Mike de Kock has stated his J&B Met intentions, entering six top class horses.

They include last year’s runner up Mother Russia, the Sansui Summer Cup winner Flirtation (photo from 2010 finish), the Victory Moon winner Perana, the Irish Derby winner Frozen Fire, the 2009 Vodacom Durban July runner-up Zirconeum and the 2008 Summer Cup winner Rudra.

Pocket Power will attempt to win the J&B Met for the fourth time, while last year’s fourth-placed Fort Vogue, the versatile Rushing Wind, the promising three-year-old Castlethorpe and the improving four-year-old Super Storm are the other Mike Bass entries.

Pocket Power is not the highest merit-rated entry, that honour falls to the Geoff Woodruff-trained Earl Of Surrey, a Grade 1 winner over 1200m, who has to proved he is effective over this trip in this class.  Woodruff has six other entries.

This year’s Grade 1 Investec Cape Derby winner, the Joey Ramsden-trained Bravura, is in the line up as is last year’ Selangor Cup winner, the Darryl Hodgson-trained Past Master who finished third to Pocket Power in the recent Ocean Basket Green Point Stakes.

The Vaughan Marshall-trained Tales Of Bravery, who started out the season in fine fashion, is in the line-up. Both he and Bravura were found to have respiratory infections after their respective disappointing Green Point runs.

One of the most interesting entries is Justin Snaith’s smart three-year-old filly, Ebony Flyer, whilst her Selangor third-placed stablemate Solo Traveller and the highly regarded Selangor fifth-placed M’Lord’s Throat from the Glen Kotzen yard are other three-year-old entries of interest.

The Winter Guineas winner Last Regal is the only Dean Kannemeyer entry.

KwaZulu-Natal has two entries, the Duncan Howells-trained Tropical Empire and the Neil Bruss-trained Winter’s Night, while Port Elizabeth’s Yvette Bremner has entered Celtic Fire.

The nominations are:

  HORSE              AGE   WGT M/R   TRAINER
  EARL OF SURREY (ZI (7G)  0.0 118 B Geoff Woodruff  
  POCKET POWER       (8G)  0.0 117   Mike Bass       
  TROPICAL EMPIRE (A (8H)  0.0 116   Duncan Howells  
  MOTHER RUSSIA      (5M)  0.0 111   Mike de Kock    
  TALES OF BRAVERY   (4G)  0.0 111   Vaughan Marshall
  BRAVURA            (4G)  0.0 110   Joey Ramsden    
  FROZEN FIRE (GER)  (6H)  0.0 109   Mike de Kock    
  RUDRA              (6G)  0.0 109   Mike de Kock    
  FABIANI            (5G)  0.0 107   Glen Kotzen     
  FORT VOGUE         (5G)  0.0 107   Mike Bass       
  EBONY FLYER        (3F)  0.0 106   Justin Snaith   
  PADDY O’REILLY     (4G)  0.0 105   Glen Kotzen     
  FLIRTATION         (4F)  0.0 104   Mike de Kock    
  LAST REGAL         (4G)  0.0 104   Dean Kannemeyer 
  RUSHING WIND       (5G)  0.0 104 B Mike Bass       
  SOLO TRAVELLER     (3C)  0.0 104   Justin Snaith   
  CRACKER JACK       (4G)  0.0 103   Geoff Woodruff  
  HAWK’S EYE (GB)    (5G)  0.0 103   Joey Ramsden    
  PAST MASTER        (4G)  0.0 103 B Darryl Hodgson  
  RUSSIAN SAGE       (6H)  0.0 103   Justin Snaith   
  CELTIC FIRE        (4G)  0.0 102   Yvette Bremner  
  IMPERIOUS STAR     (4F)  0.0 102   Glen Kotzen     
  PERANA (AUS)       (3C)  0.0 102   Mike de Kock    
  WINTER’S NIGHT     (4G)  0.0 102   Neil Bruss      
  ZIRCONEUM          (5M)  0.0 102   Mike de Kock    
  ALUMINIUM (ARG)    (6G)  0.0 101   Geoff Woodruff  
  CASTLETHORPE (AUS) (3C)  0.0 101   Mike Bass       
  SUPER STORM        (4G)  0.0  99   Mike Bass       
  FORT PETERSBURG    (4G)  0.0  97 P Geoff Woodruff  
  QUICK SINGLE       (4F)  0.0  97   Geoff Woodruff  
  CASK               (4G)  0.0  96   Stephen Page        
  M’LORDS THROAT     (3C)  0.0  96   Glen Kotzen     
  RUN FOR IT         (3C)  0.0  95   Justin Snaith   
  SALUKI (GB)        (5G)  0.0  95 B Stephen Page        
  QUEEN MIRA (AUS)   (4F)  0.0  92   Geoff Woodruff  
  HARBOR STREET (AUS (4G)  0.0  84   Geoff Woodruff  
  ARABIAN EMPIRE (AU (3C)  0.0  81   Glen Kotzen