Three-times SA Champion trainer Sean Tarry has never been one to dwell on defeat or offer excuses but he gave a factual analysis of Legal Eagle’s defeat in Saturday’s Grade 1 L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate and confirmed Lyle Hewitson would be riding him in the Sun Met.

Legal Eagle’s regular rider Anton Marcus has been declared to ride the Eric Sands-trained Met second favourite Rainbow Bridge.

Tarry said he normally had difficulty saddling Legal Eagle and the horse usually played up in the parade ring too. However, the seven-year-old gelding had been “quiet” in both instances on Saturday.

He said there had been nothing wrong with the way he strode out going down to the start but noticed he had not taken hold of the bit.

He added Legal Eagle had not travelled well at any stage of the race.

He concluded, “So he was not really himself on the day and then ran a flat race.”

The superstar had been attempting to equal Pocket Power’s record of four successive Queen’s Plates. He had gone into the race undefeated in ten attempts at a mile

Tarry continued, “He was a bit quiet the next day, but we have freshened him up and he is well. So it was just an off day on the wrong day, but that’s life.”

Legal Eagle is considered best at a mile but did win the SA Derby as a three-year-old and won the Grade 1 Champions Challenge over 2000m as a four-year-old. He has twice finished runner up in the Met and fourth once and he finished second once in the Champions Challenge.

Tarry raised an interesting point, “I would like to see an analysis on how he has done over 2000m when coming from off the pace and how he has done when up at the front.”

Tarry thus hinted Legal Eagle would come from off the pace in the Met although he added that was just the way he had been thinking at present and it might all change after the draw ceremony.

Tarry had gone into last year’s Met supremely confident, but unfortunately the race just did not pan out well for Legal Eagle. He was caught wide and Marcus was eventually forced to take him up further forward than had been the plan. He then found no extra in the closing stages and finished a disappointing fourth.    

In other Tarry yard news from Saturday’s Kenilworth meeting Safe Harbour has been retired to stud after sustaining a tendon injury in the Grade 1 Cartier Paddock Stakes where she finished eighth. The five-year-old Elusive Fort mare failed to attain bold black type in a 27 race career but will nevertheless be valuable as her three career wins included the R2,5 million Lanzerac Ready To Run Stakes and her five Grade 1-places included runner up finishes in all of the Cape Fillies Guineas, Paddock Stakes and SA Fillies Classic.  

Tarry was delighted by Second Request’s running on fifth in the Paddock Stakes and plans to run this progressive Twice Over filly against the boys in the Grade 1 Cape Derby over 2000m on Met day.

He was also “very happy” with Trip To Heaven’s fifth place finish in a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1000m at Kenilworth on 29 December.

“That should put him spot on for the Cape Flying Championships,” he said. Trip To Heaven has finished second in the last two renewals of the Cape Flying.

Tarry would have preferred to have had Chimichuri Run in the US$500,000 CTS 1200 and Cirillo in the US$500,000 CTS 1600 but might have to run them the other way round due to the draws. Chimichuri Run has drawn two in the CTS 1600 and Cirillo has drawn 28.        

Tarry was looking forward to Met day where he reckoned he would have “s small but good team and it should be fun.”

Tarry also had feature runners on Sunday at Turffontein and had a mixed day.

Last year’s Equus Champion Two-year-old Return Flight ran unplaced in the Grade 3 Three Troikas Stakes over 1400m but Tarry was not unduly disheartened. He said, “It was disappointing and I can’t pinpoint it but she was carrying a 5kg penalty and, running into a headwind over a distance too short, she led in a race which was run a second faster than the colts’ race. Furthermore, all horses up here missed three or four days work due to the weather and she might have been affected more than others as she is a big filly. She was below her best but she did go down exceptionally well and her coat looks great, so I am still upbeat about her prospects.”

In the Grade 3 Tony Ruffel Stakes over 1400m Tarry was pleased with Vontreo’s running on third and the filly Celtic Sea’s fourth place carrying a 2kg Grade 2 penalty.

He mentioned Vontreo’s plan as being the Grade 2 Gauteng Guineas and the Grade 1 SA Classic.

By David Thiselton