By Richard McMillan
A star-studded cast of some of the best horses in South Africa could take the stage to open Champions Season 2015 at the Theatre of Champions in Durban on the first Saturday in May.
Names like Futura, Legislate, Act Of War, Harry’s Son, Kingvoldt, Inara, Same Jurisdiction, Rich Girl and Trophy Wife are on the entry lists for the Grade 2 Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes, the Grade 2 KRA Guineas and the Grade 2 KRA Fillies Guineas.
In all, 82 horses have been nominated for the three races with the two Guineas events opening the three-year-old winter campaign under the “Classic” level weights conditions over 1 600m while the Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes over 1 400m is traditionally used as an important warm up and track familiarisation race for horses whose main missions would most likely be the bigger Grade 1 events later in the season.
Heading the entries for the KRA Guineas is the Cape superstar Act Of War from the Joey Ramsden Stable. He has also been nominated for the Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes and comes with the reputation of having won the Selangor Cup and the Grand Parade Cape Guineas and having finished second to the very impressive Mike de Kock runner Ertijaal in the Investec Cape Derby.
Kingvoldt, also from the Ramsden stable and also nominated for the Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes, finished second to Act Of War in the Selangor Cup and third behind Act Of War and Harry’s Son in the Cape Guineas.
Harry’s Son won the Betting World Gauteng Guineas for trainer Paul Lafferty after his courageous second to Act Of War in the Cape Guineas and before that finished second to Unparalleled in the Dingaans at Turffontein.
In the KRA Fillies Guineas, Inara from the Mike Bass stable heads the entry list having won both the Grade 1 Maine Chance Farms Paddock Stakes and the Grade 1 Klawervlei Majorca Stakes while KwaZulu-Natal-based Same Jurisdiction from the Duncan Howells yard boasts a close second to Siren’s Call in the Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic at Turffontein and victories in the eThekwini Stakes and the Flamboyant Stakes.
For the Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes, Futura and Legislate need little introduction to the racing public with Legislate having won the Grade 1 Vodacom Durban July last season and Futura having won both the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and the J&B Met for trainer Brett Crawford in his last two starts.
The Ramsden-trained King Of Pain finished second to Futura in the Beach Beauty Champions Cup at Greyville last year having previously won the Grade 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge at Clairwood.
With such outstanding entries for the three races, this will be a fantastic day of racing to raise the curtain on Champions Season which has all the promise of one of the most spectacular in many years
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