Kilindini off to Hong Kong

Cape Guineas winner Kilindini will not race in South Africa again and will begin his journey to Hong Kong next month. There he will be trained by Tony Millard.

This was confirmed by Brett Crawford who added that Macthief, beaten 3.50 lengths into third, runs in the R5 million CTS 1600 on 1 February when Concorde Cup winner King Of Gems is expected to run in the Politician Stakes en route to the Cape Derby three weeks later.

King Of Gems was slowly away in the Guineas and finished halfway down the field. Crawford is convinced that his running was all wrong: “I think he is far better than that. He had to check off the heels of the horse in front of him before they swung for home and the race was run at a muddling pace.”

WSB Cape Fillies Guineas winner Missisippi Burning will gallop at Kenilworth this week and how she goes will be a deciding factor in whether she takes on older horses in the Majorca on Sun Met day.

Adam Marcus said: “I felt that the Cartier Paddock Stakes was too far too soon and the owners are of the opinion that she should only run in the Majorca if her gallop is really good and everything is in her favour because she has the Durban season in front of her.”

Stable companion Vardy, 6-1 for Saturday’s L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and now 11-2 joint second favourite for the Sun Met, has come out of his WSB Green Point win exceptionally well. “He is sound, eating up, looking superb and I am almost of the opinion that he has come on from it,” said his trainer, who has been instructed by the stipes to ensure that the gelding does not hang in when passing other horses.

“In Vardy’s work at home he doesn’t hang and in his gallop with Twist Of Fate before the Green Point he also went dead straight.

“I think he does it in a race because he is immature but we are going to continue to work on it and I think the more he races the more he will grow out of it.”