Green With Envy wins the Gr 3 Schweppes Politician Stakes in fluent style (Image: Wayne Marks) 

The Dean Kannemeyer-trained Green With Envy put in one of the best performances on WSB Cape Town Met day when coming from last with topweight under Craig Zackey to win the Gr 3 Schweppes Politician Stakes over 1800m by a cosy 1,25 lengths from The Grey King, to whom he gave 5.5kg.

The Khaya Stables homebred Gimmethegreenlight colt now has the Gr 1 Cape Derby, to be run over 2000m at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on February 24, in his sights.

Dean said, “He won well with 60kg. I thought he was the class horse of the race, but I thought carrying 60kg and giving some of these young up and coming three-year-olds 6kgs, they can beat you. But he actually gave them a good hiding. The 1800m trip, that was what he was looking for. I have always said he would go 2000m, because he’s out of a stamina female line. Lady Laidlaw raced his dam (Miss Coco by Galileo) just once in Ireland (at Wexford over one mile and three-and-a-half furlongs) and she won. So that brings a lot of stamina.”

Dean continued, “His next mission is the Derby. This horse is still maturing, he’s still got to furnish, he hasn’t quite got there yet. I think he will get better and better.”

Dean revealed, “When he won first time at Hollywoodbets Greyville (over 1400m) we didn’t really fancy him because he’s not a great worker back home. He won exceptionally well and then he won second time out at HWB Durbanville also over 1400m.”

He followed those two wins with a 3,30 length fifth over 1600m at Durbanville off a 101 merit rating with the winner being subsequent WSB Cape Town Met sixth-placed Montien, who was only running off a 92 that day.

He then finished an eyecatching four length third to Questioning and Snow Pilot in the Gr 3 Cape Classic over 1400m at Durbanville.

Dean said, “Craig Zackey said to me after that race I tell you what when this horse comes to Kenilworth you will see a different horse and he will go over more ground.”

He added, “We fancied him for the Guineas after he was narrowly beaten into third in the Punter’s Cup.”

He finished a 2.05 length fourth in the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Cape Guineas.

Dean said, “So he’s held his own against the best three-year-olds in Cape Town and then I’ve put him over more than a mile and he’s won exceptionally well. It wasn’t as strong a race as the Guineas, but it was most encouraging. He’s improving, he’s on the up, and the 2000m trip will be fine for him, so now let’s just see if we get a nice draw.”

Asked on Hollywoodbets Durban July aspirations for Grenn With Envy, Dean replied, “Depending on how he goes in the Derby he definitely looks like a horse who could land up being a July horse.”

Dean has won the July three times, inlcuding with two three-year-olds.

His 2003 winner Dynasty was one of the all time great winners of the big race, but asked to compared Green With Envy to his other three-year-old winner Eyeofthetiger, he said, “He is that type of horse, a progressive horse like Eyeofthetiger was. He could be a little bit of a better horse in my opinion, but it depends on the weight he carries in the July. If you come in as a four-year-old like Power King (his 2015 July winner) with good form and a good galloping weight it is hard to beat them. Sometimes I think the three-year-olds can be handicapped out of it. You could possibly come in with the right weight as a three-year-old, but otherwise it’s not easy. In my opinion they are quite hard on the three-year-olds these days.”

Kommetdieding was the last three-year-old to win the July, in 2021, and he carried the minimum weight for a three-year-old of 53kg. Before that Do It Again in 2018 won it carrying 54kg and Legislate won it in 2014 carrying a record 56kg for a three-year-old.

Last year See It Again only just failed carrying 56,5kg.

Dynasty and Eyeofthetiger carried 53kg and 54kg respectively but the topweight in those days was 58kg as opposed to 60kg these days, so those were good weight carrying feats.

Meanwhile, Dean’s twice Gr 1-winning sprinter Gimme A Prince is unlikely to make it back in time for the Gr 2 Khaya Stables Diadem Stakes and will likely be saved for the Champions Season.

However, Cosmic Highway, who won the Diadem two years ago beating Trip Of Fortune, will be lining up in the race again. Dean said it had taken Cosmic Highway a long time for his hormones to settle after being gelded, but he added the horse was now enjoying himself and “is back to where he was when he was younger.”

The promising Justin Snaith-trained Roman Agent is one of many horses who have bolstered Vercingetorix’s chances of winning the National Sires Championship this season (Picture: Wayne Marks)  

With both the Gr 2 TAB Gauteng Guineas and Gr 2 Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas being won by progeny of Gimmethegreenlight, it would have been no surpise to find the reigning champion sire way out in front in the national stallion championship.

However, the boom sire Vercingetorix is still within striking distance as he is just R1,357,850 behind Gimmethegreenlight.

In recent big meetings his sons Rascallion and Hotarubi finished second in the R2 million WSB Cape Town Met and the R1 million TAB Gauteng Guineas respectively, while his son Roman Agent won the Listed R600,000 WSB Summer Juvenile Stakes, his daughter Double Grand Slam finished third in the Gr 1 R1 million City Of Cape Town Majorca Stakes and his son Bereave finished third in the Gr 1 R1,5 million World Pool Cape Flying Championship, all of which helped his cause.

His star colt Cousin Casey looks like he is coming back to his best so will also give him some firepower and the stayer Nebraas is usually a threat in the big staying races.

His biggest disappointment of the season has been his champion daughter Mrs Geriatrix, but she might just have not liked Cape Town and could bounce back.

Vercingetorix churns out regular minor race winners.

He has had the most winners and wins of any stallion this season with 71 individual winners of 93 races, which can be compared to Gimmethegreenlight’s 56 individual winners of 76 races.

It might be an intriguing stallion championship yet.

Buffalo Bill Cody’s first runner Pistol Pete won on debut and this Tony Peter-trained colt is appearing again on Saturday at Turffontein Standside (JC Photos) 

Buffalo Bill Cody’s first runner was a winner and there have been whispers around the training tracks about the quality of his first crop.

The Redoute’s Choice stallion has ten lots on the BSA Cape Yearling Sale, which is to be held on Sunday 25 February.

The most eyecatching pedigree among them might be a Wilgerbosdrift Stud-bred filly called Rachel Wall.

She is out of a High Chaparral half-sister to the great Igugu.

Her pedigree brings a cross between two of the most prolific stakes producing sires in history, Danehill and Sadler’s Wells.

John Everett of Narrow Creek Stud believes Buffalo Bill Cody is making an impact already, judging by the number of enquiries he is getting about his progeny at Narrow Creek.

John believes he might have the best Buffalo Bill Cody for the BSA Cape Yearling Sale, lot 97, a colt out of one-time winning Trippi mare Musical Romance. That makes this colt a half-brother to Jackson filly Freed From Desire, whose six wins included the Listed Swallow Stakes over 1160m.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE BSA CAPE YEARLING SALE CATALOGUE

Il Etait Temps With Danny Mullins Up after winning the Irish Arkle (via Hollywood Syndicate meta page)

Il Etait Temps, who is owned by the Hollywood Syndicate and the Kieswetter’s Barnane Stud, is behind Marine Nationale in the Arkle Chase betting despite having beaten him in the Irish Arkle.

The Gr 1 event is to be run on the Cheltenham Festival’s first day on Tuesday 12 March.

Irish Arkle winners have a good record in the Arkle at Cheltenham and in fact last year’s Irish Arkle winner El Fabiolo went on to win the Arkle at Cheltenham.

El Fabiolo, like Il Etait Temps, is also trained by Willie Mullins.

Mullins is going for a fifth successive win of the Arkle at the Chaltenham Festival.

He has won the race a record ten times.

Picture: The Doug Campbell-trained eight-year-old Querari gelding Farland won for the first time in over three years today on the Hollywoodbets Greyville poly under Athandiwe Mgudlwa. It was the first of three successive races to be won from start to finish (Candiese Lenferna Photography).

Today on the Hollywoodbets Greyville poly there was a tailwind and this led to the unusual scenario of three races in succession being won from the front.

In the third over 2000m the Corne Spies-trained raider Summerland was the second winner in a row to lead from start to finish. The Querari filly won comfortably under Nathan Klink by 3,50 lengths from the 5/2 favourite Colimbia Road. The latter came around runners midway through the race to join the leader, but to no avail and the 6/1 winner won by a comfortable 3,50 lengths.

In the fourth over 1900m Richard Fourie took the hard-knocking Kumaran Naidoo-trained 2/1 favourite Future Saint to the front. This Futura gelding had been outpaced over 1400m in his previous two starts before staying on and he relished the step up in trip. He built up an unassailable lead on his market rival Vihaan’s Bomb in the straight and held on by a comfortable 1,20 lengths with the rest well beaten.

In the other five races three of the winners turned for home in second place.

It will be interesting to analyse the sectional timing to adjudge whether  riders could have done more to compete for the lead, or for handy positions, after it had become clear that front runners would be favoured.

Pucture: La Moohal (JC Photos)

Jack Milner (Tab4Racing)

La Moohal did not have a favourable introduction to racing when making his debut on the Turffontein Inside track, but a lot has changed for this Mike de Kock-trained gelding and his second visit to that track on Thursday could prove substantially more lucrative.

On that occasion over 1200m, in September last year, the son of Vercingetorix lost ground at the start, jumped a patch and clearly had no idea what was expected of him. As a result, he trailed in more than 35 lengths behind Barbaresco.

De Kock wasted no time in starting corrective action. Two days after his debut La Moohal was gelded and when he returned to the track late in November it was over 1400m up the Vaal straight.

There was immediate improvement in the three-year-old who on this occasion finished fourth, but just 1.90 lengths behind the winner, Warhawk Bomber.

The next modification was the introduction of blinkers and the gelding’s follow up race was over 1600m on the Turffontein Standside track. Although La Moohal finished unplaced, beaten 9.25 lengths by Just Nuisance, much of the excuse for that disappointing run resulted from having to be eased shortly after the start.

He did run second in his next start but was well beaten 7.75 lengths by Storm Brasco. There was no disgrace in that because the winner looks quite decent as he demonstrated in his next start when going down by the narrowest of margins to Taegan’s Champ and then finishing 5.50 lengths behind Sandringham Summit in the Grade 2 TAB Gauteng Guineas last Saturday.

La Moohal finally broke the ice in his next start, clinging on in a tight finish to beat Atarime by a head. The further positive from that effort is that Thunee Playa, who started odds-on for that race, came out to win his next start.

Racing for the fourth time over 1600m on the Standside track, La Moohal kept up the good form to finish a 0.75-length second behind Presley.

Tomorrow the gelding returns to the Inside track to line up in Race 7 where he will contest a MR 72 Handicap over 1600m and De Kock appears to have found the ideal race for his charge. This is not the strongest of fields and from No 2 draw, jockey Kabelo Matsunyane, who rides him for the first time, could get the run of the race.

Putting his first run at the track aside, La Moohal’s should be suited to the course and looks the best banker on what is a highly competitive card.

Once you look past him, one could make a winning case for almost all of the remaining nine runners.

Jack Milner’s selections

Race 1: 2 Guardia Regine, 3 Breath Of Magic, 1 Galladorn, 5 Phala Millions

Race 2: 4 Positive Attitude, 1 Battleground, 6 Fushimi Inari, 2 Banha Bridge

Race 3: 4 Bossy Boots, 5 Waitforgreenlight, 6 Jumping Analia, 3 Trippis Tune

Race 4: 1 Quick Trip, 2 Empressofnormandy, 3 Sound Machine, 5 Lady Greensleeves

Race 5: 2 Princeofgreen, 3 Richard The First, 6 Fully Loaded, 12 Mitch Got His Wish

Race 6: 6 A Place In The Sun, 7 Carnelo, 2 Toffas, 8 Manz Knight

Race 7: 1 La Moohal, 8 Tree Fairy, 5 Godfather, 4 Diesel’s Shadow

Race 8: 7 Lady Crusade, 8 Circus Lights, 11 Smelting, 10 In The Ether

BEST BET

Race 7 No 1 La Moohal

VALUE BET

Race 5 No 2 Princeofgreen

BEST SWINGER

Race 3 4×5

BIPOT

R288

Leg 1: 1, 2, 3, 5

Leg 2: 1, 3, 4

Leg 3: 4, 5

Leg 4: 1, 2

Leg 5: 2, 3, 6

Leg 6: 6, 7

PLACE ACCUMULATOR

R216

Leg 1: 1, 3, 4

Leg 2: 4, 5

Leg 3: 1, 2

Leg 4: 2, 3, 6

Leg 5: 6, 7

Leg 6: 1

Leg 7: 7, 8, 11

PICK 6

R1500

Leg 1: 3, 4, 5, 6

Leg 2: 1, 2, 3

Leg 3: 2, 3, 6, 12, 13

Leg 4: 2, 6, 7, 8, 9

Leg 5: 1

Leg 6: 3, 7, 8, 10

JACKPOT 1

R75

Leg 1: 1, 2, 3

Leg 2: 2, 3, 6, 12, 13

Leg 3: 2, 6, 7, 8, 9

Leg 4: 1

JACKPOT 2

R125

Leg 1: 2, 3, 6, 12, 13

Leg 2: 2, 6, 7, 8, 9

Leg 3: 1

Leg 4: 3, 7, 8, 10

Kennedy pictured winning another Gr 1 in NZ (Race Images Photo) 

Warren Kennedy rode a double at MataMata today to go to 82 wins for the season at a strike rate of 18.8%.

His stakes earnings for the season to date are NZ$3,962,113.

That is the equivalent of R45,683,162.

Those earnings can be compared to the R24,700,325 he earned in his last SA championship winning season.

For interests sake the leading SA rider in Hong Kong this season, Lyle Hewitson, has had 19 wins and earned the equivalent of R97,014,968 in stakes.

Kennedy remains on top of the New Zeland premiership and is now nine wins clear of reigning champion jockey Michael McNab.

Earlier in the week he was in a studio interview discussing the differences between New Zealand and South African tracks and how he has adapted.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH WARREN KENNEDY DISCUSSING NZ TRACKS VS SA TRACKS 

The Frank Robinson-trained Wylie Hall mare Star Choice gives Craig Zackey a double. This seven-year-old mare was “retired” over three years ago, but refused to get on the float as she did not want to be separated from her good friend, stablemate Love Bomb. Robinson kindly led her back to the yard and told the prospective buyers he would find them another horse. Star Choice has paid back this kindness in no uncertain terms. Under Robinson’s ownership she has now won seven races including her last two and she is not slowing down yet.  (Candiese Lenferna Photography) 

Reigning KZN Champion Trainer Garth Puller moved into the lead in this season’s championship with a double on the Hollywoodbets Greyville poly today (Wednesday).

Athandiwe Mgudlwa and Craig Zackey rode doubles.

Puller is now on 27 wins for the season and has achieved them at a strike rate of 9,44%.

The top ten on the KZN Trainers log are Puller on 27 wins, Mike Miller and Wendy Whitehead on 26, Gareth van Zyl on 24, Alyson Wright on 23, Peter Muscutt on 22, Louis Goosen on 20, Duncan Howells on 19, Michael Roberts and Frank Robinson on 15.

Craig Zackey goes to 66 wins at 9.34%.

Athandiwe Mgudlwa goes to 26 wins at 6.88%.

This year marks the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby. The first running was won by the Ansel Williamson-trained Aristides (Leamington). He was ridden by Oliver Lewis.

In 2010 the Newtown Pike Extension in Lexington, Kentucky was named Oliver Lewis Way in honor of Lewis’s historic accomplishments.

Lewis is pictured above today’s question.