See It Again Leads South African King's Plate

Nick Jonsson's two-time group 1 winner, See It Again, leads a 13-horse field in the Jan. 6 King's Plate (G1) at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth Racecourse in Cape Town. The winner of the one-mile affair will earn an automatic berth into the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) through the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series: Win and You're In.

One race before the King's Plate, Mario Ferreira's Horse of the Year Princess Calla  is the one to beat in the 1 1/8-mile Paddock Stakes (G1) for a free starting position into the $2 million Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (G1T). 

Both races are scheduled to be televised on FanDuel TV, with post time for the Paddock Stakes at approximately 8:25 a.m. ET, and the King's Plate slated for a 9:10 a.m. ET post time.

See It Again, a 4-year-old son of Twice Over , has won six races in 13 starts, which includes his last two outings this season. Trained by Michael Roberts and ridden by Piere Strydom from post 4, See It Again prepped for this race with a stellar performance in the Dec. 2 Green Point Stakes (G2) at Kenilworth, passing between Princess Calla and Charles Dickens in the final 100 yards to win by 1 3/4 lengths. 

Drakenstein Stud's Charles Dickens suffered his first career defeat after six wins in last year's King's Plate when he finished a neck behind Al Muthana as the odds-on favorite. Trained by Candice Bass-Robinson, the 4-year-old son of Trippi will be ridden by Aldo Domeyer from post 7.

Drakenstein has also entered 3-year-old Snow Pilot, who scored his first career group 1 Dec. 16, taking the one-mile Cape Guineas at Kenilworth. Trained by Justin Snaith, J P Van Der Merwe has the mount on Snow Pilot from post 2. 

D K Bundhoo, Mrs. M M Bundhoo, P G Joubert, K Kathapermal, M H Maingard, and T R McCrow's 6-year-old gelding Al Muthana, the defending champion, shocked the crowd at Kenilworth last year when he captured the King's Plate at odds of 80-1. Bernard Fay d'Herbe rides Al Muthana from post 11. 

Princess Calla Seeks Fifth Group 1 in Paddock Stakes

The Sean Tarry-trained Princess Calla leads the seven fillies and mares entered in the Paddock Stakes. Based on her two group 1 wins against females and her group 1 win over males in last July's HKJC Champions Cup, Princess Calla was voted the 2022-23 Equus Horse of the Year.

A 6-year-old mare by Flower Alley , Princess Calla has won 10 races from 24 starts. She was in position to take the Green Point in her most recent outing but was outrun by See It Again in deep stretch and finished fourth. Richard Fourie rides Princess Calla from post 3.

Princess Calla has two formidable 3-year-old challengers in the Candice Bass-Robinson-trained Beach Bomb and Red Palace. Drakenstein Stud's Beach Bomb, a daughter of Lancaster Bomber , comes into the race off a half-length victory in the Dec. 2 Cape Fillies Guineas (G1) going one mile at Kenilworth. She will be ridden by J P Van Der Merwe from post 4.

Mr. and Mrs. T D Andrews, Messrs M F Bass, C A F Goncalves, Mr. H G and Mrs. N S  C Breydenbach, and Mrs. C L Bass-Robinson's Red Palace was a game second in the Dec. 16 Cape Guineas (G1) against males, finishing second to Snow Pilot by three-quarters of a length. Anthony Andrews rides the daughter of Potala Palace, breaking from post 2.   

Now in its 18th season, the Breeders' Cup Challenge Series is an international series of stakes races, the winners of which receive automatic starting positions and fees paid into a corresponding race in the Breeders' Cup World Championships, scheduled to be held Nov. 1-2 at Del Mar in Del Mar, Calif.