IN his popular column, ‘SILKS & SADDLES,’ published in the NORTH QUEENSLAND REGISTER, respected racing writer TERRY BUTTS reports this week from Cape Town in South Africa.

Butts has been there for the big build up to the country’s biggest race, The Met, prior to jumping aboard the Queen Mary for a cruise back to Brisbane via Mauritius and Perth.

Here is the Butts column:

SOUTH AFRICAN EQUVALENT OF THE EPSOM DERBY AND MELBOURNE CUP

EPSOM has its Derby, Melbourne celebrates its Cup – and of course Brisbane has its famous Stradbroke.

And in South Africa Cape Town is renowned the world over for its race known simply as The Met.

In the world of Rugby, Racing and Beer, South Africa would have to be favored for recognition as the capital. The boys are, as they say, very fond of it!

Lapping up  the glorious Western Cape weather, racing identities from all over have gathered for a week of  pre-race pageantry equal to any.

A week that also featured the Cape Yearling Sales at which world class entertainment preceded the sale of 202 locally bred thoroughbreds.

All under lights at the inner city convention centre where world class auctioneers in penguin suits performed as only auctioneers can. And where the wines of Stellenbosch and other famous wine growing areas of the Cape flowed like water in an atmosphere that matches Magic Millions for pizzas and pomp.

A QUEENSLAND CONNECTION IN FEATURE RACE IN SOUTH AFRICA

THE feature race, the J and B Metropolitan to be run on Saturday is not without a Queensland connection either.

A four year old named  Royal Zulu Warrior,  one of the fancied runners, is the son of Nova Star the brilliant, unlucky but ill-fated  mare that helped put Kelly Schweida on the map in Brisbane a decade or so ago

 She was raced by a group of owners that included Townsville based Stephen Dillon.

How Royal Zulu Warrior ended up in South Africa and became a contender for one of the great races of that country is somewhat a mystery.

Favourite for this year’s race is Master of My Fate which will be ridden by Sean Cormack who Queenslanders will remember was one time stable jockey for the late great Bruce McLachlan.

He was the rider of Phelan Ready in that horse’s early days and still laments the fact he was back home in South Africa awaiting a return visa when Phelan Ready won the Magic Millions Classic and then of course the Golden Slipper.

Sean never made it back to Australia but he quickly slipped into his role as one of South Africa’s leading jockeys and remains near the top of the national list with a 22 per cent winning strike rate.

Glen Hatt, also a one-time McLachlan stable jockey will ride the topweight Jackson, which is also highly rated.

DAVID PAYNE AND JEFF LLOYD HAVE A GREAT RECORD IN THE MET

WHEN they talk about The Met they talk in the same breath of David Payne, the ‘adopted’ Sydney trainer who had a great record in the race both as trainer and jockey.

Jeff Lloyd also has a proud record in the race but the one they talk most about is a Natal horse named Sentinel which won three J and Bs with Michael (Muis)Roberts aboard.

Sentinel was originally the mount of George Davies, now a Perth-based trainer who is still remembered and held in high esteem in South Africa where he rode with success in the 1960s and 70s.

Muis (Afrikaans for mouse) is one of the most outstanding jockeys in SA history. He was finally coaxed to ride in the UK in the late 70s where he became a champion jockey.

Now a ‘portly’ horse trainer, Muis trains in Natal.

“George should never have left here. He was a great bloke and a great horseman,” Muis mused between bids at the Convention Centre.

The Met this year has attracted among its list of overseas celebrities the CNN racing team who will feature South African racing in an upcoming series with emphasis on The Met.

And who is here up front and firing?

The gorgeous Francesca Cumani, of course, who is fast becoming, if not already established as the face of racing everywhere.

And there is another South African refugee to the Sydney racing scene.

I bumped into former jockey, then Cape trainer Steven Page at the yearling sales. And he tells me that he is to join the expanding Rick Worthington stable at Warwick Farm this week, following a trail blazed so successfully by David Payne in his early days in Natal.

COLUMN COURTESY OF TERRY BUTTS AND THE NORTH QUEENSLAND REGISTER, one of Australia's leading rural newspapers.

TERRY BUTTS can be contacted by e-mailing: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.