Legal Eagle, Oh Susanna Star in South Africa Grade 1s

Veteran South African standouts Legal Eagle and Oh Susanna will try to defend their respective scores in a grade 1 doubleheader Jan. 5 at Kenilworth.

Two-time South African Horse of the Year (2016 and 2017) Legal Eagle, an 8-year-old Greys Inn gelding, will try to win the L'Ormarin's Queen's Plate (G1) for a fourth straight year. Oh Susanna, who earned the first grade 1 score of her career in last year's Cartier Paddock Stakes and added two more top-level wins in 2018 in South Africa, is back for this year's edition.

The Queen's Plate and Paddock Stakes also serve as the first two races in the 2019 Breeders' Cup Challenge "Win and You're In" series, which will award respective starting spots in the Mile (G1T) and Filly & Mare Turf (G1T).

Legal Eagle, a Sean Tarry trainee, enters this year's edition of the 1,600-meter (about 1 mile) Queen's Plate off two straight wins. In his most recent showdown Dec. 8 in the World Sports Betting Green Point Stakes (G2), Legal Eagle topped several Queen's Plate rivals—Undercover Agent, Do It Again, Rainbow Bridge, and Hat Puntano—to earn the victory. Regular rider Anton Marcus will be aboard as the veteran gelding aims for an eighth grade 1 score.

Marcus said chasing Pocket Power's record of four straight Queen's Plate wins doesn't add any angst.

"There's no pressure," the rider told Sport24. "Legal Eagle always goes out and does his best, and one can't ask for more than that. It's always a very competitive race. We are the defending champions, so the race is ours to lose. But, make no mistake, the rest of the guys will be trying hard, as they should be."

Legal Eagle's first three Queen's Plate wins came at the expense of some top South African runners, as Legislate finished second in 2016, Captain America in 2017, and Copper Force in 2018.

Bernard Fayd'herbe, who rode Pocket Power in his fourth Queen's Plate victory, will partner Rainbow Bridge in the Plate. Rainbow Bridge was undefeated in five starts before he finished fourth behind Legal Eagle in December.

The companion Paddock Stakes is for fillies and mares at 1,800 meters (about nine furlongs) on the grass.

Oh Susanna, a 4-year-old Street Cry filly, has been dominant in South African racing at distances of one mile or longer, although she saw a three-race win streak end Nov. 15, when she finished second to Lady in Black, who returns for another try in the Paddock.

Oh Susanna's résumé includes a victory over Legal Eagle in the 2018 Sun Met (G1) at 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) over the Kenilworth turf. She is out of the Touch Gold mare Sharp Susan—a grade 2 winner in the United States.