Trainer Mike Bass believes Pocket Power is still the horse to beat in this year’s G1 Durban July Hcp even though the champion gelding could only finish third to long-shot Orbison and Aussie-bred Galileo’s Galaxy in the G1 Champions Cup at Clairwood last Saturday.

“Considering the conditions, I thought it was a brilliant run” Bass said.  “I was very happy with the effort and it proved to me that he is still as game as ever.”

With a firm tail wind, it was always going to be difficult for Pocket Power to give weight away.  The Clairwood track is running like lightning and it was just too much work to do for him when the leaders skipped clear.

Jockey Bernard Fayd’Herbe was equally pleased with the run and the gelding still fared by far the best of the older horses in a race dominated by three year-olds.

The curtain will come down soon on an amazing career as the legendary son of Jet Master has nothing left to prove and his connections, quite rightly, will not want to keep him racing if he cannot reproduce the form he showed at his peak.

Pocket Power (7g Jet Master – Stormsvlei by Prince Florimund) will be aiming for a second victory in the G1 Durban July Hcp at Greyville later this month.  He dead-heated with Dancer’s Daughter in 2008 and was given an impossible task last year when flying from last on the home turn to finish fifth behind Big City Life.

The South African champion won an unprecedented fourth G1 Queen’s Plate (1600m) at Kenilworth earlier this year and he was also going for another four-timer in the G1 J&B Met in January but had to settle for a close up third to his younger sister River Jetez.