Sergeant Hardy, a R450 000 sales disaster, could yet justify breeder Veronica Foulkes’s faith by becoming a decent sprinter on the evidence of Saturday’s Cape Of Good Hope Nursery when Francois Herholdt’s mount made most of the running to spring an 11-1 surprise.

The Normandy stud owner’s son Oscar related: “Sergeant Hardy failed the scope when we sold him at the CTS Premier Sale as he proved to have a paralysed right vocal cord. We put him in the Ready To Run in November but we knew he would fail again and we bought him back for R70 000.”

There was no fluke about Saturday’s Kenilworth win – the gelding had already won the Listed race on Met day – but the surprise was that his much more fancied stable companion Bishop’s Bounty was beaten into fourth.

Chris Snaith said: “That did surprise me but this is a sprinter and they let him go two lengths clear. Also he had a 3kg penalty in the Somerset last time and weight stops trains. Bishop’s Bounty wants further but Western Winters don’t normally like the wet and if it rains I would rather duck the Langerman (June 25) with him.”

Attenborough, who started favourite and was beaten a length and a half, was found to have mucus in his lungs when Joey Ramsden had him checked out but Aldo Domeyer came in convinced that third-placed Our Mate Art has a big future, saying: “He was the best horse in the race – watch the re-run, he was all over the place and he will want ten furlongs.”

Snaith Racing also took the Kenilworth Fillies Nursery with the outsider of their two runners when Robert Khathi saved 45-1 shot Nordic Breeze (again bred and part-owned by Mrs Foulkes) for the final 100m and held odds-on The Merry Widow by half a length.

Snaith snr said: “They are two beautiful fillies and I wouldn’t like to try and split them. The winner is a difficult filly with a temperament but she has loads of talent and she ran into a lot of trouble last time. She could go for the Irridescence (June 25).”

Gypsy Beauty, who finished last, made an abnormal respiratory noise and will now have an operation. Greg Ennion, who thinks highly of her, said she has a deformed palate and the op will be done by a specialist from Pretoria.

Mike Bass is only five short of his sixth successive century after Sublime Lady, yet another Normandy-bred and backed from 6-1 to 5-2 favourite, got up two strides from the post under Khathi in the mile handicap to make amends for last time’s flop in the Sweet Chestnut when she was found to be suffering from a stacked leg virus.

Francois Herholdt is beginning to catch the eye of the top Cape Town trainers and he initiated a long-priced double when Brett Crawford newcomer Argo Solo made a winning debut at 55-1 in impressive style in the maiden juvenile.

The talented lightweight, whose big race wins include the 1994 Daily News on Imperial Despatch for Mike Azzie, said: “I can ride at 52kg and Jo’burg has been tough for me recently with a lot of appies doing well – and I thought there was a big gap down here after Karl Neisius and Glen Hatt retired plus Greg Cheyne being out of action.”

Tribal Fusion, who made all under Richard Fourie in the Third Leg Maiden, is a tough customer as Shane Humby explained: “He bashed his head against the gates last year and broke several bones in his head. There was nothing to be done except rest him and allow the bones to heal.”

On a day of surprises the distinction – if that is the right word – for producing the biggest shock of the lot went to Billy Prestage whose Red Peril made much of the running under Craig du Plooy to win the last at 66-1.

Michael Clower