Pomodoro hasn’t been anywhere near his formidable best at his last three starts, but he looked to be moving in the right direction last time out and the 2012 Vodacom Durban July winner could be ready to land another big victory when he contests the Gr 1 Presidents Champions Challenge over 2000m at Turffontein on Saturday.
 
Having been somewhat under the radar this season, Pomodoro’s credentials are worth revisiting, as a reminder of just how good he is. His July victory, as a 3-year-old, was outstanding, given that he started from an impossible barrier position of 20, and his form the following season was not to be sniffed at either, as he produced Gr 1 placings in all of the Queens Plate, J & B Met and Gold Challenge. Things then came unstuck when defending his July crown in the 2013 edition, but there were valid excuses that day, as he never enjoyed any luck in running and was already up against it with top weight in heavy underfoot conditions. He was then rested for some seven months and has been sympathetically ridden in both his comeback races, the Hawaii Stakes and Horse Chestnut Stakes, clearly with a view to working him back to top form. His Horse Chestnut run was particularly encouraging as he went out to make the running and was in contention up until the final furlong before finally tiring into fifth. He is now 2.5kg better off with winner Yorker and fourth-placed Wylie Hall, and 1kg better off with third-placed Tellina. It's reasonable to assume that he will have come on for that last run and he is, in fact, the best-weighted runner in the race on official ratings.
 
Trainer Geoff Woodruff sends out a three-pronged attack of Yorker, Tellina and Killua Castle, who finished 1-3-5 respectively in the Gr 1 Summer  Cup over this course and distance. Yorker’s detractors at the time may have felt he got away with a handy galloping weight that day, but he has since put the record straight with two excellent Gr 1 efforts, finishing second in the J & B Met and holding off Cape star Capetown Noir in the Horse Chestnut Stakes. Yorker will prefer the extra two furlongs he encounters here and if current form is to be taken literally, he has to be the one to beat.
 
Tellina is also a serious threat at his best. He was doing his best work late when third in both the Summer Cup and Horse Chestnut Stakes and the latter race should gave brought him on nicely. He is seemingly not the easiest of rides and needs to be produced at just the right time but Glen Hatt has built up a nice rapport with him and they certainly have winning claims here.
 
Killua Castle ran well in both the Sumer Cup and Charity Mile and was only just touched off by Tellina in the London News Stakes in January. However, 2000m at weight for age in this field will stretch him somewhat and he does not make as much appeal as his stablemates.
 
Wylie Hall is seldom far off them and based on his past meetings with Tellina, there isn’t much between them when both are on song. His J & B Met effort was too bad to be true, especially given the early Cape crawl that he encountered there, but his form at this track is much more solid and he seldom runs a bad race. Fourth place in the Horse Chestnut Stakes was a perfectly acceptable effort as he will prefer the step up in trip here and it wouldn’t be a huge shock if he were to win here.
 
Knock On Wood is an underrated sort who has run well in a number of the top middle distance events in Gauteng and was second to Heavy Metal in this race last year. He turned in a satisfactory prep when running on late in the Colorado King Stakes and could well turn the tables on Halve The Deficit who beat him there, given his expected improvement on the back of that run, as well as a 1.5kg weight turnaround.
 
Halve The Deficit has earned his place here with a string of good performances including a comfortable victory in the Colorado King Stakes but his overall profile still leaves him with a bit to do against some of the big hitters here. Piere Strydom is on board, suggesting he is the stable elect ahead of Pomodoro, and he is at much shorter odds than the latter, but unlike his stablemate, he still needs to prove himself at this level.
 
Seal is the iron horse of South African racing and it’s been good to see him back in form following a disastrous summer campaign in Cape Town. He coasted home in the Caradoc Gold Cup last time out and, pound-for-pound, is surely the best stayer in the country when on song. He’s run some startlingly good races over shorter trips, though, and seems to come to form around this time of year. He could sneak into the minor money if things go his way.
 
Brooks-Club and Baracah complete the line-up and while both have some decent form in the book, they look to have a bit to do here against some of the bigger guns.

It's a highly competitive event and far from easy to stick ones neck out decisively for any single runner. Pomodoro has shown steady improvement in each of his two runs back this season and is a tentative pick based on the brilliance we know he is capable of when on top form and the fact that he is weighted to win here. Yorker and Tellina are obvious contenders for top honours, as is Wylie Hall, and this quartet could well dominate the finish.