Rabada, winner of the Premiers Champion and Daily News for Mike Azzie, has changed stables and is now trained by Brett Crawford. The four-year-old is temporarily with Mike de Kock in Gauteng and is being prepared for the first part of the Johannesburg season.

Rabada (Nkosi Hlophe)

Crawford said: “Rabada came to me in the middle of July and he runs first in the Joburg Spring Challenge at Turffontein on October 8. He is in the Sansui Summer Cup but his mission is the Peermont Emperors Palace Charity Mile on November 5.”

The Philippi trainer will run last year’s Horse Chestnut winner Captain America in the Kuda Matchem Stakes at Durbanville on October 9. The six-year-old is the highest rated horse in the 1 400m Grade 3 and was third in last season’s J & B Met after finishing fourth in the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and beating Futura in the Green Point.

Crawford said: “The programme is again the Green Point, Queen’s Plate and Met if all goes well.”

Crawford has never won the Matchem or the fillies equivalent on the same card, the Diana Stakes, but this time he also has the top-rated in that –Alexis, winner of last season’s Tibouchina. The five-year-old will start her campaign in this and then head towards the Klawervlei Majorca on Met day.

Joey Ramsden won last year’s Matchem with Act Of War and the 2011 running with Variety Club. He is responsible for all five three-year-olds among the 22 entries and his quintet includes Langerman winner Table Bay as well as the third and fourth, Newlands and Attenborough. The last-named reappears at Durbanville on Wednesday.

Ramsden also has four of the five three-year-olds entered in the Diana including Irridescence scorer Captain Gambler.

Michael Clower

After a string of close calls, Dennis Bosch’s consistent mare Shezaleader finally got another victory under her girth at Scottsville yesterday, but even then she did not cross the line first in the White Heart Décor Handicap. It took the stipendiary stewards what seemed an inordinately long time to decide on what looked to be fairly obvious interference by the winner Free State given that the margin of victory was a couple of pixels.

Inside the final furlong Free State shifted sharply inwards cannoning into favourite A Womans Way who in turn rolled onto Shezaleader, both of whom had been up with the pace throughout.

A Womans Way was checked out of the sandwich and switched from behind Free State but her race was already compromised. Alec Forbes did manage to straighten up Free State in the rush for the line but the damage had been done.

Shezaleader (left) and Free State (Nkosi Hlophe)

Forbes knew it as he unsaddled outside of the winner’s circle, so did Muzi Yeni aboard Shezaleader who made a beeline for the boardroom. The stewards quickly called for a race review but it was left to Yeni to lodge the successful protest.

Apprentice Calvin Habib is unbeaten aboard the Michael Roberts-trained Muscatt over the Scottsville short-cut and he made it three from three in the Niresh Gayadin Financial Plate in spite of the gelding returning from a five-month break. The seven-year-old son of Victory Moon is lengths better with some cut in the ground and he made it count yesterday.

Making all the early running he looked to have done his dash approaching the final furlong as favourite Swakopmund hit the front ahead of a chasing pack. However, the race changed complexion in a matter of strides as Swakopmund started treading water along with the chasers. Muscatt kept plugging away up the inside rail as the opposition fell away and he won rather comfortably in the end.

Earlier Habib had caused an upset on the James Goodman-trained Salsa Queen to get the Pick 6 off to a dodgy start for most punters.

Scent Of The Tiger overcame a horrific injury to win the Steel Doctor Maiden for Mark Dixon. Out resting in his paddock, he somehow took off half of one of his hooves. Nursed back to full soundness he showed no ill effects yesterday as he dug in stubbornly refusing to give in to favourite Cabinda.

Duncan Howells, fresh from a win with Gingerbread Man at Greyville on Friday night, saddled a treble with Accidental Tourist landing the odds in the card opener. Two races later Amazon King, also starting favourite, kept Rand Hedge at bay and Enlightenment rounded off a satisfying afternoon for the yard under Grant van Niekerk.

Anthony Delpech always had his race in hand aboard Accidental Tourist who had raced against winners at her previous start but he was second best aboard Rand Hedge who was unable to peg back the short-priced favourite Amazon King with Niekerk aboard. These two had the race to themselves with the balance of the field some seven lengths in arears.

Andrew Harrison

Reigning national champion jockey S’Manga Khumalo started riding work this week as he looks forward to being back at the races at the beginning of next month.

Khumalo regretted the error of judgement which led to his 60-day suspension, but said the enforced holiday had brought welcome relief after a punishing schedule which had continued unabated for four years.

He said, “I most definitely needed this break. I had a couple of falls in that period and didn’t give my back or body a proper chance to recover. The travelling really takes it out of you too.”

Khumalo has thus given himself a complete holiday for the last seven weeks.

He appears to be a natural athlete and was not too concerned about any loss of fitness.

He admitted fitness in certain areas was important before saying jockeyship was chiefly about “skill” – the skill to control a horse without putting any pressure on its mouth and thus allowing it to relax in the running and reserve it for the finish. He added that another important area was “training with the horses”, getting to know them and bringing out the best in them in their races.

Khumalo said he would “most definitely” be continuing to receive mentorship from jockey legend Felix Coetzee.

This partnership signifies how professional Khumalo has become. Coetzee’s role can be likened to that of a swing coach in golf in that he is available for Khumalo to phone or sit down and talk to whenever the latter feels the need to discuss any aspect of his profession. The dividends were plain to see as Khumalo’s confidence had never been so consistently high as it was last season.

Except for that one infamous ride of course. On 24 June at Fairview he appeared to have the race in safekeeping on the Justin Snaith-trained Captain Courteous. He was sitting low in the saddle with what appeared a double handful looking around at the only danger, Seattle Light, while maintaining a comfortable lead of a length. However, a few strides before the line he sat up and to everybody’s horror this enabled Seattle Light to get up on the line.

He said, “It was an error of judgement, although the horse did have problems (it was Captain Courteous’ first outing for nearly a year).  I sat down and knew I would have to face the music. But on the other hand something like that has to happen before you can learn from it. Going forward I now have that experience and won’t be caught out again. There have been a couple of other similar incidents before and after my one. We are human, we are not robots, and it was not as if we aimed to do it.”

Khumalo has thought about overseas possibilities while on holiday, but it is one or two incomplete ambitions in South Africa that will keep him here for the time being.

Winning the eLan Gold Cup was a long held ambition which he can now tick off his list and his chief focus is now the Met. Interestingly, he would jump at the offer to ride Enaad, his Gold Cup winner, in the Met, so clearly doesn’t view him as an out-and-out stayer.

He recalled the memorable Gold Cup victory. “After winning the Gold Vase on him I knew what type he was, you can go fast or slow on him, he doesn’t pull. In the parade ring Mike de Kock said I had handled him well in the Vase and said he would leave everything to me. I rode him the way I found him, gave him a chance and then used that sustained finish of his.”

He also gave credit to the De Kock team as he knew the Australian-bred High Chaparral gelding would be supremely fit.

However, Khumalo named the tremendous Gr 1 Computaform Sprint winner Carry On Alice as the best horse he had ridden last season.

Khumalo will be sitting down with Felix Coetzee soon to devise a strategy for the season and will obviously be hoping his successful partnership with national champion trainer Sean Tarry starts off from where if left off.

However, he concluded by simply saying, “I hope all goes well and I get the support professionalism deserves.”

David Thiselton

Francia can become the first of her sex to win the Settlers Trophy for 13 years at Durbanville tomorrow and upset better fancied stable companion Captain Splendid in the process.

She won the Winter Oaks in June as if stamina is her forte and this view appeared to be confirmed by her only managing third when starting favourite over a mile last time. It’s a bit disconcerting that she now has a different jockey for the fifth time in as many races but Greg Cheyne is as good as they come.

Captain Splendid, similarly bidding to become Justin Snaith’s fourth Settlers winner in ten years, is expected to start favourite. He won the East Cape Derby over this trip in May but last time’s success over the same distance has resulted in him being raised 1.5kg and there are grounds for believing that he could struggle to confirm the placings with Jeremy on the revised terms.

“Jeremy was unlucky not to win that day,” recalls Greg Ennion. “They went too slowly for him and, had they gone a decent pace, I think he would have won comfortably. He has been doing well and he is strengthening up nicely”

Corne Orffer’s mount has only a length to find but Ennion is also expecting a good run from Roman Discent even though this one  was nearly four lengths further back in last month’s race – “I thought he would fight out the finish with Jeremy but the slow pace didn’t suit him either. He pulled hard and burned himself out. However there won’t be a slow pace this time, I can assure you!”

Ennion runs four but says that Chrome Blue is better at Kenilworth and prefers 400m less, while Irish Dynasty is a whopping 8kg under sufferance.

Candice Bass-Robinson is hopeful that My World’s near two-month absence will not count against him and, while the statistic that no horse has won this with 60kg this century (and probably never) owes a lot to the steady rise in the maximum weight, victory in recent years has tended to go to those lower down the scale. That said, Grant van Niekerk’s mount likes this trip and has been dropped half a kilo.

Can Cope was unlucky not to win her last two starts over a mile but this is half as far again and the last time she raced this far was 12 months ago when she finished plumb last. “Her best distance is 1 800 -2 000m and in last year’s race she was three wide all the way and didn’t see it out,” recalls Harold Crawford. “But I’m sure she will this time if Grant Behr can restrain her early on and give her a chance.”

Riaan van Reenen’s Settlers record is on a par with Snaith’s – indeed far better if you take into account the size of their respective strings. He has won three of the last 11 while brother Reza won the 2003 running. “With a bit of luck we can do it again,” he says, pointing out that recent course winner Barossa Valley found 1 800m too short last time and is in good form.

Lady Redoute has run well over course and distance and stepped up considerably last time, her third run after a rest. However the handicappers promptly hit her with a huge 4kg rise.

Oh So Modus stays well but disappointed on his last visit to Durbanville a year ago. In January he was 11^th of 15 in the J & B Stayers but only a head behind My World and is 2.5kg better. Even so, it’s hard to see him winning.

Michael Clower

The Turffontein Inside track has another competitive nine race card tomorrow and punters can look forward to some attractive dividends. The stand out horse on the card is the Joe Soma-trained Fortissima, who runs in the eighth race, a MR 76 Handicap for fillies and mares over 2000m.

This four-year-old Fort Wood filly ran to about a 96 merit rating when finishing a 2,25 length second to the top class Juxtapose in the Gr 2 SA Oaks in her penultimate start. However, the rules allowed for a maximum five point raise, so she will run off only an 82 merit rating tomorrow. Her subsequent run in the Gr 1 Woolavington 2000 can have a line drawn through it because she had to take evasive action to avoid a horse which had gone wrong.

Soma always expected her to be better as a four and five-year-old. He confirmed she had duly strengthened and matured over the winter and will be aiming her at bigger events during the season. He said, “She is carrying a big weight (62kg) and is coming back from a rest (172 days) but she is very classy, we have always rated her highly, and in this field she should be classy enough. Don’t be scared to banker her in all bets.” She is drawn well in five and Gavin Lerena is up. Sultry could be the main danger, although faces a tough task as an experienced three-year-old running off a 79 merit rating.

The highest rated race on the card is a Pinnacle Stakes event over 2600m. Storm Warning looked to have enjoyed a perfect preparation into this year’s Gold Cup but was then excluded from the final field. He is the fourth best in at the weights tomorrow on official merit ratings, but has a plum draw of two over a suitable course and distance. Coltrane is the joint best in at the weights. His form suggests he is better on galloping tracks, but he should make his presence felt from draw four with Strydom up.

Elusive Flyer has twice gone close over course and distance. In November last year he gave Fortune Fella 1,5kg and lost by 0,6 lengths and is now 4,5kg better off. In his last start on August 27 he gave Penteliko 4,5kg and lost by 1,75 lengths and is now 3kg better off. He looks to have a chance here, despite officially being 4kg under sufferance with the best weighted horses. The Elmo Effect beat Elusive Flyer over course and distance last time by 1,25 lengths and is now only 0,5kg worse off, so also has a good chance, although he has a tough draw to overcome.

Penteliko is by Go Deputy so will be coming into his own now as a four-year-old. He came from last when winning last time so can be dropped out from his wide draw. Kingmambo’s Legacy has only tried a staying trip once, at the beginning of last year, and finished a close third over 2450m. He will be coming into his own now being by Ideal World and should now relish this sort of trip. He is officially 3,5kg under sufferance with the best in. The mares Kissimmee and Coby are the joint best weighted horses on official merit ratings together with Coltrane and they only have to carry 52kg and 50,5kg respectively.

Coby gave Elusive Flyer 5kg and a 4,85 length beating the last time they met over 2450m and represents the in form Gary Alexander yard. She has a fair draw of five under in form Lyle Hewitson, so looks to have a shout, although further back in her form Storm Warning beat her comfortably twice, including over this course and distance. Kisseemee has only ever taken the boys on once in a staying trip, over 2450m, and Storm Warning and Elusive Flyer have her measure on the form of that race.

However, she is drawn in pole, so can’t be ignored. Pyramus and Talbec both looks held at the weights. Fortune Fella would probably prefer a more galloping track and the weight turnaround with Elusive Flyer makes it tough. The selection is Storm Warning to beat Colrane, with Coby, Elusive Flyer and  The Elmo Effect next best, although it is hard to leave Penteliko, Kingmambo’s Legacy and Kisseemee out of the Pick 6.

The last, a MR 58 Handicap over 2000m, is another nightmare for punters. However, Bird Alley is the choice despite a wide draw as she was surging at the finish over 1800m last time at the Vaal and should relish the step up in trip.

In the second over 1200m Sierra Redwood caught the eye running on over 1000m on debut so will appreciate the step up in trip and is drawn in pole. Soma described his first-timer in this race Devadip as a nice horse, but added he might be green from a wide daw and he would prefer further in time.

In the third race over 1450m, Soma said Turn Back Time had been doing well and had improved from her last start but the draw would be a concern. Fingers Crossed caught the eye last time, in a fair maiden over 1200m, as one who would enjoy this trip and is well drawn with Strydom up, so she is tipped to beat Turn Back Time.

In the fifth race, a MR 81 handicap over 1600m, Dealer’s Charm, who looks a nice type, has been lowered one point and has snuck into the handicap with the minimum weight. Last time out over course and distance he had to be dropped out from a wide draw and ran on well from last.

Significantly he is now well drawn and can turn for home closer to the pace so is chosen to win. Soma is preparing Old Oak Tree for a tilt at a big ready To Run Sales race so is not too concerned about him being 2kg under sufferance.  He said he had been working well and with Muzi Yeni up from pole position he expected him to be competitive.

David Thiselton