It’s Champions Day at Turffontein on Saturday which sees the running of two Grade 1 races, four Grade 2 races and one Grade 3 event.
Topping the card is the World Sports Betting Premier’s Champions Challenge over 2000m on the Standside track which is seen as one of the “Big Four” races in South Africa.
More than half the field in this year’s race have already won at least one Grade 1 race and it is run at weight-for-age terms.
The main pointer to this race is the Grade 2 Colorado King Stakes over the course and distance, and a number of horses have managed to pull of the double. This year it was four-year-old filly Rain In Holland who bounced back to her best to win the Colorado King Stakes and she is now considered the favourite to win the Champions Challenge.
This Sean Tarry-trained filly won the Wilgerbosdrift Triple Tiara last year and then went on to win the Grade 2 Gerald Rosenberg Stakes on Champions Day 2022. The plan was to send her to Durban to firstly contest the Grade 1 Woolavington 2000 and then on to the Hollywoodbets Durban July.
Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan and an issue with her oesophagus resulted in surgery for Rain In Holland. It did take its toll and she needed almost a year to get back to her best form.
Her victory in the Colorado King Stakes was at the expense of stablemate Nebraas who she beat easily by 2.25 lengths. However, that form has been franked as Nebraas came out to win the Grade 3 Caradoc Gold Cup just one week later.
Rain In Holland has a lot more to recommend her. She is the best weighted runner, has won eight of her 13 runs at the course and is unbeaten over the course and distance.
S’manga Khumalo has won four of his six races aboard the Duke Of Marmalade filly and is back in the irons once again. The word from those who have been keeping an eye on her is that she is putting up some top-class work back at home.
Her main threat is likely to come from Puerto Manzano, winner of the Grade 1 Summer Cup over this course and distance last November.
Trained by Johan Janse van Vuuren, the Argentinian-bred gelding followed that up with a victory in the Grade 3 London News Stakes before given a short rest. His comeback run in the Grade 3 Hawaii Stakes over 1400m was very disappointing but there were valid excuses and it is best forgotten.
However, Puerto Manzano ran a much-improved race in the Grade 1 HF Oppenheimer Horse Chestnut Stakes over 1600m when beaten just four lengths and will much prefer the return to 2000m.
Log-leading jockey Keagan de Melo takes the ride.
Clive Robinson
