Title-chasing Yeni on a mission for Charity Mile win

Muzi Yeni has his first SA championship as his main objective this term but the popular rider will now be eyeing a big race win in the Onamission Charity Mile at Turffontein on October 28.

Trainer Roy Magner’s four-year-old, Melech, threw his hat in the ring for the grade 2 race over 1,600m with a fourth-place finish in last Saturday’s 1,600m Pinnacle Stakes.

Owner John Finlayson will also be excited about a possible big payday — he’s accustomed to winning minor events on the highveld but doesn’t have many runners in group races. His gelding cost R220,000 when purchased from Riverton Stud.

Melech is lightly raced — he has contested seven races — and Yeni has partnered the son of William Longsword to three of those victories.

A total of 38 entries have been received for the Charity Mile and they include Puerto Manzano, Cousin Casey and defending champion Bingwa.

While trainer Mike de Kock was golfing in Sun City, two of his top performers, Union Square and Safe Passage, turned in encouraging efforts in Saturday’s race at Turffontein.

Union Square, a R700,000 son of Rafeef who won the Dingaans in November last year, signalled he’s coming back to his best taking second place (beaten two lengths) behind Alec Laird’s winner Atticus Finch.

The Betway Summer Cup looks certain to be on the agenda for Union Square. He is a 22-1 chance for a win and 4-1 a place with bookmaker Lance Michael and the latter price looks appealing.

Safe Passage — 6-1 second favourite for the Cup — disappointed in the Durban July when finishing seven lengths behind Winchester Mansion. However, De Kock is sure to be pleased with his effort on Saturday when Diego De Gouveia piloted the six-time winner into sixth place about four lengths behind the winner.

It has to be said it has been a long time between drinks for Safe Passage — owned and bred by Drakenstein Stud — with the Silvano gelding without a win since taking the Daily News 2000 in May 2022.

Nevertheless, it’s worth remembering Safe Passage ran second to Puerto Manzano in last season’s Summer Cup so perhaps the five-year-old is peaking at just the right time.

• Has the end of the British racing season unearthed another Frankel?

Yes, says Michael Tabor, the co-owner of City Of Troy who put his rivals to the sword in last Saturday’s Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket.

“City Of Troy is our Frankel — he’s the real deal,” enthused Tabor after the grade 1 race.

“I know the way Aidan [O’Brien] speaks. We’re all optimists but this horse is special.

“Maybe down the line we’ll have egg on our face, but I like to talk before an event and I really feel this horse could be anything.”

O’Brien said: “Thank God, he ran. He was entitled to get beat [on that ground] but he never gets tired and I’ve never seen a horse like that.

“You need tractor tyres to go on that ground and he hasn’t got that. What he does have is a jet engine and his engine pushed his action through. We usually push them to the limit but we could never find his limit. That’s why he is very unusual.”