Assistant trainer Stuart Ferrie said at Summerveld yesterday morning that the four-year-old Captain Al colt had “definitely improved” since returning from Cape Town, where he had three runs and only just failed to add a second career Gr 1 to his record when a photo finish went against him in the Betting World Cape Flying Championships over 1000m.

Ferrie said, “He needed those first two runs in Cape Town after a year long break and was then a bit unlucky in the Gr 1. He is sound and doing very well.”

Captain Of All beat the top class Gr 1 SA Nursery victor Willow Magic when winning the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Medallion over 1200m at Scottsville as two-year-old. He was then caught late in the Gr 1 Golden Horseshoe over 1400m at Greyville in soft going, losing by just 0,3 lengths, which proved that he had plenty of class to go with his speed.

After an easy win over 1200m at Kenilworth in his first run as a three-year-old, he had to be laid off for a year and Drier explained earlier this season, “He never had any major issues but had a little stifle injury and then a small joint problem. What he needed was rest and time.”

He proved in need of his comeback run in December last year over 1100m at Kenilworth when showing tremendous pace before fading late. However, in his next start he beat a top class field in the Gr 2 WFA Diadem Stakes over 1200m at Kenilworth.

Alboran Sea (right) holds on from Captain Of All – Cape Flying Championship (Liesl King)

The WFA Cape Flying over 1000m was next and all and sundry believed he had caught the speedy Gr 1-winning filly Alboran Sea on the line to get up after producing a magnificent late burst of speed. However, the photo showed that the filly had got her head down at the right time.

Captain Of All was highly impressive in his recent return to the racecourse over 1000m at Scottsville, run in yielding going. A horse can often be seen to be “keen” early in a race, but Captain Of All showed blistering natural speed in the first half of the race and after building up a three length lead against some useful types was then seen to be asking for his head at about the 400m mark. He was telling his rider that he would now like to be let go! He won hands and heels by 7,5 lengths despite conceding 5,5kg to runner up Rich Girl, who was a 2,25 length runner up to Alboran Sea in the Gr 1 Allan Robertson for two-year-fillies over 1200m at Scottsville last season.

Captain Of All will exact revenge on Alboran Sea on Saturday if bookmaker predictions are correct as they have him at 3/1 favourite and the filly at 7/2.

Drier won the Computaform in 2011 with his brilliant sprinting filly Val De Ra who beat the world class What A Winter. He will use the same travel plan for Captain Of All, who will leave on Thursday after having an early morning workout at Summerveld. The colt was due to have his last bit of fast work this morning (Tuesday).

The going for the straight races at Turffontein appears to have favoured the high drawn horses lately, but tends to be variable over a period of time and Captain Of All’s draw of nine in a 14 horse field should allow him to go either way considering his blistering early pace.

Trainer Mike Azzie confirmed that his biggest patron had bought the Windrush gelding for an undisclosed sum from Hyperpaint Syndicate member Dominic Peter and arrived at his Randjesfontein yard yesterday morning.

“So far he’s settled in nicely. He ate up immediately and had a drink as soon as he arrived. He looks like a happy horse and is in good shape,” said Azzie. “We’re very happy with where he is at the moment. We’ll do normal work and check him out (on Monday) morning to see how he’s moving.

“We’d wanted to buy Amsterdam from Paul Peter since he beat a horse we fancied, Awesome Adam, into third in his debut and negotiations have been ongoing since then,” said Azzie. “A Hong Kong trainer, Danny Shum, was also interested in buying him, so he has been fully vetted.”

Amsterdam went on to win his second start as well, beating Urgent Fury in a handicap over 1600m, and his inexperience was evident third time out in the Gauteng Guineas, when he finished seventh behind Harry’s Son after getting “a nasty bump on the turn and losing his momentum”. He did much better in the SA Classic last month, when French Navy got the better of him only in the final strides after a fierce battle..

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Picture: Mike Azzie

It was erroneously reported in the Racegoer last week that the great jockey’s 5000th career winner had occurred when Act Of War won the Cape Guineas on December and that he was now 26 away from 5000 in SA but of course he didn’t ride Act Of War in that race and 5000 career winners was actually achieved on November 22 in the Selangor Cup.

Piere Strydom

Strydom had said at the time of the much publicised and celebrated 5000 career milestone that he had been hoping to reach it at a meeting on the Highveld, where he has been based since the late 1980s.

What better compensation for his legion of Highveld fans could there be than for him to achieve the 5000 winners in South Africa milestone at the Champions Day meeting at Turffontein on Saturday, which is undoubtedly Johannesburg’s biggest racemeeting these days as it features five Gr 1 events and four Gr 2s.

Strydom has five rides tomorrow and all of them have chances. The Listed Highveld Sand Challenge over 1600m is one of two feature races on tomorrow’s card and Strydom is aboard a live wire in Tap Tap Makhatini.  He is out at the weights with the top two and has a tough task on form with Tommy Gun, but this horse has never quite fulfilled his promise and showed signs that he could still do so when winning the Listed Riverside Handicap over 1450m last time out, although he did have a much better draw of 2 than his 9 draw tomorrow.

Tommy Gun has the race to himself on paper and should be too good here despite a wide draw, as this is the consistent sort’s likely best course and distance these days.

The three-year-old All The Bids is joint topweight and has the same merit rating as Tommy Gun. An indication of how highly he is thought of is that he has been entered in the Vodacom Durban July. He has a wide draw but is effective over this trip and stays further, so will be staying on strongly and is a big danger.

In the Listed Queen Of The Sand over 1600m, Strydom has a chance on Julie Doolittle, who should enjoy the step up on trip. On paper she has a tough task with the best weighted horse Royal Trip, but on the form of their last meeting she could possibly beat her as she is 3kg better off for a 2,5 length beating. However, Royal Trip is an improving three-year-old drawn three, while Julie Doolittle is drawn 14. On the other hand Julie Doolittle has far more experience of the Vaal sand than Royal Trip’s jockey MJ Byleveld.

The well-bred Bang Sue loves the Vaal sand and is another one with a fine chance here.

In race 3, a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1200m, Strydom’s mount Across The Ice is joint best in at the weights and well drawn in barrier 2 over his favourite course and distance. This evergreen eight-year-old has six wins, four seconds and a third in 13 starts over this course and distance and his recent 0,75 length second over 1000m on the sand to one of the highest rated sprinters in the country, Trip Tease, proved that he has not lost his zest for the game. His style, in which he shows early pace and then says on resolutely means he will be hard to beat from this low draw, especially with a rider who knows him so well aboard. However, on the downside this will be his second run after a rest and he will have his work cut out if one or two others find their best form.

Across The Ice (Nkosi Hlophe)

The Pinnacle Stakes races usually favour female runners these days and the Lucky Houdalakis-trained Listed Sandy Beach Stakes winner over course and distance, Sarasota, is duly the joint-best weighted horse. This will be the first time she has raced over course and distance since her win in the Sandy Beach last August and interestingly Strydom rode her in that race. Across The Ice ran in a different race over course and distance on the same day and his time, carrying 4kg more than Sarasota, was slightly slower than hers, although he was reported to have made a breathing noise.

However, although Across The Ice now carries 7kg more than Sarasota, his last run suggests that he has benefitted from the rest and he is still the one to side with. Anger beat Across The Ice by 6,3 lengths in that meeting last August, but he was receiving 7,5kg. He is an in and out sort and it’s difficult to predict how he will do, so he is one to watch carefully in the preliminaries.

On pedigree Strydom’s mount in the 5th race over 1000m Manx Park doesn’t really appeal as a sort who will enjoy the Vaal sand, but on running style he does as he has plenty of early speed. However, on the downside he is drawn on the wrong side, in barrier two, according to trends.

The in form Mogok’s Desire looks the one to beat on form and has landed a fair draw of seven. Others to consider are Lonelyarethebrave, Captain Sam, who is having his third run on the Highveld, Eusebius and Salute The Sun. Strydom’s mount in the last race over 1200m, Blackberry Wine, will be suited to the sand on pedigree and is well drawn, so is tipped to beat Lady Casey and Usisi.

Mike Bass has been preparing the five-year-old to take on the likes of Louis The King and Majmu, and sent him to Johannesburg early to romp home over eight lengths clear in last month’s Turffontein prep.

Bass said: “He was out for a long time with a tendon (as a three-year-old) and unfortunately he showed heat in the same one after I worked him recently. He is going to be out of action for some time.”

The Milnerton trainer, who had his 80^th winner of the season with Diamond at Durbanville on Saturday, will run his dual Grade 1 winner Inara in the KRA Fillies Guineas at Greyville on May 2. She is also in the colts’ race but has a much better draw (3) against her own sex.

Bass said: “I am trying to prep her for the Woolavington 2000 on May 30.”

Joey Ramsden’s task of choosing between the Winter Guineas and the KRA Guineas for Act Of War has not been made much easier by the bad draws. His Cape Guineas winner is drawn widest of all in the 23-entry Kenilworth race and 16 out of 28 at Greyville. He will consult Markus Jooste’s racing manager Derek Brugman before deciding which is the lesser of the two evils.

But last season’s Rising Sun Gold Challenge winner King Of Pain is over his recent Johannesburg setback and starts off his Durban campaign in the Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes on May 2. “He only bruised the bulb of his foot and he is 100% again,” said Ramsden.