Despite the wide draw, trainer Brett Crawford has opted to run Rabada in the R1-million Peermont Emperors Palace Charity Mile over 1600m at Turffontein on Saturday 5 November.

The final field for the Grade 2 race on the Standside track was unveiled at a function at Emperors Palace yesterday, when the charities and their celebrities met for the first time.

Top weight is Grade 1 Gold Challenge winner Mac De Lago, who also finished third in the Vodacom Durban July and he will be ridden by Weichong Marwing for his brother Weiho.

Rabada was one of the best three-year-olds in the country last season and won the Grade 1 Daily News 2000 at Greyville. Sadly for the connections the son of Brave Tin Soldier he has drawn No 17 but is likely to come in to No 14 after the removal of the reserve runners.

He will have the services of Anton Marcus who has ridden him in all nine of his runs. “We knew long ago he was going to be drawn wide,” said Crawford. “Unfortunately that’s what is. Fortunately it is Turffontein on the long course and I’d say that will help a little bit.

“Anton knows Turffontein well. We will have to see if there’s speed in the race and decide on how best to ride him – whether we place him or give him a chance.”

He missed his first run this season through injury and Rabada will go into the Charity Mile without a warm-up run. However, that does not seem to be too much of a problem for Crawford. “He’s still doing very well.”

Among the fancied horses are Champagne Haze for the Gary Alexander yard, New Predator, trained by Johan Janse van Vuuren, and Mogok Master, who is doing well at home according to trainer Joe Soma.

“He had an excellent comeback run after a year’s layoff and he is doing well. I was a little concerned about his second run after such a long layoff, in case he went flat. But I have been giving him gallops at home and they seem to be doing the trick.”

Mogok Master beat Africa Rising in his comeback run and the runner-up franked the form with a very easy win next time out. Anthony Delpech takes the ride.

Champion trainer Sean Tarry will saddle Bulleting Home, who has Piere Strydom up, and filly Intergalactic with S’manga Khumalo in the irons. However, he is a little disappointed Wukkin’ Up is only the second reserve runner. “I’m sad she didn’t make the final field. She has won lot of races in her short career. With bottom weight she would have been a massive runner.”

The charity who draws the winning horse will receive R150,000, the charity represented by the runner-up will receive R100,000 with the other 14 charities getting proportionate amounts of the total donation, depending on the allocated horse’s placement. No charity will go home with less than R20,000.

Final field for the R1-million Peermont Emperors Palace Charity Mile (Grade 2) over 1600m at Turffontein on Saturday 5 November:

1 – 5 MAC DE LAGO (W H Marwing) W Marwing 62.0 – 114

2 – 7 NEW PREDATOR (J A Janse van Vuuren) G Lerena 58.5 – 107

3 – 10 CHAMPAGNE HAZE (G M Alexander) L Hewitson 58.0 – 106

4 – 2 DEO JUVENTE (G V Woodruff) C Maujean 58.0 – 106

5 – 17 RABADA (B Crawford) A Marcus 58.0 – 106

6 – 15 THE CONGLOMERATE (J Ramsden) C Murray 58.0 – 106

7 – 3 NO WORRIES (van Zyl) W Kennedy 57.5 – 105

8 – 19 CAPTAIN ALDO (S J Gray) …………… 56.5 – 103

9 – 4 SARATOGA DANCER (D C Howells) C Zackey 56.5 – 103

10 – 6 BULLETING HOME (S G Tarry) P Strydom 56.0 – 102

11 – 13 INTERGALACTIC (S G Tarry) S Khumalo 56.0 – 102

12 – 18 ROMANY PRINCE (O A Ferraris) S Brown 56.0 – 102

13 – 12 TEN GUN SALUTE (D C Howells) G van Niekerk 56.0 – 102

14 – 11 MOGOK MASTER (J A Soma) A Delpech 55.5 – 101

15 – 8 ST TROPEZ (J Ramsden) R Danielson 54.5 – 99

16 – 16 IRISH PRIDE (J A Janse van Vuuren) R Simons 52.5 – 95

Reserve Runners

17 – 9 MASTER ‘N COMMANDER (G V Woodruff) Reserve 1 53.5 – 97

18 – 14 WUKKIN’ UP (S G Tarry) Reserve 2 52.0 – 94

19 – 1 MOOFEED (M F De Kock) Reserve 3 55.0 – 100

Same Trainer: (2,16) (4,17) (6,15) (9,13) (10,11,18)