If you think racehorse trainers are a bunch of clowns, forget it! The successful ones, like five-star generals, know the strength of their troops and plan a campaign accordingly – no blood is shed but a few rands may be!

For most of the year races are spread like globs of butter, marge if you don’t fancy Prof Tim Noakes’s recommendations, with ‘feature days’ the flavour, but South Africa’s Champion’s Season is unique in that it crams some of the country’s most important races into a three-month frenzy and with those races in mind trainers plot for months.

Scottsville’s Festival of Speed is the pinnacle of the sprint racing calendar and with four Gr1 events settled on one afternoon and likely make-or-break for the year-end Equus Awards, the first Saturday in June is cut-throat.

The Gr1 Tsogo Sun, being handicap, has its detractors but given that past winners who retire with their crown jewels intact have a good record at stud it is a race that amounts to more than just a winner’s cheque.

With the new handicap conditions in place one needs to be a boring mathematician to work out the mechanics of the weights – and most punters couldn’t give a damn anyway. But while numbers may take you to a point in handicapping they do not transcend the perceived ability of an individual. As legendary race-caller Trevor Denman commented after American Pharoah wrapped up the Triple Crown in America, handicappers were so busy with the numbers that they forgot just how good the horse was and went against him.

Captain Alfredo stamped himself a strong contender for the Gr1 Tsogo Sun as did runner-up Captain Causeway in the Listed In Full Flight Stakes at Scottsville on Sunday but as alluded to, good generals plan their attack and Captain Alfredo, as strong as his formline suggests, will find the Tsogo Sun a much tougher assignment.

Possibly of more interest are the Gr1 Alan Robertson Championship and the Gr1 Tsogo Sun Medallion.

Exquisite Touch ran well below her earlier form in the SA Fillies Nursery at Turffontein on Saturday and barring anything untoward she must be given the benefit of the doubt if indeed she takes her place in the Alan Robertson.

After her SA Nursery win, Sean Tarry set last Saturday’s Computaform Sprint winner Carry On Alice the task of the Gr1 Tsogo Sun Medallion where she came up just short. Given that Carry On Alice came from possibly the best three-year-old crop of fillies ever, Cloth Of Cloud could find the males a touch stronger – also given that she runs in the Medallion.

Moreover, her antics approaching the finish are of concern and given the tricky Scottsville track any hesitation before the line will cost her.

The Gold Medallion form is up in the air after Cloth Of Cloud put one over the speedy Riverine in the Nursery and some exciting KZN runners have emerged.

Robbie Hill’s charge Red Chesnut Road has simply destroyed the opposition in his two starts but given the strength of the Godolphin Barbs Stakes field the form needs to be taken with a pinch of salt even though Rob’s Jewel, close-up in a Highveld feature and a subsequent winner, was soundly beaten fourth.

Gio Ponti’s Legacy, in the Godolphin pack, did Secret Captain’s form no favours but Duncan’s Howell’s charge won so well that one can possibly add four or five lengths onto that showing.

In all it does well to sum up what’s on the horizon for a bit of an edge.

By Andrew Harrison