Ridgemont intend producing more of the calibre of Front And Centre in the next few weeks and their runners could prove profitable for Anton Marcus followers.

“We are hoping that some of the fillies will prove good enough to compete in the big races in the Cape season,” said racing manager Craig Carey at Kenilworth on Saturday. “So it’s nice for Anton to get a feel of them and know if they are going to be good enough.”

Front And Centre in the TAB Telebet Maiden was the four-time champion’s first Ridgemont-retained winner and she drifted from 5-1 to what turned out a richly rewarding 11-1, making up three lengths inside 150m to win going away by a length and a half.

Marcus said: “I didn’t want to get after her too soon as Brett asked me to ride her to finish. This cut into my normal riding instructions as I like to get the run of things. She is a very nice filly but incredibly immature and going down to the start I thought she was probably going to need it.”

Crawford, also on the mark with Hudoo Magic later, thinks a lot of the half-sister to Potala Palace and said: “Her two grass gallops were exceptional, she has heaps of improvement to come and she has the pedigree to go further.”

Sandile Mbhele was at the forefront of much of the rest of the action and landed his first treble (at 353-1) on his three rides for Vaughan Marshall who was understandably full of praise, saying: “He is a rider with a lot of talent and I think he is going places.”

In some ways the most interesting of the three Marshall winners was The Silva Fox in the Interbet.co.za Handicap because Etienne Braun’s gelding was still a maiden.

Running maidens in handicaps is quite common in some European countries but it is relatively rare in South Africa. However Marshall said: “More people should do it because you get the weight advantage. I myself have often done it, especially over ground.

Mbhele, now on the 26-winner mark, had to sweat on it for quarter of an hour while the stipes deliberated whether he should keep the Tabonline.co.za Maiden on Sandy Sport after his mount had carried Carlas Mambo halfway across the course.

Richard Fourie on the neck runner-up lodged an objection for intimidation and interference. The head-on in the boardroom showed two incidents. In the first the apprentice had his whip in his left (ie wrong) hand but by the time of the second one he had pulled it through to the correct hand.

Stipe and ex-jockey Nick Shearer explained that they decided to let the result stand because the winner had started his run behind the second horse, the verdict was a neck rather than a head and, above all, that under the rules they had to be satisfied that the second would have won had there been no interference – and they could not be certain of this.

Justin Snaith, trainer of Carlas Mambo, did not have his expected field day and had to be content with only the first in which Clouded Hill led a one-two- three despite losing a front shoe. Bountiful Strength ran so badly in this – he finished over six lengths last – that Joey Ramsden promptly scratched all his remaining five runners.

The course vet reported that the gelding had an elevated heart rate and Ramsden said: “My horses haven’t been right since I vaccinated them. They ran like drains at the previous two meetings and this one did the same.”

By Michael Clower