Say ciao to the Man from Milan

At Kenilworth today it is possible he might have erred by selecting to ride Ace Antonius over Man From Milan in a Graduation Plate over 1400m. One could understand his choice if Ace Antonius was so much better handicapped under the race conditions but this is not the case.

Byleveld’s mount has a 1kg advantage on handicap but recent form points to Man From Milan as the better option. He will be ridden by talented apprentice Xavier Carstens and it could just be possible Byleveld did not have the option of rides and Marshall was looking to make use of Carstens’ 2.5kg claim.

The talented son of Antonius Pius has just turned three and looks set to make a lot of improvement on his two-year-old form. He won on debut, and although just holding on to beat Pigeon Flyer by a short head, Man From Milan was immediately thrust into feature race action.

He contested the Godolphin Barb Stakes over 1100m at Clairwood and the Grade 2 Umkomazi Stakes over 1200m at Scottsville. He was unplaced in both but followed up with a 1.25-length third behind Forries Waltz over 1450m at Clairwood and then a 3.75-length fourth to Same Jurisdiction in the KZN Yearling Sale Million over 1300m at Greyville.

Forries Waltz is on his way to Dubai while Same Jurisdiction went on to win the Grade 1 Thekwini Stakes at Greyville.

With just 52kg on his back and a perfect No 3 draw, Man From Milan should be at a level where he can dispose of this field.