Paul Reeves is to send a team of horses to Durban for the first time – and Skidoo will be among them after making pretty much all the running under Liam Tarentaal to record his third success off the reel in the Betting World Handicap at Durbanville on Saturday.

Reeves, who rode nearly 300 winners and started training in 2009, said: “I went to Durban with Sea Cat early in my training career but I haven’t been since. However I am taking ten horses in a week’s time. They will include some juveniles that we think a lot of and nice speed horses like Pippielangkous and Photocopy as well as Skidoo who could be a poly candidate. Basically I am looking for more options as there is so little racing for them in Cape Town at the moment.”

Brett Crawford is a deliberately slow starter with his two-year-olds and Remus, who made all under Greg Cheyne in the opener, was only the fourth of his current 50 at Philippi to run and the first to win. “I like to give them a bit of time,” explained the trainer who had drawn an uncharacteristic blank at the previous three Cape Town meetings. He went some way towards making up for this when the Corne Orffer-ridden Indi Anna sprang a 12-1 surprise in the TAB Telebet Handicap.

The second juvenile race was also Greg Cheyne-ridden with 19-4 newcomer Zarina proving too strong for the favourite Soft Day. Both first and second carried Marsh Shirtliff’s distinctive colours but were from different stables; he backed the favourite but covered the winner.

Asked if the filly’s win was a surprise to her, Candice Bass-Robinson said: “Ability-wise no but she worked poorly when Greg rode her on Thursday. I took her blood and scoped her but nothing showed up.”

Keagan de Melo is enjoying a tremendous season – he is third on the Western Cape log as well as one the national one -and he followed up success on the Dean Kannemeyer-trained Meet At The George (named after a pub in Durban) with a comfortable success on Eva Eileen in the Racing Association Handicap.

De Melo had ridden the Paddy Kruyer-trained 8-1 shot on her previous three starts but he only got the mount after M.J. Byleveld was unable to make the weight.

He said: “I was very fortunate to get back on her. I had been waiting for another filly in the race but she ended up being scratched.”

De Melo’s enterprising riding is beginning to change the accepted wisdom of riding Durbanville. Before he came along few jockeys were bold enough to attempt to challenge on the inside for fear of the gap being slammed shut in their faces but he often finds a way through on the rails – Meet At The George was a typical example – and Anthony Andrews did the same on 10-1 shot Six Degrees in the Interbet.co.za Handicap.

That winner is going to Mauritius after being purchased by fish magnate Bahim Taher in what Glen Kotzen described as “a risk buy.” The Woodhill trainer explained: “The horse wouldn’t pass any vetting. He had a problem with his breathing and we had to cut a growth from the back of his throat.”

Radiant Love got up close home under Orffer in the last and Mike Robinson reckoned the decision to geld the horse earlier in the season had paid the expected dividend. “I hadn’t wanted to geld him as he wasn’t really coltish but he was haemoconcentrating badly.”

By Michael Clower

Dual Vodacom Durban July hero Do It Again has made an amazing recovery from the ulcers that were believed to be the cause of his disappointing performances in the L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and the Sun Met.

“It took a month but we have scoped him again and he is now 100% clear,” said Justin Snaith at Durbanville on Saturday, getting out his phone to illustrate his point with a series of pictures.

The first, taken by the trainer’s vets using a camera inserted into the horse’s stomach, was real x-rated material showing a mass of ulcers – appearing as white spots with many of them having blood coming out of them. The second was the same picture taken the same way a month later with not a white spot to be seen.

The third picture was a video of Do It Again being led away down a track at Summerveld, immediately after coming off the float from Cape Town. He was bucking, and kicking out with his hind legs, in obvious delight and seemingly in a picture of health.

“We took him to Durban early this time so that he could get his stressing over with,” said Snaith who is at this stage treading warily with the horse’s programme – “I haven’t yet decided where and when he will run because I want to see how he gets on before I decide anything.”

But a crack at a record-breaking third July is high on the wish list: “If all goes well with him Do It Again, Bunker Hunt and Belgarion (Peninsula Handicap) will give us a very strong hand in the July – and I need a strong Durban season to make up for the summer in Cape Town.”

By Michael Clower 

The highest rated race at the Hollywoodbets Greyville polytrack meeting yesterday was the seventh, a MR 98 Handicap over 1 400m, and the useful Padre Pio clinched a double on the day for the Dennis Bosch and Craig Zackey combination.

The three-year-old Vercingetorix gelding has always been well regarded and after a disappointing Cape Town campaign got back on track here when showing a fine turn of foot from near the back and winning easing up by 1,30 lengths from Georgina Rose and the favourite Mount Anderson.

The first race, a qualified Maiden over 1900m, saw Ashton Arries producing the Alyson Wright-trained three-year-old Wylie Hall gelding Bhakka from midfield with a strong run to beat the 25-1 longshot Command Respect by 1,30 lengths. The widely drawn Belshazzar ran on from the back for third and is one to watch out for when better drawn in a similar event.

Highveld trainer Weiho Marwing targeted the second race, a Maiden over 2 000m, a few weeks ago for his three-year-old Flower Alley filly Adorable Alley.

Muzi Yeni said Marwing had told him three weeks ago at track at Turffontein she would “definitely win”.

She duly obliged to give Yeni his first win after his long layoff.

The pace was good and Yeni was able to slot in easily before going on to convert favoritism by 3,80 lengths from Alabama Slide with Brave Lass a further 2,70 lengths back in third.

The third race over 2 000m was run at a slow pace which allowed Warren Kennedy to get up from a handy position on the widely drawn Gavin van Zyl-trained Oratorio filly Oratorina.

The favourite Green Ice jumped from pole and traveled well but could not make up the leeway off that slow pace and finished unplaced.

The low drawn jockeys didn’t learn from the previous race and allowed Craig Zackey on the outside drawn Joy Maisha to claim the lead without doing any work in the fourth race over 2 000m.

The Argentinian-bred Dennis Bosch-trained filly built up a sizeable lead steadily and held on by 1,30 lengths from the favourite What A Thrill.

The handy horses came out trumps in the fifth over 2 000m too and it was Raymond Danielson on the MJ Odendaal-trained Querari gelding Wildlife Safari who held on from the favourite Favour and High Green.

In the sixth over 1 000m the Louis Goosen-trained Main Aim mare Yaas, a 20-1 shot, was given a good ride by Billy Jacobson.

He managed to slot in behind the leader from a draw of eight and extract the necessary extra to prevail in a blanket finish.

In the last race over 1 600m Gareth Wright wisely went handy from pole position on the Andre Nel-trained Run To Denmark and the Black Minnaloushe gelding ran on well to beat Hexatonic by 1,10 lengths with Dutch Alley next best.

By David Thiselton

Mount Anderson looks to be a bright prospect after an eye-catching win in his first handicap outing last month.

Lightly raced, Dean Kannemeyer has treaded carefully with a gelding that looks to have loads of ability and much should be revealed when he runs in the Greyville Convention Centre Handicap on the Hollywoodbets Greyville poly on Sunday.

Mount Anderson struck as a horse with a future when romping home in his handicap debut while Master Of Illusion and Padre Pio are two other sophomores that have potential. Sunday should tell whether any of the trio can make the step up to Champions Season features as they take on some useful older opposition.

Dean Kannemeyer stepped Mount Anderson out in a 90 MR Handicap first run out of the maidens and looked a lost cause approaching the home turn in the seven-furlong event.

But once rousted along by Keagen de Melo, the penny half-dropped, and although still green he quickened away in the straight to win in a manner that suggested that he still has a bit to learn.

Kannemeyer obviously suspects that his charge has potential. “Dean asked if I could sweat a bit to make the weight, otherwise he wasn’t going to run him,” confessed De Melo post-race.

“1400m is a bit sharp,” said stable assistant Nicolet Roscoe, “and he probably needed the run. He doesn’t show much at home and he will probably be better as a four-year-old.”

Sunday’s race will tell.

Dennis Drier is back on his shooting stick at Summerveld after an extended spell in Cape Town and will be looking for a better showing from Master Of Illusion, although the gelding’s form is consistent. He makes his poly debut but has some smart form to some older and accomplished sprinters.

He steps out with cheek piece and a tongue-tie for the first time.

Padre Pio was deemed good enough to make the trip to Cape Town for the season but his one good outing was bracketed by two disappointing efforts. His home ground form suggests that he is far better than his Cape form shows but he has been lumbered with 60.5kg giving lumps of weight to his fellow three-year-olds.

Garth Puller has engaged confident 4kg claimer Thabiso Gumede to partner the filly Georgina Rose who won well in a useful field last time out. Puller did not come down with the last shower of rain so a forward showing can be expected.

Of the older runners, Waywood, Q The Music and the mare Oloye will provide stiff opposition so this will be a test for that the three-year-olds will need to pass if they are to have any chance in the Classics in Champions Season.

It’s not an easy card made up mostly with weak maidens and lowly handicaps.

In the fifth, Favour may just have needed his last run and should strip a lot fitter this time around but Gentleman’s Wager has been is holding form and goes very well over course and distance. He has not been out of the money in his last five starts. Wildlife Safari found form with a tongue- tie. He has been trying further but has been up against the fast improving Twice Golden while High Green is always dangerous over his best course and distance and can go in again with a 4kg claimer up.

By Andrew Harrison

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Savea, who won in good style for the Paddy Kruyer-Anton Marcus old firm at Kenilworth a fortnight ago, appeals at 9-2 in the Betting World Handicap at Durbanville tomorrow.

The four-year-old has been raised 3kg for that win but the manner of his victory – sweeping into the lead in the final furlong and drawing away – suggests there is more to come despite the task being considerably more difficult on paper.

Apollo Ace, winner of two of his last three, and the hat-trick seeking Skidoo are vying for favouritism and are obvious dangers. At the weights the Paul Reeves runner could be the bigger danger.

This is a far trickier card than usual, particularly in the first two races where all but seven of the 27 runners are newcomers. The early money in race two has been for the Glen Kotzen-trained Gayleactic Star whose price has tumbled from 14-1 to 6-1 but it might be worth taking a chance with Our World.

As her name suggests, this filly is closely related to One World- by Coup de Grace, she is out of a half-sister to the Sun Met winner. She was bought by Ken Truter for only R200 000 at the 2019 CTS Premier and runs in the same ownership as One World. Perhaps even more to the point, she is trained by Vaughan Marshall who has few equals when it comes to getting a horse ready first time. At 17-2 she is worth backing each way.

The last race is every bit as intriguing – and just as difficult because the most obvious form choices are badly drawn – and, even over a mile, the draw is important at Durbanville. Morse looked a certain future winner on his last two starts, The Second Wave has been second in his last four but both are drawn halfway to Durbanville town. The equally consistent Radiant Love (15-4) is rated only just behind them and gets the vote.

An interesting runner, albeit weak in the early market, is Marcus’s mount Private General who is by Silvano out of the high class Jet Master mare She’s On Fire. But it’s expecting a fair bit to imagine him collecting on debut against such smart maidens. One to bear in mind at a big price (16-1) is Alfred’s Legacy. Although not particularly well drawn here, he was only a length and a quarter behind Morse last time despite being denied a clear run at a crucial stage.

Meet At The George is Dean Kannmeyer’s only runner of the day and she may just be good enough in the Tabonline.co.za Maiden (race four).

By Michael Clower

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