The Hawks will be taking on the Eagles and the Falcons and racegoers will get an opportunity to watch three teams of the country’s top 12 jockeys compete in the inaugural Interprov Rider Cup at Greyville Racecourse on Saturday, July 18.

The Highveld Hawks have a particularly strong team and will be represented by champion jockey elect, Gavin Lerena, with strong support from current champion S’Manga Khumalo, former champion Piere Strydom and recent Daily News 2000 winner Raymond Danielson.

The Western Cape Eagles will fly with the internationally experienced Richard Fourie and Greg Cheyne along with Grant van Niekerk and Corne Orffer.

The KZN Falcons will swoop with former champions Anton Marcus and Anthony Delpech and top riders Muzi Yeni and Sean Cormack making up their quartet.

Bernard Fayd’Herbe was originally pencilled in for the Western Cape team but has to honour contractual obligations at Kenilworth on the same day while Anthony Delpech has been laid low by a heavy bout of flu but will hopefully be back in the saddle come next Saturday.

“We are always looking for ways to promote and add entertainment to our racedays and this format has proved successful in the past,” said Gold Circle’s Racing and Marketing Executive, Graeme Hawkins. “It will give racegoers the opportunity to watch the best jockeys in the country go head-to-head and the bragging rights that go with winning the Interprov Rider Cup will hopefully add a competitive edge to the races.”

In order to give all riders an equal opportunity, the horses in each race will be ceded by a panel of form experts into four categories of three from top to bottom. The riders from each team will get a chance to ride in each category with the choice of horses done by ballot. This will give each rider a chance to showcase their skills on the best and the worst.

All riders will carry the owners’ colours but will be distinguished by different coloured caps. The KZN team will wear black caps with the Western Cape blue and the Highveld red.

The riders will contest four races, including two Listed features, with points being allocated as follows. 20 for first 16; 14; 12; 10; 8; 6; 5; 4;3;2;1 with 7 points for a scratched ride. Because of the narrow band of points allocation it is hoped that competition will be close and contain a little “needle”.

KZN stages a low key eight race meeting at Scottsville this weekend and most punters will likely be attempting to recover losses from the Vodacom Durban July, which produced an upset result. An MR 86 Handicap over 1400m is the highest rated race. Will Pays has a wide draw but has talent and looks likely to enjoy the step up in trip. Entree looks to be perfectly course and distance suited and after running two good races over 1600m here he drops back to the trip of his easy maiden win, albeit off a four point higher mark.

Scottsville is a ‘horses for courses’ type of track and Azincourt is unbeaten in two starts here over 1200m, while he also once ran 1,75 lengths behind subsequent Cape Guineas winner Elusive Gold in a 1600m event, so he should stay this trip. He is seven points higher than his last win so it won’t be easy, but he has a fair draw.

Always Al has come down to an attractive merit rating and is drawn well over his best trip. Aware is four points higher than his highest winning mark but is well drawn over a suitable course and distance.

The second highest rated race is a MR 84 Handicap over 1000m for fillies and mares and the top weight Miss Varlicious could be the one to beat. She will effectively be 0,5kg better off with Easy Game for a 0,35 length defeat over course and distance last time out.

The draw bias has been seen to even out a bit lately at Scottsville so her high draw shouldn’t be a big factor, although earlier races should be monitored. On paper there won’t be much to separate her and Easy Game, but a negative for the latter is that Mike Azzie’s Summerveld Champions Season yard had a dip in form on July day. Rock On Baby found some support on debut and looks hard to oppose in the first over 1000m, although Nikki is a first-timer to consider. Whiskey Joe bumped a good one last time and could win the second over 1600m from pole position, although the maiden Team Guys caught the eye last time and with a 3kg advantage could be a big danger.

Melliflora was not disgraced in a Gr 1 over 1400m last Saturday and she should be perfectly suited to the 1600m of the third from a good draw. Tide is Turning looks hard to oppose in the fourth, a weak maiden over 1000m, although first-timer Cyclone Sassie makes some appeal and must not be ignored. Bold Attitude is the one to beat in the seventh over 1400m as he has run some fine races at this track and is well drawn over a trip he is effective over, although he would probably prefer a touch further. Snap Shap is a decent two-year-old but doesn’t have an easy task at the weights. First Sea Lord has been a bit expensive to follow in his last two but from a good draw over a suitable trip should get it right in the last race over 1600m.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Miss Varlicious (Nkosi Hlophe)

Justin Snaith may be on the point of losing his trainer’s crown but for the third successive season he will train the most winners and he should waste no time in adding to his tally (currently 174) at Kenilworth tomorrow.

Aspara, who lost ground at the start last time, should be able to beat the poorly drawn Top Of The Rock in the opening Welcome Maiden but 35 minutes later it is Silver Mountain who stands out. The Mike Bass-trained filly went into the Winning Ways notebook with a cracking first run and she looks impossible to oppose.

Her danger is probably Blu-Tack who returned with a mouth injury last time. “It was a minor thing, nothing really,” says Dean Kannemeyer. “She disappointed us the first time but she then improved and she will continue to improve.”

Mamselle Al is proving expensive and has started favourite in her last three races. Even so, she looks worth another chance in the Soccer 6 Maiden and can reverse the form with So Suspect.  “She jumped sideways last time, taking out four or five horses, and had the wind knocked out of herself,” says Glen Kotzen.

Glen Puller was bullish about Solar Night on debut and the gelding proved him right by going under by only a short head to the highly regarded Cuban Emerald. Brandon Morgenrood’s mount looks a ready-made winner in the Winter Holidays Maiden.

Stan Elley is intent on the Racing.It’s A Rush Handicap being run at a strong pace. “My World (4-1 in the Betting World forecast) is looking for a mile and a half plus and so we will chase him along early,” reports the gelding’s trainer. “If he can get to the front then we will have a chance.”

Paolo (7-2) stands out on recent form but he has been raised a kilo for last time’s second and Johnny Rockets is better off with Paolo, Friendly Tibbs (9-2) and Tribal Dance (5-1). Johnny Rockets was ridden from the back last time, and was still last two furlongs out, but he is 28-10 favourite in the forecast and that is short enough. If he drifts to 7-2 or better, and he could well do so, he would be worth considering.

Snaith boldly pitches two-year-old winner A Time To Dream into handicap company against older horses in the last and, while the handicappers appear to have taken no chances with an 84 rating, the filly still appeals.

One worth considering each way at a decent price (8-1) is Alzerra who returns after nearly three months off. “She may just need it but we have put quite a lot of work into her and she is well drawn which is a big advantage,” says her trainer.

By Michael Clower

Picture: Brandon Morgenrood

Maine Chance Farms stud manager John Slade was a speaker at the Summerhill Winter Workshop held in at the stud farm’s renowned School Of Excellence this week, a few days after the farm achieved an international rarity by breeding the one-two-three of the country’s premier race, the Vodacom Durban July.

Furthermore, all of Power King, Punta Arenas and Tellina were by Maine Chance Farms’ champion stallion Silvano.

Slade has sometimes been driven to distraction by trainers who have pushed progeny of Silvano too early and by others who have given up on them too soon. He emphasised that they needed time and the dividends would then be reaped. All of Power King (four-year-old), Punta Arenas (six-year-old) and Tellina (four-year-old) have proved his point.

Slade admitted that delving deep into pedigrees to discover such elements as genetic siblings was usually above his head and he preferred a less scientific approach. He takes note of obvious nicks but a lot of his mating selections were simply based on it “feeling right”.

He is unmistakably a fine horseman and quickly learns which types of mares suit a particular stallion.

However, even a farm as professional as Maine Chance can make mistakes and their most famous one was when a particularly meticulous breeder sent two mares to be covered by Victory Moon and Silvano respctively. Slade knew well that on conformation the “scrawny” mare would suit Victory Moon and the “big” mare would suit Silvano. This coincided with the breeder’s reams of notes explaining why Victory Moon and Silvano would be perfect matches for her respective mares.

However, just after the first mating was completed, Slade suddenly realised that they had somehow got the mares mixed up. The mare was soon shown to be in foal, so the error could not be rectified. For some two years the breeder was unable to forgive Slade. However, the Silvano foal turned out to be Vodacom Durban July winner Heavy Metal.

Slade, like many breeders, has his own ideas on conformation. He is not too bothered by “offset knees”. He explained a trip to a game park will show that all impala have a knock knee look, meaning the knee can support the bodyweight from underneath. In his opinion an offset knee is often achieving the same thing. However, he regarded back legs in a straight line to be of importance. He concluded this section by saying, although perhaps slightly tongue in cheek, that due to all the power a horse with perfectly conformed hindquarters generated, the front legs would be going so fast they hardly touched the ground.

Slade regarded Maine Chance’s racing manager Justin Vermaak as a valuable asset to the farm as he was very much in touch with the modern world and was a dynamic type of a person and also more of a people’s person than himself.

Slade will soon be retiring and will be replaced by Tim Bootsma, who is currently stud manager at Highlands Farm Stud.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Silvano

Power King has recovered from his Vodacom Durban July exertions much quicker than expected and Dean Kannemeyer is now considering the Champions Cup even though he concedes that it is odds-against the horse running.

Kannemeyer, who won the 2002 race with Free My Heart, said yesterday: “I am keeping the door open on the Champions Cup. I will discuss it with the owner and Jehan Malherbe.

“There is a big question mark as we would be meeting horses like Futura and Legislate at level weights so it might not be fair on him. He ran his heart out in the July but he has taken his run very well and I am happy with him.”

Stuart Randolph felt the gelding wobble when he remounted for the victory canter-past and promptly dismounted.

Kannemeyer said: “Power King was exhausted – he had put so much effort into winning the race – and he did a similar thing after the Betting World 1900.

“We gave him water and hosed him down. Straight after the dope-testing we dripped him to put the fluids back in and the next morning he was jumping out of his skin.”

But, whether he runs on July 25 or not, Power King will not return to Cape Town until September. Kannemeyer stressed that he is a firm believer in keeping his horses in the warmth of Durban until spring arrives and even then some of the Summerveld horses will stay put to campaign in KZN and raid Johannesburg.

By Michael Clower

Picture: Power King (Nkosi Hlophe)