Hawwaam, so impressive when winning last Saturday’s Dingaans , is the only three-year-old among the 29 horses entered for the R5 million Sun Met at Kenilworth on January 26 but this exciting colt is just one of six nominations from Mike de Kock.
Hawwaam (JC Photographics)
De Kock, who said he would consider the Met if Hawwaam looked like going overseas, is no stranger to winning the great race with a three-year-old. He did it with the great Horse Chestnut in 1999 and he repeated the feat with Badger’s Coast 12 months later. He also won it with the four-year-old filly Igugu in 2012.
Justin Snaith has also entered six – last year’s winner Oh Susanna, his first three in the Durban July – Do It Again, Made To Conquer and Elusive Silva – as well as Doublemint and Platinum Prince. In contrast Brett Crawford, bidding for Met number four, has only one entry – the Gold Challenge winner Undercover Agent. Vaughan Marshall, who has won it twice before, also has just a single candidate – Tap O’Noth who won last season’s Cape Guineas.
The highest rated horse in the ten furlong Grade 1 spectacular is the perennial Met challenger Legal Eagle who has started favourite in each of the last three seasons – twice finishing second and fourth last time. At seven the Sean Tarry-trained gelding is, jointly with Billy Prestage’s Milton, the oldest horse in the field.
Other big names entered include Hawwaam’s year older half-brother Rainbow Bridge who is unbeaten in five starts for Eric Sands and the Dean Kannemeyer-trained Gold Cup winner It’s My Turn.
The weights will not be officially released until January 7 but there is no great mystery about them and they could easily have been issued yesterday. The conditions stipulate that the race is run on weight-for-age terms with a 2.5kg filly and mare allowance. There are also allowances for any Northern Hemisphere horses – 2.5kg for three-year-olds and a kilo for four-year-olds.
It cost R5 000 plus R750 VAT to enter yesterday. There are supplementary entry stages on December 11 (R18 966) and twice that figure if you wait until until January 7.
By Michael Clower
