Katak has opened favourite at even money to extend his unbeaten run to four in the Abe Bloomberg Legal Eagle Stakes (Winter Classic) at Kenilworth on Saturday despite Piet Steyn’s openly expressed concerns about the expected soft ground.

Politician winner Silver Host, representing the powerful Justin Snaith-Richard Fourie combination, is second favourite at 33-10 and Super Silvano (Brett Crawford-Corne Orffer) next on 9-2. The only other runner quoted at less than 15-1 is Black Knap who has a bit to find according to the handicappers but has won over the trip and was having his first race for seven months when beating all except Nexus in a pinnacle 16 days ago. The colt is trained by Vaughan Marshall and ridden by M.J. Byleveld, a combination successful with Tales Of Bravery in this race ten years ago.

Snaith and his stable jockey stand out in the card as a whole. They have the early favourite, plus one joint favourite, in six of the nine races and two of their favourites are odds-on.

Grant van Niekerk’s best chance of a winner on his return would appear to be Cruise Along in the Casey Bloomberg Ladies Mile. The Candice Bass-Robinson filly is 5-1 joint third favourite.

Matthew The King, impressive at Durbanville first time but no match for the high class Erik The Red in the Kuda Somerset, goes again at Kenilworth on Monday in the Investing Made Easy Juvenile Plate. Byleveld, who rode the smart Greg Ennion-trained colt on debut, is back on board.

By Michael Clower

Candice Bass-Robinson has two Grade 1 winners running in away province Grade 1s this weekend, Clouds Unfolds and Russet Air, and they have both enjoyed good preparations.

Clouds Unfold runs in the Grade 1 Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge over 1600m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Sunday and will be ridden by Keagan de Melo from a draw of four out of eight.

She is the joint highest merit rated filly in the country together with Celtic Sea and Bass-Robinson said, “We will see if she can take on the boys or not.”

The 126 rated What A Winter filly is a twice winner of the Grade 1 Majorca Stakes over 1600m but is yet to run in KZN as she slipped on the grass shortly after arriving at Summerveld last season and chipped the point of her hip.

There have thankfully been no long term effects and her performance in this year’s Majorca was superb as she was waited with for a long time by Aldo Domeyer before accelerating smartly to beat Celtic Sea by 0,30 lengths. 

Clouds Unfold had a good preparation run at Kenilworth on June 3, running a 2,80 length fifth to the crack sprinter Run Fox Run over the too sharp 1000m at Kenilworth.

She subsequently travelled well to Summerveld and had a grass gallop at Greyville with a companion on Saturday which Bass-Robinson said went well. 

Bass-Robinson believes a mile is Clouds Unfold’s best trip. She is by the champion sprinter What A Winter out of a mare by the stamina influence Montjeu.

It can be expected that the Drakenstein Stud-owned and bred filly will be relaxed in the running before staying on strongly.  

The Grade 1 Cape Flying Championship winner Russet Air will run in the Grade 1 Computaform Sprint over 1000m on Saturday.

This four-year-old gelding is also by What A Winter and is interestingly also out of a mare by a stamina influence sire in Jallad.

Russet Air left for Johannesburg yesterday and will arrive today.

It is deemed that arriving close to the race is the best way to handle the effects of the altitude change when travelling to Johannesburg from the coast. Some also have the view that the altitude is a bigger factor in races longer than a mile, so Russet Air should have every chance of retaining Cape Town’s grip on the trophy. The Brett Crawford-trained Pacific Trader won this race last year. 

Russet Air was in the same recent preparation race as Clouds Unfold and ran a 1,75 length third.

Bass-Robinson believes the Turffontein Standside 1000m will suit him as he enjoys running on behind a fast pace. The Turffontein Standside 1000m is one of the fastest sprint courses in the land so the pace is usually strong.

He is drawn one which is generally regarded as being the worst draw. 

However, it should not be too bad for him as he will be looking to drop in behind them.

Piere Strydom is aboard and will have studied the race by Saturday to work out the best strategy.

Russet Air is the highest merit rated horse in the race on 125, but Mr Flood, who is merit rated 124 and is relatively unexposed, could turn out to be something special and will be the choice of most pundits. 

By David Thiselton

The NHA is pleased to announce further relaxations effective 1 July 2020 regarding its protocols pertaining to Racing behind closed doors.  The NHA have informed the Racing Operators accordingly on the requirements that needs to be complied with in order to continue staging these meetings.

The following rules shall be applicable come 1 July 2020:

• The field sizes will be restricted to 14 runners per race with the exception of ALL Pattern races in which 16 runners will be allowed.

• The conditions of the Vodacom Durban July shall remain in place.

• Jockeys will be restricted to ride in the region of their choice and cannot move in between provinces. However, they will be allowed to make one permanent move for the month of July and must only ride in that province.  They will therefore be domiciled in that respective region for the month.

• The adjusted minimum riding weight in Handicap races shall remain at 54kg until 31 July and shall revert back to the norm at the start of the new racing season.

• Previous restrictions on the movement of horses will be lifted.  Kindly note that the standard AHS movement regulations do apply.

• All Horse Transport Companies must have the necessary Permits to move horses between the training centres and race courses.

• The last race must be run not later than 17h00.

• Any persons with comorbidities shall not be able to attend.

• Owners with runners on the day shall be advised during the month of July, after updated level 3 Government regulations are published, as to when they will be allowed to attend race meetings. The Racing Operators, together with the Racing Association shall advise of the relevant procedures to be adopted in line with strict Covid-19 regulations.

 
All of the above will be applicable for the month of July.  Further relaxations may be implemented in conjunction with the status of the Coronavirus pandemic, together with any positive changes to the Governments adjusted risk strategy from August onwards.

The NHA is again pleading to all participants to continue to self-regulate regarding prevention and hygiene practices. The Covid-19 pandemic is now in rapid growth stages in South Africa.  The scientific and worldwide statistics, forecasts that this virus will be in existence for an extended period. Individual responsibility will go a long way in assisting the South African Horseracing Industry to continue racing, creating value and to the ultimate sustainability thereof.

The unbeaten Katak faces ten rivals in the Abe Bloomberg Legal Eagle Stakes at Kenilworth on Saturday and only once in the past 18 years has what was previously known as the Winter Classic attracted a bigger field.

Piet Steyn reported Cape Town’s latest star in good form on Monday but he is concerned about the amount of rain forecast for later in the week as he fears that Katak’s flowing action could be affected.

He said: “The horse is very well at the moment. Aldo Domeyer worked him over 1 400m on the cinders on Saturday morning and he was very pleased with the way he went while I personally couldn’t have expected more.

“My worry is that there is a lot of rain forecast for Thursday, Friday and Saturday and I don’t know how Katak is going to handle a wet course. He is a lovely mover when the going is on top but he has a low action and on sand he is a fair worker rather than a great one.”

Windguru does not give a specific forecast for Kenilworth but it predicts 3.5mm on Thursday for nearby Newlands followed by a further millimetre on Friday and 3.0mm on Saturday prior to the race which is at 4.10pm. Kenilworth tends to get more rain than Newlands.

Katak, immensely impressive in what used to be called the Winter Guineas, seems sure to start favourite. It’s more a question of whether the bookmakers will be brave enough to heed Steyn’s words of caution and quote the horse at odds against. The favourite has been successful in only four of the last 12 runnings.

The race tends to be won by a class act. Future Vodacom Durban July winners Power King and Marinaresco were successful in 2014 and 2016 and the last two winners were subsequent Sun Met scorer Rainbow Bridge and Vardy who went on to win the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate.

As the winner of a Grade 3, Katak has to give a kilo to all except Silver Host. The Justin Snaith Politician winner and the Brett Crawford-trained Super Silvano are both rated 1.5kg better than Katak.

Interestingly Steyn thought he had missed out on Katak when the Potala Palace colt came up at the 2018 CTS April Yearling Sale at Durbanville.

He recalled: “I looked at the yearlings before they went into the ring and I liked him. But they were selling quickly and by the time I walked back he had gone through. I assumed somebody had bought him.

“When the sale was over Graeme Koster came up to me and said: ’Are you looking for horses?’  I said that I liked the Potala Palace but I’d missed him. Graeme handed me the passport and said: ‘This is his. Take it.’”

The price was a mere R20 000 and Steyn did not have to pay until the horse was ready to run!

But back to Saturday.  Grant van Niekerk is much in demand on his first day of South African action since the beginning of August. He rides in all except one of the nine races and has three mounts for Justin Snaith, two for Candice Bass-Robinson and one each for Adam Marcus, Eric Sands and Glen Puller. The Sun Met-winning jockey won two out of six on his last visit to Kenilworth.

By Michael Clower

Justin Snaith has been the most successful trainer so far this SA Champions Season and he answered questions about his charges for Sunday’s big Daily News 2000 and Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge meeting as well as the question of jockeys for the Vodacom Durban July.

Stable jockey Richard Fourie and record-breaking Anton Marcus are the two chief riders in the mix for Snaith’s three most prominent July contenders, Do It Again, Belgarion and Bunker Hunt.

Snaith said, “Anton is aware he would have to slim 2kg to ride Belgarion and considering the performance he put up on Saturday he is definitely thinking about it. But it all depends on how Do It Again runs in the Gold Challenge. This horse is very special to Richard and he goes for a record-breaking third July in succession which is something any jockey would want to be associated with.”

Marcus rode Do It Again to July victory in 2018 and Fourie was aboard last year. Marcus is aboard the Twice Over gelding on Sunday in the Gold Challenge.

Do It Again ran well below par in three runs in the Cape Summer Season but this was put down to continuously not eating up. He was found to have ulcers which have now been treated and he is eating well again.

Snaith said Do It Again’s recent grass gallop at Hollywoodbets Greyville with Belgarion gave him cause to hope the big horse was back to his best and said, “He was giving Belgarion 6kg in that gallop.” Do It Again led the pair but was still on the bit when they crossed the line, whereas Belgarion was being hard ridden. 

Belgarion will carry 53kg in the July which means Fourie would have to slim 1kg from his official minimum riding weight of 54kg while Marcus would have to slim 2kg.  

Bunker Hunt, as things stand is set to carry 54,5kg in the July but unlike Belgarion, who is 1kg under sufferance, he is in the handicap so his weight could change if Do It Again comes down from his 135 rating or if any horse rises above 135. 

The horse Snaith is most scared of in the July is Rainbow Bridge. 

He said, “Rainbow Bridge is a very good horse. Last season Do It Again and Rainbow Bridge were hands down the best weight for age horses over 2000m in the country.”

Snaith said all horses in his Summerveld yard were very well and this includes his team for Sunday.

He said, “Before arriving here at Summerveld I would have liked Sachdev for the Daily News 2000 ahead of Wild Coast, but Wild Coast is really enjoying Durban and they are now very close. Sachdev needed his WSB Guineas run more so will come on more from it. If you can’t beat a Silvano over a mile you are not going to beat him over 2000m and Sachdev was only beaten 0,95 lengths in the Guineas (which was won by Wild Coast).”

Wild Coast will also enjoy the 2000m trip being by Trippi out of the versatile Beach Beauty, who was effective from 1200m up to 2000m.

Snaith has entered Sovereign Secret and Rattle Mouse in the Grade 1 Woolavington 2000.

He said, “Sovereign Secret was given no chance in the WSB Fillies Guineas as she was second last in the running behind a slow pace.” Her previous best effort had been a third place finish in the CTS 1600, She is by Dynasty out of the three time Grade 1 winner from 1200m to 1600m, All Is Secret. She has a full brother who won over 1900m, so has a chance of staying the trip despite the speed from the dam, who’s two Grade 1 1200m wins were in the Allan Robertson and Mercury Sprint.

Rattle Mouse, who finished 1,75 lengths behind Sovereign Secret in the WSB Fillies Guineas, is by Ideal World and has already proven her liking for 2000m, finishing a head second in a MR 84 handicap for fillies and mares at Kenilworth in her first run out of the maidens. However, she is only merit rated 84, so it remains to be seen whether she will get into Sunday’s field. 

Snaith’s crack sprinter Kasimir will be going for the Grade 1 Golden Horse Sprint over 1200m at Hollywoodbets on July 4 and then the Grade 1 Mercury Sprint over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Greyville on Gold Cup day August 29. Kasimir’s runner up finish in the IOS Drill Hall Stakes was the joint best performance of the SA Champions Season so far alongside Belgarion’s WSB 1900 win on Saturday according to handicapping guru Jay August.

By David Thiselton