Winners: Snaith, Snowdance, Sergeant and Oh Susanna in command at Sun Met

Going into Sun Met Day most racing people were looking forward to to boom filly Snowdance completely the rarely achieved Cape Fillies Guineas and Klawervlei Majorca Grade 1 double.

And the most popular banker on the day kept her part of the deal, asserting readily in the straight to easily see off stable companion Star Express and fellow youngster Rose in Bloom.

While the victory was not quite the massacre predicted, it was still one of the more comfortable top level wins you will see this year, and those who expressed disappointment in her performance were being rather churlish in my view.

While Grant van Niékerk was being interviewed post race Usain Bolt’s helicopter landed, and he broke off to gleefully declare “this one’s for Usain my man.”

He duly topped this an hour later, exuberantly spraying the the winning connections with very expensive G.H Mumm champagne after Oh Susanna’s amazing win in the Sun Met.

The first Grade 1 on the day was the Betting World Cape Flying Championship, but the race was delayed by a false start after veteran Tevez tried to steal a couple of lengths on the field. Perhaps he was spooked by the unfamiliar new colours, after so many years in the familiar green, yellow and black livery!

The fallout from this eventually led to all of joint favourite Naafer, Search Party and Olympian being taken out.

That left Sargeant Hardy as clear market leader and he remained undefeated over 1000m with a dominant virtually pillar to post win under regular pilot Bernard Fayd’Herbe.

It takes a very good one to peg back the powerful front runner over the minimum trip, and none of his remaining thirteen rivals came close on this day.

Trip To Heaven jumped on terms and was always within striking distance but that elusive Grade 1 win continues to eldue him, and he scored a fourth runner up berth at his level.

One who did open his Grade 1 account was Sargeant Hardy’s part owner Oscar Foulkes, and he has always had a soft spot for the ultra game campaigner. He added tongue in cheek that he ‘is now sorry that we gelded him.”

Justin Snaith paid tribute to the “gallant horse with a big heart, despite his well-documented breathing problems.”

Speaking on Sunday Jonathon Snaith said that understandably they were “over the moon with the way things turned out that day.”

When asked about their post-race celebrations he said that he and Justin had gone to to the G.H Mumm tent, but didn’t make a night of it and went home at 10 pm.

He was also happy to report that “all the Snaith horses came back sound after Sun Met day – not one injury, which is a big plus.”

Glen Kotzen stopped a Snaith clean sweep of the Grade 1 races as Eyes Wide Open confirmed he is right back to very best  with an eventually comfortable victory in an extremely false run Investec Cape Derby, reminiscent of last year’s crawl, won by Frankie Detori on Edict of Nanties.

PE visitor Kimberly Star set a facilially slow pace followed by fellow long shot Steel Rose, and when the latter confidently moved into the lead halfway up the straight and still led well inside the final 200m a big upset looked likely.