Punters face a difficult card on the Vaal Classic course tomorrow but as the cliché states, ‘the bigger the risk, the greater the reward’. And it’s not going to get any easier in the future as mid-week meetings have been cut to eight races on the Highveld, a move that is especially likely to see the lower division races filled to capacity.

Heading the Vaal card is the International Jockey’s Challenge 16 November Pinnacle Stakes where backers are again faced with the dilemma of ability as opposed to race ready.

Rebel’s Champ, an accomplished sprinter in the top echelons, is well in at the weights in this five-furlong dash in spite of being lumbered with 61.5kg, the rider being that Paul Peter’s charge has not been out since early May when down the field in the Gr1 Computaform Sprint.

In his day, Rebel Champ would be a confident choice, and with Warren Kennedy aboard, he must still be the preferred runner of the Peter trio, but he will not have things all his own way.

Veteran galloper Talktothestars rarely has a month off but is tough as nails and with the handicappers giving him some relief in the ratings, he has come good again, winning over course and distance last time out in spite of casting a shoe.

A 10-1 chance in the ante-post market, Connie De Beers soldier has ability, fitness and 4kg claimer Yuzae Ramzan in the plus column and although he takes on considerably stronger opposition than in recent outings, he is a proven Gr 1 galloper.

Pire Strydom teams up with Mike and Adam Azzie’s Down To Zero, a gelding who also has recent races under his girth so should not be short of a gallop and a must inclusion in all calculations.

Mike de Kock and Sean Tarry take the wraps off two fillies bred in the purple in the opening leg of the Pick 6 where Riqaaby and Cosmic Ray are up against some fairly modest opposition.

The odds-makers have not taken any chances, marking them up as first and second favourites respectively, although 28-10 and 3-1 are not cramped odds. The fully exposed Zodiac Pearl, and probably short-priced favourite had these two not been in the race, is third favourite at 7-2 with Madox Tune (8-1) the only other runner quoted in single figures.

The fourth is something of a guessing game with a number of runners in with chances. Slay The Dragon was narrowly beaten at his last start and is seldom far back while Jagesa Jagesa came from well back to win his latest and although second-placed pacemaker Rocky Path is now 1.5kg better off he may not be able to turn the tables.

De Kock could have pulled off a master stroke with Bold Ellie in the sixth. Still a maiden, she has had two warm-up sprints and judged on pedigree, should much prefer this trip in what is not a strong field.

In the seventh, top weight Destiny’s Game has not been out of the money in her last five starts and can go one better in this small field although she will face strong opposition from the likes of Shivers, Elusive Butterfly and Sammi Moosa who are all evenly matched.

Lone Survivor and Tierra Del Fuego are at the top of the ante-post boards for the last but 33-10 does not inspire much confidence. However, Lone Survivor has been in mustard form and goes well over this trip and has the benefit of a good draw. Tierra Del Fuego has been rested. He won an Assessment Plate last start but rarely runs a poor race.  Big Blue Marble has dumped many of his supporters after two disappointing recent efforts when well fancied but the step up in trip may be what he is looking for. Tricky draw but he may be worth another chance.

By Andrew Harrison

To take a bet go to www.tabgold.co.za or www.trackandball.co.za

Stakes cuts in Cape Town begin with the Matchem and Diana Stakes at Durbanville on Saturday week when each of these Grade 3 races will be run for R200 000, R50 000 less than last year.

They had both been R250 000 races since 2014 when the Matchem was upped from R200 000 and the Diana from R150 000. Neither race is sponsored for the first time in three years.

The sahorseracing.co.za website reveals the cuts in Grade 2 and Grade 3 races to the end of November, with the forward programme being amended to show the Western Cape Fillies Championship, Cape Merchants and Concorde Cup (all Grade 2) having been reduced from R400 000 to R350 000 while the value of the Grade 3 Cape Classic will be dropped by R50 000 to R200 000.

However the programme does not yet show the races for December and January when the Group 1s will be run – including the showpiece Sun Met whose value was upped from R2.5 million to R5 million in 2017.

Phumelela racing executive Patrick Davies stressed on Monday that the cuts will fall across the country (or, to be more accurate, in the jurisdictions in which the company is responsible for stakes), and added that he is discussing the situation with the various Racing Association regional chapters. Phumelela plans to make a detailed announcement once this has been done.

The sahorseracing website indicates that the values of ordinary handicaps and maidens are unaffected by the cuts – at least so far as the end of November – but Davies pointed out that the programme was drafted some time ago. He didn’t specifically say so but seemingly it would be unwise to assume that these races will necessarily continue at the same level.

The cuts have been caused by falling betting revenues which, in turn, are believed to be mainly the result of the weak South African economy.

This year’s Matchem, won in the past decade by subsequent L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate winners Variety Club and Capetown Noir and 12 months ago by Rainbow Bridge en route to landing the Sun Met, has again attracted a quality entry.

Vaughan Marshall says he will probably run both Cape Guineas winner Tap O’Noth and prolific scorer One World while Joey Ramsden, successful with Variety Club and Act Of War, has nominated Twist Of Fate (winner of the Cape Classic and KRA Guineas, and second in the Cape Guineas).

Brett Crawford, who won with Captain America three years ago, has three entered and said: “They are due to gallop on Thursday but it is more than likely that Undercover Agent and Search Party will run.”

Crawford will also gallop Front And Centre tomorrow before deciding whether last season’s WSB Cape Fillies Guineas winner begins her campaign in the Diana. Surprisingly Crawford has yet to win this race.

Candice Bass-Robinson has the biggest Diana entry with six and said: “Freedom Charter, Star Fighter and Lesedi La Rona will all run. I will decide about the other three (Santa Clara, Nastergal and Intothelimelight) nearer the time because they are all drawn in the bush.”

Dean Kannemeyer, successful woth Roman Charger in 2001 as well as with Capetown Noir six years ago, has nominated five for the Matchem including his Umkhomazi winner African Warrior and the highly regarded Seventh Gear who runs in this Saturday’s Tellytrack.com Handicap.

Kannemeyer said: “I believe my three-year-old crop is much stronger than last year’s but I am trying to box smartly with them and I need to place them well to get them where I want them.”

This Saturday’s Listed Settlers Trophy is unaffected by the cuts with stakes remaining at last year’s R150 000 level but the distance has been shortened from 2 400m to 2 000m. Elusive Silva (Louis Mxothwa), third in last year’s Vodacom Durban July, shoulders 60kg top weight in the nine-strong field which also includes the Geoff Woodruff-trained Winter Derby winner Dharma (Anthony Andrews).

Last season’s Computaform Sprint winner Pacific Trader is the star name in the 1 000m Interbet.co.za Pinnacle Stakes with Corne Orffer facing the by no means straightforward task of tacking his way over from pen eight in a field of 12.

By Michael Clower

Could it be an omen with Andre Nel saddling three runners on the poly at Hollywoodbets Greyville today, all with a floral connotation and spring in the air? A treble of Pink Rose, Blue Flower into Vase in the seventh are tempting odds as all three are not without hope.

Pink Rose is currently an 8-1 shot with Track & Ball and the lightly raced daughter of Duke Of Marmalade has only had a couple of starts. She showed pace in her 1000m barrier trial – given her pedigree a distance that she was always going to find on the sharp side – and then caught the eye in her local debut on the poly behind the smart Marsanne over 1400m. Today’s 1700m trip should be more within her compass and given that she has only had two official starts, she should have improvement to come. Gareth Wright, who scored a double at Scottsville last Sunday, has the ride.

Heading the market is Sacred Ibis but 9-10 about Garth Puller’s filly looks a little skinny. She was caught late over the Hollywoodbets Scottsville mile last time out and although she too stretches to this trip for the first time, she has had her chances.

All three of Nel’s runners will be saddled by his KZN assistant Byron Forster and he will leg up apprentice Jabu Jacobs in the fourth in an apprentice handicap. Jacobs rode an excellent race aboard Jack Of Hearts last Sunday and his 4kg claim from a good draw should benefit his mount. Blue Flower was decidedly unlucky behind Lady Abigail at her most recent outing after being caught in traffic and there is little doubt that she would have finished a lot closer given a clear passage.

She also found good market support that day, her odds slashed in half from an opening call of 16-1, so the 14-1 currently on offer look tempting.

Ahead of Blue Flower that day was Julie Dittmer’s filly Chatty Cathy and she shares the top of the boards with Roy’s Novice and Bold Beauty, all bracketed on 4-1.

Finally, Vase in the seventh, has shown her best form on the poly and was possibly just in need of her last run, that her second after a fairly lengthy break. She has drawn well in a competitive field and although going an extra furlong for the first time, she has the best of the draw.

The trio of Electric Surge, Karatage and Liquid Irish are bracketed on 4-1 joint favourites but a bigger threat to Vase could come in the form of Bequia.  Puller’s filly has been consistent and has been dropping steadily in the handicap. She goes very well over this trip and with apprentice Yuzae Ramsen claiming his full 4kg, Bequia only has 48.5kg to shoulder.

The sixth is another tricky apprentice handicap but Gentleman’s Way could prove the pick. He does have temperament issues but won well at long odds when shedding his maiden. He does seem capable of further improvement and Dennis Bosch has talented apprentice Nathan Klink as a bonus.

Xola Jacobs gets a chance on Lowan Denysschen’s gelding Captain Cobalt who was touched off late by Prince Of Venice last time out. His form is a little patchy but on his day he will go close. Lotsa Silver returns from a break but Tony Rivalland’s charge had fair poly form over the trip before that while although Tripple Explosion was a narrow winner over course and distance last time out he has made steady recent improvement and can feature again.

By Andrew Harrison

To take a bet go to www.tabgold.co.za or www.trackandball.co.za

With the Highveld feature race season fast approaching trainers will be revving engines for some of those big races. This can prove a tricky time for punters who will need to take form on trust, hoping that the obvious are fit enough to deliver.

Two that fit into that category at Turffontein tomorrow, where racing is on the stand-side track, are Gin Fizz in the fourth and Swept Of My Feet in the last.

Fortunately for punters, both trainers Mike de Kock and Paul Peter are in a rich vein of form at present and both runners, given their class, could go into their respective races a little underdone but still have enough class to carry them home.

The De Kock-trained Gin Fizz makes her seasonal debut and the fact that she has not been out since early May where she finished fourth in the Gr2 Fillies Nursery behind Basadi Faith. That she has been out for so long is a slight concern and she may be short of a gallop but should prove a touch too classy for this line-up. The year older Captain’s Reward is lightly raced, having only had two starts and winning on debut. She may have been just short of a run at her second start and given that she is relatively unexposed, she does rate a threat to Gin Fizz and is a must inclusion in the Pick 6.

Paul Peter and Warren Kenney are currently both top of the national trainers and jockey logs respectively. They look set for another decent afternoon but their best chance of a winner could be in the ninth where Swept Off My Feet could prove a little too good for the rest.

She also makes her seasonal debut, not having been out since contesting the Gr1 Thekwini Stakes on Gold Cup Day. She did not enjoy the best of passages that day and it is probably best to draw a line through that outing. She had only shed her maiden before going into that race but after showing up well in two sprints, she came into her own when sent over a bit of ground.

Her draw of 10 over this 1450m event is a concern but like Gin Fizz, she could prove too classy for her field. If there is to be a party pooper it could again come from a Sean Tarry runner. Colour Of Light came from a long way back when a close-up third last time out so gate seven should not be an issue and a repeat performance will make her dangerous.

With a day’s work of first timers in the opening leg of the Place Accumulator, it will pay to keep a close eye on the betting. Golden Belle and Empress Josephine are the two shortest first timers in the ante-post marker with Robbie Sage’s runner Varnica at the top of the boards.  She was a beaten odds-on chance last time out but with first time blinkers, the best of the draw and Muzi Yeni still hungry for winners after the championship was snatched from his grasp last season, Varnica can make amends. Piere Strydom has two rides for Ashley Fortune, and with husband Andrew in the background, this could prove a deadly combination. They team up with Single Red who was running on well from off them on debut and although she has drawn wide, Strydom is a master of the late arrival.

Pelican Bay is a warm 16-10 favourite for the eighth after a hat-trick of second places and could have his consistency rewarded. However, Strydom will be aboard the lightly raced Fortune-trained Etched In Blue. He ran a cracker in Graduation company first run out of the maidens and looks progressive enough to keep Pelican Bay out of the winner’s circle.

The Peter-trained Sarah is more than useful and although she shoulders top weight in the fifth, she does get 4kg relief in the form of apprentice Thabiso Gumede who has a number of rides for the stable. She is currently 15-10 in the ante-post market but she could face an uphill struggle against the likes of Double ‘O Eight, who came good last time out and Dorrie Sham’s filly Royal Lily.

At 7-1, Royal Lily looks fair value after some forward showings in good company last season. She has been rested but does have a touch of class.

By Andrew Harrison

The General Franco bubble burst as explosively and expensively as anything done by his controversial namesake in the 1 400m handicap at a damp Durbanville on Saturday.

The R4 million Frankel colt started a warm 17-10 favourite and, just as his trainer predicted, he was settled at the back. The commentator got excited when he made a bit of progress early in the straight but Richard Fourie was already, and ominously, niggling. The chestnut’s effort, such as it was, proved to be short-lived and fourth of five- over three lengths behind the winner – was the best he could manage.

Fourie had no excuses – “the handicapper got him” – and, while Michelle Rix, Harold Crawford and Spectra Force’s owners were celebrating, Justin Snaith was reflecting on the favourite’s high rating.

“I have been trying to prove the handicappers right, doing everything I can and using all my skill to build the horse up so that he could compete in a race like this but giving him 102 for a maiden …..” For once words failed even Justin Snaith.

To be fair to the handicappers they weren’t the only ones who got it wrong. Most of the media – and none more so than this writer – were bowled over by the colt’s debut win to such an extent that they refused to countenance that his next, stone-last, run could be nearer the real General Franco.

Snaith had better luck with Stopalltheclocks (Fourie) in the first and with the Greg Cheyne-ridden Mister Vargus in the Tellytrack.com Handicap – “Mister Vargus is one of the very few three-year-olds I’ve got that the handicappers haven’t absolutely taken to pieces.”

The rest of the day belonged to Glen Kotzen and Morne Winnaar. The Woodhill trainer landed a four-timer with Winnaar on all bar Point Of Sale on whom  Cheyne shrugged aside the foot injury he incurred in the pens (“I will worry about that tomorrow – let’s get through today first”).

Kotzen said: “Point Of Sale is out of a full sister to Big City Life and her next run will be in the Western Cape Fillies Championship – she will love the extra trip – while Follow The Star is a super filly with loads of ability. She is out of a Galileo mare so we are hoping ten furlongs will be fine for her.”

Winnaar won several races leading from the off last season and securing a reluctant Kotzen’s approval for this tactic (“I don’t like horses going to the front but the jock said we should let him stride”) proved decisive on Hubble in the last with the 9-1 chance scoring by a staggering nine lengths.

Vaughan Marshall brought off the biggest priced winner of the day when Anthony Andrews scored on Crusade’s Promise at 20-1 in the Interbet.co.za Handicap.

By Michael Clower