Red Flame’s ideal race last season would have been the Gr 2 KRA Fillies Guineas at Greyville, but as she was still an up and coming horse her merit rating was not high enough to make the cut and she then found the 2000m of the Gr 1 Woolavington 2000 too far. She had a perfect preparation into the Gr 1 Klawervlei Majorca Stakes over 1600m on J&B Met day, but then drew widest of all in the twelve horse field and had to run two wide throughout. She still managed to run on well for a two-length fourth. She now has everything in her favour, as she is drawn well in barrier five under Richard Fourie. Her decent cruising speed coupled with her turn of foot make her just as suited to the 1400m trip as the 1600m.

Hammie’s Hooker was unfortunate that her three and four-year-old careers co-incided with the amazing Beach Beuaty’s prime and otherwise she would likely be a Gr 1 winner by now. She was ridden a touch too aggressively in the Gr 1 Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes over 1800m, a trip that taps her stamina. In the Gr 1 Klawervlei Majorca Stakes over 1600m she was slightly slow away and turned for home near the back. After running on well she found no extra in the final 100m, suggesting the 1400m trip of the Prix du Cap is still her optimum. Bernard Fayd’Herbe said at the beginning of the season that Hammie’s Hooker was the horse he was most looking forward to riding this term, which is a measure of her class.

She ran way below par in the Gr 2 Diadem over 1200m before those last two starts and although she subsequently had excuses in both the Paddock and the Majorca, she doesn’t quite appear to be in the same place as she was at the end of the Champions Season when running Beach Beauty close in the Jonsson Workwear Garden Province Stakes with the rest of the field well beaten. If she comes back to her brilliant best she will be the horse to beat, but on current form Red Flame is given the narrow vote. Watching the preliminaries on Saturday, including how well both horses go down to the start, will be all important.

One that could upset the applecart is the Brett Crawford-trained Gr 2 KRA Fillies Guineas winner Maybe Yes, who could now be cherry-ripe. She is drawn well in two and her excellent turn of foot was at its best this season over the 1500m trip, so she will likely enjoy the step down to 1400m after finishing five lengths back in both the Paddock Stakes and Majorca. However, she does have 2,5 lengths to find on Hammie’s Hooker from last season’s Gr 2 Tibouchina over 1450m at Clairwood.

Lanner Falcon is 2kg worse off with Maybe Yes having beaten her by only 0,75 lengths over 1500m. However, this is likely her optimum trip. She is widely drawn has a fine turn of foot and finishing speed, so won’t mind coming from off the pace.

A horse worth following and who could provide good place value or at least be included in the quartet is the Adam Marcus-trained Crystal Cavern. She created a fine impression when running on strongly from way back after being dropped out from a wide draw over this course and distance in a handicap on J&B Met day. She is only merit rated 82, but looks sure to rise above that mark.

Marcus regards another contender here Souk as one of the stable stars. She ran on well for a 0,9 length fourth over 1200m on J&B Met day and that race was intended as her preparation for this one. Her best trip looks to be 1600m, so running relatively fresh here over 1400m gives her a chance of earning a cheque although she has a tricky draw of eight.

Supreme Sunset won a Gr 2 over 1450m at Turffontein, beating the like of Athina and an admittedly very unlucky Majmu, but she looks held by Red Flame, Hammie’s Hooker and Lanner Falcon on recent Cape Town form.

Antonia’s Fortress is 4kg better off with Red Flame for a 2,3 length beating over course and distance towards the beginning of January. She is a handy type so her pole positon draw is ideal for her style.

Miss Saigon is only just held by Lanner Falcon and Maybe Yes, but is 1kg better off with Antonia’s Fortress for a 0,4 length beating over course and distance, so she could earn from a draw of three.

Zacharias is only 1,4 lengths off Lanner Falcon on their last meeting over course and distance. However, her last two poor efforts over sprints puts a cloud over her chances.

Lady Ming looks out of her depth here.

The Gr 3 Chairman’s Cup has attracted a disappointing field of only six runners. The Darryl Hodgson-trained Putney Flyer’s last win was in a six-horse field over this distance and having run above his merit rating in the slow run Gr 2 J&B Urban Honey Stayers over 2800m on Met day, he could be the one to beat having just snuck into the handicap with the minimum weight of 52kg.

Etienne Braun, who is well known as a racing owner, is the Managing Director of sponsors Breco Seafoods and said that the Prawn Festival would be more organised this year and there would be no long queues. It should be a fun event, ideal as a family day out, and well worth attending.

They put up Futura 2kg to a merit rating of 120 for his J & B Met win, making the Brett Crawford-trained star officially the best horse in the country and 1.5kg better than Legislate.

Senior handicapper Roger Smith said: “We used Tellina (fourth and rated 109) as our guide. Futura beat him three lengths which is six points (3kg) but we felt that Futura won easier than the margin because he went away from the others at the end.”

The handicappers raised Ertijaal 5.5kg to 107 for his near five-length Investec Cape Derby triumph but left second-placed Act Of War on 117.

Smith explained: “We had to base Ertijaal’s rating on the other horses and take Act Of War out of the equation. He clearly ran below his best. He finished strongly in most of his previous races but on this occasion he moved up for a few strides and then didn’t seem to have any extra.”

Dean Kannemeyer said yesterday: “Last year we felt that he wasn’t ready to travel so we kept him at home for the winter triple crown and he almost pulled it off. I am looking at certain feature races with him in Durban, he is the type of horse that can do it and he leaves the following week.”

Breco Seafoods, whose managing director is passionate racehorse owner Etienne Braun,  sponsor the Prix du Cap and will be providing prawns at special low prices.

Kenilworth marketing manager Jenna Adams said: “We will have more working stations this time so there won’t be the huge queues that we had last year.”

The Cape Carnival minstrels will be at the meeting and there will be draws for R70 000 worth of home appliances (including televisions) and a fridge with a R2 000 seafood voucher.

Kevin Wright said that due to the nature of his injury (tendon) he had been “underworked”, while Alyson added that recent rain co-inciding with his intended hard-working days had also affected his preparation.

Kevin said, “There is no way to get him ready for the season in time unless we start him somewhere and after such a long break he will need this run and at least another one before he is back to where he was.”

The yard were therefore not bullish about even his class perhaps bringing him a victory in the Graduation Plate race over 1200m, in which he is well in at the weights.

Alyson added, “Otherwise everything has gone really well in his prep and it will be good to see him back.”

The Wright yard have another interesting runner on the day in the form of the three-year-old Go Deputy filly Alpine Ridge, who runs in the fifth race, a MR 76 Handicap over 1400m for fillies and mares. Alsyon admitted that it was a very competitive field, so hoped Alpine Ridge could run a place. The filly has a tricky draw of nine to overcome, but considering Scottsville is very much a “horses for courses” type of a track, the most interesting statistic in her three run career to date is that she has had one outing at the course for one victory.  She won here on debut over 1200m in “very soft” conditions, despite being palpably outpaced early, so she will definitely prefer the 1400m trip.  Another noticeable detail of her debut was that she had to run around the inside horses that day and finished in the centre of the track. From her draw she will likely have to come down the centre again. A factor in her favour is that the progeny of Go Deputy improve continually with age.

The Wright yard have a colt by Western Winter, Mr Roy owned by Roy Moodley, whom they hope can follow in the footsteps of Kochka. He disappointed after being backed into 28/10 second favourite on Sunday over 1200m up against the promising Mike de Kock-trained winner Baahir and managed only a 7,25 length fourth. However, it was discovered immediately after the race that his nose was streaming mucous. He had shown no sign of ill effects before the race and this virus has apparently been common lately. He should be watched in future starts.

Muhtafal, a strapping chestnut owned by Sheik Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Shadwell, was the last son of Mr Prospector to stand at stud in South Africa and the most successful in the Southern Hemisphere.

His best progeny included Paris Perfect who finished third in the Gr1 Dubai World Cup, along with Gr 1 winners Outcome, Disappear and Lets Rock ‘n Roll as well as Gr 2 winners Fair Brutus, Veiled Essence, Thunder Key, Arabian Mist, First Again and Here Comes Billy.

Muhtafal will always be remembered for his good looks, powerful physique and the speed he put into his progeny.

However, Paris Pefect’s Dubai World Cup third-place, Outcome’s win in the Gr 1 Garden Province Stakes and Veiled Essence’s win in the Gold Circle Derby over 2400m proved that he was not just about pure speed and could also pass on class.

His home for many years in South Africa was Summerhill Stud, whom he helped win nine consecutive National Breeder’s Championship titles. Summerhill’s owner Mick Goss once famously said, “If I had to go to war I would take Muhtafal.”

Greg Muir has been the long time stallion manager at Summerhill Stud and believed that had Muhtafal not been injured as a two-year-old he might never have made it to South Africa, for he could still have been anything as a three-year-old.

He only had three starts and set two track records over 1200m, including at Keeneland. In his third and last start in a Gr 3 he held the lead over the top class Mr Greeley for almost a mile before injury struck, ending a very promising racing career. Mr Greeley went on to become a sire of international repute.

Muhtafal only covered about 14 mares in his first season in the USA and when first arriving at Sumerhill they were horrified to discover that it took him an average of between two to two-and-a-half hours to cover each mare. It is a tribute to Summerhill and Muir’s dedication that Muhtafal covered books of close to 70 mares in his busiest seasons. They tried a number of tactics to overcome his fussy covering habits, including taking him into the more natural environment of a paddock and they also moved his stable block in amongst the mares to create a herd atmosphere.

However, Muir believed that his fussiness was due to him being more “naturally inclined” in a world where consideration for a thoroughbred’s stallion’s whims are not often considered.

He said, “The smell of estrogen is what attracts a stallion to a mare in the wild and I personally believe that if it didn’t smell right Muhtafal was not going to cover. On some occasions he took as little as ten minutes to cover. In the end if he had not covered within 20 minutes we would send the mare back to the vet to be rechecked.”

Muir added that despite all of his problems, he was very fertile and had a high strike rate of getting his mares in foal.

Muhtafal was a gentleman by nature and doted upon the lady who took care of him at Summerhill, Ollie Duda. His loveable character made him a favourite among most of the other staff.

Muir said that he was typical of a Mr Prospector sire in that he “toed out” on one leg.

However, he added, “There is nothing like a horse to put dirt on your face. A lot of horses are badly conformed but learn to run and will always surprise you. Muhtafal was well bred and had the attributes as a racehorse to make it as a sire.”

Muhtafal spent his latter years at Bruce and Delia le Roux’s Spring Valley Stud. Le Roux retired him last season after just one cover as it had become obvious that he was battling to perform, which caused him much frustration.

After over a year off in the paddocks, his health deteriorated and on top of his aches and pains he suffered a number of “niggling colics.” He had also begun to not want to eat his special diet. His quality of life had become such that eventually a humane decision had to be made.

Richard Lancaster, Shadwell’s Stud Director commented: “It is always sad to lose a stallion, especially one so well loved and influential as Muhtafal. On behalf of Shadwell, I would like to thank the KZN Breeders for their continued support and of course, Bruce and Delia le Roux for their excellent management of Muhtafal in both his professional and retired life”.

Bruce le Roux said, “It was an honour and pleasure to stand Muhtafal for the last few years, rest in peace, Muht.”

Picture supplied by: Sportingpost.co.za