger, still bears the scars of three seasons ago when his once commanding lead was gradually whittled away. On the final day of the season he was pipped on the post by an Anton Marcus double. He was left devastated and famously declared “I am heartbroken.”

He said yesterday: “At the beginning of the season every jockey wants to go for the championship but what happened that time made be a bit scared of doing so because I didn’t want to lose again. But it also made me more determined.

“I just made up my mind to ride as many winners as I can this season and make sure that I enjoy doing so.”

By Michael Clower

Picture: S’Manga Khumalo (Liesl King)