RYAN Moore may not have won the big prize that he travelled to Kenilworth for, but he earned almost universal praise for his first rides in South Africa.

“Ryan can ride for me any day,” said Eric Sands, who brought him out for last year’s Sun Met winner Rainbow Bridge and who learned some of his trade with Liam Browne on the Curragh.

“He spent two hours with me the day before. We walked the course, he listened to everything and he was so intense. In the race, he had the horse beautifully placed throughout and he gave him a great ride.”

Retired former champion Andrew Fortune was equally impressed. “Did you see him going to the start? He had his mount’s head down, not in the air like some of the South African riders. This is a proper jockey.”

On a personal note, I found him approachable and helpful, and with a sense of humour. When the groom went into the weigh-room to collect the saddle for the first of his four mounts, he asked where the surcingle was. “At home that comes with the horse,” was the reply!

Approaching the furlong marker Moore looked sure to win as he moved up to join the 15/1 leader One World whose stamina was so much in doubt that trainer Vaughan Marshall only ran him because the owners were so keen for the five-year-old to do so.

But it was One World who lasted the better to give Marshall his third Met win and Marthinus Johannus (universally known as M.J.) Byleveld his first.

Great race

“Rainbow Bridge ran a great race but I never thought I had it,” said Moore who had also filled the runner-up spot in Florida’s Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational and Hong Kong’s Classic Mile.

His whistle-stop tour of halfway round the world also included a stopover in Saudi Arabia to ride work on his possible mounts in the US$20 million Saudi Cup at the end of the month.

One World, by former champion sire Captain Al, now looks like being retired to stud – most likely at Klawervlei which is owned and run by former Coolmore man John Koster and is where One World was bred.

The horse is out of the imported Giant’s Causeway mare Aquilonia whose Irish-bred dam Leonila is by Caerleon and was placed in the Prix Vermeille.

Rainbow Bridge, a gelding, will now be aimed at the Durban July – a race that his 86-year-old owner Mike Rattray has long set his heart on winning. Rainbow Bridge was second in that too last year.

His younger half-brother Hawwaam, who was third in last Saturday’s highlight, now leaves Mike De Kock for Britain (via Mauritius).

The EU’s audit of the protocols has been fixed for the end of April but the go-ahead for direct exports is not expected until September or October.

The Met was not the richest race – its value was cut from R5 million (€304,900) to R3 million in the almost across-the-board prize money cuts – and the two R5 million races on the card were both Cape Thoroughbred Sales events.

The first was won by Invidia (by Twice Over) trained by Fortune’s wife Ashley, and the second by the Brett Crawford-trained Count Jack (by Jackson out of a Dylan Thomas mare).

This one was bought by Mick Flanagan and is owned by The Big Five Syndicate which was put together by Flanagan and Ross Doyle, and which includes David Cox, husband of Tamso Doyle.

Diane Nagle and Peter Doyle’s wife Anna were on course to see their champion sprinter Kasimir finish third to 25/1 surprise Russet Air in the Cape Flying Championship, while Diana Cooper (Alan’s sister) is the joint owner of the Sands-trained Black Belt, a son of Black Minnaloushe, who won the last.