However, the veteran trainer is still looking forward to the Champions Season due to his young Argonaut two-year-old colt Beat The Retreat, who was an impressive 3,5 length winner on debut over 1000m at Scottsville.

Royal Life (Nkosi Hlophe)

Gordon said about Royal Life, “We are going to take him along slowly and if he is good enough he will be aimed more at the Cape Season.” He elaborated by saying that throwing Royal Life into big races straightaway might be too hard on him and they would rather build up his confidence by finding easier tasks and taking him through the divisions.

The Dynasty colt has only had two starts to date, both for former trainer Duncan Howells. He was backed from 10/1 into 22/10 on debut over 1200mat Scottsville, but proved to be up against a firecracker in the Tony Rivalland-trained Highway Explorer, who followed up by winning first time out of the maidens off a merit rating of 81.

However, when stepped up to 1600m next time out Royal Life showed his true potential. He became stronger and stronger the longer the race went and galloped past the line full of running two win by 6,5 lengths. He was then bought out of the Howells yard by Rattray.

Gordon clearly has hopes for Beat The Retreat. However, being one of the country’s longest standing trainers, he will never talk up a horse too soon and admitted that it was always difficult to gauge how good a two-year-old was at this stage of the season. He said, “He looks half decent. He was a bit shin sore after his first run but it was not a big problem. He shows a lot at home and if he proves good enough he could take on some of the bigger Champions Season two-year-old races.”

Beat the Retreat had the field spread out like the washing behind him on debut, which is usually the sign of good form, and the runner up King’s Knight has franked the form to a certain extent by subsequently finishing a narrow runner up to the promising Vous Et Var over the same 1000m distance at Greyville.

The champion, leading the log by seven, said: “I am riding around six days a week but, if I get the support in Cape Town and rides that have a chance, I will go there too. Obviously a lot of people there have their own jockeys and they come first.

“At one stage last year I rode for virtually a whole month because I was getting the support and that gave me the encouragement to keep going. “

Khumalo, now as short as evens with Hollywoodbets, won on the Adam Marcus-trained Crystal Cavern on a rare Kenilworth visit on Monday and is on 125 winners while 17-10 second favourite Gavin Lerena is on 118. Lerena lost out to Anton Marcus by a single winner three seasons ago.

Six-time champion Piere Strydom (9-2) has ridden 116 winners. Greg Cheyne (110) is an 18-1 shot, Muzi Yeni (106) is 22-1 and dual champion Anthony Delpech (105 and fast making up ground after returning from a broken leg) is 16-1.

Mike Bass, along with a number of other trainers, is determined that Sunday’s race will not suffer a similar fate and says he will declare enough horses to make sure it goes ahead.

Fellow Computaform candidate Tevez was among those not declared for yesterday’s cancelled race and Bass explained: “He had already won a prep race and he didn’t need to run again. I reckon he is fit enough and he will sprint up 800m on grass before he leaves for Johannesburg.”

Joey Ramsden put Grand Parade Cape Guineas winner Act Of War into Sunday’s 1 400m Open Handicap with a view to using it as a prep for the Winter Guineas on May 3 and was incensed to find that his star has been lumbered with a massive 70.5kg, giving a minimum of 10.5kg to the rest of the field with the weights going down to 48.5kg.

He said: “I am bloody annoyed. This is an open handicap, not a 0-70 or 0-80. They obviously don’t want Act Of War to run in the Winter Guineas.”

Fly By Night (Liesl King)

The Stone Thrower, Act Of War’s year younger half-brother by Seventh Rock, made a winning debut at Kenilworth yesterday despite drifting from 11-2 to 10-1.

Ramsden said: “He is a smashing laid back horse and, while I’m not sure that I will do the nurseries with him, I will certainly do the Langerman on June 7.”

Ramsden is on a roll. He has now won four of the last five Cape Town two-year-old races and he initiated a four-timer yesterday with the Australian-bred Macduff who arrived on course with a huge reputation and punters backed him from 7-1 to 5-2. He produced a tremendous surge when push came to shove and big things are expected from Bernard Kantor’s son of Street Cry.

His trainer said: “He is a lovely big horse who is looking for a trip. He is by one of the best horses in the world yet he only cost 70-80 thousand Aussie dollars. We will take our time with him and he won’t go to Durban.”

Bernard Fayd’Herbe rode all four Ramsden winners to complete a wide-travelled but rewarding weekend that also saw him ride two winners at Fairview and one at Turffontein.

Richard Fourie’s return to action might have been winnerless but he professed himself well-satisfied despite his back being strapped up like a parcel in the post office.

He said: “I’m sore and it will take a while to come really right. I’m still taking anti-inflammatories and it’s the next day that I feel it but the horses are running well and I’m getting there.”

His stable had only one winner yesterday (newcomer Petala who Fourie got off to ride third-placed Cape Flyaway!) but Jonathan Snaith is convinced that many of their runners are worth backing.

He explained: “A lot of our horses are under their ratings as those that would have won had the virus and ran below form. For a long time we said to punters ‘Be cautious’ but now is the time to jump on the bus.”

The Tarry-trained Greys Inn gelding Legal Eagle was only carrying 52kg in the Listed Derby Trial over 2000m, but the manner of his comfortable 2,25 length victory under S’Manga Khumalo and the overall suspect form of the male three-year-old crop this season suggests that this relatively unexposed sort could be big runner in the Gr 1 SA Derby. Khumalo had him in midfield and the horse made up the ground quickly on the inside of runners in the straight. Khumalo was looking behind for dangers from 150m out and was easing his mount at the line.

It was Legal Eagle’s fifth career outing and it was the style of the victory that spoke loudest and the form was nothing to write home about. His stablemate Stonehenge finished runner up and this fairly exposed sort was running off a mere 74 merit rating. On the other hand Stonehenge was trying the 2000m for the first time and enjoyed it despite being by the speedy sire Seventh Rock. The race strengthened the argument that this year’s three-year-old male crop is a relatively weak one and Legal Eagle is the only one who can be taken out of it as a potential feature event contender.

Legal Eagle is out of the six-time-winning National Emblem mare Young Sensation, who was also trained by Tarry, and he was bred by Avontuur Thoroughbred Farm. He was purchased for R425,000 at the National yearling Sale and is owned by Markus and Ingrid Jooste.

The Listed Oaks Trial was run in a time 0,28 seconds quicker than the Derby Trial and the Tarry-trained 20-1 shot Epsom Downs produced a strong finish from last place under MJ Byleveld to catch the Gavin van Zyl-trained Withbatedbreath on the line. Epsom Downs was carrying only 52kg and was receiving 4kg from the runner up. However, this was only her fourth career start and she could continue to improve, so will be a runner in the Gr 1 SA Oaks over a 2450m trip that she should enjoy. She is the latest horse to prove that her ill-fated Wilgerbosdrift-based sire Tiger Ridge was not only about speed.

Van Zyl-trained charges, Rosalie and Kileigh, also filled the third and fourth places and the Tarry-trained 12-10 favourite Love Token could only manage fifth. Kileigh was carrying 7,5kg more than the winner and lost by four lengths. Being by Go Deputy she should be improving all the time and on pedigree should enjoy the Oaks trip, so she could be one of the horse to take out of Saturday’s race. Epsom Downs was bred by Wilgerbosdrift and  is a daughter the twice winning Shaamit mare Derby Strike. She was purchased for R325 000 off the National Yearling Sale and is owned by Chris van Niekerk.

Later, the Barend Botes-trained five-year-old Doowaley mare Tzigane gained black type for the first time when producing a strong finish under Piere Strydom to win the Gr 3 Sycamore Sprint over 1160m and she could be a contender for the Gr 2 Camellia Stakes on April 25 if similar tactics are employed. The Maine Chance Farms-bred horse was a mere R10,000 purchase at the Cape Vintage yearling Sale and has now won six races and earned R695,525. She is owned by SJD Mynhardt.

Picture: Legal Eagle running out an easy winner of the Derby Trial at Turffontein (JC Photos)

Dollar Dazzler went off at generous odds of 12-1, considering his wins in his previous two starts had appeared to prove that he was coming into his own. Punters must have ignored his outstanding record down the Turffontein straight. He won his maiden over Saturday’s course and distance by 10,5 lengths in March last year in just his second career outing. His next start down the Turffontein straight saw him defeated over 1100m, but that was in a Gr 3 and the horse that beat him by a mere 0,25 lengths at level weights was none other than Trip Tease, who is today one of the highest rated sprinters in the country. Dollar Dazzler’s only subsequent start at Turffontein before Saturday saw him powering home by four lengths in a MR 88 Handicap over 1000m despite carrying topweight.

He was therefore worth every inch of his 96 merit rating on Saturday and under the handicap conditions had as good a chance as any.

The Sean Tarry-trained Willow Magic was backed into even money, not surprisingly, as this horse had beaten the top class Red Ray when winning the Gr 1 SA Nursery over Saturday’s course and distance and his two recent runs suggested he was over the injury that had put him out for over a year after his Investec  Dingaans win. However, he was fractious at the start and was never travelling well before fading out to finish 11,5 lengths back. This run will put a dampener on his Gr 1 Computaform Sprint engagement, which was to be his Autumn target. However, the highly professional Tarry yard will soon identify what, if anything, went wrong on Saturday and address it, so he can’t be discounted for the Computaform just yet.

Dollar Dazzler would likely be outgunned by the like of Captain Of All in a weight for age Gr 1 like the Computaform, but he has the profile of a Gr 1 Golden Horse Casino winner, which is a handicap event. In fact he could make it three years in succession that a gelding by Var has won the Golden Horse. Last year’s Golden Horse winner was the three-year-old gelding Normanz, who carried 53kg off a merit rating of 101. The race was won in the previous year by the three-year-old gelding Contador, who carried 53,5kg off a merit rating of 100.  Dollar Dazzler is likely to be given a merit rating of around 101 after Saturday’s win.

Normanz and Contador are two of five  Vars that have won a Gr 1 at Scottsville. The strength of the Vars at this course is their ability to kick off a strong pace. They have continually been seen to have the ability to free wheel at  high speed down the hill and then nullify the effect of the uphill in the last 500m with their powerful finishes. Normanz led before kicking away from them last year. However, Dollar Dazzler is probably closer in racing style and conformation to Contador. On Saturday he was up with the pace throughout and kicked nicely. He got stronger and stronger the longer the race went and won easing up by 1,75 lengths.

The runner up Moofeed was 0,5kg under sufferance and third-placed Greasepaint is merit rated only 93, so they will battle to get into the Golden Horse field.

Dollar Dazzler is the third foal of the stakes placed four-time winning Joshua Dancer mare, Isla Bonita, who won up to 1400m. He was a R525 000 National Yearling Sale purchase and is owned by MC Gerber and JF and LMF Wernars.