Kilindini can book his Guineas ticket by winning the Cape Town Summer Of Champions Handicap at Kenilworth today.

Corne Orffer’s mount is on a hat-trick after winning a Durbanville maiden and readily following up in a handicap at the first time of asking. The way he came away in the closing stages last time suggests he will relish this extra furlong and that a five-point increase in the ratings is unlikely to stop him.

He was fractionally odds-on yesterday, with the bookmakers and the form book both suggesting that the danger is likely to come from Beach Beauty’s small son Wild Coast (33-10). Richard Fourie’s mount was beaten just under a length when third to Super Silvano (9-2 here) over this course and distance 18 days ago and should be able to reverse the placings on 2kg better terms.

Fourie is favourite at 13-10 to take the opener on Warrior Tiger for Piet Botha and this gelding, unusually for a maiden, has already run in a handicap and in a Listed race. “He is one of the hardest horses to work with that I have ever come across and I ran him in those races to keep him fit,” explains Piet Botha. “But I think he has a big chance here.”

Indeed he does and on the book he should win. Loyalty rather than logic – plus a wish to avoid that sickening feeling when he wins and I have finally gone against him – makes me tip our old (and rather expensive) friend Al Bragga instead. Last time he led, was headed at the 200m marker and fought back but then didn’t seem to realise he was expected to go on again. He was only beaten a neck and Mike Stewart’s post-race verdict was that he needed more racing.

The bookies are still a bit wary and are quoting him at 33-10 but Aldo Domeyer, now really putting his Hong Kong experience to profitable use, saw enough to make him ring for the ride and he has ridden work on the horse.

Also worth noting in this race is 7-1 newcomer Hello Tomorrow, not least because the Dynasty filly is a Ridgemont horse. “She is quite speedy, a little bit temperamental but not without a chance,” says Eric Sands. “I would have preferred to start her in a fillies race but there was no suitable maiden.”

Whatever his fortunes with that one, Sands should take the Tabonline.co.za Maiden (race three) with Still Tappin in the same colours. Greg Cheyne’s mount is 28-10 favourite, was only a short head behind the much more experienced Retail Therapy (4-1) on debut and that run alone suggests she will reverse the form. A bigger danger is probably 7-2 shot The Vow who was nearly two lengths behind the selection four weeks ago and lost at least that at the start.

By Michael Clower

Mike de Kock has a fine chance of ending his longest ever drought in the Grade 1 Gauteng Chris Gerber Summer Cup on Saturday as his powerful team of five includes the first four in the betting.

De Kock will be attempting to land his tenth Summer Cup, but hasn’t won it since 2010.

Half of the 20 runners in Saturday’s 2000m event on Turffontein Standside are under sufferance, so this will make topweight Soqrat’s task a touch easier.

This De Kock-trained Australian-bred is the ultimate professional and can be easily switched on and off. He should therefore have a chance of finding cover from a wide draw of 14, especially with Anton Marcus up, but if he doesn’t it won’t be a train smash as he is likely to relax anyway. 

His best wins have been over a mile, although he should stay the trip. 

Stablemate Barahin, who carries 59kg, has a good draw of eight and will relish this course and distance as one with a resolute finish who can come from a handy position or from off the pace. He impressed with a going away victory in the Grade 2 Peermont Emperor’s Palace Charity Mile last time carrying 58,5kg with second time blinkers on. He was given a nine point raise but is progressive. He did enjoy the testing going in that last win and will have to contend with faster going on Saturday according to the weather forecast.

The third topweight Infamous Fox carries only 53,5kg. He has a fine turn of foot but will need to be ridden cold as he has a stamina doubt and his best form is also on tighter tracks. 

Camphoratus won the Grade 1 Empress Club Stakes over a mile here last year and proved she stays this rip with a fine sixth in the Vodacom Durban July. She needed her comeback run at Greyville badly and was well below her best in the Charity Mile too. She should be cherry ripe, but does have a tough draw to overcome. She is likely to be left alone, but she is capable of making up ground with her lovely, big action.  

Last year’s winner Tilbury Fort carries 53kg and has a plum draw of three. He is effectively four points higher in the merit ratings than he was last year. He doesn’t take much racing to reach his peak, so will improve on his seven length fifth in the Charity Mile, especially as he is 4kg better off with Barahin. 

The big De Kock-trained mare Cascapedia finished a 0,80 length third in this race last year and not only has the same draw but is effectively two points lower in the merit ratings. She comes off a staying on third in the Charity Mile and these days should enjoy the step up in trip. 

Divine Odyssey is a big striding horse who should be cherry ripe. His sustained finish coupled with his weight of just 52,5kg make him one of the chief threats to a De Kock win.

Atyaab scrapes into the handicap with the minimum weight of 52kg but is the least fancied of De Kock’s charges. He won a weak renewal of the Cape Derby last season over this trip and judged on his last run might prefer further now.

Dawn Assault is a courageous horse who finished a 0,60 length second last year after being used up to get to the front from a wide draw and then having no cover. He is effectively only one point higher in the merit ratings this year and sneaks into the handicap with the minimum weight. He does have another wide draw, although last year’s rider Karl Zechner is back aboard. This galloping type can be ignored at one’s peril.

Marchingontogether is a classy type who finished third in last year’s SA Derby. He has improved since gelding and is only half-a-kilogram under sufferance. He has been targeted at this race and the blinkers are off after a disappointing run in the Charity Mile. He has a good draw and is another one capable of winning. 

Roy Had Enough sneaks into the handicap with the minimum weight and off a mark effectively three points lower than last year has a chance from a good draw. He is course and distance suited and has a plum draw on the back of a perfect preparation.

Zillzaal, who is 1,5kg under sufferance, disappointed last time in the Charity Mile after a good first run as a gelding. He has been running handy without success for some time so might be tried from off the pace considering he stayed on well in last year’s Gauteng Guineas. 

Queen Supreme is officially 4,5kg under sufferance but looks to be full of class and could still be anything. She has in-form Callam Murray aboard and this lovely-actioned filly will have many supporters over an ideal course and distance. 

Green Haze is 5kg under sufferance and will have to improve considerably on his staying on 2,25 length second in the Victory Moon.

Shenanigans is 4,5kg under sufferance but will be cherry ripe and from pole position is capable of running on into the money. 

Bize is 5,5kg under sufferance and this is tough although she has class and will be staying on from a high draw.

Flying Wonder is 5,5kg under sufferance but might improve over this trip having stayed on well for third from way back in the Charity Mile. 

Sunshine Silk is 5,5kg under sufferance and has a tough task from a high draw, although she is capable of staying on well.

Al Mutakawel is officially 7kg under sufferance but he has not had much opportunity to prove himself and this full-brother to SA Derby winner Al Sahem could do well from a plum draw as he has a sustained finish and will relish the course and distance. 

By David Thiselton

SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL OF SOUTH AFRICA MEDIA SUMMARY – JUDGMENT DELIVERED IN THE SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL

FROM The Registrar, Supreme Court of Appeal
DATE 25 November 2019
STATUS Immediate

Please note that the media summary is intended for the benefit of the media and does not form part of the judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Tellytrack v Marshalls World of Sport (Pty) Ltd & others (971/2018) [2019] ZASCA 153.

Today the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) upheld an appeal against an order of the KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court, Durban. The appeal was lodged by Tellytrack, a partnership between Phumelela Gaming and Leisure Limited, Gold Circle (Pty) Ltd and Kenilworth Racing (Pty) Ltd. In the court below, as in the SCA, Tellytrack claimed that Marshalls World of Sport (Pty) Ltd and six other respondents, who all run bookmakers businesses, infringed Tellytrack’s copyright in cinematograph films by allowing the viewing by the public at their places of business live national and international horse racing events, on Tellytrack’s DSTV channel 239.

In denying infringement of copyright, the respondents submitted that what was being shown on the Tellytrack channel was not a cinematograph film, but a broadcast. The respondents further contended that the images shown on channel 239 were not fixated or stored, inter alia, on film or any other material of data, and therefore did not satisfy the definition of a cinematograph film in terms of s 1 of the Copyright Act 98 of 1978. They contended that what Tellytrack was displaying on its channel, was a live broadcast, which had not been stored.

In determining whether what Tellytrack was displaying on its channel was a cinematograph film, the court considered the work done by Tellytrack’s employees before the live races were viewed by the public on channel 239. It found that the images from the race events were recorded on more than one occasion to allow for the adding of enhancements like audio and graphics.

The court found that what the bookmakers allowed the public to view at its business premises on the Tellytrack channel were:

‘[A] sequence of images seen as a moving picture constituting in the main horse racing events. Those images and others, including those of studio interviews and the overlay of all the items imposed by way of the computer program, have indisputably been reduced to material form by way of the recordings on the aforesaid occasions. First, in relation to domestic races, two recordings were made at the OB van, second at the Tellytrack control room. In respect of international races, the recording is made of the complete product, including enhancements, at the Tellytrack control room. What is seen on channel 239 is what has already been recorded and stored at the OB van and the Tellytrack control room. At the time that a race event is seen on channel 239 is has already been recorded and stored. . . .’

The SCA found that there had been an infringement of copyright and the appeal was cosequently upheld with costs, including the costs consequent upon the employment of two counsel and the order of the court below was set and substituted with an appropriate order.

St Oswald’s Anglican Church in Milnerton will open its doors to the racing community at 2.00pm on Thursday for them to pay their last respects to Terrance Millard, a man many regard as the greatest South African trainer of all time.

But not ‘The Maestro’ himself. “I wasn’t,” he would say modestly. “There was Syd Laird and he took over from Syd Garrett who was the best trainer we ever had.”

It is always difficult to judge one generation against another, and doubly so if you have spent most of your racing life elsewhere, but a poll of the present generation would be odds-on to come up with Millard and Mike de Kock many of whose overseas successes are all the more remarkable for being achieved in the face of quarantine stipulations bordering on the impossible.

Millard’s roll of honour, displayed in the Kenilworth grandstand, speaks for itself – champion trainer seven times, 2,257 races won including 117 Group 1s; the Met, Durban July and Gold Cup six times each; the first three in the July twice (nobody else has done that even once). And as for the Paddock Stakes 16 times, only Aidan O’Brien can match it – with 16 victories in the Phoenix Stakes.

Millard’s life is well documented. He was even doing it himself after he retired only to baulk when the publishers wanted him to include what he called the juicy bits. But his career wasn’t all plain sailing and he was even forced to take work as a stuntman when his letters to English trainers seeking a job as an assistant failed to elicit even a reply.

Although he struck lucky with the broken-winded Laddie in his first year as a trainer – he bought the gelding for £25 and gave a half share to a couple of vet friends in return for the operation and the horse earned enough for him to buy a house and the vets to build a hospital – he was obliged to bet to attract patrons and keep his existing ones.

“I was forced to set horses up and the owners then wanted to see me have a bet to give them the confidence to put their own money down. I didn’t enjoy betting at all but this taught me a lot about training.

“It was hard to get horses. I had to have eight to get the licence in 1954 but it was slow progress and it was a long time before I had more than 20. I was not leading trainer until 1969 when I had 56 which was a big stable at that time, and I did not win the July until 1983 because I didn’t have the horses and for many years I couldn’t afford to travel to Durban. Eventually I was training 100 and, although I went a little bit over that sometimes, I wasn’t comfortable with more.”

Moving to Blouberg with its custom-built gallop in 1979 proved a major step forward. “The sand by the sea was not reliable because it would not be the same consistency each day so I built a sand gallop that ended uphill. I would firm it with water and it gave me a wonderful advantage.”

He retired in 1991 when he was only 61 to give son Tony a chance and Millard jnr showed he was a chip off the old block by winning two Mets and a July before moving to Hong Kong. “I told him to take the job. If you make money there you keep it whereas here I have seen blokes going broke even though they were training winners.”

Tragedy struck in 1982 when elder daughter Jenny was drowned while windsurfing off Cape Town (her sister Carol was a jockey before becoming Mrs Geoff Woodruff) and again in 1989 when most of his best horses were killed when the lorry coming back from Durban overturned near Worcester.

Why was he so successful? “I started right down at the bottom and I stuck at it but also because I discovered that every horse has a problem. If you can find it, you can maximise his performance.”

I asked others the same question. This is what they said:

Brother-in-law and rival Ralph Rixon: “Terrance was a great horseman and he was clever with his runners but also because he had a terrific inquiring mind.”

Vaughan Marshall: “He was a very good trainer and he taught me a lot of what I know.”

Dean Kannemeyer: “I used to ride work for him as a boy. He had a great eye for a horse, he picked a nice type and my father said: ‘Watch Terrance and see how well he places his horses in the build-up to the big races.’”

Karl Neisius: “He was a brilliant horseman and he was way ahead of his time. That was why he had so much support.”

Anton Marcus: “He had such presence about him that as kids we would look at him in awe. I only had a handful of rides for him but I won the Met and Queen’s Plate on Empress Club for Tony as well as the July on Dancing Duel.”

Glen Kotzen: “Early in my career I asked him what advice he would give a young trainer. He replied: ‘Learn to teach your horses to go through the sound barrier and, when the wheels come off, don’t change anything. And travel – because those that travel learn.’ He came back with all those good Argentinian horses years before anyone else did.”

By Michael Clower

Image Caption: Terrance Millard trained the 1992 Rothmans July winner ILLUSTRADOR.

Favourite Cirillo didn’t do punters any favours last Wednesday as he blew out of the back door and punters will be looking for better from stable companion Putontheredlight in the card opener at the Vaal tomorrow who is also likely to start favourite.

Sean Tarry dominates with four runners in a seven-horse field but stable elect is something of a puzzle. Putontheredlight showed last season that he had top class potential but his last run is cause for concern. He was pulled out of the race by seasoned rider Piere Strydom and the course vet found nothing to report. Strydom has been switched to Pure State but needless to say, if Putontheredlight brings his best, he does rate the horse to beat. Track & Ball are not taking any chances and have priced him up 15-10 favourite ahead of stable runners Rock The Globe and Cordillera with Pure State, the outsider of the Tarry runners – according to the books.

Pure State won well at second time of asking and Strydom stays with the ride. He is unexposed but does appear to have some scope.

Mr Greenlight was well thought of by the Howells yard before moving to De Kock and had a few pressured races for Howells to get him into some of the bigger features. Mr Greenlight has his first start for his new stable, one that is firing, and the 7-2 on offer may be good value. He has had two runs since being gelded and if anywhere near racing fit, he should have the measure of this field. Veteran Finchatton seldom runs a bad race and although he has a big weight he should be right there again along with Nordic Rebel, the two fighting it out at the top of the boards.

Apprentice Philasande Mxoli is no stranger to the winner’s enclosure, albeit in the rural former Transkei where he was a champion in their local ‘bush races’ winning over 90 races. The opposition in those races may not have been much to write home about but on the flip side he is not short of racing experience.

Mxoli has a chance to get off the mark as a professional rider when he partners Galactic Warrior in the seventh. Mxoli’s relative inexperience at this level will account for the 16-1 mark-up, but Galactic Warrior is back over his best trip and now tries blinkers. He looks worth a small punt and is not one to leave out of your exotics.

Aristachus has been priced up as luke-warm 22-10 favourite and although never far off them the alumites are back on and he may prove a worthy favourite although sentiment will lie with stable companion and old soldier Talktothestars who takes a major drop in class.

The Mike de Kock entry Riqaaby will likely start favourite in the last, given the stable form at present, but she was a well-beaten second at her last outing and it may be worth backing up with By Chance that has improved with each outing and should enjoy the extra. Hear The Tempest was running on nicely at her first start over ground and can do better and is a must inclusion as she should be a threat while Miss Cap Mala, although she has had plenty of chances, is never far back and a change of pilot could make a difference.

Results have not been kind to exotic bet punters in recent weeks with some real bombers putting paid to all tickets. Again, this is not an easy card and one needs to structure exotics, going light in some legs and filling up in others, and hopefully getting through to a big pay-out – the choice is yours.

By Andrew Harrison

The R2.4 million paid by Sean Tarry for the top lot at the CTS Ready To Run on Friday evening was the highest price paid at this sale since Brutal Force was bought in by Mayfair Speculators at R4.5 million six years ago.

The Tarry purchase was Track Commander, a colt by Gimmethegreenlight consigned from Soetendal Estate and out of a half-sister to Tibouchina winner Red Dor and Red Peril who won the 2017 Settlers Trophy at Durbanville for Billy Prestage.

Both the average and the median were down on last year although this was to be expected with a 46% increase in the size of the catalogue.

By Michael Clower

Only twice in the last ten years has the winner of the Concorde Cup, and its Selangor predecessor, gone on to land the Cape Guineas but both first and second showed a classic-winning turn of foot at Kenilworth on Saturday.

First Sachdev and then, decisively, King Of Gems accelerated as if they had been fitted with turbochargers and they flew home like Pegasus with Drakenstein’s son of the ill-fated Kingsbarns snatching victory almost on the line to become the longest-priced winner of the race this century.

The 55-1 shot was last of all turning into the short straight but Aldo Domeyer reported: “I was always going well. He picked it up like a good horse should but then Richard Fourie hit the front. This was a concern because Richard doesn’t normally stop when he does but then, though, my horse dug down deep and found an amazing gear.”

Fourie confirmed: “I thought I was going to get up – my mount has a serious turn of foot – but when I was getting there close home the other horse came and got me.”

The margin was only a neck and Justin Snaith reckons the gap is more than bridgeable – “I had to back right off Sachdev after the Cape Classic when his blood wasn’t right and as a result he was not as fit as I would have liked. But I think I will have him right for the Guineas.”

Brett Crawford seemed almost as impressed with third-placed Macthief as he was with the winner, saying: “He had a lot of things against him and in the back straight he clipped heels and pecked. They will both go for the Guineas and after Wednesday I hope to have a third runner (Kilindini).”

Corne Orffer, who rode Macthief, added: “He is not a horse who is going to quicken like the first two did but he keeps finding and he ran right to the line.”

Viva Rio, less than half a length further back fourth, will again be in the line-up on December 21 and Morne Winnaar said: “He will be better on the new course – he only got going late here.”

The principal negatives about the race – from the point of view of its bearing on the Guineas –  are that there was less than two lengths covering the first five, Domeyer’s comment “I can’t wait for ten furlongs” (it takes an exceptional horse to win the Guineas if he is not a specialist miler) and the eclipse of the Kannemeyer horses.

The Milnerton trainer was struggling to understand this in the immediate aftermath and said: “African Warrior (ninth) ran below his rating and he just didn’t quicken – and it’s the first time he hasn’t, while Seventh Gear (fifth) stayed on as if he is looking for ground.”

Vets Kate Meiring and Juan Batt provided the answers: African Warrior was not striding out on his left fore while Seventh Gear was blowing unnaturally hard.

Cane Lime ‘n Soda ran on into sixth and part-owner Robert Bloomberg said: “I think he is a Derby horse but we will take our chance in the Guineas.”

Snow Report (seventh) led until weakening just inside the final furlong and so gave his connections hope for the future. Apparently the Langerman winner has not thrived in recent months.

The stable promptly collected the Cape Merchants with the Domeyer-ridden Russet Air who came up the stands side to book his ticket for the season’s big sprints, much to the delight of Marsh Shirtliff and the Bass and Finch families.

“He gives you the impression that he is looking for a bit further but he is best up the straight,” said Candice.

“I am looking for a horse to take the place of Oh Susanna in the Group 1s,” said Snaith after Myabi Gold had come home in front in the conditions plate, “but I didn’t think I had this mare that fit – she had only had one gallop.” As part-owner Nic Jonsson pointed out, she was only beaten just over two lengths in last year’s Vodacom Durban July.

Andre Nel has Sun Met ambitions for Capoeira who completed Domeyer’s treble in the last – but the real lesson from the finale is just what Roi Querari and the rest of the home team are up against when the CTS Ready To Run finally does take place on Saturday fortnight. Invidia was giving the winner a kilo (and 7kg more than weight-for-age) and yet he was only beaten a neck. Little wonder that Ashley Fortune brought him down early!

By Michael Clower

Feature race form is ignored at your peril, especially when the trainer thinks that it’s worth the effort to travel and take on the best.

Lady Legend got the worst of the draw in sticky going when taking on most of the best fillies on the Highveld in the Starling Stakes but that did not deter Wayne Badenhorst. Although not returning with a cheque, Lady Legend did give an indication that she belonged in that company and the 10-1 on offer at Hollywoodbets Greyville yesterday was something of a steal.

An outside draw may have been a concern but Gareth Wright quickly had his mount up handy and Lady Legend kept running to hold the attentions of race favourite Mitra Music who was unable to peg her rival back over the final furlong.

Lady Legend was the first leg of a Badenhorst double, although Bordeaux was a lot harder to find – the colt paying R97 for a win on the tote.

The improvement on a modest debut was attributed to the addition of blinkers. “He was a hard ride,” confirmed Wright which was clear to all as the rider was forced to keep his mount hard to his task.

All the money was for Trip To Africa in the second and it proved on the mark. Duncan Howells had always thought highly of the gelding but who had plenty of issues as a young horse. “He was a tall, immature horse who needed to grow into himself.”

Anton Marcus had no hesitation in taking Trip To Africa up with the lead and they kept firing all the way to the line to win rather comfortably. It was the second winner for the owners who had cashed in with High Voltage last Wednesday.

In the first, the money came in spades for Lady Of Lutetia but things didn’t work out as planned as she took a knock out of the gate and arrived too late as odds-on favourite Ode was hard-pressed to hold off the attentions of Lady Charlotte.

Seasoned trainer Pat Lunn, one of KZN’s greats with the likes of Model Man and Northern Princess among many other truly smart horses, is now KZN assistant to Johan Janse van Vuuren. Not the soundest of fillies, Ode was in good hands and put her soundness issues behind her.

Warren Kennedy is well on his way to his first National Jockey Championship with a 17% winning strike rate from over 500 mounts, and all though his expected century did not materialise with Lady Of Lutetia in the first, he did not have much longer to wait as 10-1 chance Skollie buried a few more exotic bet tickets in the fourth.

Drawn up Marriott Road on debut, he made the necessary improvement with a fine win. “I thought he would need a mile, plus,” commented Kennedy confirmed by Gareth van Zyl. “I had him in a mile but he drew badly so took the better option of a good draw over 1400m.”

It proved an inspired decision.

Pearl Of Asia, off the track for 270 days after landing something of a coup on debut, followed up with a smart victory in the sixth. It was a competitive field and Mr Fitz looked to have the race at his mercy before Pearl Of Asia slipped through on the inside rail to snatch the decision giving Gareth Wright his third of the afternoon riding for Robbie and Shannon Hill.

Calvary was an inspired gamble in the seventh and apprentice Jabu Jacobs made all, in the process keeping out of trouble.

Second-placed Socrates ducked badly under pressure and before Donovan Dillon was able to straighten him up, Hey Boy and Winter Blues were compromised.

Gary Rich, who has a small string of less than 20 horses at his Ashburton yard, is way under rated as a trainer.  He has a 15% strike rate from just 27 starts and Clouds Of Witness gave him his fifth win of the season and can put him well and truly on the map.

Billy Jacobson set a modest early gallop, made his move just before the turn, and kept the gelding rolling to the line. Clouds Of Witness was challenged from all sides but refused to submit.

The son of Master Of My Fate has filled out and matured and barring accidents, should not stop here.

By Andrew Harrison

Gin Fizz is well named. The daughter of Soft Falling Rain has not been the easiest to get to the racetrack but when she is in the mood, she has stamped herself as one of the better sophomore fillies to have stepped out on the Highveld this season.

The Cape Summer Season and Cape Fillies Guineas may be high on her agenda but given her temperament, Mike de Kock, who is blessed with a plethora of smart horses this season, may keep her under wraps for the Highveld Autumn season where she does not have to travel.

That’s all speculation of course, but just how she fares in The Citizen Fillies Mile (Gr3) at Turffontein tomorrow could give an indication as to where she is headed for the balance of the season.

Gin Fizz has been competing at the highest level and has not been out of the money in seven outings, her last three over the Turffontein Inside track where she finally cracked a win in a Graduation Plate after two runner-up berths.

Given that at her previous outing she had finished a close-up second to the smart older filly Vistula in the Jo’Burg Spring Challenge, that win was hardly unexpected.

She takes on her own age group tomorrow but there could be a few IED surprises in store.

Marco van Rensburg has a good mouth on him and after two indifferent rides on Spiritofthegroove, Sean ‘two strikes and you’re out’ Tarry was ready to give him the bullet.

Van Rensburg’s mouth kept him aboard and it was third time lucky, as he rode a cracker in the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Stakes, weaving his way through from a difficult draw to land the lucrative first prize.

The opposition is a lot stronger tomorrow, but Van Rensburg should now know what is required and Spiritofthegroove, fourth behind Vistula and Gin Fizz in the Spring Challenge, could prove more of a threat this time around.

The De Kock-trained Mill Queen is garnering a reputation as one of the better fillies around. She got home from an almost hopeless position to win the Starling Stakes but rank outsider Kayla’s Champ was only a length off her at the line with the Van Rensburg-ridden Wisteria Walk beaten a neck in second.

One can pick holes in Mill Queen’s form but the fact stands that she has not finished out of the first two in five starts, including a close-up second to Gabor in the Gr1 Thekwini Stakes, which puts some perspective on Kayla’s Champ’s performance.

Of the balance, Summer Pudding is unbeaten in two outings and the last run of the De Kock-trained Tallinn is best ignored and cannot be discounted lightly.

By Andrew Harrison

African Warrior can boost his Cape Guineas claims by landing the Concorde Cup at Kenilworth tomorrow although there are serious doubts about whether he is as superior to the opposition as the official ratings would suggest.

Assessments based on two-year-old running in Durban at two can sometimes fail to stand up simply because many trainers, and particularly those in Cape Town, prefer not to test their juveniles to the full as they believe a more patient approach will pay dividends in the long term.

However African Warrior, rated 112 after winning the Umkhomazi Stakes, was reassessed at 115 after his first Cape Town start when he took a 2 ¼ length fifth to One World in the Matchem from a poor draw.

“That was his best performance so far,” says Dean Kannemeyer who is bidding for his seventh win in this race. “He has to give a kilo to the whole field and it’s his first time at a mile. I think he should get it and all has gone well with him.”

Stable companion Seventh Gear is rated 7.5kg behind him but their trainer does not accept this as a true reading of their comparative ability and says: “African Warrior has earned his stripes and his rating but I think a lot of Seventh Gear.”

African Warrior is 13-10 favourite and the market leader has won four of the last ten runnings. Seventh Gear is second best at 9-2 with 6-1 about Viva Rio (who has won his last three) and Sachdev who flopped in the Cape Classic.

“I am hoping you will see a very different horse on Saturday,” says Justin Snaith. “We were disappointed with Sachdev’s run in the Cape Classic and we took his blood afterwards – I would like to have seen it better.”

Glen Kotzen, who brought off a 28-1 shock with Gold Standard three years ago, says: “I have rated Viva Rio from day one and after we gelded him he came good. He is a very smart horse.”

In the Racing Association Stakes over this trip at Fairview four weeks ago Viva Rio beat the smart Cane Lime ‘n Soda (an 8-1 chance here) by more than three lengths but part owner Robert Bloomberg reckons there were valid excuses – “They went slow and our horse was caught flat-footed. I think he can reverse the form.”

Macthief, third in the ratings, is on offer at as much as 11-1, largely because he only managed fifth in the Cape Classic but seemingly not too much notice should be taken of this. “He was giving 2kg to those who finished in front of him, he was not well drawn and he was last away. I thought he ran well,” argues Brett Crawford, “and I think he will run a big race.”

The rest are longshots but, if you fancy any of them, don’t let their price put you off. Twice in the last three years there has been a major upset with Rocket Countdown at 36-1 following on from Gold Standard.

The Cape Merchants is a difficult race to assess but it is worth noting that four-year-olds have won three of the last four runnings and that no winner has carried more than 58kg since the Stan Elley-trained Kapil humped 60kg ten years ago. A repeat of this statistic would rule out 7-2 favourite Pleasedtomeetyou.

Elusive Trader (16-1) might well get into the shake-up but the vote goes to 10-1 shot What A Winner who was beaten half a length by stable companion Russet Air (9-2) last time and is now 2.5kg better.

By Michael Clower