The Gr3 Meydan Sprint over 1000m on turf presents a tough introduction to international racing for Via Africa, who will be facing the likes of dual Gr1 Kings Stand Stakes winner Sole Power, another older ace in the form of Ahtoug and a few up-and-coming younger rivals including the five-year-old mare’s stable companion Banaadeer, and Moviesta.

Via Africa (Nkosi Hlophe)

Via Africa, by VAR, was bred by Gordon’s Bay-based Andre Hauptfleisch, who owns her in partnership with Albert Boshoff, whose home-bred colt Lizard’s Desire achieved phenomenal success when sold on to Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum before the 2010 Dubai World Cup.

Boshoff, in particular, is a wily horse lover associated with much good fortune and Via Africa’s supporters will be hoping that her part-owner’s luck will rub off again when she goes to post in the big league.

Mike de Kock commented:  “This will be as tough a field as Via Africa has ever come across and it won’t be straight forward. She’ll be tackled for speed by a few tough male rivals and we’re hoping she can carry it through. She’s doing very well, her work has been very good especially in the last two weeks. She’s on the up, but has improvement to come and it won’t be easy for her to win this competitive race.”

Leading South African jockey Gavin Lerena has been booked to ride Via Africa – his first chance to show his skills in the UAE and one the former Champion Apprentice is keen to convert successfully.

Pylon (Liesl King)

Banaadeer (Paul Hanagan) made marked improvement in his most recent outing, beaten a length and a quarter by Caspian Prince over the course and distance. He’s 1kg better off with his conqueror at the weights and must have a money chance again. “Banaadeer is very fit now and this is a good test for him,” De Kock opined.

It will be an exciting and busy afternoon for the De Kock team and the action starts in the Listed Al Bastakiya over 1900m on dirt. Mubtaahij (Dane O’Neill) and Ajwad (Christophe Soumillon) will represent Blue Stables in this curtain-raiser for the UAE Derby on World Cup night.

‘’Both runners are improving and in good nick, Mubtaahij is the stable elect. Christophe can’t make the weight on Mubtaahij, but Dane gets on well with him.  We’ll have to see what happens, Godolphin has entered an unbeaten horse in the race we’ll have to contend with,” said De Kock.

South Afican-bred sand specialist Pylon (Lerena) will have his own baptism of fire in the Gr3 Burj Nahaar over a mile on dirt and Mike told that this one was short of peak fitness due to a few hiccups in training. “Pylon is doing well of late, but he really needs this run.”

Mickdaam (Soumillon) and Umgiyo (Johnny Geroudis) will come under starter’s orders in the Gr2 Dubai City Of Gold over 2410m on turf, a race Mike has won before with Grey’s Inn (2004), Oracle West (2005) and Front House (2009).

Vercingetorix (Nkosi Hlophe)

“Mickdaam ran on very well last time and he’s doing fine, but this race is at level weights and he will have to up his game out of a handicap. Umgiyo is smart, he stayed on for second to a top horse over 2000m last time and my gut feel says he’ll see out the extra, he should run a big race.”

The top horse referred to in the Umgiyo formline is of course Godolphin’s 116-rated Hunter’s Light, who will be out to spoil the party for Mike’s six-strong onslaught on the Gr1 Jebel Hatta over 1800m on turf that tops the seven-race programme.

The Jebel Hatta has fallen to the stable four times, the winners being Ipi Tombe (2003), Surveyor (2004), Master Of Hounds (2012) and Vercingetorix, who won the 2014 renewal and will be defending his title with Soumillon in the irons in the company of stablemates Anaerobio (Richard Mullen), Flying The Flag (Geroudis), Darwin (Hanagan), Johann Strauss (O’Neill) and Sanshaawes (Lerena).

De Kock rated his runners: “Vercingetorix is in excellent form and has a good chance of following up, he’s enjoyed a good preparation. Flying The Flag won a nice race for us last week, he’s yet to prove himself in this class however and this is a last chance for him to prove that he can rise to the occasion to have any chance of racing on World Cup night. Darwin ran on over 1600m last time but is a bit suspect over 1800m.

“Johann Strauss is an exciting horse, as I’ve said before. It’s a pity we’ve had to rush him into this race, but that’s the way it goes in the Carnival. Sometimes one has no choice. He’s very well and we’re taking our chances, expecting a good run. Anaerobio will probably retire after this race, he earned a stake last year. Sanshaawes is also approaching the end of his career, we’re hoping he can step up to the plate. He has place prospects.”

• mikedekockracing.com

He is currently just over R2,3 million ahead of his good friend and rival and many-times champion trainer Mike de Kock, but was still philosophical about his chances. “The Championships only really starts now as all the big money meetings like the ones in Jo’burg at the end of March and April, the Scottsville Sprint meeting in May and the other big KZN meetings are yet to be run.  Mike has horses like Majmu, Ertijaal and Alboran Sea so it’s going to be tight. It would be nice to win the title, but it’s not something you can chase. You have to handle each horse’s career properly and just hope they do well. If you chased the title you would just burn your string and have nothing left for next season.”

Sean Tarry

Tarry’s brilliant results in the lucrative Sales races have contributed a lot to his earnings this season. He won the R2 million Lanzerac Ready To Run Stakes over 1400m with Zambezi River, finished second with the same horse in the R1 million Cape Thoroughbred Sales Stakes and then finished first and second in the R2,5 million Cape Thoroughbred Sales Book 2 Graduates Race with Siren’s Call and Trophy Wife.

Siren’s Call and Trophy Wife both produced strong finishes on Saturday in the Gauteng Fillies Guineas and fourth-placed Tamanee was also doing her best work late. Tarry said they had all come out of the race well and he wasn’t writing off unplaced Bichette either. He said, “The race probably came a bit soon for Bichette, but she’s a lovely filly. We will soon begin preparing these horses for the big meeting at the end of March.”

Siren’s Call et al will face the mighty Majmu in the Gr 1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic over 1800m in that meeting. Tarry wasn’t writing off Siren’s Call’s chances and said, “I think she can give Majmu a go. She was comprehensively beaten by Majmu over 1400m, but will be a lot better over 1800m, although Majmu maybe will too. Majmu smashed them in the Cape Fillies Guineas and the runner up Inara then came out and won two Gr 1s, so Majmu is definitely the best of the crop at present.”

Tarry was “excited” about French Navy’s run in the Gauteng Guineas, in which he finished very strongly for second. The Triple Crown has always been on his agenda, so he will get better as he goes further and Tarry is looking forward to the Gr 1 Betting World SA Classic. That race will be a humdinger with the like of Investec Cape Derby winner Ertijaal entering the fray and Gauteng Guineas winner Harry’s Son also due to travel for the race.

Siren’s Call (left) and Trophy Wife (JC Photo)

Tarry was pleased with the run of Halve The Deficit in the Hawaii Stakes. He was handy throughout and only just failed to catch the frontrunner Chekilli. However, Tarry was surprised by the seven point raise to a 111 merit rating Halve The Deficit was awarded by the handicapper for the run and said, “Wow, if he’s a 111 over 1400m, what is he over his right trip, 120?”

He was also happy with Whiteline Fever’s run in the Hawaii and said, “He was caught wide and his hanging in the straight was nothing serious. I thought it was a lovely preparation for the Horse Chestnut Stakes.”

Halve The Deficit will be one of Tarry’s Vodacom Durban July hopefuls this year. He won the race in both 2012 and 2013 and the winner of the latter, Heavy Metal, is back in South Africa after an successful stint overseas and will be making his comeback on Saturday in a Pinnacle Stakes event over 1160m. Heavy Metal will also be a July possible and Tarry added, “They will battle to leave out Gold Onyx this year, there is also Cagiva, who has come back well from injury, and French Navy and Siren’s Call are also possibilities.”

Meanwhile among his speedsters the brilliant former Gr 1 SA Nursery and Dingaans winner Willow Magic came out of his last run, when a flying third with topweight in the Gr 3 Tommy Hotspur Handicap over 1000m, well and will now be aimed at the Gr 2 Senor Santa Handicap over 1200m on April 4 and the Gr 1 Computaform Sprint over 1000m on April 25.

Tarry is “still getting used” to his satellite yard at Summerveld, so is not sure how he is going to approach the Champions Season this year and mentioned the possibility of raiding with some of his horses.

Justin Snaith and the connections of the Dynasty colt met at the recent Val de Vie Sale on February 22 and it was decided that that they would prefer to see him come back to his best before any plans to travel overseas are made. This was especially in light of the lung infection that was discovered after his shock last place in the Gr1 L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate, meaning he had run in that race as a sick horse.

Legislate (Snaith Racing)

Stable spokesman Jonathan Snaith said that had he won both the Queen’s Plate and the Met, which he was widely expected to do after his exceptional performance in the Lanzerac Green Point Stakes, then there would hardly have been a question about his future and he would have been on his way overseas. The aim now is to prepare him for the Gr 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge over 1600m at Greyville on June 13. He may also run in the Gr 2 Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes over 1400m on May 2 if Snaith decides that he needs a warm up run before the Challenge.

The connections will “take it as it comes” after seeing how he performs in the Gold Challenge and they are anticipating that race with plenty of excitement already.  Legislate has fully recovered from the lung infection.

Jonathan said, “We have done a whole bunch of tests on him, including a lung wash, which was finally clear, and also a heart test which was completely normal, so there was no strain. He is starting to look remarkably better, his coat is shining and we seem to have a healthy horse.”

Cantering is the most Legislate is doing in his workouts at present, but there are still three months to build him up to his peak.

Justin will be travelling to Summerveld next week in order to inspect his Champions Season yard.

He is expecting to take a “nice string of the usual 20 horses or so” to KZN and he said there would be “some nice surprises” among them. They will travel either at the end of this month or in mid-April.

He said, “We had a very bad summer season and hope we can make up for it.”

Justin is not at all confident of retaining his National Trainer’s Championship title and said, “We are in trouble at the moment. The restricted races have cost us this year. Without them we might even have been in the lead, but they won’t cost us next season.”

Picture: Legislate was put through his paces on Muizemberg beach recently by one of his biggest fans, Nancy Mitchell, who is the daughter of the reigning Equus Horse Of The Year’s part-owner Jack Mitchell. (Snaith Racing)

In the seventh race, a fillies and mares MR 71 Handicap over 1400m, the Geoff Woodruff-trained Kahal filly Close Relative is a half-sister to the Gr 1-winner and useful sire Rebel King and a full-brother to the useful Uncle Tommy. She created a very good impression in her maiden win last time out when scooting clear over 1160m and winning easing up. She looks likely to enjoy the 1400m trip and has little to beat. She looks to be a classy type who will leave her current 77 merit rating way behind in time, so can carry top weight to victory here.  She looks to be a banker for all exotics.

Geoff Woodruff

Rodeo Dream, Magok Master and One Yesterday make most appeal as backups. Lexicon, Soft Sand, Shamal, Wensleydale and Bambino could be included in the back end of quartets.

In the first leg of the Pick 6, a Maiden for fillies and mares over 1400m, Off The Mark is the one to beat, having run on to finish a 1,25 lengths second to Close Relative last time out. Cascadia and Sea Fan are the back ups.

The fifth race, a MR 80 Handicap over 1400m, Fire Tree impressed when winning on debut despite being green and could be another banker off a merit rating of a mere 71. He should certainly rise above that mark in time. However, Gambol and Captain Aldo could be included for those wishing to take the safer route.

The sixth race is a tough MR 88 Handicap over 1400m for fillies and mares and any one of the field could win it, but the three that make most appeal are Negev, Dashing Scarlet and Tynchy Strider.

The eighth race is a competitive MR 69 Handicap for fillies and mares, but the one to side with could be Azaniah, who had some good Cape Town form before losing her way. In her last start she had to be dropped out to the back in order to get a run on the outside and could otherwise have got closer as she ran on quite well. Walking On Air, for the very much in form Alec Laird yard, was raised seven points for his last win but had previously been competitive off that mark. Inventive Girl makes most appeal of the rest.

However, To You can’t be ignored stepping up in trip. Furthermore, Go Dutch ran a very good race the last time she tried this course and distance as she was running off her sand rating, which is a lot higher than her turf one. However, the form of those sand-switched-to-turf races haven’t been reliable and she does strike as a sand type.

The last leg of the Pick 6 and PA is the ninth, a weak maiden over 1600m, and at first sight is a tough race to assess. Legal Eagle was ten lengths back on debut over 1160m last October behind Mutamakkin but was only 4,5 lengths behind Cellarmaster who won next time out. He has quite a big stride and should enjoy the 1600m. Kingkovsky pulled early over 1700m last time but was still in contention late in the race before fading into fifth, so is interesting down the straight over slightly shorter. Tiger Sight has been heavily backed on a few occasions so has been expensive to follow, but trying further in this field he has to be considered. Icy Avalanche and Quid Rides have the form over this distance to be big runners in this weak field. Arabain World could also be included due to the fine form of Alec Laird and Lundy’s Star and Hey Dude could be considered.

The third race and first leg of the PA, a MR 80 Handicap over 1200m, is another tough one but Kapitan, Barbel Run and Captain Sam make most appeal.

Spring Steel could prove hard to beat in the second race, a maiden over 1200m, which forms the first leg of the Bipot.

Glen Kotzen said: “She chipped a fetlock when second to Cold As Ice in last month’s Sceptre Stakes but it came out cleanly, the cartilage is good and the prognosis is fantastic. We will bring her back in the spring.”

Asstar, considered good enough to run in the Betting World Cape Flying Championship, is about to return from a break and the Winter Guineas on 3 May could be an option.

Glen Puller said: “He has been on a farm for the past month and it is doing him the world of good. We will bring him in shortly and start him off with a couple of runs up the straight.

“I might then try him over 1 400m and there is the Winter Series. But we won’t take him anywhere (like Durban) yet. He was a late foal and, if he is going to be better than he is now, it will be as a four-year-old.”

Picture: Double Whammy (Liesl King)