Brett Crawford – three Grade 1s inside the last fortnight, the Met already in the bag and favourite to take the July – has the sort of strength in depth that most trainers can only dream about and he can strike with rising star Kingston Passage at Kenilworth on Sunday.

Greg Cheyne (Nkosi Hlophe)

Greg Cheyne’s mount has won the last three of his four starts and has opposition-crushing blistering pace. He was fancied to beat Tevez in a Pinnacle earlier in the month but the dual Merchants winner caused a false start by bursting through the gates and Kingston was one of those who took too long to pull up to risk going again.

The Western Winter three-year-old went up eight points for his win the previous month and there is no shortage of people brave enough to take him on at these much more favourable terms in the Tabonline.co.za Handicap.

Vincente, for instance, was a length and a half second to him in April and is 3kg better while South Side made all to win a conditions plate over this trip and has gone up only three points.

Mike Stewart has long been singing the praises of Al Wahed and predicting a string of success once the rain comes. The five-year-old has only been raised a kilo for his last win which was on fast ground that didn’t suit him.

Brandon May’s mount could be hard-pushed to beat Ovar though. The Andre Nel five-year-old started favourite for Al Wahed’s race and was only beaten a length into fourth despite suffering slight interference and afterwards found to be not striding out.

He could well prove the main danger to Kingston Passage although the sahorseracing computer has South Side finishing second with Ovar close with Power Grid for third, Prince Alfred fifth and Al Wahed only sixth.

Candice Robinson (hamish NIVEN Photography)

There is also Power Grid to consider now that the sting is out of the ground. The three-year-old with the unusual action – the muscle on one leg is mostly wasted – has plenty of talent and was only beaten three-quarters of a length in that ill-fated Pinnacle despite it being his first race for four months.

Candice Bass-Robinson has had more Kenilworth two-year-old wins this season than any other trainer and Aldo Domeyer the most as a jockey – both have won 11 – and Middlemarch makes a lot of appeal in the first. The consistent Apollo Star and Benfontein, who really raised his game last time, have much superior form but Middlemarch may have improved enough.

By Michael Clower