Vaal-based Coenie de Beer comes to Scottsville tomorrow with his one good horse as Talktothestars attempts to defend his crown in the Gr1 Tsogo Sun Sprint. De Beer is a canny owner-trainer with only a dozen horses in his yard and arrived at Scottsville last year with an unfashionably bred horse carrying top weight and racing ‘barefoot’ – seemingly the only point in his favour being top rider Piere Strydom.

Piere Strydom

It was the Strydom fans who were standing in the pay-out que post-race as the gelding finished with a wet sail in a performance that earned him a 123-merit rating, elevating him to the lofty heights of best horse in the country.

From there on it has been a bumpy road for Talktothestars with his only subsequent victory being in a Pinnacle Stakes at Flamingo Park where he was hard-pressed to land his short odds. His rating has been dropping steadily since but even though he now races of a mark 10 pounds lower, he still shoulders top weight tomorrow and where some of last year’s opposition, notably third placed Exelero and Gulf Storm, meet him on more favourable weight terms.

That said, those that subscribe to the theory that a horse’s form peaks in yearly cycles, will be having a dip on Talktothestars. He recently rattled home in the Gr1 Computaform Sprint behind Rafeef with hot favourite Carry On Alice treading water in third with Talktothestars effectively turning the tables on the multiple Gr1-winning mare.

It was a smart performance by any standards and although it is not advisable to stakes the month’s salary on Talktothestars he should at least finish with more behind him than in front.

Exelero is another to have been in the doldrums since his third last year, out of the money in four subsequent starts. However, Vaughan Marshall appears to have got to the bottom of the gelding as he turned in a much improved performance behind today’s more fancied runner Attenborough and he faces Talktothestars on 1kg better terms.

Janoobi (JC Photographics)

An interesting contender is the Mike de Kock runner Janoobi. The dual Guineas winner has plenty of speed but only just sees out a ‘mile’. On any other course the drop to six furlongs would be a concern but the Scottsville 1200m demands some stamina and along with fellow three-year-old Table Bay could be the dark horses.

This is a peculiar event which records show is often a battle between the top weights and those at the bottom of the handicap with no middle market. Talktothestars, Exelero, Janoobi and Table Mountain all fit into that category.

Tomorrow’s jackpot is made up of four Gr1 sprints, the Tsogo Sun Sprint the tricky final leg, and the Gr1 Allan Robertson Fillies Championship the opener. Champion trainer Sean Tarry will be looking to SA Fillies Nursery winner Green Plains to add lustre to her bid for Equus Award honours but the local contingent is largely untested against visiting opposition which adds some intrigue. The Pau Lafferty pair of Crymeariver and Touch Of Magic are both highly regarded with the latter possibly the pick. Neptune’s Rain has done all of her racing on this course which is an advantage while Light On Her Toes has had the form of her debut win franked and could be anything.

De Kock saddles Gr1 SA Nursery runner-up Naafer in the Gr1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion but the Summerveld dogs have been barking the name Sand And Sea as Dennis Drier attempts to win the Gold Medallion for the sixth time in eight years and for the seventh time overall

Finally, Carry On Alice has her final race in the Gr1 SA Fillies Sprint, a race she won as a three-year-old, and is weighted to bow out on a winning note. However, she has had a tough season and the three-year-olds Live Life, Just Sensual, Vision To Kill and last year’s Allan Robertson winner The Secret Is Out will not make it easy for her.

By Andrew Harrison

Justin Snaith has five runners in all at the Festival Of Speed meeting on Saturday and in the big one, the Tsogo Sun Sprint, he made Captain Swarovski a “dark horse”” but was concerned by the amount of weight Sergeant Hardy had to carry.

Captain Swarovski (Nkosi Hlophe)

Four-year-old Captain Swarovski has not proved yet he is up to a 103 merit rating but Snaith felt the actual weight of just 55kg he had to carry was of more significance. He said, “He is not the better horse of the two but is very well weighted and is very well at home. He has come right at the right time.”

Captain Swarovski had one run at Scottsville last season so should not be phased by the course.

Snaith believes the runners will head for the middle-inside part of the track, so was thrilled with Captain Swarovski’s draw of seven, which will come into six if the reserve runners come out.

He said the three-year Sergeant Hardy had needed his last run, but he had deliberately not run him again as he “does like to run a bit fresh”. In that race over 1100m at Scottsville on April 16 he finished second, beaten 1,75 lengths by London Call, with whom he will now be 2kg better off.

He added, “It is a big ask for a three-year-old carrying 57kg, but he has come on a lot for that last run and has been better at home since.”

Sergeant Hardy will come into a draw of nine and Snaith said a good enough horse could win from there.

Justin Snaith (Nkosi Hlophe)

Snaith mentioned Attenborough, a progressive three-year-old who only has 55kg to carry, as one of the horses to beat.

Snaith runs the champion filly Bela-Bela as well as the quick Jo’s Bond in the SA Fillies Sprint.

Bela-Bela’s two Gr 1 wins have been over 2000m and 1800m, but Snaith was not overly concerned about the drop in trip.

He said, “She has always had a lot of natural speed, she was born with it and we have always actually tried to hold her back in her work.”

Snaith has taken the smart four-year-old grey to see Scottsville and she did well in her gallop there. He added, “She is coming back from a long rest and is up against the best sprinters, but she could pop up. I expect her to be in the money.”

He rated Carry On Alice the horse she had to beat and said, “Carry On Alice has had a long season, so we are hoping to catch her with a fresh horse. It will be fitness vs freshness.”

He admitted Jo’s Bond was a 1000m horse, but was still hoping for a first three finish. He said, “She is doing well at home but has her work cut out in this field. She is no slouch and the fact she led the Computaform Sprint shows how much speed she has, but over this trip we will have to hold her up.”

Snaith runs Sir Frenchie in the Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion. He said he had not been favoured by a high draw when running downfield over this trip in the Kuda Sprint on Sun Met day. “His form since then has been good and he has been doing very well at home. He is a sound, strong horse but it is very competitive and he has his work cut out.”

By David Thiselton

Dennis Drier will attempt to win the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion for the sixth time in eight years at Scottsville on Saturday, and for the seventh time overall, and he has a good chance of doing so with Sand And Sea.

The rangy Twice Over colt ran on strongly to win his debut over course and distance in a Juvenile Plate where he was receiving 3kg from the previous winners.

Drier said, “He is a nice colt and has done nothing wrong. He was green and has come on from the run. I don’t know how good the others are but we are expecting a big run.”

Sand And Sea (Nkosi Hlophe)

Anton Marcus retains the ride and they jump from draw eleven.

The yard’s gallant seven-year-old Captain Al gelding Barbosa will be having his fifth attempt at the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Sprint. He is part-owned by spelling farm owners Rodney and Jane Trotter. Jane spoke on his behalf and said, “He is coming to the end of his career and I don’t really know what to expect but we are hoping for a nice, honest run.” She added his last run had come a bit soon after the previous run, which he had needed, and that might explain those two below par performances. She concluded, “He is a bit of a funny horse, he doesn’t like to have other horses around him in the running, so I think his outside draw will favour him.”

Barbosa loves the Scottsville straight and has dropped back to a 104 merit rating, the same rating he ran off in his only Stakes win in the Listed Umgeni Handicap over 1000m on the Greyville poly in 2015.

However, his best finish in the Tsogo Sprint has been a 3,65 length sixth to his brilliant stablemate Captain Of All two years ago and ran off this same 104 merit rating on that occasion.

He is drawn eleven of 16 and Alec Forbes is up.

Drier did not sound bullish about Sail, who runs in the SA Fillies Sprint, and said, “We are just trying her over the trip and we will see how she goes.”

By David Thiselton

Frank Robinson caused a 55/1 upset in the Gr 1 Allan Robertson in 2010 with Chocolicious and he has two decent fillies, Under The Stars and Zarnitsa, in this year’s renewal at Scottsville on Saturday.

Under The Stars (Nkosi Hlophe)

Under The Stars, an impressively rangy daughter of Antonius Pius, made an eyecatching debut on March 31 from draw eleven on the Greyville poly over 1000m. She came from off the pace under Muzi Yeni and won going away by 1,75 lengths. She beat Victory Trip by 5,25 lengths in that race and the latter is considered good enough to line up in the Allan Robertson.

In her second start Under The Stars was beaten 8,85 lengths over 1100m at Scottsville by the fancied Allan Robertson contender Neptune’s Rain.

However, Frank Robinson said a line could be drawn through the run, “She jumped very well but it was then declared a false start and she went the furthest of all the horses. That can have an effect on a horse.”

In the re-start Under The Stars did not jump as well and did well under the circumstances to stay on for sixth.

Interestingly, the horse she lost to by a head in that race, Awesomeness, had earlier beaten Zarnitsa by 0,25 lengths over 1000m at Scottsville when both were making their debuts in February.

Frank Robinson (Nkosi Hlophe)

Zarnitsa showed a lot of pace in her debut and was only caught late.

In her fourth career start Zarnitsa slammed a maiden fillies and mares field over 1000m on the Greyville poly by 6,25 lengths and interestingly she beat Tweed Valley by seven lengths, as the latter had earlier finished a close second to Under The Stars.

Robinson believed the more forgiving surface had helped Zarnitsa, so he was hoping for a bit of rain.

However, the weather forecast only predicts a little bit of rain after the races on Saturday.

He said Zarnitsa had been working well and believed she would stay the trip. The Querari filly was not stopping at the line last time out and before that was touched off 0,75 lengths by Allan Robertson contender Light On Her Toes over 1200m on the Greyville turf.

Under The Stars will easily get the 1200m trip and further.

Robinson said it was difficult to say whether either filly was as good as Chocolicious and concluded, “They are up to this class and won’t be disgraced.”

Muzi Yeni is the regular rider of both horses and will be aboard Zarnitsa from draw nine, while Marco van Rensburg rides Under The Stars from draw six.

Meanwhile, Chocolicious’ Allan Robertson victory earned her the privilege of a cover by the living legend Frankel and the resulting foal is up to date impressing the Mike de Kock yard.

By David Thiselton

Ashburton trainer Paul Gadsby has two runners in the Gr 1 SA Fillies Sprint, Vision To Kill and Miss Varlicious, and said both were very well but admitted Carry On Alice would be “a hard nut to crack”.

However, Gadsby was concerned the three-and-a-half metre strip on the inside which was protected at the last meeting would now “be like gold” and everybody would be trying to dive on to it.

Vision To Kill (Nkosi Hlophe)

Gadsby confirmed the Kildonan three-year-old Vision To Kill would be the elect of his two but added, “Miss Varlicious can never be written off, she is an old campaigner and could run into the money.”

Gadsby felt Vision To Kill was a touch unlucky last time over course and distance in the Gr 3 Poinsettia when flying late and being beaten 0,5 lengths by The Secret Is Out.

“I felt the winner had a clear run the whole way and we did not,” he said.

However, Vision To Kill will now be 3kg worse off, as The Secret Is Out was carrying a Gr 1 penalty in that race. Vision To Kill will also be 2kg worse off with Live Life, whom she beat by a short-head.

One factor favouring Vision To Kill is she clearly loved the step up to 1200m and jockey Muzi Yeni will now know that, whilst he went into the last race unclear whether she would enjoy the step up from 1000m.

Vision To Kill has a low draw of two. However, Gadsby said if the going on the inside does prove on the day “to be gold” he was not sure whether this would work for or against Vision To Kill as she might in that case have to be used up early to hold her position.

Miss Varlicious, who is usually handy, is drawn out in eight and has Alec Forbes up.

By David Thiselton

Paul Lafferty has two good chances of winning the Gr 1 Allan Robertson at Scottsville on Saturday and whilst he rated Touch Of Magic the better filly he said Crymeariver had enjoyed a better preparation.

Touch Of Magic is an imposing Australian-bred by Sepoy and was very impressive when winning her debut over 1000m at Scottsville on March 1 under Diego de Gouveia, who claimed 2,5kg at the time.

Touch Of Magic (Nkosi Hlophe)

Lafferty said, “She is very talented and had it not been for a recent hiccup I would have rated her tough to beat. A lot of Summerveld horses have had elevated temperatures lately and she was one of them, so she has had a bit of an interrupted preparation. Her temperature is normal now and I will take a blood close to the race as a final precaution.”

Apprentice De Gouveia keeps the ride, but will not be able to claim his current 1,5kg.

Crymeariver by Elusive Fort made her debut on March 26 at Scottsville over 1200m, where she faced winners, and she burst through in eye-catching style to win full of running. She was receiving 3kg from the 1,5 lengths runner up, Neptune’s Rain, and also had a 4kg claimer up which meant she was receiving 7kg in all. However, if the claim is ignored it should just about put them together in Saturday’s race, considering the manner in which Crymeariver won and the improvement she is entitled to. The bookmakers rate them equal at around 7/1 the pair.

Lafferty said it had always been the plan to send Crymeariver straight into the Allan Robertson and he added, “I am very happy with her, she has been working very well at home.” He said she would get a mile even now, so it is not surprising he is sending her in fresh and another strong finish can be expected.

Touch Of Magic is a juicy 14/1 and this might be due to the jockey bookings as Anthony Delpech rides Crymeariver. However, Lafferty pointed out De Gouveia was one of his stable’s regular apprentices and it would have been “tough” to have taken him off Touch Of Magic.

Lafferty did not believe his pair’s high draws would be disadvantageous on the day.

Lafferty runs Sniper Shot in the Gr 1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion. He had to be scratched due to a temperature recently but is over it and put up good work on the grass the other day. Lafferty said, “It is a very tough race, I am not confident of him winning it, I will be happy if he places.”

By David Thiselton

Trainer Coenie de Beer surprised the racing world when he saddled his four-year-old gelding Talktothestars, unshod, to win the Gr1 Tsogo Sun Sprint over 1200m at Scottsville’s Sprint Festival last year. Ridden by Piere Strydom, he romped home ahead of African Ruler and Exelero. He faces Exelero again in the Tsogo Sun Sprint on Saturday, giving the bottom weight an extra kilo.

Talktothestars (Nkosi Hlophe)

Racing unshod is not uncommon, but racing unshod in a Gr1 is unusual to say the least but De Beer commented after the race last year: “There shouldn’t be such a fuss about a horse racing without shoes. Traditionally this is the way they raced, unshod or at times fitted with steel shoes.  In the days before shoe declarations I’d say the majority of trainers raced their runners in steel shoes, then some smarty-pants and a few bored punters came up with inventive stories around alumites and they changed people’s perceptions.

“There are racing fans who believe horses are only capable of winning when they are declared to race with alumites. This is nonsense, they can also win in steels or without shoes altogether. Trainers have exploited this situation at times, but for me it’s about getting a horse fit and ready to win. I don’t consider shoes a factor, even less so recently.”

However, De Beer has returned to the norm. Talktothestars has raced in alumites at his last two starts and has been declared to run in them again on Saturday where he is out to defend his crown.

After last year’s victory he was rated the top horse in the country and was deservedly voted Equus Champion Sprinter. Not all has gone his way this term and many have written him off; so to the handicappers who have dropped him 10 pounds in the ratings from 123 to Saturday’s 113.

No matter the rating drop, he still heads the handicap on Saturday but there were signs that he is returning to his best form as he rattled home to run hot favourite Carry On Alice out of second place behind Rafeef in the recent Gr1 Computaform Sprint. He finished second to Carry On Alice in that same race last year before winning at Scottsville and those that believe that a horse’s form is cyclical will be having a dab come Saturday.

“He’s a horse that doesn’t take a lot of work,” said De Beer. He knows what to do and he does it, he conditions himself.” This time he won’t be ‘barefoot’.

By Andrew Harrison