Legal Counsel claims the Mile

David Thiselton

The Justin Snaith-trained Legal Counsel was the right horse for the Gr 3 Cape Mile at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Saturday and duly defended his crown under Richard Fourie, but there were also two fine runs put up by his stablemates Note To Self and See It Again which augurs well for their respective Summer Seasons as they should both come on a ton.

In the aftermath of that important race Jonathan Snaith took the opportunity to talk about the progress of all of the yard’s big horses and his comments can be read further down in this article.

Justin was able to get a run into Legal Counsel early in the season, so he had a fitness advantage over his big run rivals See It Again and Note To Self.

The tight nature of the Hollywoodbets Kenilworth Old Course suits the Legislate gelding too, because he likes to lie handy and is capable of staying all the way to the line after beginning his run early in the straight.

Once he had overtaken Chasing The Rainbow and Beware at the top of the straight nobody was going to pass this resolute galloper.

He duly ran out a 3,50 length winner from Note To Self with See It Again beaten 5,50 lengths into third.

There has been difficulty getting fast gallops for Futura Park-based trainers, so Justin said racing horses had been the only way to get them ready.

He praised head of Racing Operations for the Western Cape, Kurt Felix, and said there was finally an operator who “might now get it right.”

He was referring to the fast track at Futura Park which he normally used and which was currently down and presumably this means that Race Coast were addressing the issue. He added that unfortunately it had not happened this season, but it seems that going forward the fast track issue will be sorted.

There is reportedly also a trainer-friendly approach to the racecourses being used for grass gallops in the Western Cape.

Justin pointed out See It Again had had a tough campaign last season and he reckoned this run would bring him on a lot.

Andrew Fortune was very pleased with See It Again’s run and said he had moved well, but had just tired in the last three-quarters of a furlong, as was expected.

Note To Self came from last with long strides and Keagan de Melo said it was an excellent preparation run for a horse who was always going to find it tough running with a big weight against Gr 1 wfa performers like See It Again and Legal Counsel.

Jonathan Snaith said about the yard’s big horses, “See It Again was having nothing more than a preparatory outing following a considerable break from racing. He performed exactly as expected, and the run will have brought him on nicely ahead of the Cape Summer Season.

His ultimate target remains a second victory in the Gr1 WSB Cape Met, but he will first take his chances in the 2027 Gr1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate, which should serve as the ideal stepping stone towards his main mission. We expect him to be at his peak when it matters most.

Note To Self pulled up beautifully after his latest outing, and we couldn’t be happier with his progress.

The most likely route for our Hollywoodbets Durban July winner will be the Gr2 Premier Trophy over 1800m before heading into the Gr1 WSB Cape Met. This programme should suit him perfectly and give him every opportunity to arrive at the Met in peak condition.

Eight On Eighteen is in phenomenal shape, and we are extremely pleased with his progress.

His summer campaign is mapped out, beginning with the Gr2 Green Point Stakes, followed by the Gr1 L’Ormarins King’s Plate, before tackling the Gr1 WSB Cape Met.”

Eight On Eighteen won the Met in 2025, so Snaith will have two previous winners of the big race in this year’s renewal.

Snaith and owner Nick Jonsson will in fact be going for an incredible fifth consecutive WSB Met win together and must be a short price to achieve it with both Eight On Eighteen and See It Again representing the partnership.

Snaith could also do it with Note To Self and Legal Counsel, who are not owned by Jonsson.

Justin has also never been averse to taking on older horses in the Met with a three-year-old if he feels there is one who is up to it. Two of his five Met wins have been with three-year-olds, with Oh Susanna doing it in 2018 and Eight On Eighteen achieving the rare feat seven years later.

Note To Self will be out to prove he is a genuine Gr 1 wfa horse as his biggest career win to date came when running off an 118 in the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Durban July. Off a current 122 he has a lot to do to prove himself the equal of the like of Eight On Eighteen and See It Again, who are merit rated 132 and 130 respectively.

Legal Counsel, who is merit rated 128, finished second in last year’s Met and proved his class again in KZN with a hair’s breadth second in the Gr 1 wfa Hollywoodbets Gold Challenge over 1600m.

Meanwhile, the yard’s top filly Wish List will avoid the Met again.

Her chief targets will be the defense of her Gr 1 wfa Cartier Paddock Stakes crown and she will run in the Gr 1 wfa Maine Chance Farms Majorca Stakes. She is set to have one run before the Paddock Stakes.