The Gr 2 Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes over 1400m at Saturday’s Champions Season opening meeting could virtually be called the ‘Mike Bass Stakes’ as he has five runners in the twelve horse field. Bass looks to hold the trump card in an earlier event, the Gr 2 KRA Fillies Guineas, with the dual Gr 1-winning Trippi filly Inara.

The masterful Cape trainer’s assistant trainer Robert Fayd’Herbe has relocated from Johannesburg to Summerveld for the Champions Season and said that the Drill Hall would be used as a preparation event for all of Helderberg Blue, Ashton Park, Night Trip, Ze Kaiser and Mountain Master.

Inara (Liesl King)

However, he was more bullish about the chances of Inara. He said she had been “doing alright” and “would be quite fit, although she might just need it a little”. The yard gave her “a bit of a holiday” after she had won both the Gr 1 Maine Chance Paddock Stakes over 1800m and the Gr 1 Klawervlei Majorca Stakes over 1600m in January. Fayd’Herbe admitted that she was not easy to judge because “she shows nothing at home.”

Inara and fellow Vodacom Durban July entry Helderberg Blue, who ran an excellent second in the J&B Met, were certainly looking pictures of health at Summerveld on Tuesday morning. The temperamental Helderberg Blue has a new friend, the recently retired Epic Tale, who accompanies him wherever he goes to the extent that he walks alongside him when ringing in the mornings. The nervous Jet Master gelding won his maiden over 1400m, but Fayd’Herbe confirmed that the Drill Hall trip is a little bit on the sharp side for him these days.

Ashton Park has won six times over 1400m and looked a bit of an unlucky loser over this distance in his penultimate start in the Gr 2 Hawaii Stakes when charging home to lose by just 0,75 lengths after taking too long to find a clear run. He is a bit of a headstrong sort and pulling for his head early cost him in his next run in the Gr 1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes. He is now back to his favourite trip, but a big downside is that he is drawn eleven which will be a particular disadvantage for one who either needs cover from off the pace or needs to be in front.

Fayd’Herbe regards Night Trip as at his best from 1400-1600m. The yard have often lamented how good he would be if he reproduced his homework. His last win was in the Listed Darley Arabian over 1600m on the Greyville Polytrack, so he does enjoy tight tracks and from draw two he has a chance of earning if putting his best foot forward.

Mountain Master is the third of the Bass July entries and has won over course and distance before, but that was off a merit rating of 77 in a handicap and in this class he would be much better suited to 1800m and upward.

By David Thiselton

Picture: Liesl King

The champion Paul Lafferty-trained Australian-bred colt Harry’s Son was found to have heat in the knee this morning and has therefore been scratched from his first big engagement of the Champions Season, Saturday’s Gr 2 KRA Guineas.

Fortunately the problem is not serious and the yard are simply excercising caution.

Lafferty said, “The knee was also a little sensitive, so we got the vet in and X-rays showed the knee to be perfectly clean. We are not going to take a chance as he’s obviously jarred the knee.” Lafferty said that a decision would be made in a couple of weeks time about his next target.

Saturday is also the opening day of the popular Charity Turf Challenge and Harry’s Son should not now be ignored by those wishing to enter a list as he was the champion of his crop last year and is not without a chance of still proving himself the best of them over the next three months.

The good looking bay had put in some fine work on Summerveld’s top sand track yesterday morning ahead of his engagement in Saturday’s Gr 2 KRA Guineas at Greyville and this followed an outstanding gallop at Scottsville last Friday.

In the former gallop he had worked with the stable’s useful Listed Easter Handicap winner Double Clutch over 1400m, of which 1200m was run at racing pace, and after being switched out from behind his companion at the 200m mark he finished a remarkable six lengths clear, an indication of his class and just how good his turn of foot is. Another notable characteristic he has is his excellent recovery rate, which is one of the best measures of aerobic capacity. Furthermore, in his gruelling recent SA Classic race run in “very soft” going he was found to have lost a mere 1kg in weight.

Turn of foot is one of the prerequisites at Greyville and Harry’s Son has proved suited to the tight track, having won the Gr 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes over 1600m last season, following an unlucky third at the same course over 1400m in the Gr 1 Golden Horseshoe. Therefore the Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge over 1600m on June 6 at Greyville might well be on his agenda and will give the connections the opportunity to test him against the country’s best milers as well as an opportunity to exact revenge on his crop’s highest merit rated horse, Act Of War.

The three-year-old male crop has not covered itself in glory this season, but Harry’s Son could well have put up the best performance among them when winning the Gr 3 Graham Beck Stakes over 1400m at Turffontein last November by a comfortable two lengths, as he was giving lumps of weight away to some classy horses. He was also impressive in his Gr 2 Gauteng Guineas win. Furthermore he has had excuses for all three of his defeats this season.

The one chink in his armour is that he hates soft ground and that has been his likely undoing in both the Investec Dingaans and the Gr 1 SA Classic which were his only two below par runs. The laid back colt is a very good traveller but his legitimate excuse after being unusually keen in the Gr 1 Grand Parade Cape Guineas at Kenilworth was that he had spent three hours on the tarmac at King Shaka airport early that morning due to a delayed flight and he then had to endure a two-legged flight via Port Elizabeth. His runner up finish was a remarkable performance considering the journey he had earlier endured.

By David Thiselton

Picture: JC Photos

There is a possibility that Louis The King will be gelded following his poor run in last Saturday’s R2-million President’s Champion Challenge at Turffontein.

Last year’s Triple Crown winner was close up turning for home but started fading from the 400m. In the end jockey Piere Strydom did not persevere with him and the son of Black Minnaloushe trailed in at the back of the field, 14.50 lengths behind the winner, Wylie Hall.

“We are not sure, we think we are losing the battle and he is haemoconcentrating,” said Trainer Geoff Woodruff on Tuesday. “We still need to do a lot more tests but that’s what appears to be happening.

“He pulled up sound but it means his blood is not moving around as much as it should.”

Should that be the case it means “Louis” either has to be sent off to stud or he will need to be gelded. “A lot of things need to be spoken about. I don’t want to see the horse go to stud and then get moved all over the place because he is not producing. In the meantime he misses out on some races he could have won.

“The kinder option, I think, is to geld him because I think he has a lot of good racing left in him,” added Woodruff.

In other news from Champions Day trainer Weiho Marwing President’s Champions Challenge winner Wylie Hall will go straight into the Grade 1 Vodacom Durban July on Saturday 4 July without having a warm-up run. “He doesn’t need prep runs, he runs well fresh so why go and still run the horse,” said Marwing.

“He has had two tough races so I will freshen him up at home. It’s not as if he still has to qualify. He is in and there’s no need to push him.

“I am very happy with him. He took Saturday’s race very well and he pulled up well.”

Wylie Hall was first past the post in last year’s Durban July but lost the race to Legislate on an objection.

Marwing added that he planned to take Cool Chardonnay to KwaZulu-Natal for the season and aim him at the Gold Cup over 3200m. “I unfortunately had to scratch him from Saturday’s SA Derby because he pulled a muscle. They’ve changed the conditions for the Derby in KZN and it is now open to all horses so he’s probably better off running in Gold Cup.

“There are also a lot of good warm-up events during the season.”

Tabnews

The KRA Fillies Guineas contestant Alexis put in a superb bit of work on the Summerveld beach sand yesterday morning and will give high flying Cape trainer Brett Crawford an outstanding chance of landing this race for the second year in succession.

However, Mike de Kock’s Summerveld assistant trainer Nathan Kotzen was also very happy with the well-being of one of Alexis’s chief rivals on Saturday, One Fine Day.

Yesterday, Alexis cruised at a comfortable gait alongside the speedy Cuvee Brut , who appeared to have her work cut out to keep up, and Crawford’s assistant trainer Barry Donnelly was thrilled by the workout. Cuvee Brut won her last start in a MR 78 Handicap for fillies and mares over 1200m by an impressive three lengths, which puts Alexis’s class into perspective. Alexis has plenty of speed but Donnelly pointed out that on pedigree she should get Saturday’s 1600m trip. Indeed, she has a blistering turn of foot and has invariably finished strongly over shorter.  In her last start over 1400m at Greyville in a small but classy field of six, she came from last and after being switched inward she had to then be switched outward again for a clear run and was doing excellent late work. She finished just 1,75 and one length respectively behind One Fine Day and Silver Class and will face both of them on 2kgs better terms in the KRA Fillies Guineas at Greyville on Saturday. It has to be said that One Fine Day quickened effortlessly and won with a bit in hand, although she was probably more forward than Alexis as it was her third run after a rest compared to the latter’s comeback run. Donnelly confirmed yesterday that Alexis had needed the run and had “come on plenty” since then. Meanwhile, Kotzen said about One Fine Day, “She is doing very well and seems to be flying. If we have her the same as she was for that last race I will be happy.”

Delmar Sherrel is now the sole owner of Alexis. Delmar is the mother of former Springbok flyhalf Lance Sherrel and also has a share in the Crawford-trained stalwart Captain America, who was an easy winner of last month’s WFA Gr 1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes over 1600m at Turffontein.

– By David Thiselton

Harry’s Son has been scratched from Saturday’s KRA Guineas. More to follow…