TWO down and one to go. Guineas winner Malmoos won the Group 1 World Sports Betting South African Classic with the minimum of fuss at Turffontein last Saturday and victory in the South African Derby at the Johannesburg course on April 3rd would make him only the fourth Triple Crown winner in the last 23 years.

But the Derby is run over an extended mile and a half (2,400m) and that is a long way in a country whose racing is far more devoted to sprint races than in Ireland or Britain – and the history of the race is littered with beaten favourites.