First blood to the defending champion. But the challenger and his entourage can hardly wait for the rematch on January 7, let alone the big money title fight three weeks later.

“Marinaresco had a dirty trach wash the previous week, we had to treat him and go a bit easy. Obviously that wasn’t ideal and they went quite hard which didn’t help either,” said Candice Bass-Robinson after her charge had run Legal Eagle to less than half a length in the WSB Green Point Stakes at Kenilworth on Saturday. Significantly she added, Queen’s Plate already in mind: “This is a horse who wants to win and that’s half the battle.”

Anton Marcus on the winner felt the game was up when Grant van Niekerk came off his tail and threw down the gauntlet in earnest – “I was a bit concerned when I had to go for my horse quite early and in the last half furlong I thought Grant was going to go past me. It’s a testament to my horse’s courage that he stuck his head out but this race proves there is very little between the two of them.”

Sean Tarry, though, made it clear that there will also be more to come from Markus Jooste’s Greys Inn gelding on Queen’s Plate day, saying: “I was a bit cheeky going into it with less work than I would normally do for a race of this stature.”

The third, Captain America, was over four lengths away with his pace-setting stable companion Sail South another three lengths further back but there were valid excuses for some of those down the field. Although the course vet could find nothing wrong Piere Strydom reported that he felt something amiss with Black Arthur (seventh) and Aldo Domeyer said the same about Helderberg Blue (last).

But perhaps the most telling explanation came from Mike Azzie for Triple Crown winner Abashiri who ran on into fifth after trailing the field much of the way. “I nearly took him out after the way he travelled – he didn’t eat for two and a half days. He now goes to Eric Sands’ yard and one of my assistants will come down to prepare him for the Queen’s Plate and the Met.”

The Majorca on January 28 looks like being the aim for Just Sensual who got up almost on the line to complete a notable double for Jooste and his retained jockey in the World Sports Betting Cape Fillies Guineas, landing some notable punts in the process. She was 16-1 on Thursday and was backed from 10-1 to 11-2 on the day. The Dynasty filly was bred by Majorca sponsors Klawervlei.

“We will probably go for the Majorca rather than the 1 800m of the Paddock Stakes but it’s not cast in stone. I have to discuss plans with Joey Ramsden,” said Derek Brugman who paid tribute to the trainer, saying: “He is something special and we are privileged having him train for us.”

Ramsden, who also won this race with Shadow Dancing 12 years ago, may be the effective first choice of the biggest spender in South African racing but he is certainly delivering the goods and, seemingly, he couldn’t understand why the pundits didn’t share his belief in the winner who has not been beaten since her debut in February – “She is very smart, I thought she was a big runner and I was surprised nobody else really liked her.”

She beat Safe Harbour a neck and, although there was more than three lengths back to third-placed favourite Querari Falcon, the next six were covered by less than a length in what proved to be a very rough race with the stipes spending almost as much time working out who was guilty of what as the Public Protector.

Final Judgement (eighth) was forced to ease and Piere Strydom had to contend with a slipping saddle almost from the start, Dawn Calling (12^th) was hampered three times, Whose That Girl (tenth) was knocked off balance and gamble of the race Quick Brown Fox suffered more than any of them  (Greg Cheyne: “She got her legs taken out from under her”).

World Sports Betting realised they had got it horribly wrong almost as soon as they priced up Search Party at 25-1 last weekend. Punters showed them no mercy all week and the money continued on the day with Delma Sherrell’s gelding going off 7-2 joint favourite. Corne Orffer promptly made all to give Brett Crawford his first Cape Merchants.

Glen Kotzen is targeting the R1 million Kuda Sprint on Met day for Gold Image who led throughout under Richard Fourie in the first two-year-old race of the Cape season. “We pre-trained her for the CTS Ready To Run and I couldn’t see her getting beat,” he related.

By Michael Clower