Glen Kotzen has two further chances of success in Saturday’s KRA Guineas meeting at Greyville having started his Champions Season campaign in fine style at Scottsville on Sunday by winning both the Gr3 Strelitzia Stakes and the Gr 3 Poinsettia Stakes.

Kotzen runs the progressive Western Winter colt Light The Lights in the Gr 2 KRA Guineas and described him as “a proper horse”.

He said that Light The Lights had been “a bit above himself” in his Champions Season pipe opener over 1400m at Greyville, so it was not surprising that he fought for his head early when caught wide in a slow-paced race. However, he was seen to be doing pleasingly strong work late in the race. Kotzen added that Light The Lights had worked “very well” on Tuesday morning at Summerveld. He was looking forward to seeing how the colt would do from a good draw on Saturday as he has always regarded him as one who would come into his own in the latter part of the season. Light The Lights will follow the same path as the yard’s Vodacom Durban July winner of 2009, Big City Life, although he has big shoes to fill as Big City Life won both the KRA Guineas and the Gr 1 Daily News 2000, having arrived in KZN on the back of a win in the Gr 1 Cape Derby. Light The Lights looks fair value in the ante-post July market at 150/1 for a win and 30/1 for a place, although off a merit rating of 102 he will need a couple of big runs just to get into the big race.

Kotzen runs Cathy Specific in the Gr 2 KRA Fillies Guineas, a Royal Air Force filly who is part-owned by his son Kuyan. He said, “It is a tough ask as she is a bit out at the weights, but we will take our chances. She needed her first run here and ran a good race and has come on a lot from it.”

Cathy Specific won her debut over 1000m at Kenilworth on January 10 in impressive style after a slow start and she was then not disgraced in a competitive handicap over 1000m on J&B Met day when a 1,65 length fifth behind the useful Balkan. She followed up by finishing a 3,25 length fourth in the level weights Listed Breeders Guineas at Fairview on March 12 from a wide draw. In her Champions Season pipe opener at Greyville she produced her usual strong finish to win a fillies and mares Progress Plate over 1600m by a short-head. The runner up was the promising  Zante, who needs further and was flying late. Zante will have a 6kg weight swing in her favour on Saturday, so Cathy Specific will have to have improved a lot from that last run. Cathy Specific is only an 81 merit rating at present, but looks to be an unexposed, progressive sort who should rise above that figure in time. This is her first big test and she will have to prove well above average to feature in a classic race contested by some of the best fillies of a vintage crop.

– By David Thiselton

Picture: Light The Lights (Nkosi Hlophe)