The progressive Pillar Of Hercules can make it three off the reel in the Itsarush.co.za Handicap at Kenilworth tomorrow but watch out for Lord Balmoral.
It is rare to have racing in Cape Town on a Thursday but the Joey Ramsden-trained colt is well bred enough to win whenever and wherever. By Captain Al, he is out of the Rock Of Gibraltar mare Gibraltar Blue who won both the KZN Fillies Guineas and the Tibouchina for Mike de Kock in 2010 after showing smart form in Britain and Ireland as a two-year-old.
Joey Ramsden
Donovan Dillon’s mount followed up a good-style win at Durbanville by scoring first time out of the maidens at Kenilworth a fortnight ago. He has gone up 2kg for that and probably didn’t have 2kg in hand but he is almost certainly still improving.
Lord Balmoral owes punters plenty after disappointing when hot favourite in his last two runs but he looked the business in his previous two and he has been dropped 2kg for last time when there was a valid excuse. “We found he had a bit of an upper airwaves infection,” says Vaughan Marshall who thinks enough of the horse to run him again on Saturday week in the R2.5 million Lanzerac Ready To Run.
Pillar Of Hercules opened at 5-2 with World Sports Betting on Tuesday and hardened to 22-10 yesterday while Lord Balmoral is on 5-2. According to the sahorseracing computer they will finished first and second. Fire Master looks fully exposed and is a 15-2 chance, Zud Wes (9-2) beat him a head in July and is half a kilo better but has been off ever since while Desert Fighter has not raced since just holding on in a blanket finish on the polytrack on Durban July day.
Surely not even the in-form Dennis Drier can get him to win this although the bookmakers are taking no chances and will only offer 22-10. It is difficult to find a realistic reason for supporting either Seven Wood (15-1) or Tiger Tiger (18-1) even with Richard Fourie in the irons.
Over Drive opened favourite for the first (and hardened to odds-on yesterday) despite proving expensive in his two Durbanville outings although stable expectations are not that high. “We are hoping that he will run a good race but we are not confident of winning,” says Chris Snaith.
I thought it would pay to side with 18-10 chance Maxamore instead. Darryl Hodgson has booked Grant van Niekerk for the gelding who showed promise on debut at Durbanville last month despite losing ground at the start and running green. However Gstaad, who finished half a length in front of him when third that day, let the form down here last Saturday and so Over Drive is given another chance.
Captain Gambler, who gave weight to the three who finished in front of her in last month’s Durbanville graduation, could be the answer to the Racing.It’s A Rush Handicap at 7-2.
The money has already come for Pure Logic in race four and the Dean Kannemeyer colt has shortened from 9-2 to 5-2. That looks a tip worth taking.
Drier should again provide the winner of the getting out stakes and Mogostar has already been backed in the last, shortening from 15-10 to 11-10.
By Michael Clower
