NOTHER Russia is, a little surprisingly, is still 5/1 second favourite for her showdown with dual Horse of the Year Legal Eagle in the Premier’s Champions Challenge at Turffontein next Saturday despite advertising her claims with a typically gutsy display to take the Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes over a mile at the Johannesburg course a week ago.

The Tiger Ridge five-year-old had to put her head down and fight to peg back Al Danza but she answered Craig Zackey’s every call to get up 50 yards out and score by just under half a length, emulating her dam Mother Russia who won this race eight years ago.

“Mother Russia was a similar filly – very tough and liked to fight,” said Mike de Kock. “This one is very comfortable with Turffontein and I think the long run-in is the reason. If she comes out of this well she will probably run in the Premier’s Champion.

“We also have her in the Durban July but I’m not convinced to run her.”

DYNASTY

According to de Kock Nother Russia is the only foal her dam has produced and he added, with obvious feeling: “Hopefully she will carry on the dynasty.”

In the Horse Chestnut earlier this month Nother Russia was only beaten a quarter of a length by Legal Eagle but the extra two furlongs of the Premier’s Champion makes the 28/10 favourite vulnerable. Indeed he was narrowly beaten in last year’s race when Nother Russia was a short-head away third.

Durban July favourite

AT the end of last week African Night Sky was installed 8/1 favourite for the July by World Sports Betting but a flood of money over the weekend saw the Justin Snaith-trained four-year-old shorten to 6/1. Anton Marcus, who has won the race four times, has already been booked.

Snaith also trains second favourite Oh Susanna who could have several pounds in hand. The Met winner is easily the highest-rated of the 69 entries but the conditions stipulate that no three-year-old filly shall carry more than 56kg with the top weight fixed at 60kg. The weight-for-age scale has three-year-olds only 2kg behind the older horses over the July trip at that stage of the season.

Jeff Lloyd, six times South African champion and currently champion on Australia’s Gold Coast, hangs up his boots later this year and he will fly back for one last crack at South Africa’s most famous race. The 56-year-old has ridden in it 25 times but third (on eight occasions) is as close as he has got. His mount has yet to be decided.

Baron’s plans

THE ambitious international campaign mapped out for last year’s Met winner Whisky Baron has been scrapped and the Australian-bred will now return to Newmarket where he is expected to join William Haggas.

The horse’s South African trainer Brett Crawford said: “Whisky Baron wasn’t doing well in Dubai so I didn’t see much point in sending him to Hong Kong for the Queen Eizabeth II Cup. He is now in quarantine and then he goes back to England. It’s not easy for him travelling all the time and we want to do what is best for the horse.”

Sale record

THIS week’s 526-lot National Yearling Sale was conducted in the shadow of the recent Cape Thoroughbreds Sale when the average slumped 43% as a direct result of the Markus Jooste saga. Prices were depressed not only by his absence but by many buyers having spent their yearling cash on the large quantity of horses-in-training that he has put on the market in the past four months.

Cape Breeders chairman Vaughan Koster said:

“What Markus used to put in each year is no longer coming in and on top of that all his horses have been up for sale.

“There just isn’t the same money around.”

But the market was unexpectedly strong this week at a sale where, in recent years, Jooste had bought little - he preferred to support CTS in which he had a large stake. There was a new sale record of R5.2 million (€346,670)and the figures were the best for years.

Dessie booms out

IRISH commentator Dessie Scahill will be amused to hear that his unmistakeable tones now echo around Kenilworth at every meeting. Before the first race, the advertising-conscious Highlands Stud show repeated runs of Pathfork winning the 2010 Futurity and National Stakes with the volume turned up high.