The Dennis Drier-trained Croisette, who made such a big impression when winning on debut, may be good enough to defy the first-time-out-of-the-maidens bogey in the 1 000m handicap at Kenilworth today.

She may not have beaten much on Guy Fawkes day – to many in racing better known as Lester Piggott’s birthday – but she won like a good horse, coming away in the final two furlongs to win in a canter.

“I rate her highly, I think she is very special and very classy,” enthused Sean Veale while Drier, never a man to confuse his geese for swans, added: “I think she could be something special.”

The handicappers have put this well bred filly – by Var, she is a half-sister to the SA Fillies Classic and SA Oaks winner Juxtapose – on a mark of 86, maybe a fraction higher than warranted by the bare form but not unreasonable considering the way she won.

Queen’s Club, for instance, was introduced to handicap company on a rating of 88 while Mon Cherie was rated 82 after winning her maiden. That said, My Wicked Ways and Yucatan were both put in on 76.

The bookmakers are taking no chances and have cut the selection from 12-10 to 17-20 but they are shrewd judges of form – they wouldn’t last long if they weren’t – and they also listen to the post-race comments.

Queen’s Club (6-1) and My Wicked Ways (7-1) look the main dangers. The former has top weight and started favourite last time but was seriously interfered with while the Glen Kotzen filly has gone up a hefty eight points for last time’s 30-1 shock success.

Cape Town two-year-old races have been difficult to call so far this season and it’s worth noting that Richard Fourie rode Stuck On You last time and now switches to newcomer Erik The Red in the first. However Pray For Rain has been backed from 3-1 to 17-10 and the Drier colt gets the vote.

Over The Way (3-1) has some strong form claims in the 1 400m maiden 35 minutes later but, as  she has already run 23 times without success, logic suggests we look elsewhere. Springisintheair (2-1) is a tentative choice to beat 22-10 second favourite The Vow and the reason for not going stronger is because she is drawn widest of all.

A handicap for maidens is something of a rarity. Peter Paul Rubens is favourite at 13-10 for race three and gets the vote to confirm last time’s placings with stable companion. Brooklyn’s Choice. The selection finished two lengths in front of Brooklyn’s Choice that day and is half a kilo better. Not surprisingly Fourie switches to him.

By Michael Clower

Vardy’s Sun Met price has been slashed from 16-1 to 5-1 third favourite in the wake of last Saturday’s World Sports Betting Green Point Stakes victory. Hawwaam still heads the market at 17-10 but Do It Again and Rainbow Bridge have eased to 4-1 and 13-2.

But, while there is no denying Vardy’s claims, there was so much bumping and barging that the Green Point would not have been out of place at the rugby stadium down the road at Newlands and in the weighing room afterwards there were more hard luck stories than in the bankruptcy courts.

Some of the trainers were particularly aggrieved at seeing weeks of carefully planned preparation sacrificed on an altar of interference. “It was a rough race, not what we wanted at all,” said Justin Snaith. “Do It Again was bumped round the turn and it bothered him so much that he didn’t want to run on and then he was checked again.”

Brett Crawford added: “Undercover Agent suffered bad interference at the 1 000m mark and was nearly put over the fence.”

The jockeys, too, were complaining – “The winner ran right across me,” said Gavin Lerena who was squeezed so badly when Vardy hung in that he had to stop riding Rainbow Bridge for several strides. Had he finished second rather than third he might well have had grounds for an objection. His mount came back with an abrasion behind his left fore fetlock

The all-seeing replays in the boardroom showed Rainbow Bridge pulling hard early and Lerena tucking him in to get cover, causing Richard Fourie to ride Do It Again to hold his position. Undercover Agent, on the rails, also suffered. The stipes are to hold a further inquiry into this part of the race.

Vardy, when mounting his challenge, hung in badly just as he had done earlier in the year but this time the stipes were satisfied that Craig Zackey had done all he reasonably could to keep his mount on a straight course. However Adam Marcus was advised to “ensure that this horse does not behave similarly in future.” Easier said than done.

Marcus was convinced that the winner was nowhere near ready – and presumably his printed comments had a lot to do with the Var gelding drifting from 4-1 to 7-1. “To cruise past July, Queen’s Plate and Met winners was unbelievable,” he said. “The last two of those races are now the target but our over-riding priority is to ensure that he remains sound.”

The priorities for Mario Ferreira’s Missisippi Burning have yet to be decided. “She is very small and the way she won was incredible but we will now sit down and look at the programme,” said Marcus after the Rathmor-bred Captain Al filly had given the 30-year-old his first Grade 1 in the WSB Cape Fillies Guineas.

Zackey shone, securing a beautiful run mostly up the rails to hit the front 150m out on the 22-1 shot. However 2-1 favourite Kelpie managed only sixth and seemingly we over-estimated her ability. “Look at her rating (99) and bear in mind that is equivalent to the old 89,” said Anton Marcus. “I was happy with the run but she is very progressive and she will be better in time.”

Eric Sands’ view that Driving Miss Daisy and Larentina were unlucky in the Western Cape Fillies was borne out by them finishing second and fourth with Third Runway (winner of that race) third. There should be another day for all three.

Sean Tarry has six in Saturday’s Cape Guineas including Pure State who beat main home hope Rio Querari half a length in the CTS Ready To Run, fourth-placed Rock The Globe and Invisible (fifth).

The champion trainer, winning the race in Chris van Niekerk’s colours for the third time in four years, said: “It’s not my style to run horses in races only a week apart but they are in Cape Town and I’m certainly going to run one or two. I will see how they pull up.”

Piere Strydom, who made much of the running on the 16-1 winner, said that he needed to “fill up the bank account after all the meetings we’ve lost in Jo’burg.” Nine per cent of R1.25 million should help.

Run Fox Run, who impressively extended her unbeaten stretch to five in the WSB Southern Cross, seems likely to go straight for the Cape Flying Championship rather than take in the Cartier Sceptre three weeks earlier.

Brett Crawford said: “I have put a lot of thought into this. The Sceptre is only a Group 2 and she doesn’t need a race in between. Also it doesn’t make a lot of sense to go up to 1 200m and then come back to 1 000m. I will discuss it with the owners.”

Fellow Ridgemont star Front And Centre, who readily won the Pinnacle, goes for the Paddock Stakes and the Majorca. Seemingly her Durban form was all wrong – “She got into the habit of hanging there and it cost her the Woolavington while In the Garden Province she never raised a gallop,” said Crawford.

Winter Derby winner Dharma, who just held Crome Yellow in the Cape Summer Stayers despite Anthony Andrews’ slipping saddle, is being aimed at the Western Cape Stayers on Met day. Owned and bred by the jockey’s parents, the four-year-old is trained on behalf of her father by Lucinda Woodruff who is the girlfriend of Adam Marcus. Seemingly a match made, if not in heaven, at least in Milnerton!

By Michael Clower

The KZN Breeders Awards took place this Saturday, 14 December at Fordoun Hotel and Spa where the Middlefield Stud-bred and Robbie Hill-trained Gr1 winner Camphoratus was named horse-of-the-year.

CHAMPION 2YO FILLY

Montreal Mist – Clifton Stud

CHAMPION 2YO COLT SPONSORED BY THE EQUINE GROUP 

Wave – Scott Bros

CHAMPION 3YO FILLY SPONSORED BY ODDS ON COLOURS

Running Brave – Summerhill Stud

CHAMPION 3YO COLT SPONSORED BY EQUIFEEDS

Nexus – Rathmor Stud

CHAMPION SPRINTER FILLY SPONSORED BY CHOICE CARRIERS

Vision To Kill – Robert Mauvis

CHAMPION SPRINTER COLT 

Africa Rising – Summerhill Stud

CHAMPION MIDDLE DISTANCE FEMALE SPONSORED BY HOLLYWOODBETS

Camphoratus – Middlefied Stud

CHAMPION MIDDLE DISTANCE MALE 

Dawn Assault – Graystone Stud

CHAMPION OLDER FEMALE SPONSORED BY GOLD CIRCLE

Camphoratus – Middlefield Stud

CHAMPION OLDER MALE SPONSORED BY EPOL HORSE FEEDS

Dawn Assault – Graystone Stud

CHAMPION BROODMARE SPONSORED BY GOLD CIRCLE

Wild Camphor – Middlefield Stud

STALLION PROSPECT

Capetown Noir

STALLION OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY THOROUGHBRED BREEDERS ASSOCIATION

Crusade

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Bruce Le Roux

ANITA AKAL INDUSTRY AWARD

Allen Bechard

BREEDERS ACHIEVEMENT AWARD SPONSORED BY SUMMERHILL STUD

Graystone Stud

CHAMPION BREEDER

Summerhill Stud

KZN BREEDERS HORSE OF THE YEAR SPONSORED BY GOLD CIRCLE

Camphoratus – Middlefield Stud

All the big action may have been at Kenilworth on Saturday where, in vintage Leicester FC fashion, Vardy put one past the goalkeeper in the Gr2 Greenpoint Stakes followed by Mississippi Burning landing the Gr1 Cape Fillies Guineas, giving Adam Marcus his first Gr2 win followed a half-hour later buy his first Gr1. A remarkable feat.

But one has to start somewhere and Gavin van Zyl appears to have another smart filly in his yard in Whizz Of Odds who took the step up from maiden to MR90 in her stride at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Sunday.

“I would have been happy to finish in the first three,” admitted Van Zyl, “but I must admit that I was pretty impressed with that. She was taking on seven-time winners like Effortless Reward, hard knockers.”

Current jockey championship leader Warren Kennedy was equally impressed. “I was pacing it with Effortless Reward and she was doing it easy. When I pressed the button, she just gave me more,” he said of his filly.

Seasoned mare Queen Of Alamo was closing fast over the final 100m but the race had already been put to bed. Given this performance the SA Fillies Sprint next May could be an option.

Tony Nassif is one of the nicest people that you will ever meeting in racing. He operates a small string out of his Turffontein yard and is quite open that in that he is in the sport because he loves it.

“I don’t need to do this,” he mentioned in conversation a while back. “But I love it.”

Some of his raids to KZN have been optimistic given the form of his runners but one can never discount them with any confidence.

With Anton Marcus aboard on Sunday, the inference was obvious. “Me and Anton go back a long way,” confirmed Nassif after Cut Loose had claimed the second in emphatic fashion. She started favourite at her second start but, “that run was all wrong. She got her tongue over the bit and choked up,” said Nassif. “She’s a nice filly.”

“When Tony nominates it just a case of getting on the phone and asking if it was worthwhile riding and if Tony says yes you jump on,” said Marcus. “As Tony says we go back a long, long way and we have had a lot of fun and success together and that’s what it’s all about. I believe the owners drove down (from Jo’burg) at 4 o’clock this morning so I’m sure they are delighted.”

Divine Hugh, a close-up second to recent Dingaans winner Shango two runs back, started short-priced favourite but, having only his second outing after a lengthy break, found one too good in the Johan Janse van Vuuren-trained Master Tobe. “Johan left him here after his last run,” confirmed Pat Lunn, Van Vuuren’s Summerveld assistant. “He’s been here three weeks. I told Johan that he was working exceptionally well, eating well and put on some condition. We put the tongue-tie on last run and he runs on very nicely.”  

By Andrew Harrison

The floods that plagued midweek racing on the Highveld have receded and although much of that water was not welcomed by most, track managers will have been delighted. One can irrigate as much as you like, nothing beats water from above and Turffontein has had four days of sun and wind and should strip in prime condition for tomorrow’s meeting.

Return Flight was one of the stand-out sophomore fillies last season and few who witness the SA Oaks will forget her dogged determination to hold off the attentions of Blossom in the 2450m event.

Her Champions Season campaign did not amount to much, ending on a rather disappointing note in the Vodacom Durban July.

Sean Tarry then put her away for four months before making her seasonal debut in a seven-furlong dash at the Vaal where she faded late behind top class stable companion Celtic Sea.

That run should have brought her on lengths and over a more suitable trip tomorrow, many will be relying on her as a possible exotic bet banker in the Interbet.co.za Pinnacle Stakes.

The biggest threat could come in the form of Pretty Border. She is in receipt of 12kg from Return Flight which is a lot of pudding

Basadi Faith has not had much luck with the weather, her intended return to the track falling foul of the rain gods. She was then fancied to beat Chimchuri Run on Thursday but both were scratched on stipes permission, a soft track possibly the reason and given further sunshine the Turffontein track should be in pristine condition with the going a little firmer. Tomorrow’s field is a lot weaker than what she would have taken on last Thursday but of some concern is that she was suspended after finishing down the field when favourite for the Gr1 Allan Robertson for bleeding. However, Paul Matchett is sure to have got on top of that problem after a six-month break from the track. 

Given the recent weather, stable companion Donderweer would be an appropriate winner. He is back over what looks to be a more suitable trip at this stage of his career, leading for most of the way in the Dingaans before being swamped late. Of the balance, Fly Away is super quick and was an easy winner of her last two while Big Bay is a PE raider with smart form who cannot be ignored.

Alramz and Mythical Bolt look the principal contenders in the eighth. The former needed his last run and wasn’t disgraced when involved in a rough finish last time out. Mythical Bolt blew the start when among the fancied runners last time out and never recovered. He can do better here in spite of top weight.

By Andrew Harrison