Mike Bass, who has won four of the last 12 runnings of the Winter Classic, is responsible for almost half the field in Sunday’s Kenilworth feature.

Stable jockey Grant van Niekerk will be on Sail For Gold who beat all except Act Of War in the Winter Guineas and Greg Cheyne retains the mount on Royal Dreamer  who was less than half a length back third in that race. Seven Oceans (Karl Neisius) and No Resistance (Aldo Domeyer) are the other Bass runners in the R250 000 Grade 3.

S’Manga Khumalo and Gavin Lerena, the first two in the championship battle, both fly in for the meeting. Lerena rides Parachute Man for Darryl Hodgson in the Classic as well as Geoff Woodruff’s first runner from his new Milnerton satellite yard, Desert Destiny in the Stormsvlei Mile, while Grant Behr has been booked for Woodruff’s Ntombe in the Olympic Duel Stakes.

Khumalo has four rides – Chisanyama for Joey Ramsden in the Juvenile Fillies, Crystal Cavern (Stormsvlei) and Fear Not (Olympic Duel) for Adam Marcus, and the Mike Stewart-trained My Friend Fred in the last race maiden.

Hot Affair, the forgotten member of the Cape Town three-year-olds, is finally on the way back. She has not raced since suffering an epistaxis immediately after winning the Kenilworth Fillies Nursery just over 12 months ago. She then chipped a knee when brought back into work.

Mike Robinson said: “She is back in training again and there is a race for her at the end of June.”

By Michael Clower

Picture: Mike Bass (Liesl King)

Glen Kotzen is bullish about the chances of his charge Light The Lights in Saturday’s Gr 1 Daily News 2000 and champion trainer Justin Snaith expects a much better showing from his talented sort Ultimate Dollar.

Kotzen said, “Light the Lights is doing great, I am really pleased, he is fit and well and drawn well and is going over his right trip for the first time. His grass gallop for this race was the KRA Guineas and he has come on for it. This will be his test to see whether he can make it into the July field and he will need to be in the first three to do so.”

Kotzen was confident that the Western Winter colt could achieve the latter goal and spoke of how well this horse had filled out lately. Kotzen has always viewed him as a sort that would only come into his own in the latter part of this season and the Vodacom Durban July has been this target from a long time ago.

Light The Lights has followed the identical route into the big race that Kotzen’s 2009 July winner Big City Life did, although he has a long way to go to fill the latter’s boots. The current three-year-old males are not being viewed as a vintage crop and Light The Lights’ task of making the first three on Saturday have been made harder by the entry of the filly Siren’s Call, who is one of the best of an outstanding three-year-old filly’s crop.

Furthermore, the Gr 1 SA Classic one-two-three, French Navy, Amsterdam and Deputy Jud, as well as the Gr 1 Investec Cape Derby winner Ertijaal, have all entered the fray. Light The Lights’ great sire Western Winter is usually viewed as a speed influence, but his Northern Guest dam First Arrival won a Gr 3 over 2000m, so he should relish the trip. He found the rail from a plum draw in the KRA Guineas and stayed on well for third. However, on that form he has 2,75 lengths to make up on The Conglomerate and 0,75 lengths to make up on Mac De Lago. He has landed another fine draw of three and regular rider Greg Cheyne will be aboard.

Ultimate Dollar, a gelding by Jet Master, has always struck as one who will relish this trip. His run in the KRA Guineas, when finishing a 5,95 length twelfth, can’t be taken literally as he is sort who takes a while to wind up into his big action and on that occasion he got stuck behind the pacemaker Riff Raff, who was going backwards before the turn. It badly affected his momentum. He is drawn perfectly in five on Saturday with Richard Fourie up and Snaith said, “I’m not saying he would have won the Guineas but he would have finished three lengths back instead of five lengths and I have been waiting to put him over 2000m for a long time.”

Ultimate Dollar’s dam Mkushi Gold by Western Winter was stakes-placed and won from 1200-1600m and she is a half-sister to both a stakes-winning sprinter and a stakes-winning stayer.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Glen Kotzen

The very much in-form Cape trainer Dean Kannemeyer was realistic about the chances of his Gr 1 Woolavington 2000 contender Indaba, although he said she would definitely strip fitter this time than she did for her last run when finishing tailed off last in a Conditions Plate over 1400 at Greyville.

Kannemeyer said, “She is a nice filly, but she still has a lot to prove. She was badly in need of her last run. We were on the back foot with her when we arrived in KZN and have been playing catch up.”

The Dynasty filly’s three wins have all been over 1600m and she ran a decent third in the Gr 3 Victress Stakes over 1800m. She should get this 2000m trip, but off a merit rating of 96 against some of the best from a vintage three-year-old fillies crop she faces a tough task, especially when considering it is her second run after a layoff. She is drawn eight in the twelve horse field and Stuart Randolph rides.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Dean Kannemeyer 

The Weiho Marwing-trained pair Mac De Lago and Rampant Ice were the surprise packages of the Gr 2 KRA Guineas at Greyville on the opening day of Champions Season, finishing second and fifth respectively, and the never to be under-estimated Ashburton-based trainer is predicting good performances from both of them in the Gr 1 Daily News 2000 at Greyville this Saturday.

He also believes his reserve runner Illuminati will run well if he gets in.

Mac De Lago was backed in from 33/1 to 20/1 in the Guineas while Rampant Ice started at 75/1, but their runs didn’t surprise Marwing, who said, “Mac De Lago is a good horse and has come on nicely, although he hasn’t got the best draw. He will stay and Illuminati and Rampant Ice will also run well.”

All three horses had previously run in the Gr 1 SA Classic. Mac De Lago finished 13^th, beaten 15,75 lengths, and Rampant Ice finished 10^th , beaten 11,5 lengths. However, that did not tell the story that they had both moved up quite well but had unfortunately been caught on the inside of horses where the going was palpably inferior than the outside strip from which the winner and all of the placed horses came. Illuminati began his run from well back on the favourable outside but had to switch to the inside to get a clear run, so he also ended in the unfavourable going. He finished 9,75 lengths back in seventh place.

Many were of the opinion that Mac De Lago’s run in the KRA Guineas was a fluke due to his merit rating of 86. However, after winning his maiden over 1160m on debut, backed in from 33/1 to 12/1, he then achieved the rare feat of beating older horses in a handicap in just his second career outing. He ran off a 78 merit rating and thrashed them by 4,25 after producing a resolute finish from the near the back of the field under Marco van Rensburg.

Among the vanquished was the twice Gr 1-placed Daily News contender Deputy Jud, whom he beat by 4,3 lengths, although he was receiving 4kg. In his next start in the Gr 3 Tony Ruffel over 1450m, Mac de Lago was backed in from 12/1 to 7/2 but was found to be striding short in both front legs after running below par. Two runs later he was actually a touch unlucky in the Guineas because, after relaxing well on the rail from a pole position draw, he had to be eased for a stride or two at the top of the straight due to the compounding pacemaker Riff Raff.

However, he still managed to run on strongly for a two length second to the comfortable winner The Conglomerate. Australian-breds have been achieving fantastic results in South Africa this season and Mac De Lago could be one of the most under-estimated members of a non-vintage three-year-old male crop. His sire Encosta Delago was a twice leading sire in Australia and has produced horses ranging from sprinters to Oaks winers, so Mac Delago should stay the 200m trip, especially when considering that his Gr 1-winning dam Macavelli Miss (won a Gr 1 over 1600m) is by stamina influence Vettori.

Rampant Ice couldn’t initially go with them in the straight in the KRA Guineas but then began to run on strongly and was doing his best work late to finish 3,15 lengths back. He is by Go Deputy so should relish the extra trip and progeny of this sire also improve noticeably as late three-year-olds. His full sister out of the KRA Fillies Guineas runner up Strawberry Ice won impressively on debut over 1400m at Scottsville on Saturday, so he is a well-bred sort.

Illuminati came from last in the KRA Guineas and followed his stablemate Mac De Lago. He kept up with him until the final few strides and finished 3,6 lengths behind the winner. He is by the miler Lateral out of a dam by Fasliyev, who was a sprinter. This dam has tended to produce sprint-milers, so on pedigree there could be a slight stamina doubt. However,  Illuminati has raced over 2000m before, in a MR 89 Handicap on Turffontein Standside in December, and he was finishing well despite being caught three wide and running off a 96 Handicap to finish four lengths behind Vodacom Durban July entry Henry Higgins, who was only running off an 86 that day.

Mac de Lago is drawn 18 out of 18 with Weichong Marwing up, Rampant Ice has drawn well in six with Bernard Fayd’Herbe aboard and Illuminati is drawn 16 and Ian Sturgeon will likely ride if he gets in. However, it should be remembered that in the recent Gr 2 Betting World 1900 at this course the first five finishers came from double figure draws.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Weiho Marwing

Mike de Kock won the Gr 1 Allan Robertson Championships for the second time in succession with the Australian-bred More Than Ready filly Entisaar, who relished the tough track and won by a length under Johnny Geroudis from a somewhat unlucky Princess Royal, who had to switch to the outside for a clear run.

Entisaar is a sprinting type and will likely not run again this season. De Kock will probably be presented by yesterday’s failed favourite Shaama in the remaining Gr 1s over 1400m and 1600m respectively.

The Highveld raider Madam Dubois ran a tremendous race from a high draw and could be a big runner in the Gr 1 Golden Slipper over 1400m on July day. The pacy Speedy Suzy led and stayed on for a five length fifth while fifth-placed Royal Pleasure surprisingly didn’t employ her usual dominant tactics and could only stay on at one pace in the final stages.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Entisaar (Nkosi Hlophe)