Cat In Command, with a history of physical problems, has taken to the more forgiving surface of the poly track and will be looking for his third win on the bounce in the sixth at Greyville tonight. Pat Lunn’s runner is unbeaten with Stuart Randolph aboard and landed a nice touch for the stable when keeping going to hold off Siddharth over the course and distance last time out.

However, the downside is a steady rise in the merit ratings and although he has the best of the draw and a 2kg swing in the weights, it may not be enough to overcome the Mike de Kock-trained Akii Bua in spite of the latter’s eight-month absence from the track.

The lightly raced Australian import is another that has had soundness problems but in five starts he has shown plenty of ability. Like Cat In Command he could take to the poly and the fact that De Kock has tossed him in at a ‘mile’ instead of his usual practice of a warm-up sprint first, suggests that Akii Bua will be fairly close to winning form.

Ian Sturgeon is riding with plenty of confidence since exploring greener pastures on the Highveld but he is also one of Frank Robinson’s regular pilots and they pair up with the Jallad gelding Jamal. It has been some time since the six-year-old found the winner’s enclosure but has shown excellent form on the poly track and should be thereabouts if Akii Bua and Cat In Commander don’t run up to expectations.

Deryl Daniels has been through the wringer as far as his personal life is concerned but he has been putting in the hard yards in recent months and is due a change of luck and a winner. He partners Trix Of The Trade for Glen Kotzen in the seventh who has finished close-up in both recent starts on the poly with Daniels up. Both times she has run out of steam late to be beaten a neck and less. She shows plenty of speed and this being her fourth run after a break she should strip at her peak.

However, this is a difficult filly’s handicap and there are a host of other pretenders. Top weight Cotswold found one too good for her in German Lady last Friday and has been racing in much stronger company of late. Cherry Tripper is quick while Rocket Lady, Seventh Virtue and Royal Honeymoon are all in with winning chances.

In the opening leg of the PA Malrebellio was only run out of it late when beaten less than a length on her seasonal debut behind Libertine and with the benefit of that run could turn the tables on her rival.

Mark Dixon’s runner Gangnum Style will be a popular choice in the fourth and is due a change of fortune as he drops in trip. Both races beyond 2000m appeared to be beyond his compass and today’s 1800 m trip should be optimum.

De Kock has been concentrating his efforts in the UK of late but Nathan Kotzen and John Buckler are more than capable of holding the fort in his absence and they should go close to leading Alghadeer into the winner’s box after the fifth. The son of leading sire Dynasty made a very smart debut on the poly and with a plum draw over a trip that his pedigree suggests should suit him well, he rates the horse to beat.

By his high standards KZN Champion trainer Duncan Howells has had a bit of a lean period of late and it’s only a matter of time before he turns that around and De La Rio looks the biggest threat to Alghadeer. He too made a decent enough debut on the poly at his first visit to the track and as in the case of Alghadeer, one can expect good improvement.

Picture: Nkosi Hlope

Variety Club, currently ranked as the second highest rated horse in the world, by the Longines World’s Best Racehorse rankings won 17 of his 23 career starts. He won 4 G1’s in his native land including the breed shaping Cape Guineas G1, The L’Ormarins Queens Plate (WFA) G1, and was a dual winner of The Rising Sun (WFA) G1. Other notable Group victories included the JWS Langerman G3, The Matchem Stakes (WFA) G2, Selangor Cup G2, The Tekkietown Winter Guineas G3, The KRA Guineas G2 and The Greenpoint Stakes (WFA) G2.

After been crowned as SA Horse of the Year for the second consecutive time in 2013 it was time to take on the world’s best. A six month quarantine via Mauritius and Europe was followed by a first up win in the Firebreak Stake G3, at Meydan in the UAE. Despite a rushed prep and still having to brush off a few cobwebs, Variety Club disposed of his opposition with ease, setting a new (unofficial) course record. He ran a creditable 2nd in the Burj Nahaar G3 in his next start, after which he was freshened up for the Godolphin Mile G2 on World Cup night. With a superb display of brilliant gate speed he had the appreciative crowd aghast with amazement as he flashed past the post, defeating another star studded field.

With two International Group victories under his belt, Variety Club travelled to Hong Kong, to take on the worlds best in the Champions Mile G1. Brilliant milers from around the globe assembled to try and wrestle the crown from the locals, a feat which all previous contenders had failed at. Despite another shocking draw, the SA Champ, under the masterful guidance of Anton Marcus, produced a career best performance, disposing of the best Hong Kong had to offer to win comfortably by four. The performance earned him a rating of 126 and left one of the worlds leading jockeys Joao Moreira expressing in amazement “he didn’t just beat us, he broke us into little pieces!”.

The brilliant sprinter/miler son of VAR, who was bred by Anton Shepard at Beaumont Stud, is expected to arrive at the SA Champion Breeders, Klawervlei stud, early in December. He will commence stud duties in the 2015 season. A stud fee will be announced in due course.

Enquiries: Derek Brugman

Email: derek@mayfairspeculators.co.za

Picture: Liesl King

Daunting is probably an understatement but that was the challenge that lay ahead. I was to join the stable of Alistair Gordon in Summerveld as an assistant trainer. Summerveld its self is one of the largest racehorse training centres in the world, full of champions and legends, was to be home to me, a young Englishman a very long way from home. I need not have had a single doubt.

I got to love South Africa and I experienced all that is best. Trips to the best racemeetings; a morning on the tracks; a glorious sunrise over the sugarcane fields and the glistening coats of the thoroughbreds that ringed in front of me.

South Africa is a country brimming with pride and passion, with great support shown to the things which matter to people. This pride could be seen to full effect as the KZN darling and South Africa’s champion mare Beach Beauty said her goodbyes to cries of celebration and admiration for one of the greatest of them all at the eLan Gold Cup meeting. It was an honour to be at the races that day to see a closing chapter of a legend of the turf.

I was able to listen in and pick the brains of some of the greatest in the sport. I totally believe that education is something which is truly necessary for my current generation; to be able to study what our forebears have done and maybe just find the odd twist or adjustment to gain that 1% improvement required to move forward. I am fortunate that my trip was funded by the ‘Fred Packard Scholarship’ run by the British Racing School (BRS) in Newmarket.

The two-day winter lecture program run by Summerhill Stud and The School of Excellence were some of the most insightful days of my life. For me to sit down with undoubtedly some of the finest minds in the global racing industry, sharing their thoughts and their opinions on global affairs which provide the back bone of the industry’s inner core was remarkable and forever unavailable unless sitting in those very boardrooms themselves.

The reason for coming to South Africa was to see what they did, which things were different and which were similar to my experiences in the UK. I wanted to know what, if anything, I could take back from here and apply elsewhere to the same effect. The deep, slow surface of the sand tracks I thought would be incomparable to our fast training surfaces and perhaps a retrograde training solution – it certainly is not. A great man Martin Pipe, fifteen times champion trainer, once told me “speed kills” – now I truly understand. The injury rate is far lower in my opinion as the sand does the work not the speed. You need to do less work for the same result.

The other key point is how nice some of your horses are, some fantastic specimens at a good price, how lucky you are!

– parademag.co.za

The Brett Crawford colt was a totally unfancied 66-1 shot at Kenilworth in a big field on Sophomore Sprint day – all the money was for stable companion Night In Seattle. The favourite duly won but it was the outsider who took the eye, making up a lot of ground late on to finish a highly creditable fourth. He should be hard to beat here with Crawford’s other runner Major Vaughan the principal danger. He has useful Durban form but his nine draw is a major handicap and significantly Corne Orffer (pictured) is on Blow Me Away.

MJ Byleveld, 33 last Saturday, can collect a belated birthday present on South Kensington in the Itsarush Divided Handicap even though the horse has not raced since disappointing nearly three months ago when he was returned not striding out.“It was the heavy going that day – he was as sound as he has ever been,” says Vaughan Marshall who confirms that the six-year-old will be fit enough and is the pick of the stable’s three runners. He opened 3-1 second favourite with Betting World yesterday.

Silver Bluff, the 28-10 favourite, is on a hat-trick but has paid a heavy price for his previous two wins, going up 6.5kg in the ratings. “He is improving all the time but I think the handicapper has caught him now,” says Mike Stewart. “He has galloped well but he is carrying a little bit of condition as I haven’t killed him for this race because I am using it as a springboard for the Cape Merchants.”

The Mike Bass-trained bottom weight African Fish Eagle (4-1) would have been the selection but for coughing when favourite last time and the stable’s concern that he may do so again. “He has the ability but you can’t rely on him at the moment,” says Candice Robinson.

Bernard Fayd’Herbe reported that he felt there was something amiss with Dancing Inthe Snow last time and, while the course vet could find nothing wrong, his mount clearly should have finished closer than fifth. She can make amends in the first even though the Crawford newcomer Skylar Lane opened favourite .

Uncle Jim sprang a surprise under Karis Teetan on debut but he gets in with a low introductory rating of 77 in race three and, with Xavier Carstens taking a further 2.5kg off his back, he appeals at 9-2 and may prove too strong for Kirumbo (4-1). Byleveld’s mount Shinning Day is favourite at 3-1 but he will have his work cut out from stall ten.

Gerrit Schlechter rides the Dean Kannemeyer-trained colt for the first time. Karl Neisius, who partnered stable companion Capetown Noir to a four-length romp 12 months ago, cannot do 53.5kg and will be on stable companion It Is Written.

But the two surprise absentees on what is billed as the start of the Summer of Champions Season are Richard Fourie and Kingvoldt.

The Vodacom Durban July winning jockey had hoped to be back for this but said yesterday: “It is taking a little bit longer than I thought. I am riding trackwork but I want to make sure I am fully fit. I am now looking at possibly October 8.”

Impressive Cape Of Good Hope Nursery winner Kingvoldt had been due to start his classic campaign in the Matchem, the race Joey Ramsden used to launch Variety Club’s season three years ago.

Drakenstein racing manager Kevin Sommerville said: “Kingvoldt had a throat infection and scoped a bit dirty a couple of weeks ago so Matchem plans had to be scrapped.

“We are not in favour of running him in the Cape Classic (Oct 25) because he would be badly weighted and it’s a question of whether Joey wants to give him a run before the Selangor Cup (Nov 22) or go straight there.”

The Matchem will be Dynastic Power’s his first run since his Winter Derby triumph three months ago and Stan Elley said: “I was half thinking of going on to the Betting World Algoa Cup (Oct 26) but I’m not sure that it would be the right thing to travel him at this stage of the season so it will probably by the Green Point Stakes (Nov 22) and the Peninsula Handicap.”

Lanner Falcon, second in last season’s Avontuur Cape Fillies Guineas, heads the eight runners for the Lanzerac Diana Stakes and last year’s Durban July second Run For It will be opposed by Winter Guineas and Classic winner Power King in the Infiniti Insurance Pinnacle Stakes.

Picture: Afrikaburn – Golden Horseshoe (Nkosi Hlophe)