With the unfortunate scratching of Horse of the Year 2013/14, LEGISLATE, as a result of not recovering soon enough from a lung infection, punters will probably be looking to either FUTURA or LOUIS THE KING to win Cape Town's premier horse race. Both horses would be worthy winners and they have done everything to deserve a win in this famous horse race at the Kenilworth race track in the picturesque Cape Town.

Gauteng trainer, Geoff Woodruff, sends out three horses in this race. Many punters will be looking towards his Triple Crown winner, LOUIS THE KING and the extremely talented, FUTURA, trained by Brett Crawford, to bring home the trophy. Had it not been for the brilliance of LEGISLATE last season, LOUIS THE KING would probably have been named as Horse of the Year. He disappointed during the Durban Winter Season last year but bounced back to form at his favourite track when he won the Summer Cup at Turffontein. His last run was in the Queen's Plate when he flew up late to finish second behind FUTURA. A few weeks ago I would have brushed aside the chances of KILLUA CASTLE. He meets his stable companion, LOUIS THE KING at a 1 kg disadvantage for a quarter of a length defeat in second place in the Grade 1 Summer Cup. Under normal circumstances that would be difficult to turn around, but the way in which he won the London News a few weeks back suggests that he could be the "dark horse" of this race and at 18/1 looks to be very good value. he will be partnered by the young Mauritian jockey, Akash Aucharuz. A good relationship has been formed between jockey and horse.

FUTURA beat LOUIS THE KING by just under one length in the Queen's Plate last time. They meet again at level terms and it looks very much as though this son of Dynasty will finish ahead of LOUIS THE KING again. His record has been excellent with six wins, a second and three thirds from his ten starts. He has been highly thought of by his connections and is no stranger to winning of Grade One races. I expect to see him win more Grade One races, be it in Cape Town, Johannesburg or Durban, Perhaps even overseas! Bernard Fayd'Herbe, who won the Queen's Plate with with him last time, has the ride again.

This race has not been without the odd upset or two. Those that could upset the applecart. One of those is POWER KING. He has good form but whether he has the ability at present to beat the likes of some of the more fancied horses is debateable. He will be running on and is not without some hope. A likely money propsect.

Had LEGISLATE been a runner in this race we would have been singing the praises of champion trainer for the 2013/14 season, Justin Snaith. He still has two runners whose chances we should not rule out. The best of thise two could be DYNAMIC, yet another son of Dynasty. He won his last three when running on. Those runs are not the ones we should focus on. It was his run four runs back that caught they eye when he just failed to catch CAPE TOWN NOIR in this same race last year. The ability of CAPE TOWN NOIR has been well documented. On that run, must have a shout. Interestingly he ran on only three occasions since, all of which were won. JET EXPLORER from the same yard may not have the form to win but he has been showing improvement.

1st - KILLUA CASTLE (6); 2nd - FUTURA (2); 3rd - LOUIS THE KING (3); 4th - POWER KING (14); 5th - DYNAMIC (11); 6th - JET EXPLORER (5)