She didn’t have much chance on the book against the likes of Tevez and Normanz at Kenilworth yet the Mike Stewart-trained mare divided the pair. True, she was receiving plenty of weight but she still ran above her rating and, fortunately for her chance here, the conditions of the race stipulated no rating increase for the placed horses.

“Actually I don’t believe she did run above her form,” says her trainer. “But she is an improving horse and she hasn’t looked back since I found what her problem was.

“She wasn’t striding out on the grass but she would work beautifully on the sand on the beach. Then one day I worked her at low tide (when the sand was firm) and I saw she wasn’t striding properly. The next morning I took the shoes off and she strode out nicely once more.”

Ever since Stewart has raced the mare without shoes and in her last eight starts she has won three times, been second three times and third twice.  Sean Cormack, who has won on two of his last three rides on her, is back on board and his mount has already been heavily backed with Betting World, shortening from 12-10 to 8-10.

Stewart, an ever-cheerful 57, was born in London and lived in Ireland and Spain before moving to Cape Town when he was seven. He went back to Europe to learn his trade with Michael Stoute in England, Dermot Weld in Ireland and David Smaga in France. He then spent six years as assistant to Chris Snaith before starting on his own in 1988. His biggest success came with Fire Arch in the 1995 Summer Cup.

He also has a big chance with 16-10 favourite Surruptitious in tomorrow’s 2 400m handicap (race two) even though Cormack’s mount has not raced for over ten weeks.

“He had a break and then his comeback run was cancelled because there were only four runners,” the Noordhoek trainer explains. “But he has had a couple of gallops on the beach, he doesn’t need a lot of work and he should run a great race.”

However marginal preference is the East Cape Derby-bound My World who looks better value at 3-1. “He might just have needed his last run and he has definitely come on since,” reports Stan Elley. “His work is good and he has had a very good preparation for this.”

Good Grace (12-10) is the form choice in the opener but the money has come for Morning Light (18-10 to 11-10 favourite) even though she has been off for four months. “She had a bad cough and it took her a long time to get over it,” says Brett Crawford who doesn’t expect her to be in need of the run. “We have done a lot of work with her.”

Arezzo, yet another fancied Cormack mount, only just failed when stepped up to 2 400m here last time, and could be hard to beat in the shorter Rugby 5 Maiden.

The horses are being carried by two separate floats which left for Cape Town yesterday.

Futura, who also won the Gr 1 L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate, was moved from his original trainer Brett Crawford’s yard in mid-March after two of his original owners, Jack Mitchell and John Freeman, were forced to buy out the share of Ian Longmore. Longmore, according to a Snaith Racing press release, had presented them with an ultimatum that they either buy him out or sell to an overseas buyer, failing which he would force Futura to be sold by public auction within a matter of days. The remaining partners felt it untenable to continue in a stable where their ex-partner had close ties, but were lavish in their praise of Crawford for his handling of the horse’s career to date.

Futura’s regular jockey Bernard Fayd’Herbe has expressed his wish to remain aboard the brilliant colt. Jonathan Snaith said that the owners were delighted at this news as Fayd’Herbe has forged a fantastic relationship with the horse.

Legislate and Futura’s first meeting in the Champions Season could possibly be in the R1 million Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge over 1600m at Greyville on June 6.

Legislate will probably have a warm up race in the Gr 2 Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes over 1400m at Greyville on May 2.

Whether Futura has a warm up race before the Gold Challenge will depend on the outcome of discussions with the owners.

Both colts are four-year-olds and are both by the current national log leading sire Dynasty.

The full list of Snaith’s Champions Season horses are:

1 Legislate

2 Futura

3 Daring Dave

4 Dynamic

5 Arion

6 French Revolution

7 Krambambuli

8 Bora Bora

9 Ultimate Dollar

10 Heartland

11 Star Chestnut

12 Wonder Worker

13 Linekar

14 Acrostar

15 Seize The Throne

16 Captain Swarovsky

17 Varikate

18 Jet Explorer

19 Ash Cloud

20 Readytogoritenow

21 Buckinghampshire

Controversy still rages as to whether Weiho Marwing’s charge should have kept the July after being on the wrong end of an objection but that is now water in the ocean.

The gelding then finished unplaced behind Futura in the Champions Challenge on Gold Cup day and has not been seen out since.

The gelding was subsequently diagnosed with a bone spur growing out of the back of a front knee joint that was causing wear and tear on the tendons. The spur has since been rounded off and the tendons have recovered.

Saturday’s outing will be his first in seven months but Marwing is fairly confident that he has his charge in the right place for a crack at the Premier’s Champions Challenge to be run at Turffontein at the end of April.

“He’s in a good space,” the trainer said speaking at Ashburton yesterday. “He’s running in the Colorado Handicap because there was no other suitable race for him. His main aim is the Champions Challenge at the end of April and then we will take it from there.”

“He is fit, he has been galloping every week, and we will see how he goes in the Colorado which I don’t think is a strong field. We will ride him cold and look for him to finish his race off. He’s always a trier and while we do not expect a win he is good enough to pull it off. Bernhard Fayd’Herbe will ride him. He has good hands and is a quiet rider but is very strong when it counts.”

Many questioned Marwing’s tactics before last year’s July as the gelding did not have a warm-up run before the race. However, he arrived fighting fit and had the race won had he kept a straight course. “He race’s fresh and he’s fit, so here’s hoping,” Marwing concluded.

Joey Ramsden said yesterday: “He managed to make contact with a piece of the wall that was sticking out and he bruised the bulb of his foot. It was not serious – he is now nearly 100% once more – but it was serious enough to ruin my weekend.

“I am in two minds about keeping him in Johannesburg for the President’s Champions Challenge as there is not another prep race beforehand and you’ve got to have a good prep going into these big races.

“I have asked my fellow owners what they want to do but we will probably end up going for the Drill Hall.”

Dean Kannemeyer is considering the Betting World 1900 on May 15 for his Vodacom Durban July candidate Power King who made a good start to the Durban season by winning the itsarush.co.za Pinnacle at Scottsville on Sunday.

Kannemeyer said: “Power King has taken the race well. I will go through the programme carefully but I am looking at races like the 1900.”

However Captain America, who won the Horse Chestnut in such great style, may give Champions Season a miss.

Brett Crawford, for whom Saturday’s race was an 18^th Grade 1 success, said: “Greyville is not really his best track and we are not sure that he is going to go to Durban. Nothing is cast in stone but he could easily have a rest now.”

Spies’ underrated three-year-old Sarge filly Sarve produced a strong finish from an unfavourable high draw of eleven to win the Listed KwaZulu-Natal Stakes over 1000m under Francois Naude. Choir Maiden finished well for second ahead of Garibondy. Clear Sailing was next best ahead of the favourite Pej.

Earlier Spies had landed his second juvenile feature of the weekend, having won the Gr 3 Pretty Polly Stakes at Turffontein on Saturday with Trippi filly Speedy Suzy. Yesterday his raiding fillies Silvan Jazz and Nomvula took advantage of their favourable low draws in the Non-Black Type Sentinel Stakes over 1000m and finished one-two ahead of the fast finishing favourite Chosen Dash. Silvan Jazz, by Silvano and ridden by Fanie Chambers, was the lesser fancied of the Spies pair but was backed in from 16/1 to 15/2.

Later the dream for the popular youngsters of the 3A Racing syndicate continued when the Greg Kotzen-trained Visionaire filly Royal Pleasure led from start to finish under Greg Cheyne to win the Non-Black Type King Pact Stakes over 1000m easily and remain unbeaten. Team Valor bought one of the original owners of Royal Pleasure out, but 3A Racing boldly retained their shares in the first horse they have owned rather than leased.

Cape trainer Dean Kannemeyer celebrated the news that he had been granted boxes for a permanent satellite yard at Summerveld by landing a double at Greyville on Friday night with his first two KZN runners of the year. Yesterday his Vodacom Durban July candidate Power King readied himself for the Champions Season with a fine win in a competitive Pinnacle Stakes race over 1400m, beating his classy ex-stablemate Ice Machine (now with Charles Larid). Ice Machine showed he still has life in his limbs at the age of six as he carried topweight in his first run in over nine months and was well clear of the rest of the field, which included useful types like Jet Aglow. All three of Kannemeyer’s weekend winners were ridden by Anthony Delpech.

Earlier, Dennis Drier’s top class sprinter Captain Of All destroyed a useful bunch in a Pinnacle Event over 1000m under Sean Cormack, his first run since his narrow defeat in the Gr 1 Cape Flying Championships.

The first race over 1200m confirmed that Klawervlei Stud appear to have yet another stallion to reckon with in Warm White Night as the Charles Laird-trained and Anton Marcus-ridden Ninefold was not the first of his progeny to have won in good style.

Laird later landed a double when the Roy Moodley-owned Choisir gelding Roy’s Donkey won a 1000m maiden under Warren Kennedy.

The second race over 1000m saw the Paul Gadsby-trained three-year-old Var filly Miss Varlicious building on her good debut and winning easily under Cormack.

The meeting ended with a an easy win for the Michael Roberts-trained Argonaut gelding Theseus in a MR 80 Handicap over 1200m under Keagan de Melo.