Oisin Murphy and SA champs team up

British champion jockey Oisin Murphy clearly enjoyed his first taste of South African racing on his recent flying visit to the Summer Cup in Joburg. He’s wasted no time in jetting back to this neck of the woods – this time for the L’Ormarins King’s Plate at Kenilworth on Saturday.

Murphy will ride a number of horses at the big meeting for champion trainer Justin Snaith – including 16-1 shot Royal Aussie in the Grade 1 headliner.

In the main supporting feature, the Cartier Paddock Stakes, the Irish ace teams up with multiple-time former champion trainer Mike de Kock and 8-1 chance Silver Sanctuary.

Murphy’s name was the only surprise when final lineups for Cape Town’s poshest race day were announced this week. Early entry lists had promised elite-level competition, and that’s been realised, with only a handful of the country’s top racehorses not engaged in one of the nine races carded – which include the two Grade 1s, two Grade 2s and a Grade 3.

Snaith had little problem slotting Murphy into his matchday squad as he is due to saddle no fewer than 33 runners on the day. No regular riders will have noses out of joint.

Visitors to Cape Town

In terms of visiting trainers, De Kock has just the aforementioned Silver Sanctuary in the Paddock Stakes, while Joburg compatriots Alec Laird and the Azzies also have a single runner each. Sean Tarry, however, is making a splash with eight horses – including star sprinter Lucky Lad attempting to surprise over the King’s Plate’s mile and precocious three-year-old World Of Alice, who’ll also be testing stamina capacity as she takes on some of the best females in the country.

KwaZulu-Natal trainers Michael Roberts and Peter Muscutt bring one raider apiece to the southern tip – the former aiming to go one place better than last year in the King’s Plate with South Africa’s top-rated galloper See It Again.

Recently gelded See It Again, so often a short-priced favourite for big races, finds himself at the value odds of 5-1 for the Plate, with hot-shot sophomore One Stripe atop the boards at 28-10 and Durban July champ Oriental Charm next at 15-4.

L’ORMARINS KING’S PLATE. Grade 1, R3m, 1600m, WFA
(No & draw, name, weight MR, jockey, trainer)

1 Al Muthana (AUS) 60 120 Gareth Wright Ricky Maingard
2 King Regent 60 114 Denis Schwarz Glen Kotzen
3 Oriental Charm 60 125 Juan Paul v’d Merwe BJ Crawford/JI Crawford
4 Atticus Finch 60 121 Calvin Habib Alec Laird
5 One Stripe 55 118 Gavin Lerena Vaughan Marshall
6 Royal Aussie 60 124 Oisin Murphy Justin Snaith
7 At My Command 60 119 Kabelo Matsunyane BJ Crawford/JI Crawford
8 See It Again 60 131 Piere Strydom Michael Roberts
9 Great Plains 55 112 Grant van Niekerk Justin Snaith
10 Gimme A Prince 60 130 Craig Zackey Dean Kannemeyer
11 Lucky Lad 60 125 Serino Moodley Sean Tarry
12 Montien 60 120 Corne Orffer Piet Botha
13 Snow Pilot 60 125 Richard Fourie Justin Snaith

CARTIER PADDOCK STAKES. Grade 1, R1m, 1800m, fillies & mares @ WFA

1 Rainbow Lorikeet 59.5 105 Aldo Domeyer Candice Bass-Robinson
2 Gold Poker Game 60 107 Gareth Wright Candice Bass-Robinson
3 Saartjie 60 118 Corne Orffer Andre Nel
4 Knockout 59.5 103 Juan Paul v’d Merwe Justin Snaith
5 Whistle The Tune 54 103 Sean Veale Glen Kotzen
6 Little Suzie 54 107 Grant van Niekerk Justin Snaith
7 Red Palace 59.5 119 Craig Zackey Dean Kannemeyer
8 Double Grand Slam 59.5 119 Richard Fourie Justin Snaith
9 Lavender Bay 59.5 71 Serino Moodley Andre Nel
10 Rascova 59.5 119 Gavin Lerena Glen Kotzen
11 World Of Alice 54 108 Calvin Habib Sean Tarry
12 Silver Sanctuary 59.5 117 Oisin Murphy Mike de Kock