Frank Lloyd Wright may not have the class of exciting stable companion General Franco but he could well beat him in the Play Soccer 6 Handicap at Durbanville tomorrow.

For a start Richard Fourie’s mount has to take on the older horse on terms six kilos worse than weight-for-age and that alone is worth more than five lengths over this 1 400m trip. But what clinches it, for the writer at least, is that the favourite is to be ridden with the future very much in mind, dropped out and taught to settle.

Durbanville, unlike Kenilworth, is a front-runner’s course. True, many of the races are won by horses coming from behind but anything turning for home three lengths clear can be very difficult to peg back.

The betting suggests that the bookmakers have taken on board Justin Snaith’s comments in yesterday’s Racegoer page about the General being dropped out and tucked in. He still heads the market and but he has been eased from 8-10 to 12-10 while Frank Lloyd Wright and Green Jacket have both shortened.

The dual champion trainer has long given the impression that he does not share the view of the handicappers – and reporters like this one – that General Franco’s impressive debut suggested he just might be the next superstar but said: “His gallop into this race was with a high-rated horse and he gave a good account of himself. This is the test to see if everyone is right about his ability.”

General Franco is Fourie’s pick of the three Snaith runners tomorrow but, when the trainer was asked if he shares the same view, he replied: “No. I think things will go Frank Lloyd Wright’s way and that he will be a hard nut to crack. Last time he couldn’t get to the front where he likes to be and the race didn’t pan out the way we had hoped. He strips a fitter horse this time and, with a small field, he will love it. Green Jacket is also quite consistent and, if he takes part, he could also fight it out.”

Meraki (15-2) has to give weight all round and, while his most recent run does not inspire confidence, it is worth pointing out that he meets Frank Lloyd Wright on 4k better terms than when he finished six and a half lengths behind that horse over this trip at Kenilworth in July.

Spectra Force (also 15-2) ran way below form last time – the course vet could find nothing wrong – but he did win his previous two, both over a mile. Pink Floyd has a better chance than his 15-1 price would suggest if you ignore his last run when he raced wide without cover and, perhaps understandably, tired in the straight.

By Michael Clower

The Turffontein Inside meeting has nine races tomorrow and there will be plenty of intrigue for racing purists as well as opportunities for punters.

The intrigue starts in race one, a Workriders Maiden over 1200m, as the high-flying Paul Peter yard turn out Golden Duke, a Duke Of Marmalade three-year-old colt who is a half-brother to the top class Grade 1-winning sprinter Chimichuri Run. He only cost R75,000 but the yard describe him as a nice colt who will be competitive. He would not have to be a superstar to beat this field. The dangers look to be his relatively unexposed stablemate Bold Ransom, who has earned in both starts, and the hard-knocking Orchid Street.

In the first leg of the Bipot over 2000m topweight Pilgrim’s Progress from the Peter yard does love this course and distance and is the selection despite a tricky draw. Jacko Boy is progressive and will be a runner if lining up, as she was due to run on Thursday, and Circle Of Latitude has always struck as one with ability so can be involved off a competitive merit rating.

In the first leg of the PA over 1450m Sean Tarry’s first-timer Sidonie makes plenty of appeal being by Dynasty and a half-sister to the like of Grade 1 winner Viva Maria and other stakes winners Bichette and Pilou and stakes placed Blizzard Belle and Warrior’s Rest. She is drawn in pole and can beat the Toreador first-timer Anydreamwilldo, who is a full-sister to a three-time winner and will be distance suited. Little Rain will be the back up as she made a fair debut and is well drawn over a step up in trip which will suit.

The first leg of the Pick 6 is tricky as Green Top is very well weighted but returns from a 294 day rest and has a tough draw. Three-year-old Keep Smiling hasn’t been disgraced in good company and Cordillera has run some good races and is distance suited but including the whole field in the Pick 6 is advisable.

In the first leg of the Jackpot Virginia and My Dream Chaser are coming into their own and are capable of overcoming respective eight point raises. The progressive Abelie is the back up.

In the sixth race over 1800m Seville Orange is classy and will be coming into her own being by Duke Of Marmalade and she is well weighted here. However, she does return from a layoff and is from a yard who tend not to wind them up first up. Therefore Shenanigans is the selection as he began catching the eye at the end of last season and was particularly unlucky in the Gold Cup when caught wide. Puget Sound should be right there as a decent sort who is having his third run after a layoff.

In the next race over 1000m  Peter and Kennedy could have another win with Catitude, who should have come on from his good debut win and is drawn in pole. The progressive Before The Dawn goes for a hattrick and Solar Flare can also be included having twice performed well against the subsequent Graded runner up Spring Break.

The eighth over 1200m can be fought out by Black Ferrari and Mount Laurel, who look to have been leniently handicapped after their respective maiden wins.

In the last over 1200m Succession impressed in his maiden win and can follow up off a manageable mark from a plum draw. It is wide open beyond him and Fitzwilliam and The Sands are chosen as the back ups.

By David Thiselton

Two KZN Champion racehorses, Marchingontogether and Roy Had Enough, are Gauteng Summer Cup bound.

The Gavin van Zyl-trained Pathfork gelding Marchingontogether, who was last season’s KZN Champion three-year-old male, made a winning seasonal reappearance on Sunday in a strong Pinnacle Stakes event over 1400m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville.

Van Zyl said about this SA Derby third-placed galloper, “Gelding has done the trick as he is now more relaxed in demeanour and has improved tremendously. I think he will be competitive in the Summer Cup.”

Van Zyl has plotted a program to put him spot on for the big race.

He said, “Our options are either The Michaelmas or a Pinnacle Stakes event in KZN or otherwise he will go the Charity Mile route and in that case we will keep him in Jo’burg until the Summer Cup. But nothing is set in stone yet.”

The Frank Robinson-trained Roy Had Enough, who was last season’s KZN Champion Stayer, will soon be sent up to Johannesburg, where he will be looked after by Weiho Marwing.

Robinson said the options for him would likely be the Grade 2 Peermont Emperor’s Palace Charity Mile or the Grade 3 Victory Moon Stakes over 1800m.

Roy Had Enough is still an entire, so the connections will be hoping he can win a big race before taking up stud duties. His pedigree was given a boost by Logician’s brilliant win of the St. Leger at Doncaster in England on Saturday. Logician is out of a Daylami mare as is Roy Had Enough’s sire, Pierro.  

Robinson is also sending the smart mare Roy’s Riviera up to Johannesburg.

He said, “She ran three wide the whole way in the Grade 2 Gold Bracelet over 2000m and was only beaten 1,20 lengths. Piere Strydom got off and said with a light weight she would be a nice horse to have in the Summer Cup. But there is also the Grade 2 Ipi Tombe Challenge over a mile on the same day and on Charity Mile day there is the Grade 3 Yellowwood Handicap over 1800m.”

By David Thiselton

Summerveld trainer Frank Robinson had a triple triumph recently when the Mogok colt Keiko won a maiden as he bred, owns and trains him and he is hopeful this little horse has a bright future.

He put Keiko in a barrier trial on the Greyville poly at the beginning of the season and said Warren Kennedy had got off and said he had given him the feel of a top horse. 

His mother Sheikina (The Sheik) won over 2500m so his instructions to Luke Ferraris on his debut over 1000m on the poly was to drop him out. He was duly outpaced and turned for home tailed off.

Robinson said, “He ran the last 400m in 22,2 seconds and made up an unbelievable amount of ground.”

Robinson then put him in a 1600m event on the poly with the intention of building him up to his right trip of 2000m and beyond.

He said, “I had only cantered him at home into this race and he was drawn 12 out of 12. But he pinged the gate and sat in sixth one off the fence and ran on to win.”

He continued, “He could be anything. He is still a baby and has not actually turned three yet so will have a lot of growth from now until January. I will run him two or three times until then but only if I find nice races.”

Stayers are usually big horses, but Robinson said, “It is the amount of ground they cover that counts. As they say horses don’t run up, they run forwards. It is not the size that matters, it is the size of the heart.”

Robinson recalled Teal, the Durban July winner who was of pony size.

He added Keiko was similar in conformation to the small but strongly built English staying sensation Stradivarius.

Just about every winner has a heartwarming story behind him or her and Keiko is no exception.

Robinson trained his dam Sheikina and described her as an “ATM” as she had four seconds and a third in the maidens before going on to win twice.

However, what impressed him most about her was the size of her girth.

He said, “She had one of the biggest girths and barrels I have seen. This often points to a good producer, so I thought she would make a good broodmare.”

Robinson sent her to Mogok, not surprisingly, as among this successful sire’s progeny was Orbison, who won the Grade 1 Champions Cup for Herman Brown Jnr in the days Robinson was the latter’s assistant trainer. 

He continued, “The first foal of many mares is tiny and this was the case with Sheikina’s first foal Tinkle.”

She was unplaced a number of times and Robinson has given her away as a riding pony.

Keiko, also by Mogok, was her second foal.

Animal-loving Robinson, who has a menagerie of dogs, cats and birds, named him after the famous Orca, Keiko, who starred in the Free Willy movies and who after his release into the wild preferred swimming with children in the fjords of Norway rather than with his own kind.  

Adding to the anticipation after Keiko’s early promise is that Sheikina has three more racehorses on the way. On the ground she has a Mogok two-year-old and a “magnificent yearling” by the former Herman Brown Jnr-trained Linngari. She is in foal to the stallion who matched her best, Mambo In Seattle, as this give a 4×4 cross to the blue hen mare Lassie Dear.

Robinson also has high hopes for the David Ferarris-owned Var gelding Avro Lancaster, who ran in a barrier trial at Greyville yesterday. 

By David Thiselton

General Franco makes his eagerly-awaited reappearance in the Play Soccer 6 MR 94 Handicap over 1 400m at Durbanville on Saturday and, somewhat understandably, he has opened hot favourite.

This is the colt, a son of the great Frankel, who looked a potential superstar when accelerating like a machine to romp away with his debut in April only to finish plumb last when starting a prohibitive 7-20 for his follow-up a month later. He has not raced since.

“He has been doing very well at home, I have galloped him, he is ready and should give his full potential,” said Justin Snaith yesterday. “If he wins on Saturday he is obviously a horse for the future but he will have to prove it here and whether he is mature enough to win against a field like this I’m not sure. It is very hard at this level. Also he has never seen Durbanville although I have galloped him round the turn at Kenilworth.”

Snaith expressed concerns last month about the horse’s high rating of 102 and he did so again yesterday, saying: “I couldn’t run him before off that rating. He is still quite an immature horse and so I had to wait until he matured to a level at which I felt he would be competitive in this type of race.”

The reason for that bitterly disappointing second run remains something of a mystery. The only thing that showed up was slightly sore shins although some racegoers have suggested that, as he was not allowed to bowl along in front in the manner of his sire, he became disappointed and switched himself off.

But Snaith has ruled out racing him from the front on Saturday and he explained why. “I am trying to train him to be a miler-plus so I need him to settle. There are others in the race who are fast front-runners and therefore General Franco will be dropped out and tucked in.”

Richard Fourie has elected to partner the General rather than stable companions Frank Lloyd Wright, who was considered a bit unlucky when managing only fourth behind Icon King last time, and Green Jacket. The last-named is not a certain runner.

Snaith explained: “He was making a slight breathing noise this morning and I am going to give him a good sprint-up in the morning, see how he goes and then make a call.”

Green Jacket (Louis Mxothwa) is the outsider of the Snaith trio at 11-2 with General Franco odds-on at 8-10 and Frank Lloyd Wright (Corne Orffer) on 28-10. The only other runners are the Candice Bass-Robinson trained Meraki (Greg Cheyne) who is a 7-1 chance and the Harold Crawford-Michelle Rix pair Spectra Force (M.J. Byleveld) who is around 9-1 and Pink Floyd (Ossie Noach), the rank outsider of the party at nearly 20-1.

By Michael Clower