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Royal Patronage carrying the Nestadt colours to victory on his debut in Australia and he now has a tilt at the iconic Cox Plate (Picture: via meta (Linda Tag (joint-owner))

South African Jockey Academy graduate, the Mauritian-born Hong Kong-based Karis Teetan, will be riding the crack three-year-old Evaporate in Australia’s most prestigious weight for age race, the Gr 1 Cox Plate, which is to be run over 2040m at Moonee Valley in Melbourne on Saturday.

Big Johannesburg-based South African owner Larry Nestadt will also be represented in the race and his colours will be carried by the Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained French-bred Wootton Basset five-year-old entire Royal Patronage.

Teetan’s mount Evaporate is trained by Ben, Will & Jd Hayes, the sons of Hong Kong-based trainer David Hayes and grandsons of the legendary Hall Of Fame trainer Colin Hayes.

Teetan likely landed the ride through his association with David Hayes in Hong Kong.

Teetan was ironically associated with the winner of last year’s Cox Plate, the Hong Kong-based Danny Shum-trained Romantic Warrior, in the early stages of that horse’s career and finished second in two Gr 1s on him.

The illness he suffered at the beginning of the 2022-23 season due to a serious thyroid condition contributed to him losing the ride on Romatic Warrior, who has to date won seven Gr 1s, including five in succession last season. His five Gr 1 wins on the trot started with the Cox Plate and ended with the Yasuda Kinen in Japan.

Teetan can make amends on Saturday for missing out on the Romatic Warrior success story.

James McDonald has ridden Romatic Warrior in all seven of his Gr 1 victories.

Romantic Warrior is a absent from Saturday’s line up, but McDonald will be aboard the Chris Waller-trained six times Gr 1-winning mare, the six-year-old Irish-bred Via Sistina (Fastnet Rock).

Evaporate only won his maiden in August after being highly tried as a two-year-old, but he  followed that win with two more victories before winning a Gr 2 over 1600m at Moonee Valley on September 27

Last time out the New Zealand-bred Per Incanto gelding finished a 0,9 length third in the Gr 1 Caulfield Guineas.

Evaporate is one of two three-year-olds in the Cox Plate and he beat the other one, the James Cummings-trained Broadsiding, by 0,4 lengths in the Caulfield Guineas.

Teetan will have to deal with Evaporate’s tricky draw of six out of nine.

Nestadt’s all royal blue colours are familiar in South Africa and in Australia they are the same with the exception of them also having yellow epaulettes.

Nestadt is the chief owner in the French-bred Wootton Bassett five-year-old  entire Royal Patronage, who is trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott.

Royal Patronage made a stunning debut in Australia on September 7 when winning the Gr 2 Au$300,000 Tramway Stakes over 1400m at Randwick.

Royal Patronage sat handy behind a strong pace before quickening in fine style and winning by 1,25 lengths despite coming off a 462 day layoff.

Since then he has had three runs, including a third in a Gr 1 over 1600  at Randwick and a third in a Gr 3 over 1900m at Rosehill.

He was perhaps too handy in those two races from wide draws and from a better draw this time, barrier position four, he could possibly stalk and use the fine turn of foot he displayed on his Australian debut.

Royal Patronage has never won beyond 1700m, but he did finish second in the Gr 2 Dante over one mile and two-and-a-half furlongs at York, beaten 3,25 lengths by subsequent Epsom Derby winner Desert Crown.

As a two-year-old Royal Patronage won the Gr 3 Tattersalls Acomb Stakes over seven furlongs at York and the Gr 2 Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes over a mile at Newmarket. In the latter race he beat ill-fated Dubawi colt Caroebus. who went on to win the Gr 1 2000 Guineas and the Gr 1 St. James Palace Stakes.

Royal Patronage had a stint in the USA from July 2022 to June 2023 before Waterhouse spotted him  at a Tattersalls horses in training sale.

Royal Patronage’s sire Wootton Bassett (Iffraaj) commands a fee of €200,000. Wootton Bassett was a high class racehorse, whose career unfortunately coincided with the same crop as Frankel’s, meaning he was limited to one Gr 1 victory. However, his stud record features 80 stakes performers and from that number 31 of his sons and daughters have won in Group/Graded company, with nine being successful at Gr 1 level.

Royal Patronage is a Melbourne Cup entry and victory on Saturday will give him an automatic berth. However, it would appear he is better suited to shorter than the 3200m journey of the Melbourne Cup.

Nestadt has had many big winners in SA, and has been part-owner of two Equus Horses Of The Year, the current holder Dave The King and the 2009/2010 Horse Of THe Year, Irish Flame, who carried his colours. The top class Flying The Flag gelding Flag Man is one of the current best to be carrying his colours in SA.