Sir Bernadini stamped himself as a three-year-old with a future with a hard-fought but game victory in the Itsarush.co.za Handicap at Greyville yesterday. This was the gelding’s third win from just four outings and with Monks Hood on his way to Hong Kong, Dennis Bosch could be left flying the local sophomore flag during Champions Season.

“He’s still a weak horse,” comment Bosch. “If he was mine I would put him away to mature but with the three-year-old season ahead of us, we will just have to see how he gets on. I think we will see the best of him when he matures and strengthens up.”

Sir Bernadini faced a useful field of handicappers in his first start on the turf and was not keen to enter his stall. Eventually coaxed in, he jumped well enough but was pushed all the way to the line by top weight Amazon King who relished the switch of surfaces.

Sir Bernardini (Candiese Marnewick)

On straight form, Sir Bernadini looked held by Fieldmarshal Fenix who had finished over two lengths ahead of him when last they met but, “that was his first run back after a two-and-a-half month break and there was no pace on,” explained Bosch. “Brandon (Lerena) had no option but to take him to the front.”

Lerena confirmed. “There was no pace on. The others ran past him but he came again. He was a green horse and still running around.”

“But there was a good pace on today and it just shows that when the pace is genuine the best horses arrive.”

Talking about green horses, both winning favourites, Sand Path and Roy’s Stingray did it the hard way but both won well enough.

The Bosch-trained Sand Path was taken down to the start by a lead pony which may have given a small clue as to his temperament. In the race, Anton Marcus had a difficult time getting him settled but once in the straight he gave him daylight and looked set for an easy win. However, Sand Path took the scenic route, ducking sharply to the outside fence but fortunately still had enough in hand to see off the outsider Dot Coza.

Roy’s Stingray, having her first outing for Alyson Wright, gave Anthony Delpech a torrid ride and the champion jockey certainly earned his riding fee.

Difficult at the gate, she refused to settle in the running and even when finally getting cover was still tugging for her head.

Delpech took the opposition on early in the straight and kept bullying her to the line. She is obviously a filly with some talent and if Wright can keep a lid on her temperament she may well prove to be more than useful.

Rocky Coast found some good market support in the ante-post market and Muzi Yeni produced Frank Robinson’s gelding with a perfectly timed run to nail long-time leader Podcast on the line in the card opener. Favourite Eastbrook was given every chance but folded tamely over the final furlong.

Drawn wide, the cards fell nearly into place for Rocky Coast. “I was fortune that they were chasing for position, this being a five furlong,” said Yeni. “They went a bit fast.”

Robbie Hill looks to have a smart filly in the making in Petra who came home smartly in the All To Come Maiden Plate in spite of going every which way but straight on debut. “She improved on her barrier trial in work and I think she will go a little further,” said Hill. “She’s shown a lot of ability and some speed. If they don’t show speed at this stage then mostly they are not too good,” quipped Hill, a former top rider himself.

By Andrew Harrison

The Listed Drum Star Handicap over 1800m heads the nine race meeting at Turffontein Standside on Saturday and Shenanigans, who took Lyle Hewitson to a record number of wins as an apprentice last week, can follow up.

The four-year-old colt is improving in the typical style of a son of Dynasty and having won that last race going away over 1700m he can handle an effective three point raise and the slight step up in trip will suit. His tricky draw of six in an eleven horse field should be of no bother as he can come from off the pace. Secret Captain is full of ability but is an enigmatic type who had former trainer Duncan Howells tearing his hair out. He moved yards on Howell’s suggestion and produced a flying finish in his second run for Mike de Kock over 1600m. On that evidence he should relish the step up to 1800m and if h puts it in will be a big runner from pole position under Anthony Delpech.

Girl On The Run (Candiese Marnewick)

Dawn Assault has become consistent in middle distance and staying events and lost by a long-head to a Grade 1-winning filly, Orchid Island, last time despite giving her 2kg. On that performance he will be a big runner here.  Go Direct is by Go Deputy so will likely be at his peak as a five-year-old and he has produced a fine win over this course and distance before. He has a plum draw of two under Gavin Lerena and should be running on strongly. Arctica is a horse who often appears to find extra when it counts and under Piere Strydom he can’t be discounted, although he would probably prefer 1600m. Fareeq beat Secret Captain last time and is only half-a-kilogram worse off but he has to prove he can stay beyond a mile and has a wide draw too.

The best bet could be Fort Ember in race six. She takes quite a keen hold usually so needs a good draw and has landed one here. She can therefore reverse from with Orchid Island and Girl On The Run, who beat her over this 1800m course and distance last time easily. She is 3kg better off with them and likely needed that last run. Her Sansui Summer Cup runner up finish proved what she can do when well drawn.

The value bet is in the previous race over 2850m. Ali Bon Dubai has landed a good draw and the last time he was well drawn was in a 3000m event where he only just failed. He has a strong finish and Gavin Lerena, who was the last rider to win on him, is back aboard.

The second race over 1160m will be full of intrigue as the R5 million filly Ghaala makes her debut. She is beautifully bred being by Var out of a Captain Al half-sister to Master Of My Fate. She is drawn on the right side by trends. She faces mainly unraced runners, including Celtic Sea, a R325,000 filly by Captain Al who is a half-sister to the Grade 3 Fillies Mile third-placed Cashel Palace.

The first race is also for two-year-olds and on form Affranchi is the one to beat, having gone close to the impressive Bold Eagle first time out and then winning his second start easily.

The last race over 1160m sees a clash between Penny Royal and Inyanga and from another good draw the former is taken to reverse the form of their last meeting as she should be improving rapidly.

By David Thiselton

Champion jockey elect, for the second year running, Anthony Delpech, takes after cricketing mercenary Chris Gale. Like Gale, whose undoubted talents are open to the highest bidder, Delpech is in high demand, whether he be booked by his agent or approached by a trainer.

But one always needs to take note of whatever he’s booked to ride and Eastbrook is a case in point.

Delpech seldom rides for the relatively small yard of Karen and Greg Anthony so when he gets a call-up it’s best to take note. At decidedly long odds for a Delpech ride, Eastbrook only found one too good on debut and he can build on that race when he lines up in the opening race at Greyville on Sunday.

Anthony Delpech

Showing good pace throughout on his Scottsville debut, Eastbrook ran out of petrol over the final furlong to finish second to Across Seattle. Still on the turf and from a good draw, Eastbrook is likely to start at much shorter odds than on his 11-1 debut.

Michael Roberts, a ‘fair’ jockey in his day has booked Delpech for To Woo in the second and the pair can hopefully break their run of seconds. All three of the filly’s starts have been in the soft, but judging by the weather forecast, she may be confronted by similar conditions with rain forecast for today and tomorrow.

Tombola and Oratoria have shown promise and are obvious dangers while Petra, who showed up well in her barrier trial, has found some market support and is one to keep an eye on.

Bravo Zulu has been costly to follow and you desert at your peril. However, he has had many chances and the lightly raced Sand Path could prove his nemesis in the opening leg of the Pick 6.

Sand Path has placed in both starts to date, his last outing coming three months after a smart debut effort and with Anton Marcus aboard he could prove the better choice although Bravo Zulu is a must inclusion in all Pick 6 perms.

There is no hiding class, even in a barrier trial, and little can be read into Saratoga Dancer’s trial romp as he makes his way into Champions Season. His nine-length ‘winning’ margin against a bunch of maidens was to be expected but Roy’s Stingray was best of the trailing trialists and judged on his opening salvo in October last year when beaten less than a length, she is a filly with some ability.

Irish Flame and Lilibet, blinkers removed, could prove dangerous.

Amazon King has shown some improvement since being sent over a little more ground but he did not take well to the poly track last time out and was one-paced behind Varallo.

He shoulders top weight on Sunday but is down in class and back on the green stuff could see him back in the winner’s enclosure for Duncan Howells whose stable is starting to turn nicely.

Roll on South Africa’s Champion Season! Six maidens and two lowly handicaps make up the Greyville card on Sunday, hardly racing to get the blood pumping.

By Andrew Harrison

Canukeepitsecret seems sure to be the shortest-priced horse of the meeting at Durbanville’s St Patrick’s Day fixture tomorrow when Mike Robinson’s wife Luella and the racecourse are combining forces to bring in a whole host of Stellenbosch University students.

Hopefully they won’t get their fingers burnt. The superbly bred Vaughan Marshall filly ran a cracker first time to beat all except Nous Voila who could well prove to be something special and she should win this.

Vaughan Marshall

But she is horribly short – she opened at 5-10 with World Sports Betting on Wednesday and was 4-10 yesterday morning – and it is worth noting that, while she had Cruise Along over a four and a half lengths behind, that filly lost almost as much ground as she was beaten by dawdling out of the pens. She will know a lot more about it this time and is 33-10 second favourite.

Silver Reserve (11-2) is one of six newcomers that Justin Snaith is running in the three two-year-old races. He has taken an ultra-patient approach with his juveniles this term, so much so that he is the only one of the big Cape Town trainers not to have won a two-year-old race. Marshall and Joey Ramsden have each won five already.

“I think my two fillies are a bit more forward than the colts but they are up against a horse that looks a shoe-in,” says Snaith.

Ramsden’s Bountiful Strength looks the one in the opening Juvenile Plate. He ran well when unfancied in a 14-strong field on debut despite losing a front shoe.  He is 13-10 favourite and has the added benefit of the in-form Richard Fourie in the irons. There is a line of form that puts him close with 16-10 Frozen Tune but that first run should have brought him on by a decisive amount.

The Racing Association Maiden (race two) is not as clear cut as the other two juvenile races. The Marshall-trained Flying Arrow is favourite and has already been backed from 19-10 to 16-10 but he owes his market position more to his trainer’s reputation and current form than to the book. He gets only a tentative vote. Lanza (4-1) and Skidoo (6-1) disappointed in better company on Met day while 10-1 shot Sacred Arrow and Carnage (4-1) also have claims.

Mister Colin found one too good for him when a heavily backed stable fancy on Queen’s Plate day and has since won at Fairview. Despite being raised 4kg for those last two runs he can justify 19-10 favouritism in the Play Soccer Handicap.

With Adam Marcus in such form Strabo (5-2) is taken to beat 15-10 favourite Negma and 22-10 shot Royal Marine in the Durbanville Twilight Meet Maiden.

By Michael Clower

It took nearly two years for Paul Gadsby to win his argument with the handicappers, a long time if you are the owner paying keep, but persistence has paid off as Miss Varlicious registered her second win on the bounce at Greyville yesterday.

Down from a merit rating high of 103 to 72 before her penultimate start, Miss Varlicious finally managed another victory and thanks to four kilo claiming apprentice Khanya Sakayi, Miss Varlicious managed one more win.

It was a close-run thing as Sakayi had to fight off Anton Marcus aboard Victory Trip who may have even headed the youngster. But persistence and his claim eventually carried the day.

Miss Varlicious (Candiese Marnewick)

This win may well be Miss Varlicious’s swan song as far as the winner’s enclosure is concerned as the handicappers are sure to add a few more pounds to her rating in spite of her possibly being at her limit.

Jockey Mandla Ntuli operates below the radar for much of the time but Tony Rivalland, Mark Dixon and Michael Roberts often make use of his services and Ntuli has done particularly well for Rivalland and came up trumps in the second when making most of the running on Tommaso.

Stepped up to a mile for the first time, Tammaso, with the blinkers removed, kept on finding to get the better of a charging Aim For The Stars.

The tribulations in the Howell’s stable are well documented and the virus that has plagued many of the Ashburton yards appears to be dormant. Dawn Calling relieved the pressure somewhat on Sunday and Roy’s Vogue opened the valve a little further yesterday as Marcus drove her to a hard-fought win over the Dean Kannemeyer-trained Orelia.

Keagan de Melo does not enjoy the high profile of riders such as Delpech, Marcus and Strydom but he is years younger and has plenty of talent as he showed when getting the Pat Lunn-trained Stockade home in the sixth.

In a driving finish where all of six horses were in with a shout, De Melo first switched in only to have the gap shut in his face, before switching to the outside rail to get home late.

Backed in from 20-1 to 4-1 at her previous start, Stockade found Victory Trip, a close second to the useful Miss Varlicious two runs earlier, too smart but those punters who were not catching an afternoon siesta will have quickly cottoned on, especially when given the heads-up by television presenter and race analyst Dees Dayanand.

Only an act of god or injury will deny Anthony Delpech a consecutive National Jockey’s Championship. Another double, with Shantytown adding a welcome second to Garth Puller’s tally for the afternoon increased Delpech’s lead in the championship to 44 – Muzi Yeni his nearest challenger, 127 to 83.

By Andrew Harrison

Justin Snaith’s first horse for the SA Champions Season, Platinum Prince, will arrive at Summerveld today (Thursday) in order to take part in the Grade 3 Kings Cup on March 25 and the rest of his 30 horse-string will arrive next week Friday.

It will be the most powerful string Snaith has ever sent to KZN and includes dual Grade 1 winners Snowdance and Oh Susanna.

Oh Susanna (Liesl King)

Snaith said, “We finished in the first three in many of the Cape Summer Season’s features, so the strength of the string lies in it being an all round one with runners over all distances. So we will have our work cut out, which is great, and we will stick to the same methods which worked in Cape Town.”

Summerveld trainer Tony Rivalland will oversee Platinum Prince’s care and training program until Snaith arrives.

Snaith said, “I saved Platinum Prince through the latter part of the Cape Summer for the Champions Season. He was very unlucky in the Premier’s Trophy, he had to eased out of the race, and then he flew home for third in the Peninsula”. The four-year-old Silvano gelding’s first two wins were over 1600m, but he has subsequently won three races from 1800-2000m so will probably find the Kings Cup, run over 1600m on the Greyville turf, a touch sharp, although he will come in fresh which will give him a shout. He has landed a plum draw of two among the 24 entries and has been allotted a weight of 54kg off his 100 merit rating.

Snaith’s speedy filly Jo’s Bond will be the first of the rest to come out in the Listed Kwazulu-Natal over 1000m at Scottsville.

The following weekend he will have runners in the three-year-old pipe-opening events over 1400m at Greyville, the Grade 3 Byerley Turk and the Grade 3 Umzimkhulu Stakes, and among them will be a filly he rates, Dynamic Diana. He will bring out his CTS 1200 runner up Kasimir and his Diadem winner Bishop’s Bounty on the same day for a Pinnacle event over 1100m.

Snaith would prefer to keep Snowdance and Oh Susanna apart, but it will be difficult as the obvious starting point for both would be the Grade 2 Daisy Fillies Guineas on the SA Champions Season’s official opening night, Friday May 4 at Greyville, although the weight for age plus penalties Grade 2 IOS Drill Hall Stakes on the same night could be a viable option for Snowdance.

Snaith said the decision on whether to run Sun Met winner Oh Susanna in the Vodacom Durban July would lie out of his hands, but he would prefer to avoid it considering the impact such a tough race can have on the rest of a horse’s career.

By David Thiselton

Summerveld trainer Frank Robinson said his two best horses, Roy Had Enough and Roy’s Riviera, were waiting on the draw for the Grade 1 R2 million SA Classic and the Grade 1 R1 million Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic respectively which are to be both run over 1800m at Turffontein on April 7.

Roy Had Enough (Candiese Marnewick)

Roy Had Enough’s sire, Pierro, was a five-time Group 1-winning sprint-miler, who also finished third in the prestigious Group 1 weight for age Cox Plate over 2000m, and his dam Queens Plaza (Elusive Quality) is out of a Group 1 Australian Oaks winner. Therefore, he should stay the 1800m trip, especially as he has been relaxing so well in the running since the blinkers have been removed.

Roy’s Riviera’s sire All Too Hard was a great rival of Pierro’s and he ended his career as three-time Group 1-winner from 1400m to 1600m, although he did beat Pierro in the Cox Plate when finishing second. Roy’s Riviera’s dam Donna Amata (Anabaa) is out of a Sir Tristram mare who won four times from 1600m to 21000m. Furthermore, Roy’s Riviera is a half-sister to a filly by Sebring who won a Listed race over 2100. Therefore Roy’s Riviera should also relish the 1800m trip and her running style suggests the same. She did place over 2000m against older horses as early as October of this season.

The pair’s alternative plan is the Grade 3 King’s Cup over 1600m of the Greyville turf, although they have both drawn wide in 14 and 21 out of 24 entries, so their participation might also depend on the size of the field.

By David Thiselton

Colin Buckham, handicapper, long-time racecourse judge and avid golfer, succumbed to a long battle with cancer on Tuesday at the age of 78.

Buckham was a legend in racing, and one of the true characters of a sport that was his all-consuming passion and if he wasn’t talking racing it was golf.

Colin Buckham

Colin started his working career as a bank clerk before becoming an assistant handicapper at the then Durban Turf Club (DTC) at Greyville Racecourse under Gerald Lee. He had a strong racing pedigree as both his father and grandfather were trainers. His father Jimmy started out as a jockey and was ignominiously dumped at the start of his one and only ride in the July when he got caught up in the starting tapes.

His cousin Cyril Buckham, later head riding master at the South African Jockey Academy, was the first South African jockey to win 100 races in a season and won two Julys with Monesteraven in 1948 and later Spey Bridge in 1956.

Buckham recalled, “I’ve been racing since 1954. When I was 10-years-old I used to sit in my father’s car next to the track and watch the races. Children were not allowed on course in those days.”

Later, Buckham joined Harvey Topham and Warren Eisele in the judge’s box; 1975 to be exact. Colin was still assistant handicapper at the DTC and having to watch every race as a judge was of great benefit when it came to handicapping as in those days there was no Tellytrack or YouTube to watch replays.

After spending 40 years in the Judges Box at the three KwaZulu-Natal race courses, Buckham and Eisele were pushed into retirement at the end of July 2015, both over 65. The two were the longest serving judges in the history of South African racing.

When Gerald Lee retired, Buckham became chief handicapper for the DTC before all handicapping was put under the umbrella of the National Horseracing Authority where he worked until retirement.

He recalled a time when he was assistant handicapper. “There was a race called the Sires Produce Stakes, restricted to two-year-olds who had been sired by stallions that had won over 1900m or more. There were not enough acceptors and it was decided to scrap the race. (Trainer) John Breval had a horse in the race called Free Style who later ran second and third in the Gold Cup. I was looking out of the window the next day when a big car pulled up outside the offices and Bridget Oppenheimer got out. I knew what was coming and like a good coward ducked out of the office leaving Lee to take the ear-bashing while I chuckled, listening from around the corner.”

Buckham had a reputation of being absolutely meticulous and there were no mistakes in the judges box, but he did have his moments as a handicapper. “There were times that I was not very proud off. Once I was forced to re-do the July weights after threats of being taken to court. I was ready to hand in my resignation but three stewards, also members of the Jockey Club, stood by me and said that under no circumstances was I to resign and it would never happen again.”

“There was also a time when we had too many horses entered for a feature race and I had to eliminate. Instead of working through the form I put all the names of the horses on the borderline into a hat and drew a winner. I was then taken to court by one of the owners and the judge ruled against me. I had the last laugh though. Their horse never won another race.”

Colin is survived by his wife Annabel and daughters Leigh-Ann and Anthea. There will be no memorial service but a small gathering for family and close friends at his house at noon tomorrow.

By Andrew Harrison