The R2.4 million paid by Sean Tarry for the top lot at the CTS Ready To Run on Friday evening was the highest price paid at this sale since Brutal Force was bought in by Mayfair Speculators at R4.5 million six years ago.

The Tarry purchase was Track Commander, a colt by Gimmethegreenlight consigned from Soetendal Estate and out of a half-sister to Tibouchina winner Red Dor and Red Peril who won the 2017 Settlers Trophy at Durbanville for Billy Prestage.

Both the average and the median were down on last year although this was to be expected with a 46% increase in the size of the catalogue.

By Michael Clower

Only twice in the last ten years has the winner of the Concorde Cup, and its Selangor predecessor, gone on to land the Cape Guineas but both first and second showed a classic-winning turn of foot at Kenilworth on Saturday.

First Sachdev and then, decisively, King Of Gems accelerated as if they had been fitted with turbochargers and they flew home like Pegasus with Drakenstein’s son of the ill-fated Kingsbarns snatching victory almost on the line to become the longest-priced winner of the race this century.

The 55-1 shot was last of all turning into the short straight but Aldo Domeyer reported: “I was always going well. He picked it up like a good horse should but then Richard Fourie hit the front. This was a concern because Richard doesn’t normally stop when he does but then, though, my horse dug down deep and found an amazing gear.”

Fourie confirmed: “I thought I was going to get up – my mount has a serious turn of foot – but when I was getting there close home the other horse came and got me.”

The margin was only a neck and Justin Snaith reckons the gap is more than bridgeable – “I had to back right off Sachdev after the Cape Classic when his blood wasn’t right and as a result he was not as fit as I would have liked. But I think I will have him right for the Guineas.”

Brett Crawford seemed almost as impressed with third-placed Macthief as he was with the winner, saying: “He had a lot of things against him and in the back straight he clipped heels and pecked. They will both go for the Guineas and after Wednesday I hope to have a third runner (Kilindini).”

Corne Orffer, who rode Macthief, added: “He is not a horse who is going to quicken like the first two did but he keeps finding and he ran right to the line.”

Viva Rio, less than half a length further back fourth, will again be in the line-up on December 21 and Morne Winnaar said: “He will be better on the new course – he only got going late here.”

The principal negatives about the race – from the point of view of its bearing on the Guineas –  are that there was less than two lengths covering the first five, Domeyer’s comment “I can’t wait for ten furlongs” (it takes an exceptional horse to win the Guineas if he is not a specialist miler) and the eclipse of the Kannemeyer horses.

The Milnerton trainer was struggling to understand this in the immediate aftermath and said: “African Warrior (ninth) ran below his rating and he just didn’t quicken – and it’s the first time he hasn’t, while Seventh Gear (fifth) stayed on as if he is looking for ground.”

Vets Kate Meiring and Juan Batt provided the answers: African Warrior was not striding out on his left fore while Seventh Gear was blowing unnaturally hard.

Cane Lime ‘n Soda ran on into sixth and part-owner Robert Bloomberg said: “I think he is a Derby horse but we will take our chance in the Guineas.”

Snow Report (seventh) led until weakening just inside the final furlong and so gave his connections hope for the future. Apparently the Langerman winner has not thrived in recent months.

The stable promptly collected the Cape Merchants with the Domeyer-ridden Russet Air who came up the stands side to book his ticket for the season’s big sprints, much to the delight of Marsh Shirtliff and the Bass and Finch families.

“He gives you the impression that he is looking for a bit further but he is best up the straight,” said Candice.

“I am looking for a horse to take the place of Oh Susanna in the Group 1s,” said Snaith after Myabi Gold had come home in front in the conditions plate, “but I didn’t think I had this mare that fit – she had only had one gallop.” As part-owner Nic Jonsson pointed out, she was only beaten just over two lengths in last year’s Vodacom Durban July.

Andre Nel has Sun Met ambitions for Capoeira who completed Domeyer’s treble in the last – but the real lesson from the finale is just what Roi Querari and the rest of the home team are up against when the CTS Ready To Run finally does take place on Saturday fortnight. Invidia was giving the winner a kilo (and 7kg more than weight-for-age) and yet he was only beaten a neck. Little wonder that Ashley Fortune brought him down early!

By Michael Clower

Feature race form is ignored at your peril, especially when the trainer thinks that it’s worth the effort to travel and take on the best.

Lady Legend got the worst of the draw in sticky going when taking on most of the best fillies on the Highveld in the Starling Stakes but that did not deter Wayne Badenhorst. Although not returning with a cheque, Lady Legend did give an indication that she belonged in that company and the 10-1 on offer at Hollywoodbets Greyville yesterday was something of a steal.

An outside draw may have been a concern but Gareth Wright quickly had his mount up handy and Lady Legend kept running to hold the attentions of race favourite Mitra Music who was unable to peg her rival back over the final furlong.

Lady Legend was the first leg of a Badenhorst double, although Bordeaux was a lot harder to find – the colt paying R97 for a win on the tote.

The improvement on a modest debut was attributed to the addition of blinkers. “He was a hard ride,” confirmed Wright which was clear to all as the rider was forced to keep his mount hard to his task.

All the money was for Trip To Africa in the second and it proved on the mark. Duncan Howells had always thought highly of the gelding but who had plenty of issues as a young horse. “He was a tall, immature horse who needed to grow into himself.”

Anton Marcus had no hesitation in taking Trip To Africa up with the lead and they kept firing all the way to the line to win rather comfortably. It was the second winner for the owners who had cashed in with High Voltage last Wednesday.

In the first, the money came in spades for Lady Of Lutetia but things didn’t work out as planned as she took a knock out of the gate and arrived too late as odds-on favourite Ode was hard-pressed to hold off the attentions of Lady Charlotte.

Seasoned trainer Pat Lunn, one of KZN’s greats with the likes of Model Man and Northern Princess among many other truly smart horses, is now KZN assistant to Johan Janse van Vuuren. Not the soundest of fillies, Ode was in good hands and put her soundness issues behind her.

Warren Kennedy is well on his way to his first National Jockey Championship with a 17% winning strike rate from over 500 mounts, and all though his expected century did not materialise with Lady Of Lutetia in the first, he did not have much longer to wait as 10-1 chance Skollie buried a few more exotic bet tickets in the fourth.

Drawn up Marriott Road on debut, he made the necessary improvement with a fine win. “I thought he would need a mile, plus,” commented Kennedy confirmed by Gareth van Zyl. “I had him in a mile but he drew badly so took the better option of a good draw over 1400m.”

It proved an inspired decision.

Pearl Of Asia, off the track for 270 days after landing something of a coup on debut, followed up with a smart victory in the sixth. It was a competitive field and Mr Fitz looked to have the race at his mercy before Pearl Of Asia slipped through on the inside rail to snatch the decision giving Gareth Wright his third of the afternoon riding for Robbie and Shannon Hill.

Calvary was an inspired gamble in the seventh and apprentice Jabu Jacobs made all, in the process keeping out of trouble.

Second-placed Socrates ducked badly under pressure and before Donovan Dillon was able to straighten him up, Hey Boy and Winter Blues were compromised.

Gary Rich, who has a small string of less than 20 horses at his Ashburton yard, is way under rated as a trainer.  He has a 15% strike rate from just 27 starts and Clouds Of Witness gave him his fifth win of the season and can put him well and truly on the map.

Billy Jacobson set a modest early gallop, made his move just before the turn, and kept the gelding rolling to the line. Clouds Of Witness was challenged from all sides but refused to submit.

The son of Master Of My Fate has filled out and matured and barring accidents, should not stop here.

By Andrew Harrison

Gin Fizz is well named. The daughter of Soft Falling Rain has not been the easiest to get to the racetrack but when she is in the mood, she has stamped herself as one of the better sophomore fillies to have stepped out on the Highveld this season.

The Cape Summer Season and Cape Fillies Guineas may be high on her agenda but given her temperament, Mike de Kock, who is blessed with a plethora of smart horses this season, may keep her under wraps for the Highveld Autumn season where she does not have to travel.

That’s all speculation of course, but just how she fares in The Citizen Fillies Mile (Gr3) at Turffontein tomorrow could give an indication as to where she is headed for the balance of the season.

Gin Fizz has been competing at the highest level and has not been out of the money in seven outings, her last three over the Turffontein Inside track where she finally cracked a win in a Graduation Plate after two runner-up berths.

Given that at her previous outing she had finished a close-up second to the smart older filly Vistula in the Jo’Burg Spring Challenge, that win was hardly unexpected.

She takes on her own age group tomorrow but there could be a few IED surprises in store.

Marco van Rensburg has a good mouth on him and after two indifferent rides on Spiritofthegroove, Sean ‘two strikes and you’re out’ Tarry was ready to give him the bullet.

Van Rensburg’s mouth kept him aboard and it was third time lucky, as he rode a cracker in the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Stakes, weaving his way through from a difficult draw to land the lucrative first prize.

The opposition is a lot stronger tomorrow, but Van Rensburg should now know what is required and Spiritofthegroove, fourth behind Vistula and Gin Fizz in the Spring Challenge, could prove more of a threat this time around.

The De Kock-trained Mill Queen is garnering a reputation as one of the better fillies around. She got home from an almost hopeless position to win the Starling Stakes but rank outsider Kayla’s Champ was only a length off her at the line with the Van Rensburg-ridden Wisteria Walk beaten a neck in second.

One can pick holes in Mill Queen’s form but the fact stands that she has not finished out of the first two in five starts, including a close-up second to Gabor in the Gr1 Thekwini Stakes, which puts some perspective on Kayla’s Champ’s performance.

Of the balance, Summer Pudding is unbeaten in two outings and the last run of the De Kock-trained Tallinn is best ignored and cannot be discounted lightly.

By Andrew Harrison

African Warrior can boost his Cape Guineas claims by landing the Concorde Cup at Kenilworth tomorrow although there are serious doubts about whether he is as superior to the opposition as the official ratings would suggest.

Assessments based on two-year-old running in Durban at two can sometimes fail to stand up simply because many trainers, and particularly those in Cape Town, prefer not to test their juveniles to the full as they believe a more patient approach will pay dividends in the long term.

However African Warrior, rated 112 after winning the Umkhomazi Stakes, was reassessed at 115 after his first Cape Town start when he took a 2 ¼ length fifth to One World in the Matchem from a poor draw.

“That was his best performance so far,” says Dean Kannemeyer who is bidding for his seventh win in this race. “He has to give a kilo to the whole field and it’s his first time at a mile. I think he should get it and all has gone well with him.”

Stable companion Seventh Gear is rated 7.5kg behind him but their trainer does not accept this as a true reading of their comparative ability and says: “African Warrior has earned his stripes and his rating but I think a lot of Seventh Gear.”

African Warrior is 13-10 favourite and the market leader has won four of the last ten runnings. Seventh Gear is second best at 9-2 with 6-1 about Viva Rio (who has won his last three) and Sachdev who flopped in the Cape Classic.

“I am hoping you will see a very different horse on Saturday,” says Justin Snaith. “We were disappointed with Sachdev’s run in the Cape Classic and we took his blood afterwards – I would like to have seen it better.”

Glen Kotzen, who brought off a 28-1 shock with Gold Standard three years ago, says: “I have rated Viva Rio from day one and after we gelded him he came good. He is a very smart horse.”

In the Racing Association Stakes over this trip at Fairview four weeks ago Viva Rio beat the smart Cane Lime ‘n Soda (an 8-1 chance here) by more than three lengths but part owner Robert Bloomberg reckons there were valid excuses – “They went slow and our horse was caught flat-footed. I think he can reverse the form.”

Macthief, third in the ratings, is on offer at as much as 11-1, largely because he only managed fifth in the Cape Classic but seemingly not too much notice should be taken of this. “He was giving 2kg to those who finished in front of him, he was not well drawn and he was last away. I thought he ran well,” argues Brett Crawford, “and I think he will run a big race.”

The rest are longshots but, if you fancy any of them, don’t let their price put you off. Twice in the last three years there has been a major upset with Rocket Countdown at 36-1 following on from Gold Standard.

The Cape Merchants is a difficult race to assess but it is worth noting that four-year-olds have won three of the last four runnings and that no winner has carried more than 58kg since the Stan Elley-trained Kapil humped 60kg ten years ago. A repeat of this statistic would rule out 7-2 favourite Pleasedtomeetyou.

Elusive Trader (16-1) might well get into the shake-up but the vote goes to 10-1 shot What A Winner who was beaten half a length by stable companion Russet Air (9-2) last time and is now 2.5kg better.

By Michael Clower