LOUIS The King and Legislate head a star-studded entry for the R2.5 million Grade 1 J&B Met over 2 000m at Kenilworth on Saturday January 31.
Louis The King, winner of last season’s Triple Crown and of Gauteng Sansui Summer Cup, is one of four entries for Geoff Woodruff. The five-time champion trainer said after the victory: “I am very keen to take on Legislate and Futura in their own back yard.”
Woodruff’s other entries are Killua Castle, who came so close to springing a 66-1 shock in the Summer Cup, Rake’s Chestnut and Tellina.
Legislate, winner of the Vodacom Durban July, Daily News and Investec Cape Derby, broke the Kenilworth 1 600m record on his return in last month’s Lanzerac Le General Green Point Stakes. He runs next in the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and is due to go to England via Mauritius after the Met.
Champions Cup winner and Durban July third Futura is one of three entries for Brett Crawford, who sent out Angus to win the Met in 2003. He has also entered last year’s Lanzerac Ready To Run winner Captain America and De Kock, who won the Selangor Cup in November last year.
Punta Arenas (third) finished closest of those entries that ran in last year’s race and will represent Stan Elley, while Joey Ramsden has entered his Cape Classic and Selangor winner Act Of War, who is expected to start favourite for the Grand Parade Cape Guineas on Saturday fortnight.
Particularly significant is Mike de Kock’s decision to enter Majmu, surely a measure of his confidence in this potentially brilliant filly in Saturday’s Avontuur Estate Cape Fillies Guineas.
There is a first supplementary entry stage on December 17 and a second one on January 12. It is a condition of acceptance that all runners take part in public gallops at Kenilworth on January 22, although a horse “stabled out of province” on the day of the gallops may be allowed to work at a race meeting elsewhere before the date, provided the gallop is filmed for screening on January 22.
