The five-year-old finished down the field in last season’s race but has won his last two starts.

Snaith, successful with Gimmethegreenlight in 2012, has so far declared African Night Sky (Bernard Fayd’Herbe), Copper Force (Lyle Hewitson) and It Is Written (Brandon May) for Saturday week’s star feature.

Justin Snaith

Billy Prestage has supplemented his 22-1 Premier Trophy winner Milton for the Peninsula Handicap on the same card. Horizon, only seventh in the Premier, is 3-1 favourite with World Sports Betting who have shortened Legal Eagle to 7-10 for the Queen’s Plate. Nother Russia heads the Cartier Paddock Stakes market at 28-10 while Like A Panther is 4-1 favourite for the Politician and Strathdon 15-10 to make the Chairman’s Cup his fifth consecutive win.

Sergeant Hardy, who made all under Bernard Fayd’Herbe in last Saturday’s Southeaster Sprint, will take in the Khaya Stables Diadem Stakes on 13 January en route to a possible challenge for the Cape Flying Championship.

Snaith said: “The Diadem will be tougher at the weights but Sergeant Hardy is such a game horse. He has quite a lot of races on top of each other so I didn’t gallop him before the Merchants. I knew he had a few lengths to come on that run and he was perfect on Saturday.”

Cape Thoroughbred Sales will sell three mares by multiple champion sire Galileo at its breeding stock sale at the conclusion of the Premier Yearling Sale in the Convention Centre on 21 January. The Galileo trio have been scanned in foal to Silvano, Rafeef and Gimmethegreenlight.

By Michael Clower