The return of Double Superlative was eagerly anticipated at Durbanville on Wednesday, a race day that had been postponed due to inclement weather and wet track conditions on Tuesday.

The former Cape Guineas winner returned in a Progress Plate over the 1250m. He is a horse rated at 125, and gave fans a sneak peak at his ability after a 634-day layoff since his last appearance in the 2022 KZN Guineas, won by Zapatillas. That seems like ages ago, with many horses from that race going on to have successful careers. His rating was achieved in the Cape Derby when he finished second behind Pomp and Power. Despite the strong performance, he didn't win; he ran a smart second behind the temperamental yet highly talented King Regent.

King Regent himself is highly regarded but might be hitting his stride as a four-year-old. He hadn't win since November 2022 when he claimed victory in a Middle Stakes race but had consistently performed well against quality opponents. This win marked King Regent's third victory and an impressive one at that.

Analyzing his performance in the race, he faced suboptimal conditions, even though starting from the first post, mainly due to the course conditions that forced jockeys to make a collective decision to avoid a patch at the 650-meter mark and run around it as a group to ensure that racing continued. King Regent covered an extra 3.5 meters (1 length) compared to the second-placed Double Superlative and still managed to beat Jonsson's game runner by a length and a half.

Double Superlative is expected to improve significantly after this run and could be one to watch in upcoming feature races.

Happy Chance had the most favorable run in the event, covering 6 meters less than the winner, yet finishing 4.5 lengths behind. The form from this maybe considered as flattering this runner due to those numbers. A

Both the top two finishers delivered strong performances in the event overall, with fast sectionals relative to the other horses in the race.

Image: 4Racing