The move to the Greyville polytrack, from Scottsville, will affect assessments of many runners today and a number of scratchings can be expected due to the change of venue. Amazon King was withdrawn from the eighth race shortly after the change in venue was announced and this opens the door for Humidor who has proven form on the poly.

Tony Rivalland’s runner does have his fair share if niggles and has only had 10 runs in a career spanning three seasons but he has won five of those outings. His connections have recently been tempted by some lucrative prize money and Humidor has been pushed beyond what looks to be his optimum trip.

Humidor (Nkosi Hlophe)

There were signs of a form return last time out where, in spite of starting a short priced favourite, he was just over a length back to Panza over today’s distance.

Panza, also in today’s race, has been fairly consistent since, but disappointed last time out on the Greyville polytrack. Humidor won making all on the Greyville poly three starts back and with the blinkers back on he can turn the tables with Panza.

Anton Marcus was aboard Humidor for the gelding’s last outing but contractual obligations see him aboard Dance On Air for Charles Laird and Mayfair Speculators. The gelding has not been out since winning on the Greyville poly in early December and the form of that race has worked out well. He seems equally effective over this shorter trip and must be in with a chance.

The change in distance to 2000m, from 2400m, will add to the complexity surrounding today’s sixth race but a number of early scratchings does help the chances of the Gavin Van Zyl-trained Calabash who was just over a length adrift of Sabre Charge and Forbidden Duel at his last start. With the latter two withdrawn, the lightly raced Calabash appears a solid option especially considering his proven form on the poly.

Silver Rose and Olympic Power have consistently good form on the poly and one can expect decent efforts from both runners today. The lurker could be Rio De La Plata who has been steadily dropping in the ratings (89 > 75) but showed a return to form last time out. Anthony Delpech gets back on board Rio De La Plata today and it’s worth noting that he has partnered the four-year-old gelding to all three of his career wins.

By Andrew Harrison

The two three-year-old features, run in officially “very soft” going, at Turffontein’s Inside Track on Saturday served as interesting pointers to the Highveld Autumn classics.

In the Gr 3 Tony Ruffel Stakes over 1450m, the Mike de Kock-trained Australian-bred More Than Ready filly Ektifaa beat the boys to remain unbeaten in four starts this season. The Sean Tarry-trained favourite Matador Man was slotted in behind the other six runners after his usual slow start but, was within 2,5 lengths of the filly as the field fanned off the elbow. However, Ektifaa’s superior turn of foot saw her stealing another length and she then staved off Matador Man’s strong finish to win by 0,6 lengths.

Sean Tarry (Nkosi Hlophe)

There has always been a question mark about Ektifaa’s stamina, but her time was almost two seconds faster than the Three Troikas winner’s time and this fact has given the De Kock yard the confidence to run her in the Gr 2 Wilgerbosdrift Gauteng Fillies Guineas.

Matador Man will relish the step up in trip in the Gr 2 Betting World Gauteng Guineas and will also enjoy the long straight of the Standside track. He was receiving 3kg from the 98 merit rated Doosra on Saturday and gave him a 2,9 length beating, so probably ran to a merit rating of around 100.

This puts Ektifaa’s performance into perspective as she was giving Matador Man 1,5kg.

All Fahad, beaten ten lengths into fifth, was disappointing again and will now be gelded and prepared for the Gr 1 SA Classic over 1800m.

Well beaten fourth-placed Chili Con Carne was also a touch disappointing, finding little from the front.

The Three Troikas for fillies over 1450m saw the Roy Magner-trained Anna Pavlova bursting into the Gauteng Fillies Guineas picture as she gave the Gr 1-placed Visuality 2kg and just got up to beat her.

The St. Petersburg filly has impressive hindquarters and an effortless turn of foot. The slower time does not detract from her chances of beating Ektifaa in the Gauteng Fillies Guineas as she was over racing a bit behind a slow pace. She also actually had to be eased at one stage in the straight.

The unplaced Babbling Brooke had little luck in the running and will appreciate a step up in trip as well as the long straight of the Standside track.

By David Thiselton

Rings And Things can make her experience tell against smart newcomer Snowdance in the opening maiden juvenile at Kenilworth today.

Snowdance made a big impact at the National Yearling Sale when knocked down for R2 million after some spirited bidding – and little wonder. The daughter of Captain Al is out of the Fillies Nursery winner Spring Lilac, a half-sister to All Is Secret, Secret Of Victoria and Rabiya.

“She will run well and she is going to be in the firing line,” says Justin Snaith before adding the proviso. “But there have been no racecourse gallops although, that said, we are all in the same boat.”

Justin Snaith (Nkosi Hlophe)

But not the two that have already run, and Rings And Things showed plenty of promise on Christmas Eve.  She played up in the pens but ran on well to take fourth and finish less than half a length behind fellow newcomer Call To Account who went on to win the Listed race on Met day.

Ostinato, the other who has the benefit of a run, ran well first time but beat only three home in that Met day Listed race. However she opened quite short at 9-2 with World Sports Betting which recorded significant support for Snowdance yesterday morning when she was cut from 28-10 to 13-10.

Rings And Things was eased to 28-10 while the Joey Ramsden R450 000 newcomer Made In Hollywood is on 11-2 with Remember This, by far the shortest-priced of Vaughan Marshall’s three, on 6-1.

Prince Alfred is even money for race two after his promising debut second five weeks ago but the form took a serious knock on Saturday when Tweak The Wind (third) and Pop The Question (fourth) managed only seventh and fifth behind Perovskia.

Andre Nel’s newcomer Dalibhunga makes more appeal at 5-2, given the stable’s good record with first-timers and the pedigree of this one. He is by Var out of the top class Joie De Grise who twice won the SA Fillies Sprint.

Of The Moon can prove rewarding in the Racing Association Maiden if yesterday’s 8-1 stays on offer. She disappointed when starting favourite last time but there were valid reasons. She lost a fair bit of ground at the start and was returned not striding out. On her previous run, only her second, she is good enough to win this.

The well bred Dance At Dawn is favourite at 7-2 and has finished second on her last two but this is her 14^th attempt. On adjusted merit ratings she comes out equal top with stable companion Moonsaballoon (5-1) and Of The Moon.

Seemingly only her bad draw can stop Sister Soozie in the Summer Of Champions Maiden. The 19-10 favourite ran a cracker on debut and holds Lady Vogue and Gypsy Beauty. Elegancia (4-1) looks the one for the forecast.

By Michael Clower

Andrew Fortune may possibly have dealt any hopes of a second jockey’s title a mortal blow after his antics in the fourth at Turffontein on Saturday. Nine winners behind Greg Cheyne and seven behind Gavin Lerena with nearly half the season ahead, Fortune has been prepared to tour the country in search of winners this term and his prospects of a second title were promising.

But although a supremely talented horseman, Fortune is never far from controversy, and he was at it again on Saturday. Riding Bay Style for Gary Alexander, Fortune injudiciously waved his whip in the face of third-placed Lerena-ridden Flipflash which had social media in a tizz.

Andrew Fortune (Nkosi Hlophe)

From the couch and watching numerous re-plays, the damage done to Flipflash was marginal if having any effect at all as the only blow landed appeared to be on the sheepskin noseband of Flipflash who never faulted.

The stipendiary stewards immediately called a race review followed by an objection which was not a surprise given the incident – the grounds being intimidation in the closing stages.  That it was over ruled was also not a surprise given that the incident happened a few jumps from the line and Flipflash would never have got to Bay Style in any case.

But there is often a fine line between race-riding and winning at all costs.

Racing alone up the inside fence, Fortune deliberately let his mount drift across to join Flipflash and favourite Handsome Henry. A perfectly legitimate move given that a horse generally tends to try just a little harder when racing with company.

What happened next is what got many people’s gander up. Bay Style was roughly half-a-length clear when joining Flipflash and under a soft left-handed stick. However, Fortune’s flailings changed from down the neck to ‘stirring the porridge’ with Flipflash catching one on the noseband.

Just how this incident is viewed by the authorities will be interesting in its self.

By Andrew Harrison

Aldo Domeyer is to give up his job with Andre Nel and Plattner Racing to become first jockey to Candice Bass-Robinson.

Aldo-Domeyer

“I don’t like the term stable jockey but I will have first claim on Aldo,” said Mrs Robinson. “Grant van Niekerk will still ride for me – I often have more than one horse in a race and Aldo is restricted as to what weight he can do – but he will no longer have first call.”

Marinaresco may yet fly the South African flag overseas despite plans to send him to New York having to be cancelled.

Marsh Shirtliff, in whose colours the Champions Cup winner runs, said: “He will stay in South Africa and go for the July but we will then make another call regarding overseas. That would be a good time to go, bearing in mind Dubai next year.”

Reflecting on the four-year-old’s slightly below par performance in the Sun Met, Shirtliff added: “I don’t think he would have won – Whisky Baron was weighted to win the race on Winter Series running – but I do feel that he could have finished a bit closer.”

Whisky Baron’s break at Drakenstein is being restricted to three weeks and then he returns to Brett Crawford to be prepared for the Vodacom Durban July. “I would think that he will start off in possibly the Drill Hall or the Gold Challenge,” said Crawford.

Investec Cape Derby winner Edict Of Nantes will stay in Cape Town for the Winter Guineas (April 22) “and we will then decide,” said Derek Brugman referring to when the colt moves to Durban to be prepared for the July. He expects a similar approach with Table Bay but admits to some puzzlement over the runaway Cape Classic winner’s disappointing effort in the Derby.

By Michael Clower

A handsome son of AP Indy out of Pas De Reponse by Danzig, AP Answer sadly died at Clifton Stud after a severe colic attack. A hard decision was made to put the horse down due to his suffering.

AP Answer (Candise Marenwick)

A stallion with an unusal facial marking of a blaze that started halfway down his nose, his 16hh size was misleading. He was a compact stallion with mighty hindquarters which he passed onto his progeny.

AP Answer was a dream come true for Peter Blyth when the advert for his prospective sale arrived in Peter’s inbox – the stallion was a combination of all of his favourite stallions that he had seen overseas on a trip to Kentucky in America, which included the supreme greats AP Indy, Seattle Slew, Danzig, Mr Prospector and Storm Bird – the latter is in the female line of AP Answer through his fourth dam South Ocean.

Blyth has always held Danzig in very high regard and had plenty of success with Allied Flag at stud, a son of Danzig that produced Vodacom Durban July winner Classic Flag for Clifton Stud.

AP Answer produced the likes of Gr1 and Gr3 placed Beckedorf and was crowned Zimbabwe’s Champion Stallion for the season 2015/2016 with Clifton Stud as Zimbabwe’s Champion Breeder.)

His daughters and full sisters Print The Pounds and Duffi’s Call flew the flag high north of the South African border, whilst his South African horses to impress include Stakes Placed By Jove and Cutting Edge who took home the winnings from the KZN Yearling Sale Million.

– KZN Breeders

Candice Bass-Robinson has split with her retained stable jockey Grant van Niekerk who is to ride freelance from now on.

Van Niekerk would not comment when contacted yesterday but the Milnerton trainer said: “We have decided that we are going to go our separate ways. Grant is going to go freelance and we will also freelance [as regards jockeys] for a while.

Grant Van Niekerk (Nkosi Hlophe)

“There are no hard feelings or anything like that. It’s just that we decided that this might be best, and we will see how we go from here.”

Mike Bass caused some surprise when he picked Van Niekerk to be his number one two and a half years ago. Just turned 23, the rider was young and comparatively inexperienced compared with the likes of Karl Neisius and Bernard Fayd’Herbe whose boots he was being asked to fill.

But he slipped into the job as if it had been made for him, promptly put himself into the 100-plus winner-a-season bracket and won both the 2015 Paddock and Majorca for the stable on Inara.

Last season was even better. He won three more at the very top level on Inara as well as the Champions Cup on Marinaresco after so nearly snatching the Vodacom Durban July on the three-year-old.

The stable seemed to take a little while to hit top form this season – Mrs Robinson’s first at the helm – but the horses were really motoring by Sun Met day. Marinaresco might have failed to produce his very best in the big one but Nightingale gave her trainer her first Grade 1 in the Klawervlei Majorca.

True, the stable jockey went for the wrong one –Silver Mountain was only fifth – but the pair shared in a lucrative CTS $500 000 with Live Life.

Aldo Domeyer has long been a key player in the Bass Racing riding arrangements but he has commitments to Sabine Plattner and Andre Nel that seem to take priority.  Certainly Mrs Robinson’s phone looks like being hot with jockeys suddenly wanting to ride work!

Van Niekerk’s decision to let three interference suspensions roll over until later this month looked a sensible course of action at the time. Now he is probably wishing to be in the public eye – or at least trainers’ eyes – without that interruption. But he has already shown that he is too good a jockey for this to be much more than a temporary setback.

By Michael Clower