The first four on the South African national jockeys’ log last season – S’Manga Khumalo (captain), Richard Fourie, Muzi Yeni and Piere Strydom – will represent South Africa. Two local jockeys and one international rider are still to be finalised.

“This could be the most exciting International Jockeys’ Challenge yet,” said Racing Association chief executive Larry Wainstein, who organises the event.

The International Jockeys’ Challenge will be staged over two meetings, the first at Turffontein on Saturday 15 November and then at Kenilworth on Sunday 16 November.

The jockeys will ride in four races at each meeting and the team that scores the most points wins the Challenge. In the last six years, South Africa has taken the trophy four times and the internationals twice.

South African horseracing fans who follow Dubai and English racing will know Doyle from his win in the 2012 Dubai Duty Free aboard Cityscape, as well as his successes in England in this year’s St James’s Palace Stakes and Sussex Stakes on Kingman. An adaptable rider, the 26-year-old has also won Grade 1 races in Ireland and France and is currently fifth on the UK jockeys’ table this year.

Kirby, the 2013 all-weather champion jockey in England, is also 26 and is currently seventh on the UK riders’ log. Followers of English racing will know him from his wins on Lethal Force in last year’s Diamond Jubilee Stakes and Darley July Cup, in which South Africa’s Shea Shea ran fourth.

Harley (25) won the Irish 1000 Guineas on Samitar in 2012 and his other Group 1 win came aboard Tac De Boistron in the Prix Royal-Oak at Longchamp in Paris last year.

Helfenbein (46) was the leading apprentice three times in Germany and has ridden winners in Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, England, France and Macau, while Kaya, second on the Turkish jockeys’ log last season, has won five Group 1 races in his homeland, incluing the Topkapi Trophy in 2006 on Ribella. –  Tabnews

Picture: Nksoi Hlophe

Futura was given a three week break on the farm after the Champions Season and was given his necessary inoculations during that holiday. He is now back in full work and is in “fine fettle.”

He is likely to go the traditional Cape Summer Of Champions Season route for top horses, namely the weight for age Gr 2 Green Point Stakes, the weight for age Gr 1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and the Gr 1 J&B Met.

Futura’s unusual beginnings saw him being conceived in Colesberg, born in Mooi River and raised in Kimberley. Owner and part-time breeder Mike Jolly was one of a syndicate who raced Futura’s dam, Scribblin’ The Cat, a moderate filly by Badger’s Drift who raced only four times. She won the last of those races, a Maiden over 2000m at Turffontein, despite starting odds of 33-1.

Jolly was keen to breed with Scribblin’ The Cat, but the other members of the syndicate didn’t share his enthusiasm in that regard. Consequently Jolly, being a great friend of Gary Player’s, approached the latter’s stud manager at the time Guy Murdoch. Murdoch agreed to swap a gelding he had in training for the breeding share in Scribblin’ The Cat.

Scribblin’ The Cat was duly transported to The Gary Player Stud farm in Colesberg.

Jolly and Murdoch sent her to the Highlands stallion Dynasty, who was affordable at the time standing at a fee of just R10,000, a far cry from the exorbitant R150,000 he demands today as one of the most sort after sires in the country.

Shortly after Scribblin’ The Cat was confirmed in foal, Murdoch took up a new position as manager of Koos and Lorraine de Klerk’s Yellow Star Stud in Mooi River. Scribblin’ The Cat made the journey with him and she gave birth to Futura on that farm.

However, then came an offer Murdoch could hardly refuse as manager of Bridget Oppenheimer’s Mauritzfontein Stud. Scribblin’ The Cat accompanied him again, this time with Futura in tow. Hence Futura was nurtured in Kimberly on one of the country’s most famous stud farms.

Futura fetched R500,000 at the National Yearling Sales and at this year’s Nationals his three-parts sister by Fort Wood was sold for R550,000. In between them is an unraced filly by Miesque’s Approval.

Incidentally, Futura was originally named Venia, a name that none of the connections, Ian Longmore, Jack Mitchell and John Freeman, liked. They decided to rename him and Mitchell’s daughter Nancy cleverly arrived at his current name, which is a font type, so relates to the “scribblin’” part of his dam’s name.

Jolly also bred the promising Punk Rocker, a three-year-old colt by Trippi who won two out of three last season, including the Gr 3 Godolphin Barb Stakes. He is yet to appear for his new trainer, Mike de Kock, but is reportedly doing well.

Picture: Futura at the 2014 July gallops by Nkosi Hlophe

The brilliant five-year-old Western Winter entire will be attempting to defend his L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate crown next January.

Capetown Noir was scratched from the Gr 1 Champions Cup at Greyville on the last weekend of last season after a minor hiccup. However, three months later he is “flying” at home at Milnerton. He loves the Kenilworth 1600m and his brilliant win in the Queen’s Plate last season earned him the Equus Champion Miler award.

Kannemeyer’s other Equus Award winner, the Champion Stayer Hot Ticket, was found to have an infected larynx after returning from Durban. However, he is now recovering well. He will likely start off in a shorter race in order to help him “blow clean”, before being aimed at the J&B Jet Stayers on J&B Met day.

Kannemeyer’s promising four-year-old Dynasty gelding Speed Rocket will be coming out in November, while his useful four-year-old Silvano colt Power King made a good reappearance recently when giving 1,5kg to Heldeberg Blue in a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1800m and only losing by 0,75 lengths.

The yard have a chance of adding to their excellent record in the Selangor Cup and Grand Parade Cape Guineas with the Trippi colt Afrikaburn, who won a Gr 1 in KZN last season.

The other promising three-year-olds Kannemeyer mentioned were Balance Sheet, Dynastic, Tripandie and Captain Alfredo.

He said that Balance Sheet, who is by Silvano, would be unlikely to take part in the Gr 3 Cape Classic over 1400m on October 25 as it would be too sharp for him.

In fact he said he would not be showing his three-year-old hand early this season as he believed a few of them would be at their best during the Champions Season in KZN next year.

Picture: Capetown Noir by Liesl King

NHA Racing Control Executive David McGillivray said: “The suspension will not apply until the High Court has made its decision and only then will it be either waived or effected, but when it will actually get a mention I don’t know.”

The ban, imposed for Khumalo’s handling of the Sean Tarry-trained newcomer Supertube at the Vaal over 11 months ago, was put on hold when his lawyers applied to the High Court for a review after the sentence was confirmed by the Appeal Board.

Should the champion decide to drop the case he would have to serve the ban but McGillivray said: “I am sure it is going to proceed but I don’t know how long it will be before it actually gets into court.”

Picture: Nkosi Hlophe

The Dean Kannemeyer-trained Afrikaburn became the first colt of Trippi’s South African-bred progeny to win a Gr 1 when winning the Durban Golden Horseshoe over 1 400m last season and joining him as contemporary three-year-olds with exciting potential this season are two Sean Tarry-trained colts, Zambezi River and Trip To Heaven.

Afrikaburn has a tremendous turn of foot. In his recent reappearance in the Gr 3 Kuda Matchem Stakes over 1 400m against older horses, he took a while to get going in the straight but then took off late and this has prompted Kannemeyer to consider fitting quarter cup blinkers next time out.

Afrikaburn will avoid the Gr 3 Cape Classic on October 25, so his next big race target is likely to be the Gr 2 Selangor Cup over 1600m.

Zambezi River was slow away on his debut over 1000m at the Vaal last week, but cut through the field like a hot knife through butter late in the race and appeared to do it effortlessly.  He won easing up by 1,5 lengths, despite having drifted from 3/1 to 5/1 in the betting. Both Afrikaburn and Zambezi River were bred by Drakenstein Stud.

On Saturday the Highlands Farm Stud-bred Trip To Heaven, returning from a 125 day layoff, was very impressive when stretching further and further clear under a hands and heels ride to win a Maiden over 1 200m on the Turffontein Inside track by 7,75 lengths.

Tarry provided Trippi with his first ever South African-bred Gr 1 winner, the filly For The Lads, who won the Golden Slipper over 1 400m at Greyville but she unfortunately lost her way as a three-year-old last season.

Another promising colt from Trippi’s current three-year-old crop is Punk Rocker who won the Gr 3 Godolphin Barb Stakes over 1100m at Clairwood last season. However, he is still being rested at present.

The Kannemeyer-trained colt Tripandie also looked promising when winning from a tough draw over 1 200m at Clairwood last season. Kanemeyer said he would take a “soft route’’ with him and he will have to win another race before he thinks about running him in three-year-old features. There are also some promising fillies among the three-year-old Trippi crop.

The Mike de Kock-trained One Fine Day finished an excellent second against the boys in the Golden Horseshoe last season to give Trippi and Drakenstein a Gr 1 one-two. She is entered in a Novice Plate over 1 000m at Turffontein this Saturday.

The Charles Laird-trained Klawervlei Stud-bred Beloved Country has won three out of five starts, including a Listed and a Non-Black Type event, and is being aimed at the R1 million Cape Yearling Sales Graduates race over 1200m next January at Kenilworth.

The speedy Justin Snaith-trained Arria is a Listed winner and she will be making her reappearance on October 26 at Fairview in a Graduation Plate.

The Snaith-trained Cotton Candy, who won two out of seven starts last season and was stakes placed, has had a successful operation to remove a fetlock chip and has been doing very well in training. Of the older Trippis, the Mike Bass-trained five-year-old mare Hammie’s Hooker should have a halcyon season now that her nemesis Beach Beauty has been retired. Bass also trains the Gr 1-placed four-year-old Trippi filly Lanner Falcon, who finished second in the Gr 3 Diana Stakes in her reappearance. She will be kept to trips from 1 200-1 600m this season. Shingwedzi is another Bass-trained four-year-old filly that should make an impact.

Geoff Woodruff has the Gr 1-placed Not Sulking, who is recovering from injury, but should be back racing in about February next year.

Bass’ useful Trippi gelding Paterfamilias is back in work after injury, but his Trippi stable companion Abercrombie is still being rested.

The lightning fast Louis Goosen-trained gelding Trip Tease has won seven out of eleven, including a Gr 3 on turf and a Listed on the sand, so he could make an impact in the big Highveld sprint races.

Of the two-year-olds the Snaiths have a colt out of the Gr 1 winner Sparkling Gem that they have high hopes for. He should be watched out for as he is likely to be racing soon and should win first time out. Justin also spoke highly of another young two-year-old Trippi colt that has just arrived. It is tough for any sire to make it as buyers are notoriously fickle and a stallion can go out of fashion virtually as quickly as it takes their progeny to complete a race.

There have been one or two detractors as it took a while for a Trippi to win a Gr 1 and most of the good ones appeared to be fillies. However, that all looks likely to change this season.

Picture: Drakenstein Stud