Saturday’s impressive G1 Mercury Sprint winner Red Ray will stay in training. Derek Brugman, Racing Manager for Red Ray’s owners Ingrid and Markus Jooste, has confirmed that the five-year-old entire will not be retired just yet. He said: “John Koster and I had discussions about Red Ray’s future. The horse pulled up extremely well and sound after the Mercury, and the way we see it, there won’t be much in the form of opposition for him in the next year.

“I think we’ll plan what’s left of his career with a view to next January’s Gr1 Cape Flying Championship. He will probably finally retire after that for 2017 stallion duties.”

Red Ray was making his third run after a lengthy layoff when he won the G1 Mercury Sprint –a performance which could well see the entire garner an Equus Award nomination. It was a first Gr1 win for the blue blooded son of Western Winter –who had previously finished runner up in three Gr1 contests and had also finished third to Elusive Gold and Captain America (and beating subsequent July winner Power King) in the 2013 Gr1 Grand Parade Cape Guineas. Prior to his Guineas run, Red Ray had thumped subsequent champion Legislate by 2.5 lengths when winning the Gr3 Elusive Fort Cape Classic at Kenilworth.To date, Red Ray has won five times and earned more than R1.8 million in prize money.Bred by the Lammerskraal Stud, Red Ray is one of five stakes winners produced by the now deceased mare Nacarat. His second dam, Tawny Red, produced 11 winners –headed by the Gr1 winners Rudra and Set Afire (with the latter, like Red Ray, being a son of triple champion sire Western Winter).