Feature race form is ignored at your peril, especially when the trainer thinks that it’s worth the effort to travel and take on the best.

Lady Legend got the worst of the draw in sticky going when taking on most of the best fillies on the Highveld in the Starling Stakes but that did not deter Wayne Badenhorst. Although not returning with a cheque, Lady Legend did give an indication that she belonged in that company and the 10-1 on offer at Hollywoodbets Greyville yesterday was something of a steal.

An outside draw may have been a concern but Gareth Wright quickly had his mount up handy and Lady Legend kept running to hold the attentions of race favourite Mitra Music who was unable to peg her rival back over the final furlong.

Lady Legend was the first leg of a Badenhorst double, although Bordeaux was a lot harder to find – the colt paying R97 for a win on the tote.

The improvement on a modest debut was attributed to the addition of blinkers. “He was a hard ride,” confirmed Wright which was clear to all as the rider was forced to keep his mount hard to his task.

All the money was for Trip To Africa in the second and it proved on the mark. Duncan Howells had always thought highly of the gelding but who had plenty of issues as a young horse. “He was a tall, immature horse who needed to grow into himself.”

Anton Marcus had no hesitation in taking Trip To Africa up with the lead and they kept firing all the way to the line to win rather comfortably. It was the second winner for the owners who had cashed in with High Voltage last Wednesday.

In the first, the money came in spades for Lady Of Lutetia but things didn’t work out as planned as she took a knock out of the gate and arrived too late as odds-on favourite Ode was hard-pressed to hold off the attentions of Lady Charlotte.

Seasoned trainer Pat Lunn, one of KZN’s greats with the likes of Model Man and Northern Princess among many other truly smart horses, is now KZN assistant to Johan Janse van Vuuren. Not the soundest of fillies, Ode was in good hands and put her soundness issues behind her.

Warren Kennedy is well on his way to his first National Jockey Championship with a 17% winning strike rate from over 500 mounts, and all though his expected century did not materialise with Lady Of Lutetia in the first, he did not have much longer to wait as 10-1 chance Skollie buried a few more exotic bet tickets in the fourth.

Drawn up Marriott Road on debut, he made the necessary improvement with a fine win. “I thought he would need a mile, plus,” commented Kennedy confirmed by Gareth van Zyl. “I had him in a mile but he drew badly so took the better option of a good draw over 1400m.”

It proved an inspired decision.

Pearl Of Asia, off the track for 270 days after landing something of a coup on debut, followed up with a smart victory in the sixth. It was a competitive field and Mr Fitz looked to have the race at his mercy before Pearl Of Asia slipped through on the inside rail to snatch the decision giving Gareth Wright his third of the afternoon riding for Robbie and Shannon Hill.

Calvary was an inspired gamble in the seventh and apprentice Jabu Jacobs made all, in the process keeping out of trouble.

Second-placed Socrates ducked badly under pressure and before Donovan Dillon was able to straighten him up, Hey Boy and Winter Blues were compromised.

Gary Rich, who has a small string of less than 20 horses at his Ashburton yard, is way under rated as a trainer.  He has a 15% strike rate from just 27 starts and Clouds Of Witness gave him his fifth win of the season and can put him well and truly on the map.

Billy Jacobson set a modest early gallop, made his move just before the turn, and kept the gelding rolling to the line. Clouds Of Witness was challenged from all sides but refused to submit.

The son of Master Of My Fate has filled out and matured and barring accidents, should not stop here.

By Andrew Harrison

Gin Fizz is well named. The daughter of Soft Falling Rain has not been the easiest to get to the racetrack but when she is in the mood, she has stamped herself as one of the better sophomore fillies to have stepped out on the Highveld this season.

The Cape Summer Season and Cape Fillies Guineas may be high on her agenda but given her temperament, Mike de Kock, who is blessed with a plethora of smart horses this season, may keep her under wraps for the Highveld Autumn season where she does not have to travel.

That’s all speculation of course, but just how she fares in The Citizen Fillies Mile (Gr3) at Turffontein tomorrow could give an indication as to where she is headed for the balance of the season.

Gin Fizz has been competing at the highest level and has not been out of the money in seven outings, her last three over the Turffontein Inside track where she finally cracked a win in a Graduation Plate after two runner-up berths.

Given that at her previous outing she had finished a close-up second to the smart older filly Vistula in the Jo’Burg Spring Challenge, that win was hardly unexpected.

She takes on her own age group tomorrow but there could be a few IED surprises in store.

Marco van Rensburg has a good mouth on him and after two indifferent rides on Spiritofthegroove, Sean ‘two strikes and you’re out’ Tarry was ready to give him the bullet.

Van Rensburg’s mouth kept him aboard and it was third time lucky, as he rode a cracker in the Emperors Palace Ready To Run Stakes, weaving his way through from a difficult draw to land the lucrative first prize.

The opposition is a lot stronger tomorrow, but Van Rensburg should now know what is required and Spiritofthegroove, fourth behind Vistula and Gin Fizz in the Spring Challenge, could prove more of a threat this time around.

The De Kock-trained Mill Queen is garnering a reputation as one of the better fillies around. She got home from an almost hopeless position to win the Starling Stakes but rank outsider Kayla’s Champ was only a length off her at the line with the Van Rensburg-ridden Wisteria Walk beaten a neck in second.

One can pick holes in Mill Queen’s form but the fact stands that she has not finished out of the first two in five starts, including a close-up second to Gabor in the Gr1 Thekwini Stakes, which puts some perspective on Kayla’s Champ’s performance.

Of the balance, Summer Pudding is unbeaten in two outings and the last run of the De Kock-trained Tallinn is best ignored and cannot be discounted lightly.

By Andrew Harrison

African Warrior can boost his Cape Guineas claims by landing the Concorde Cup at Kenilworth tomorrow although there are serious doubts about whether he is as superior to the opposition as the official ratings would suggest.

Assessments based on two-year-old running in Durban at two can sometimes fail to stand up simply because many trainers, and particularly those in Cape Town, prefer not to test their juveniles to the full as they believe a more patient approach will pay dividends in the long term.

However African Warrior, rated 112 after winning the Umkhomazi Stakes, was reassessed at 115 after his first Cape Town start when he took a 2 ¼ length fifth to One World in the Matchem from a poor draw.

“That was his best performance so far,” says Dean Kannemeyer who is bidding for his seventh win in this race. “He has to give a kilo to the whole field and it’s his first time at a mile. I think he should get it and all has gone well with him.”

Stable companion Seventh Gear is rated 7.5kg behind him but their trainer does not accept this as a true reading of their comparative ability and says: “African Warrior has earned his stripes and his rating but I think a lot of Seventh Gear.”

African Warrior is 13-10 favourite and the market leader has won four of the last ten runnings. Seventh Gear is second best at 9-2 with 6-1 about Viva Rio (who has won his last three) and Sachdev who flopped in the Cape Classic.

“I am hoping you will see a very different horse on Saturday,” says Justin Snaith. “We were disappointed with Sachdev’s run in the Cape Classic and we took his blood afterwards – I would like to have seen it better.”

Glen Kotzen, who brought off a 28-1 shock with Gold Standard three years ago, says: “I have rated Viva Rio from day one and after we gelded him he came good. He is a very smart horse.”

In the Racing Association Stakes over this trip at Fairview four weeks ago Viva Rio beat the smart Cane Lime ‘n Soda (an 8-1 chance here) by more than three lengths but part owner Robert Bloomberg reckons there were valid excuses – “They went slow and our horse was caught flat-footed. I think he can reverse the form.”

Macthief, third in the ratings, is on offer at as much as 11-1, largely because he only managed fifth in the Cape Classic but seemingly not too much notice should be taken of this. “He was giving 2kg to those who finished in front of him, he was not well drawn and he was last away. I thought he ran well,” argues Brett Crawford, “and I think he will run a big race.”

The rest are longshots but, if you fancy any of them, don’t let their price put you off. Twice in the last three years there has been a major upset with Rocket Countdown at 36-1 following on from Gold Standard.

The Cape Merchants is a difficult race to assess but it is worth noting that four-year-olds have won three of the last four runnings and that no winner has carried more than 58kg since the Stan Elley-trained Kapil humped 60kg ten years ago. A repeat of this statistic would rule out 7-2 favourite Pleasedtomeetyou.

Elusive Trader (16-1) might well get into the shake-up but the vote goes to 10-1 shot What A Winner who was beaten half a length by stable companion Russet Air (9-2) last time and is now 2.5kg better.

By Michael Clower 

TAB will operate a second Jackpot pool on one South African race meeting daily from today’s race meeting at Fairview.

The second Jackpot will start on the race after the first leg of the normal Jackpot at race meetings comprising eight or nine races.

So, at an eight-race meeting, Jackpot ONE will be on races 4 to 7 as normal and Jackpot TWO on races 5 to 8.

In the case of a nine-race meeting, Jackpot ONE will be on races 5 to 8 and Jackpot TWO on races 6 to 9.

TAB customers must note that in order to play Jackpot TWO in Phumelela regions they must mark venue oval number 9 and the first-leg race number of Jackpot TWO.

TABGOLD customers in KwaZulu-Natal totes must mark the SPQ oval.

This is in order to ensure that will pays for both Jackpot pools on a meeting can be displayed correctly. If there are two South African meetings on a day, Jackpot TWO will be offered on the race meeting likely to attract the biggest pool.

Paul Gadsby was caught off guard when the course commentator announced that La Duchesse would be ridden ‘cold’ not having given any instruction to her jockey. In any event, La Duchesse was ridden from off the pace and arrived on the scene too late, snapping a string of placed runs.

Making excuses for beaten horses is bad punting policy but Warren Kennedy is back in the irons for the first at Hollywoodbets Greyville tomorrow evening and La Duchesse may be worth another chance in spite of being labelled a bookies favourite.

Her latest defeat was particularly painful for those that had banked her in their exotics as the field looked ripe for the taking. Tonight, she faces a more competitive line-up. Masters Beauty was much improved last run but may have found the 2000m a touch too far when trying to make all. Lightly raced, she appears to have come to hand and this shorter trip should suit. Imperial Seal comes from an in form stable and has been close up at recent starts while Storm Tune has come to hand and goes well over course and distance and is a must for all bets.

Keeping up with an ever-changing programming can be a testing exercise and for the first time in KZN we have Progress and Graduation Handicaps. The first of these comes in the second, a Progress Handicap (maximum three-time winners capped at MR90) for fillies and mares. Wendy Whitehead has been amongst the winners of late and she saddles Liquid Irish in an exceptionally difficult race with all 11 runners in with some sort of chance. Liquid Irish has only once been out of the money and was a game winner of her last start beating the useful Statute. She is equally at home on the poly and the turf and should be thereabouts. The lightly raced Star Vega won well from a wide draw on her poly debut and may still have more to come. She should start at long odds as should Just One More looks held on current form, but this is her third run after a break and improvement is expected off her light weight. This trio could be the pick in a tough race.

Head Boy is the obvious choice in the third given his consistent form over the trip and the modest opposition but Paddy’s Legacy is the highest rated runner who was badly in need of his last start. He makes his poly debut and had shown some fair Highveld form early in his career. Royal Pursuit showed improvement first time out for his new stable and on the poly. He may be worth following.

Backing horses first up in handicap company is a risky business but Silva Magic finally got it right when coming from a long way back to shed her maiden and second-placed Magic Mountain has franked that form. Silva Magic does face stronger here but is lightly raced and can go in again. Zagara is on her favourite surface and found good market support last outing while Silver Prancer improved last run and her two best recent efforts have been on the poly. Chatty Cathy finally had some luck last run for a well deserved win and is definitely not out of the reckoning.

By the way, JG Guthrie is not a new trainer – Julie Dittmer married Gordon Guthrie last month. All the best Jules.

By Andrew Harrison