Four winners this past weekend kept Duncan Howells on track to regaining the KZN Champion Trainer’s title relinquished to Dennis Drier last season. But with half the season still to run and a lead of only six over Drier there is still a long way to go.
Howells has saddled 38 winners in KZN this term opposed to Drier’s 32 but the chasing pack is in hot pursuit. Sean Tarry (29) and Dean Kannemeyer (28) are not far back while Charles Laird and Gavin van Zyl are bracketed on 26. The local championship is based on wins in KZN and although Mike de Kock is third on the list as far as stakes earned is concerned, he is currently sitting on 20 winners.
Cosmic Light (Nkosi Hlophe)
Howells’s two smart fillies Same Jurisdiction and Cosmic Light are safely back from the Western Cape and will be aimed at Champions Season features along with the promising Ten Gun Salute and Sylvester The Cat.
Cosmic Light, second in the Gr 2 Sceptre Stakes, has the Gr1 SA Fillies Sprint on her agenda while Same Jurisdiction’s intended schedule is the Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge and to hopefully defend her Gr 1 Jonsson Workwear Garden province title.
Howells said Smart Call’s Met win reiterated once again the quality of last season’s three-year-old fillies. “In any other year three or four of those fillies would have been an undisputed champion,” mused Howells. “So just how good was Majmu. She smashed them all.”
Ten Gun Salute showed a smart turn of foot to win the Gr3 Michael Roberts Handicap last Sunday against some seasoned opposition. “He’s progressive but I don’t really know how good he is,” said Howells. “Champion’s Season will tell. We will try the Guineas and the Daily News and if he shows that he’s good enough, maybe the July.”
Sylvester The Cat was his Grand Parade Cape Guineas hope but all plans went out of the window when he refused to jump in his warm-up for the race. The vet was called in and ‘Sylvester’ has since been through the starting stalls twice without incident since his pocket was picked.
Another to be two stone lighter this week is Mac De Lago. “He just didn’t jump (in the Met),” said Weiho Marwing. “He’s never done it before so I don’t know what his problem was. He’s got tons of ability but he’s just not putting it in so the vet comes this week. After that we will see how he goes.”
By Andrew Harrison
