As a hors d’oeuvre to J&B Met day the following Saturday, it does not come more appetising than the Betting World Cape Flying Championship. The R600 000 Grade 1 dash down the Kenilworth Racecourse 1000m on Saturday, January 22, will pit star filly Gibraltar Blue against crack sophomores What A Winter and Magico, seasoned veteran Earl Of Surrey and a host of accomplished sprinters in what should develop into a smashing race.

With the J&B Met and the Klawervlei Majorca Stakes following only a week later, the Cape Flying Championship will provide a searching test for Gibraltar Blue whose optimum trip is a mile. But with Mike de Kock at the helm, nothing is impossible. During the Highveld spring season the 1000m of the Gardenia Handicap, a warm-up for the Ipi Tombe Challenge, was deemed too short for the Irish import but she doodled in by over four lengths. She followed up in the Ipi Tombe Challenge, winning rather comfortably.

Taking on males in the Cape Flying Championship should prove a more testing challenge than the Gardenia Stakes.

Trainer Mike Bass was never quite convinced that What A Winter stayed a true-run mile and after his effort in the Bloodstock SA Cape Guineas Bass has decided to drop his charge back to sprints where he is unbeaten in three outings. The smart son of Western Winter has an exceptional turn of foot and is sure to be running hard at speedball Gibraltar Blue at the death.

Trainer Paul Peter will saddle three-year-old raider Magico and the son of Dupont shows buckets of ability. This will be his biggest test to date but he made a smashing seasonal debut in strong handicap company over the Vaal 1000m in November last year and was lumbered with an eight-pound penalty for his efforts, testimony to his ability.

Earl Of Surrey is a J&B Met entry and the field for the big race is due to be announced on Monday, January 17. The former Zimbabwe Derby winner has been kept to sprinting with great success by trainer Geoff Woodruff with the Golden Horse Casino Sprint being his greatest triumph to date. However, he sustained an injury in that race and was off the track for over a year. He has since come back strong with two recent wins.

Blue Tiger, after being used as the hare in the recent L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate, returns to a trip to which he seems better suited and it also sees the return to the saddle of Andrew Fortune who has been sitting out a lengthy suspension.

The rest of the field is littered with accomplished sprinters, anyone of whom could pull off a victory on their day.