It has been a long wait to single out Dennis Drier’s chief Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion contender this season. But, yesterday’s first race winner at Scottsville, Horse Guards, could be the one.

Drier has won five of the last six runnings of the Medallion and the Horse Chestnut colt looked the real deal when powering home to win yesterday’s Juvenile Plate by 2,25 lengths under stable jockey Sean Veale despite carrying a 3kg penalty for his debut win.

The second race over 1200m was won in fine start-to finish style by the Duncan Howells-trained Muzi Yeni-ridden Toreador filly Blaze Of Mystery, who also carried a 3kg penalty for a win, and Howells said she was “underdone”, so should do even better in the Gr 1 Allan Robertson Championship, although she will face a strong field there.

However, the most eyecatching winner on the card was possibly the Alistair Gordon-trained Royal Life. The talented gelding fought most of the way on the quarters of the leader Mountain Master in the fifth over 1600m, but still bounded away to win easily under apprentice Eric Saziso Ngwane and is now one to follow.

The Garth Puller-trained Asstar later downed Guiness and Tar Heel in a 1000m Pinnacle event and it will be interesting to see whether he is supplemented for the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Horse Guards (Nkosi Hlophe)