Strydom, who last won the championships in the 2012/2013 season, was seven winners behind reigning champion S’Manga Khumalo after the Vaal meeting on Tuesday, where he scored a rare blank.

Strydom recalled a recent discussion he had with Anton Marcus about the championships. He said, “You don’t want to keep on chasing the championships, because you also want to enjoy life and it is not enjoyable being on an aeroplane an average of five times a week. But the fact is guys like myself and Anton are always competitive and always doing well and end up in a position where we are able to give it a go. But the younger guys are hungrier and will go the extra mile, whereas we will probably only go the extra three-quarters of a mile!”

Piere Strydom

Strydom has currently ridden 5046 career winners.

However, 72 of those winners were ridden abroad so he has another 26 to go to reach his next target, which is the 5000 winners in South Africa milestone.

Strydom considers himself to have been lucky this season to have been associated with some top horses and said, “It is now just a question of staying aboard.”

One ride he will be keeping is the Sean Tarry-trained Siren’s Call, who will bid to become the third horse in history to land the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara when taking part in the R1 million Gr1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Oaks over 2450m on Champions Day at Turffontein on April 25.

Strydom has little doubt that she will stay the 2450m trip and said that considering her lack of speed it was amazing that she was ever able to win over 1400m (she won the R2,5 million Cape Thoroughbred Sales Book 2 Graduates Race over that distance). He said , “She takes for ever to get going but still managed to get up to win the SA  Fillies Classic (over 1800m). She has a bad draw in the Oaks but has a huge heart and this has got to be a weaker field than the Classic.”

Triple Crown hero Louis The King as well as Amsterdam, Trip Tease and Isca will also all have chances of giving Strydom further Gr 1 victories on Champions Day. They run in the Gr R2 million President’s Champions Challenge, the R2 million SA Derby, the R1 million Computaform Sprint and the R1 million SA Nursery respectively.

Louis The King disappointed as favourite for the Gr1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes over 1600m last time, when Strydom virtually pulled him out of the race. The Woodruff yard were unable to find anything wrong immediately after the race, but he was clearly not himself and the professional yard should have him back to his best by next week. Strydom was surprised that Louis The King had started favourite for that race as he said that he simply did not have the speed for a mile and is much better suited to further.

Amsterdam stayed on resolutely from a handy position to run second in the Gr 1 SA Classic under Ian Sturgeon, despite appearing to have been in the inferior going, so looks likely to stay the Derby 2450m trip, although like Siren’s Call and Louis The King he does not have the best of draws.

Strydom believes that Trip Tease on his bare form has a chance on weight for age terms of winning the Computaform Sprint and felt he would have won by a length or two more if not impeded by a faulty starting gate in his last start over the 1000m course and distance last Saturday.

Isca, a speedy Var colt, is one of a powerful string of two-year-olds from the Gavin van Zyl yard and he could be anything having won his debut over 1000m in comfortable fashion. However, by recent trends he has the worst of the draw in barrier one, although the going at Turffontein does vary from time to time, so it might not end up being that bad.

Snaith said that both horses had settled in well at their plush Summerveld barn and he would be looking to gallop them together on the grass early next week.  The pair are the respective holders of the Vodacom Durban July and J&B Met crowns.

Their first big Gr 1 clash in the Champions Season is likely to be in the weight for age Rising Sun Gold Challenge over 1600m at Greyville on June 6.

The Vodacom Durban July first nominations were announced at Greyville yesterday and, as anticipated, both horses names were among the entries. However, the yard emphasised last month that Legislate was not a certainty to take part in the July, because the race that will really decide his future, after his disappointing run in the L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate, would be the Gold Challenge.

Meanwhile, Dean Kannemeyer was very pleased with his Equus champion stayer Hot Ticket’s Champions Season’s pipe opener last Friday at Greyville, which was his first run since a successful wind operation. This horse clearly loves Greyville and Kannemeyer was considering entering him in the July alongside Power King, who won his Champions Season pipe opener over 1400m at Scottsville comfortably. Hot Ticket’s chief target will obviously be the Gr 1 eLan Property Group Gold Cup.

Kannemeyer might also be entering his Gr 1-winning three-year-old Afrikaburn in the July, depending upon the outcome of a discussion with owner Fred Crabbia. This classy sort has just returned from a rest at Jane Thomas’ spelling farm and has begun cantering at Summerveld. Kannemeyer said he had been moving very well and predicted that he would be ready to race in about four to six weeks time.

Tonight’s first race will be ridden by jockeys, as opposed to apprentices, and two first-timers make appeal to give the obvious form horse, Roy’s Gul Gul Ha, a run for his money and to possibly beat him. The in form Dean Kannemeyer stable send out the Western Winter colt Never Settles, who is a half-brother to the classy Felix The Cat and to the useful Augusta National. Gavin van Zyl has a powerful string of two-year-olds this season and his Captain Al colt Celtic Captain is an interesting runner here, although it has to be said that his dam has not produced anything of note to date. Roy’s Gul Gul Ha is improving but is tipped to finish second behind Never Settles.

The second race over 1400m will be ridden by apprentices and Night Shadow makes appeal having been not disgraced in a classy field over 1300m on the turf last time out. Risky Rosco often stays on quite well over shorter so could fare well here from a good draw with a good rider aboard. Supreme Power enjoys this surface and this is his ideal distance so he must go into equations too. Lucky Break and Noble Virtue are others to consider.

Kannemeyer could be in the winner’s enclosure again in the third over 1400m as his classy filly Real Princess strikes as one who can continue to go through the divisions. Alina and Royal Denise are in good form and make most appeal as the challengers.

The fourth over 1400m is for the apprentices again and the topweight Missmasala could pull it off as one with some useful form from 1400-1600m on the Highveld. Saint Camille is course and distance suited and should be right there from a good draw. Roy’s Royalty, Miss Stingray and Sutherfini are others to consider.

The fifth race over 1200m is a competitive maiden but the Paul Gadsby yard have done well on the poly and Roy’s Power looks the one to beat jumping from the pole position draw. Destined For Dawn is knocking on the door and has Anton Marcus up so should be right there. Corker Stalker showed much improvement last time, beating Destined For Dawn, and must be considered despite a wide draw.

On the bare form the two that make most appeal in the sixth race, to be ridden by apprentices over 1000m, are All True Man and the topweight Libertine. All True Man relished the course and distance last time out and could follow up. Ilanga has been disappointing since becoming the first ever horse to win on the Greyville poly but he has dropped to a competitive merit rating and is definitely one to consider.

In the seventh race over 1900m Solid Speed looks the live wire as the Cape horses often prove to be too good in other parts of the country off their merit ratings, which are often suppressed due to the class of horse down there. He hasn’t run since November, but trainer Kannemeyer gets them fit before turning them out. Stormy Eclipse has a fine record on the poly and was only given a two point raise after beating a good field over 1600m last time out. Being by a three-year-old by Dynasty he should be improving all the time and will have a chance of staying the trip, so is a good back up.

In the final race to be ridden by apprentices over 1900m, Merebank Trip did well last time when stepped up to 1600m and is interesting over a further step up in trip from a good draw in a weak field. The hard-knocking Chalcedony is course and distance suited and West Coast Star’s best run was over course and distance, so she could also be a factor with a good claimer aboard.

The most interesting race on Sunday is a Progress Plate over 1600m and the horse that makes most appeal is the classy Ultimate Dollar, a tall and impressive sort who looks to be going places having recorded a hattrick from 1400-1600m during the Cape Summer Of Champions Season.

Good news revealed at the ceremony was that the Durban City Council had recently granted Gold Circle some land which enabled the back straight to be widened by two metres. This means that there will be a field of 18 for this year’s big race. This news was received by loud applause.

The reigning July champion Legislate was among the entries and so was his L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and J&B Met-winning stablemate from the Justin Snaith yard Futura. Twice-winning July trainer Sean Tarry had the most entries, eleven. Four-times July-winning trainer Mike de Kock has eight entries and among them is his brilliant filly, Majmu, who is likely to be priced up as ante-post favourite despite the presence of Legislate and Futura. Local KZN hopes will likely rest on the shoulders of the Gr 1-winning Kochka from the Alyson Wright yard and the classy Duncan Howells-trained Gr 1-winner Same Jurisdiction, who is due a change of luck. Among the KZN entries is also “the miracle horse”, the Paul Lafferty-trained Double Clutch, who recovered from a life threatening illness before reeling off five wins in just eleven starts.

First entries for Africa’s Greatest Horseracing Event to be run at Greyville Racecourse on Saturday, July 4, were revealed at a function to launch the three-month Champions Season festival of racing at Greyville today (Thursday) and include the majority of the country’s best middle distance horses.

Among the initial nominations is the brilliant grey filly Majmu, recent winner of the Gr 1 L Jaffee Empress Club Stakes, plus Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara hopeful and Gr 1 SA Fillies Classic winner Siren’s Call. In fact three-year-old fillies were prominent in the entry with seven nominations including Gr 1 Maine Chance Paddock Stakes and Gr 1 Klawervlei Majorca stakes winner Inara, Same Jurisdiction, Trophy Wife, Tamanee and Pine Princess.

Sean Tarry, who has an enviable recent record in the race having won two of the last three running’s with Pomodoro and Heavy Metal, has nominated eleven runners while Mike de Kock has entered 8, Justin Snaith 7 and Dean Kannemeyer 5.

Included in Tarry’s strong entry along with Siren’s Call, is recent SA Derby Trial winner French Navy, the highest rated of the three-year-old males entered, and the promising Cagiva who could well make the final line-up with a handy galloping weight. The Tarry-trained Heavy Metal, winner in 2013, is back in the country after a stint in Dubai and has shown promising form since his return.

Gr 1 Investec Cape Derby winner Ertijaal, who ran below form in the Gr 1 SA Classic, is one of the leading sophomore males entered along with strong entry from Kannemeyer who has pencilled in the very promising Afrikaburn and Balance Sheet along with year-older Power King and Solar Star.

Outside of Futura and Legislate, Snaith has entered recent Byerley Turk winner Heartland, a full brother to the Gr 1 winning colt and now sire Jackson.

The full list of first entries are as follows: