National champion trainer Sean Tarry’s feet seldom leave the ground but he was very happy to have added the prestigious Gr 1 weight for age L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate to his trophy cabinet, courtesy of superstar Grey’s Inn colt Legal Eagle and the brilliant jockey Anton Marcus, and went on to describe Saturday’s event at Kenilworth as a “phenomenal raceday.”

Legal Eagle’s chief aim had always been the Gr 1 J&B Met over 2000m and Tarry had not “expected” him to win on Saturday, but added the victory had “not surprised him.”

Marcus said of his decision to switch to Legal Eagle after initially being declared to ride Act Of War, “I just weighed up my options and decided it was the right thing to do.”

Tarry and Marcus had discussed three different plans before the race, but Tarry had ultimately allowed the consummate professional “to do his own thing”. However, he admitted to being surprised at seeing his charge “handy”.

Marcus said Legal Eagle’s jump in his last start over 1800m at Turffontein had been “ordinary”, so pinging the gates on Saturday and going to the front had not been the plan. “I just found myself in front,” he said.

Bouclette Top then came around him, but Marcus said, “It’s always nice to get cover but, if left alone, I would have gone on my own. He’s a very easy horse to ride.”

Marcus was now in second place and formulated a plan “to get away from the milers” in the straight.

He said, “I wasn’t going to hang around, he has plenty of stamina, and I went for home quite early.”

On video evidence he asked the question at about the 400m mark and Legislate, poised behind him, was sent for home at exactly the same moment. Legislate initially made up some leeway to reach Legal Eagle’s hindquarters, but the latter then drew away effortlessly and only a couple of backhanders and showing him the stick were required to see him running out a cosy 1,5 length winner.

The Avontuur Thoroughbred Farm-bred horse had justified his 120 merit rating, the highest in the country.

Marcus has won the Queen’s Plate on some of the greatest, like Empress Club in 1993 and Variety Club three years ago, and his other wins have been on the subsequently phenomenal sire Jet Master in 2000 and Mother Russia in 2011. However, while his riding career is still going he will never be drawn into comparing horses.

Tarry said Legal Eagle had come out of the race well and it is all systems go for the Met.

He said of Gold Onyx’s 5,25 length eighth, “He didn’t disgrace himself, he was three wide and over raced and finished just five lengths back in a weight for age, I will take that as a prep any day.”

Gold Onyx loves Cape Town and S’Manga Khumalo, who rode him to second place in the Gr 2 Premier Trophy over 1800m in his penultimate start, will be back aboard in the Met. Khumalo stayed in Johannesburg on Saturday to ride French Navy in the Gr 3 London News Stakes, which ultimately had to be rescheduled due to inclement weather. Tarry felt programming important feature races to be run on the same day in different centres should be looked into and not repeated.

Speaking of Queen’s Plate day as a whole, Tarry said, “The race attracted one of the best fields seen in the country for the last four or five years. L’Ormarin’s have done wonders for the event and have also brought some big names as co-sponsors. The after party and champagne gardens were great, it’s a very classy day.”

“LQP” is often called the “Royal Ascot” of South African racing, but Tarry disagreed and said, “Royal Ascot is all about top hat and tails, but it’s hectic. The Queen’s Plate is not overly crowded, it’s a chilled out day, and there’s also top class racing.”

Tarry was pleased with Liege’s third place in the Gr 3 Politician Stakes over 1800m, which gives him a chance of forcing his way into the CTS Million Dollar final field. He dropped outside the top 20 on the final CTS Million Dollar log due to two below par runs in Cape Town, but Tarry’s contention before Saturday’s race that those runs had been due to an ear infection and mucus in the trachea respectively proved correct.

Tarry has taken a chance and sent Lunar Approach and Swift Sarah down to Cape Town already as they were in 12^th and 15^th place on the last Million Dollar log respectively. Machismo also put his hand up by finishing 1,5 lengths behind the narrow Dingaans runner up New Predator last time out over 1200m. He said none of his four nominations would be “prayerless” and regarded Lunar Approach as his chief contender, saying, “He is a top horse and I expected him to give Suyoof a go in the (Listed) Secretariat (over 1400m, where he was a 1,6 length third), but the jockey managed to find trouble with no horses around him.”

Meanwhile, Marcus will be riding the Mike Azzie-trained Rabada in the Gr 1 Investec Cape Derby on January 23 and is, “at the moment”, aboard the Dennis Drier-trained Seventh Plain in the Million Dollar.

Rabada carried topweight of 62kg in the Politician Stakes on Saturday and, jumping from a plum draw of two, finished a 2,25 length sixth to Black Arthur, to whom he gave 5kg. Marcus said, “It was a decent run, a satisfactory race.”

By David Thiselton