This famous race with a history dating back decades, is traditionally the warm-up event of the season for the visiting horses preparing for the bigger races coming up and is always an exciting event.

Supplementary Entries and Weights for the R350000 Gr2 Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes to be run over 1400m at Greyville on Saturday May 2: 

NO HORSE                  A/S WGT  M/R   TRAINER

11 FUTURA             (4C) 60.0 120   Justin Snaith

22 LEGISLATE          (4C) 60.0 117   Justin Snaith

24 KING OF PAIN       (5G) 60.0 114 B Joey Ramsden

29 CHEKILLI           (4G) 59.0 108   Alec Laird

19 WHITELINE FEVER    (6G) 59.0 107   Sean Tarry

7 ICE MACHINE        (6G) 59.0 105   Charles Laird

28 DE KOCK            (4G) 59.0  98   Brett Crawford

4 ACT OF WAR         (3C) 58.0 117   Joey Ramsden

10 HELDERBERG BLUE    (4G) 58.0 110   Mike Bass

30 JET EXPLORER       (6G) 58.0 109   Justin Snaith

25 ASHTON PARK        (5G) 58.0 108   Mike Bass

13 BOUCLETTE TOP (ARG (4G) 58.0 107 B Alec Laird

26 POWER KING         (4G) 58.0 106 B Dean Kannemeyer

5 KOCHKA             (4G) 58.0 105   Alyson Wright

2 SABADELL           (5G) 58.0 103   Kumaran Naidoo

3 NIGHT TRIP         (5G) 58.0 101 B Mike Bass

1 THE HANGMAN        (5G) 58.0 101   Sean Tarry

8 FOURTH ESTATE      (7G) 58.0 100   Colin Scott

15 BROOKS-CLUB        (6G) 58.0  99 B Mike Azzie

20 SAIL SOUTH         (4G) 58.0  97   Brett Crawford

18 MOUNTAIN MASTER    (4G) 58.0  96 B Mike Bass

27 TIPO TINTO (AUS)   (6G) 58.0  96 B Gavin van Zyl

12 KING OF TORTS      (5G) 58.0  95 B Duncan Howells

14 TIGER TIGER        (5G) 58.0  95   Paul Reeves

17 ZE KAISER          (5G) 58.0  95 B Mike Bass

16 ROYAL ZULU GUARD ( (5G) 58.0  90   Duncan Howells

9 KINGVOLDT          (3C) 56.0 111   Joey Ramsden

31 FOREST FOX         (3G) 56.0 102   Paul Peter

6 ANJAAL (AUS)       (3C) 56.0  95 B Mike de Kock

23 JET AGLOW          (5M) 55.5 105   Dennis Drier

15 EUPHORIA           (5M) 55.5  95   Johan Janse van Vuuren (Scratched)

21 ONE FINE DAY       (3F) 53.5 100   Mike de Kock

(31)

Please Note:

• Declarations closes @ 11:00 on Tuesday, 28 April 2015

Stables from Gauteng and the Cape are responsible for nearly two-thirds of the 40 entries with more than half of the horses nominated carrying merit ratings of 100 and more.

King Of Pain (pictured) from the Joey Ramsden stable, that ran second to Futura in the Beach Beauty Champions Cup at Greyville last season, is the highest-rated entry on 114 with the stable also entering Disco Al and The Conglomerate that each carry a rating of 100.

Dean Kannemeyer’s five entries are headed by the four-year-old Power King and Champion Trainer Justin Snaith has also nominated five horses headed by Jet Explorer that has recovered fully from the serious injury he received to his jaw last season.

Ertijaal, winner of the Investec Cape Derby, heads the three-horse entry from the Mike de Kock yard with Halve The Deficit topping the trio from the stable of Sean Tarry.

Harry’s Son, Run Rhino Run and Double Clutch have been entered by Paul Lafferty with Gavin van Zyl nominating No Worries and MLjet.

Supplementary entries and weights will be declared on Thursday, April 30 with final acceptances a week later on May 7.

NO HORSE               A/S WGT  M/R   TRAINER

34 KING OF PAIN       (5G) 60.0 114 B Joey Ramsden

25 HOT TICKET         (5G) 60.0 112 B Dean Kannemeyer

36 HALVE THE DEFICIT  (6G) 60.0 111   Sean Tarry

40 NO WORRIES         (5G) 60.0 111 B Gavin van Zyl

3 HELDERBERG BLUE    (4G) 60.0 110   Mike Bass

33 HARRY’S SON (AUS)  (3C) 58.0 113   Paul Lafferty

10 JET EXPLORER       (6G) 58.0 109   Justin Snaith

8 KILLUA CASTLE (AUS (5G) 58.0 109 B Geoff Woodruff

12 WHITELINE FEVER    (6G) 58.0 107   Sean Tarry

17 POWER KING         (4G) 58.0 106 B Dean Kannemeyer

32 PUNTA ARENAS       (6G) 58.0 106   Stan Elley

30 ERTIJAAL (AUS)     (3C) 56.0 107   Mike de Kock

1 BOLD INSPIRATION   (4G) 56.0 104 B Charles Laird

20 CAGIVA             (5G) 56.0 103   Sean Tarry

11 SKABADELL           (5G) 56.0 103   Kumaran Naidoo

4 ARION              (4C) 56.0 101   Justin Snaith

35 THE HANGMAN        (5G) 56.0 101   Sean Tarry

28 CANDY MOON         (5G) 56.0 100   Paul Gadsby

31 DISCO AL           (5G) 56.0 100   Joey Ramsden

27 DYNAMIC            (5G) 56.0 100   Justin Snaith

18 ATHINA             (4F) 55.5 106   Joe Soma

21 MLJET              (3G) 54.0 102   Gavin van Zyl

13 JAYYED             (3C) 54.0 101   Mike de Kock

14 THE CONGLOMERATE ( (3C) 54.0 100   Joey Ramsden

5 BROOKS-CLUB        (6G) 54.0  99 B Mike Azzie

24 DOUBLE CLUTCH      (4G) 54.0  99   Paul Lafferty

9 DE KOCK            (4G) 54.0  98   Brett Crawford

19 DYNASTIC POWER     (4G) 54.0  98   Stan Elley

23 YER-MAAN           (6G) 54.0  98   St John Gray

7 IT IS WRITTEN      (4G) 54.0  96   Dean Kannemeyer

22 MOUNTAIN MASTER    (4G) 54.0  96 B Mike Bass

15 BALANCE SHEET      (3G) 52.0  94 B Dean Kannemeyer

29 KRAMBAMBULI        (3C) 52.0  94   Justin Snaith

2 SOLAR STAR         (4G) 52.0  94   Dean Kannemeyer

16 FRENCH REVOLUTION  (4C) 52.0  92   Justin Snaith

37 ASSEGAI            (4G) 52.0  91   Alistair Gordon

38 FORM UP            (4G) 52.0  91 B St John Gray

26 RUN RHINO RUN      (3G) 52.0  90   Paul Lafferty

39 RAKE’S CHESTNUT    (4G) 52.0  88 B Geoff Woodruff

6 SCOTSNOG           (3C) 52.0  87   Mike de Kock

(40)

Please Note:

• Supplementary Entries & Weights closes @ 11:00 on Thursday, 30 April 2015
• Declarations closes @ 11:00 on Thursday, 7 May 2015

 

Trained by Mike de Kock, who will be in America where he runs his UAE Derby winner Mubtaahij in the famous Kentucky Derby, the Hard Spun colt disappointed in the SA Classic after being bumped but he has shown his class and could face the likes of Act Of War and Harry’s Son in the KRA Guineas if they stand their ground.

The KRA Guineas will be one of the major events at the Independent On Saturday raceday with the Grade 3 KRA Fillies Guineas and the Independent on Saturday Drill Hall Stakes setting up a fantastic day to get Champions Season 2015 underway.

The Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes will hopefully see the Vodacom Durban July winner Legislate clash with the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and J&B Met winner Futura over the 1 400m trip. This famous race with a history dating back decades, is traditionally the warm-up event of the season for the visiting horses preparing for the bigger races coming up and is always an exciting event.

NO HORSE                  A/S WGT  M/R   TRAINER

16 ACT OF WAR         (3C) 60.0 117   Joey Ramsden

3 HARRY’S SON (AUS)  (3C) 60.0 113   Paul Lafferty

17 KINGVOLDT          (3C) 60.0 111   Joey Ramsden

1 UNPARALLELED       (3G) 60.0 108   Johan Janse van Vuuren

21 *ERTIJAAL (AUS)    (3C) 60.0 107   Mike de Kock

13 FOREST FOX         (3G) 60.0 102   Paul Peter

5 LIGHT THE LIGHTS   (3C) 60.0 102   Glen Kotzen

29 JAYYED             (3C) 60.0 101   Mike de Kock

15 THE CONGLOMERATE ( (3C) 60.0 100   Joey Ramsden

24 ILLUMINATI         (3G) 60.0  98   Weiho Marwing

28 HEARTLAND          (3C) 60.0  97   Justin Snaith

10 ISPHAN             (3G) 60.0  97 B Mike Azzie

22 AMAZING STRIKE     (3G) 60.0  96 B Alec Laird

8 ANJAAL (AUS)       (3C) 60.0  95 B Mike de Kock

19 EASY LOVER         (3C) 60.0  95   Duncan Howells

11 KISS ME HARDY      (3G) 60.0  94 B Corne Spies

4 KRAMBAMBULI        (3C) 60.0  94   Justin Snaith

12 ULTIMATE DOLLAR    (3G) 60.0  94   Justin Snaith

9 ARNISTON           (3G) 60.0  92   Justin Snaith

26 RUN RHINO RUN      (3G) 60.0  90   Paul Lafferty

25 STORMY ECLIPSE     (3G) 60.0  90   Charles Laird

2 MAC DE LAGO (AUS)  (3C) 60.0  86   Weiho Marwing

14 RAMPANT ICE        (3G) 60.0  86   Weiho Marwing

27 SARATOGA DANCER    (3G) 60.0  84   Duncan Howells

20 RIFF RAF           (3C) 60.0  79   Jeff Freedman

7 HUNTING OWL        (3G) 60.0  76   Duncan Howells

23 ALL THE BIDS       (3G) 60.0  62   Corne Spies

18 INARA              (3F) 57.5 110   Mike Bass

6 TROPHY WIFE        (3F) 57.5 103   Sean Tarry

(29)

Please Note:

• Declarations closes @ 11:00 on Tuesday, 28 April 2015

NO HORSE                  A/S WGT  M/R   TRAINER

3 INARA              (3F) 60.0 110   Mike Bass

11 SAME JURISDICTION  (3F) 60.0 108   Duncan Howells

16 RICH GIRL (AUS)    (3F) 60.0 104   Charles Laird

9 TROPHY WIFE        (3F) 60.0 103   Sean Tarry

17 ATAAB (AUS)        (3F) 60.0 101   Mike de Kock

10 ONE FINE DAY       (3F) 60.0 100   Mike de Kock

12 SENSIBLE LOVER (AU (3F) 60.0  99   Weiho Marwing

18 ROSIER             (3F) 60.0  98   Glen Kotzen

7 ALEXIS             (3F) 60.0  97   Brett Crawford

19 ALICE SPRINGS (AUS (3F) 60.0  95   Mike de Kock

5 REAL PRINCESS      (3F) 60.0  94   Dean Kannemeyer

20 BICHETTE           (3F) 60.0  92   Sean Tarry

2 SILVER CLASS       (3F) 60.0  92   Johan Janse van Vuuren

22 ZANTE              (3F) 60.0  92   Neil Bruss

4 CUVEE BRUT         (3F) 60.0  90   Brett Crawford

8 SEVENTH HEART      (3F) 60.0  88   Sean Tarry

6 FIRE DANCING       (3F) 60.0  85   Corne Spies

14 JO MALONE          (3F) 60.0  84   Corne Spies

13 CATHY SPECIFIC     (3F) 60.0  82   Glen Kotzen

15 SUPREME DYNASTY    (3F) 60.0  82   Dennis Drier

1 JUST LUCKY         (3F) 60.0  80   Duncan Howells

21 ONE WAY TICKET     (3F) 60.0  78   Glen Kotzen

(22)

Please Note:

Declarations closes @ 11:00 on Tuesday, 28 April 2015

It will remain a mystery why he ran below par that day, although jockey Piere Strydom did say subsequently that he had been surprised that a horse lacking in speed had started favourite over a distance too sharp for him. However, history is littered with horses that have not managed to bounce back from their first below par run and among them are greats like Empress Club and Model Man.

It could be argued that Louis The King’s first below par run was actually in the J&B Met, when starting favourite and running a flat race to finish sixth (His run in the Vodacom Durban July could not be considered a below par run as he suffered such bad luck in that race).

However, if there is one trainer who can get them to bounce back it is Woodruff and what better example to use than his dual Durban July winner El Picha, who ran 10,75 lengths back in the Horse Chestnut Stakes before going within half-a-length of winning the Champions Stakes (today known as the Champions Challenge) and then going on to win the July for a second time. However, bookmakers are not too confident Louis The King will bounce back and have him at 7/1, although they do still make him third favourite behind the mighty Majmu and the unlucky Vodacom Durban July loser Wylie Hall.

Woodruff also has the consistent Tellina in the race and his son and assistant trainer Tim said, “Tellina’s last run was very encouraging and if he reproduces it he will have a big shout.” This five-year-old Silvano gelding is a “terrible work horse”, but can be relied on to run to his best in the big ones. His Gr 2 Gauteng Guineas win occurred more than 18 months ago, so he will carry no weight penalties and will therefore receive 2,5kg from the only male Gr 1 winner in the race Louis The King. Tellina is a 10-1 shot with the bookies and looks to be better value than his more illustrious stablemate.

The third Woodruff contender is Killua Castle and Tim described him as a “dogged, tough horse”. He added that this narrow SANSUI Summer Cup runner up had needed his last run in the Gr 2 Colorado King Stakes over course and distance, his first start back from his unplaced run in the J&B Met. He was beaten 6,25 lengths by Wylie Hall in that last start but is now  1kg better off and Tim added that, whereas Louis The King and Tellina go well on any ground, Killua Castle would probably prefer the faster ground that the weather forecast suggests there will be on Saturday.

The yard run the Gr 1-placed Jet Master filly Touch The Sky in the Gr 2 gerald Rosenberg Stakes over her ideal trip of 2000m. Tim said, “She shows incredible work at home but is just not reproducing it on the racecourse so we are trying the blinkers to see whether that will work.” She is not actually carded to race in blinkers, so punters will have to take note of the card changes and/or the dissemination on the day.

Woodruff has a good chance of winning the first race where the classy Shadow Of His Smile runs over his ideal trip of 1600m with Anton Marcus up. Tim said about the yard’s coupling, “Shadow Of A Smile is a top division horse who always needs to be respected. The Captain’s Tune has gone a bit off the boil but has been looking good.”

Pictures: Louis The King and Tellina (JC Photos)