Turf Talk Newsletter – 25 February, 2026

See It Again relaxing after his gallop at Summerveld this morning (Picture Supplied)

Three top Cape horses have been entered in the Gr 1 wfa R1.5 million HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes, one of three open wfa Gr 1 miles in the country, to be run at Turffontein Standside on March 7, and one of them, the WSB Met hero See It Again, put up a fine gallop on the Summerveld grass this morning.

Justin Snaith has entered both See It Again and Sail The Seas, while Dean Kannemeyer has entered the Hollywodbets Durban July and L’Ormarin’s King’s Plate victor The Real Prince.

Snaith has signaled his intent by declaring Richard Fourie aboard See It Again, with the unfortunate Andrew Fortune missing out due to the fall at Fairview on Friday that has sidelined him.

The Real Prince is also a definite runner if all goes well with his preparation at Summerveld.

That was according to Jehan Malherbe, racing manager of The Real Prince’s owner and breeder, Khaya Stables.

See It Again was a touch unlucky in the King’s Plate and has just 0,25 lengths to find on The Real Prince, while Sail The Seas has just 0,45 lengths to find on The Real Prince, so if the trio do line up it will be a huge boost to the quality of the event.

That is not to say a win for one of them will be a formality.

However, the lesson learnt by Kommetdieding’s journey in 2022, in which he was transported to the Highveld and prepared up there before running two disappointing races as odds on favourite,  is that it is better to prepare horses out of Summerveld and raid for the race.

Justin Snaith will be shifting his time allocation towards KZN with the Cape Summer Season nearing its end and the Champions Season fast approaching.

He was there to see See It Again working this morning under Tristan Godden.

Stable companion Great Plains gave See It Again a lead and the star six-year-old then moved alongside, travelling easily and striding out well.

The Real Prince is also being prepared out of Summerveld, although he has not been there for long.

There are some top quality Highveld entries in the Horse Chestnut.

Among them is the 2024 winner Main Defender, who beat a top quality field by 2,75 lengths that year with the season’s eventual Horse Of The Year Dave The King finshing second.

Last year he missed the race, but did win his next race, the Gr 2  Hawaii Stakes over 1400m before being given an eleven month layoff, which ended last week in a 1160m race in which he came last. The Horse Chestnut might come too soon for him.

The defending Horse Chestnut Champion, the Sean Tarry-trained  Cosmic Speed, is also an entry.

The Alec Laird-trained pair Fire Attack and Atticus Finch are two other Gr 1-winning entries.

Tin Pan Alley, Grand Empire and Trust are three-year-old entries, although all three are also entered in Gr 1 SA Classic over 1800m.

Hazy Dazy should relish the step up in trip in the Gr 1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic over 1800m (JC Photos)

Dual Gr 1 winner Jan van Goyen heads the Gr 1 SA Classic (1800m) entries and his Mike and Mathew de Kock-trained stablemates Splittheeights and One Eye On Vegas, first and fourth in the Gr 2 Gauteng Guineas, are also entries.

The Candice and Tammy Dawson-trained Trust, who defeated Jan Van Goyen in the Gr 2 Jackpot City Dingaans and was third in the Gauteng Guineas, is also entered.

An interesting entry is the Joe Soma-trained Errol Flynn, who was beaten 9,55 lengths by One Eye On Vegas on debut, but has since then won two races over 1450m and 1600m respectively in impressive style, although his time in the 1600m race was 1.15 seconds slower than Splittheeights’ Gauteng Guineas time on the same day and he was carrying 3,5kg less than the latter too.

In the Gr 1 Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic, SA Fillies Mile and Gr 2 Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas winner Hazy Dazy heads the entries.

The Gauteng Fillies Guineas respective second and third, Charge It and Golden Palm, are also entries.

Golden Palm, who was the Equus Champion Two-year-old filly last season, is the only Gr 1 winner in the field. She won the Douglas Whyte Thekwini Stakes over 1600m as a two-year-old.

The Justin Snaith-trained Lowveld Lily, fourth in the Gauteng Fillies Guineas, is one of two out of province entries tother with Charge It, who is trained by Alyson Wright.

The entries for the two races can be seen below:

Lot 59 at the BSA Cape Yearling Sale on Sunday has a fine pedigree and a most interesting name, Sherifflawfulmoses.

He is by Varsfontein Stud’s champion freshman sire Erik The Red out of a Gimmethegreenlight mare called Rapid Charge, who is a full-brother to the top class Surcharge, who won the Gr 1 Daily News 2000 before being purchased by an overseas owner, renamed Yulong Prince and going on to win a Gr 1 in Australia.

Pietermaritzburg resident and long-time passionate racing fan Ross Payne is behind the naming of the colt, who is named in honour of another passionate Pietermaritzburg racing man.

Most would be wondering in what complex way such a name would be honouring somebody.

But believe it or not that is in fact the honoured person’s actual registered birth name, “Sheriff Lawful Moses”.

Ross recounts the full story:

The real “Sheriff Lawful Moses” is a retired gentleman in his mid-seventies. He is a loose- limbed fellow with the gait of someone at peace with himself and with the world around him. …  He was once the head painter at St John’s DSG, a private girls’ school within walking distance of Scottsville Racecourse.

Sheriff, whom I first met when I joined the staff at the school as Transport Manager in 2001, is the most lovable of human beings. He is kind, humble and friendly, with a roguish sense of humour. …  I instantly warmed towards him when I discovered that he was the only sensible staff member at the school who shared my Love of Horse Racing. 

I had always promised Sheriff that if I ever won the “Lotto”, I’d buy a racehorse for him,  rename it SHERIFFLAWFULMOSES ( Yes, I checked his identity document and that is indeed his full name), apply for a set of colours for him and pay the training fees while it was in a trainer’s yard. 

Such a scenario didn’t materialise ; and just under two years ago, I was inspired to contact my favourite stud farm, Varsfontein, with an unusual appeal. … Please would they name a youngster for my friend, Sheriff Lawful Moses. 

In a magnanimous gesture, Susan Rowlett, part-owner of Varsfontein, acquiesced to my somewhat strange request, relayed to her by Carl and Amanda de Vos, the pair who manage the day-to-day running of the stud farm.

And so it came to pass that in November 2024 a broodmare called RAPID CHARGE gave birth to a foal which was then named, SHERIFFLAWFULMOSES.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if Sheriff Lawful Moses could one day lead in a victorious Sherifflawfulmoses at Hollywoodbets Scottsville!

Constitutional Hill’s sensational run at Southwell last Friday helped connections make the right decision ( Picture: Mike Egerton/PA Wire) 

Horse And Hound

Constitution Hill has been withdrawn from the Champion Hurdle and will start the “next chapter” of his career.

Trainer Nicky Henderson announced the end of the racing star’s jumps career today (25 February), with his future runs expected to be on the Flat.

Although the horse will not be racing at next month’s Cheltenham Festival (10 to 13 March), he will make an appearance “to give all his National Hunt supporters the chance to say goodbye”.

Constitution Hill, owned by Michael Buckey, won his first 10 starts under Rules including the 2023 Champion Hurdle. But three falls from four starts over hurdles prompted a change of tactics.

The nine-year-old headed to Southwell on Friday (20 February), where he made a scintillating Flat debut on the all-weather with Oisin Murphy in the saddle. The big question since has been whether connections would target a reclamation of the Unibet Champion Hurdle at the 2026 Cheltenham Festival, or if Constitution Hill would switch codes.

Mr Henderson said today that he and Mr Buckley have “spent a lot of time soul-searching and thinking” about the horse’s future, and have concluded that “he will not be running in the Unibet Champion Hurdle”.

“Last Friday night was for us all a magical occasion and we so appreciated his popularity and the love and admiration everybody showed to Conrad, as he is fondly called here. It was a terrific night for him, us, and I believe British horse racing.”

Mr Henderson added that he and Mr Buckley did not feel it would be fair to ask the horse and his regular jockey Nico de Boinville to race again over hurdles.

“He showed on Friday night that he has another career in front of him that could possibly take us all to new playing fields.

“I would like to thank the thousands of Constitution Hill’s supporters and admirers that have shared their sentiments with us and advice on how we should proceed, and I would have to say the poll was as near 50/50 as you could get.”

He added: “This is a sad day for a lot of us, particularly the National Hunt fraternity that would have liked to have seen Constitution Hill try to regain his crown and sad for all here especially Nico, who has spent so much time trying to iron out our jumping issues.

“However he leaves the jumping world sound and happy and ready for the next chapter. It has been a staggering journey so far and Michael has had to endure some dark days but of course enjoyed the enormous highs and thrills of an extraordinary horse.”

Constitution Hill will parade at Cheltenham racecourse on Champion Hurdle day (Tuesday, 10 March).