It is not an easy time of year for punters but there do look to be some opportunities at the Vaal tomorrow.

In the second race over 1600m Greenwood Drive is an effective front-runner who was swamped last time over 1450m in a big field but he should be able to dictate the pace here over a step up in trip he will appreciate in a field of just five runners. He has a big weight to carry but Muzi Yeni knows him well and he has come down one point in the merit ratings. Manitoba finished second in a useful field last week and could be the chief threat.

It usually pays to follow in form trainers in the month of August and Starting Line may provide another winner for Paul Matchett in the third over 1400m. Matchett has already had two winners this season, which is not even a week old, and Starting Line ran on well last time over 1450m after having to come from some way off the pace due to a high draw. He looks to have scope for improvement and should be closer to the pace down the straight. Theatre Of Dreams moved up well from last place over 1200m on debut before her run petered out, but her tongue was found to be over the bit and she now wears a tongue tie. She will appreciate the step up in trip too. Princess Penelope has proved disappointing being a R1,4 million filly by Silvano out of the multiple Grade 1 winner Princess Victoria but she should earn here and Little Sparrow and Princess Nicole have to be respected too.

In the fourth race over 1400m Pink bumped a good one last time but off only a one point higher mark she has a fine chance here as she has always struck as being a touch better than her current lowly rating of 63. Sammi Moosa had a wide draw last week when disappointing over 1450m around the turn but in her last three runs over this straight course and distance she has finished a close second every time, so should be right there. Seattle Tango beat Sammi Moosa by half-a-length on one of those occasions and is only half-a-kilogram worse off so should be right there too. 

In the fifth race over 1800m Seventh Of June from the in form Paul Peter yard just failed last time from the front over this trip and off only a one point higher mark he can go close again. He does have another tricky draw to overcome but Warren Kennedy now climbs aboard which will give his chances a big boost. Powered Beauty will be a big threat despite going four points up in the merit ratings for his win last time over 1600m because he will appreciate the step up in trip. Corrido goes for a hattrick for the Peter yard and the trip is suitable but he has to overcome a five point raise and Kennedy has jumped ship. Master And Man is always thereabouts and jumps from a plum draw over a suitable trip. Kurt’s Approval’s last win was over this trip and he is better drawn this time so he can be involved despite being four points higher in the merit ratings.

In the sixth race over 1200m What A Red disappointed last time having made an impressive debut on the Highveld but it was not a bad run. She was perhaps a touch handy that day in a race run at a blistering pace so with the blinkers now off she can bounce back as she is likely still ahead of the handicapper. Fictitious should go close with the accomplished 1,5kg claimer Jason Gates aboard as she is off a competitive mark over a suitable course and distance. I Ain’t Trippin is in good form and should be considered and Hear The Trumpet and Only To Win could also earn. 

In the seventh race, an apprentice handicap over 1000m, Lithuanian’s Dream was bounced out last time over this trip under this same 4kg claimer and waltzed in start to finish by 4,50 lengths. He has the same number one draw and a maximum eight point raise might not be enough to stop him if the same tactics are employed. Snow In Seattle sneaks into the handicap with the minimum weight and has won over this course and distance before. He has accomplished apprentice Ashton Arries aboard. Battle Creek will be thereabouts if maintaining his recent form and Tripod and Alex The Great also warrant consideration.

In the eighth race over 2000m the in form Alec Laird yard could have a winner with Circle Of Latitude. The last time she went over this trip she stayed on and just failed. After one more run she had a year’s layoff. She has recently had two comeback runs over 1400m and now steps back up to her right trip. She also gets blinkers on. The courageous Rabia The Rebel can be relied on to try her hardest over this suitable trip and she has a fair draw. Pilgrim’s Progress beat Rabia The Rebel by 2,25 lengths last time over this trip but is now 2,5kg worse off and has a tough draw.

The last race over 2000m is tricky. African Sunbird is well drawn and is distance suited so is the selection but all of Emerald Bay, Itsmydarlin, Always Red, Jacko Boy and Angelic Appeal warrant consideration for the Pick 6. 

By David Thiselton

Calypso Beat went into the notebooks at Kenilworth on Saturday even though it was his jockey who stole the show, amazing his audience with one trick after another like a conjurer at a children’s party.

It was straightforward enough for Greg Cheyne on the R1 million Querari in the 1 000m maiden fillies. The 57-20 favourite took an early lead and proved far more superior to the opposition than the eventual two-length verdict would suggest.

“I got out smartly and at the 600m she found her feet, pricked her ears and took the bit without me asking – always a good sign,” Cheyne reported.

Brett Crawford, who has handled more stars than a pop singer’s agent, was impressed, saying: “I think she has a future and she is going to be much better when the ground is on top.”

Cheyne teamed up with Crawford again five races later to take the Interbet.co.za Handicap on Ikebana for the Gujadhur Mauritian training family. But this was genius stuff.  Well inside the final furlong, with Grant van Niekerk on It Is What It Is two lengths clear and showing no sign of stopping, Cheyne switched the 3-1 favourite out of the narrowing gap between the leader and the rails and challenged on the other side. Amazingly, his mount ate up a seemingly impossible amount of ground and swept past to win a shade comfortably.

“Grant got first run on me and then he closed the gap,” Cheyne related. “People might say I was a bit cheeky at the end but I could feel the momentum – Grant’s filly had come to the end of her run while I was going away.”

The Cheyne fan club also attracted a whole host of new members in the previous race, the 2 000m Tellytrack.com Handicap, when he lulled the opposition into a false sense of security by setting a modest pace on the Andre Nel-trained Crome Yellow but, when they tried to come at him in the straight, he kept unleashing the reserves he had kept up his sleeve.

“The race was given to me,” he said, modestly playing down his masterclass. “My horse came out of the gate with his head in his chest and the others left me alone.”

Van Niekerk had to wait until Sleeping Single in race five to get off the mark – “The way the first few races went I thought ‘Oh God, I’m an embarrassment to Hong Kong.’” Not for long though as he also won the last for former boss Candice Bass-Robinson on Machiavelli in the Marsh Shirtliff colours.

However the Hong Kong man took only three rides to renew his acquaintanceship with the boardroom, being fined R1 000 for using his whip more than the permitted dozen on runner-up Yosma. The fine means little more to a man of his earning capacity than a car park tip does to the rest of us and surely the time has come for the NHA to substitute suspensions if it really does mean business about over-use of the whip.

Jockeys earn R4 500 for winning the most minor Cape Town race and, if they believe exceeding the limit will turn defeat into victory, they are effectively staking a grand at 9-2 on what they think is a certainty. All they lose is their stake.

Justin Snaith, trainer of Sleeping Single, sprang a 10-1 surprise in the first with Bravura’s three-parts brother Sachdev but the one that got away was 13-20 hotpot Winter is Over, only fifth to Craig Zackey and Geoff Woodruff’s Brother Louis in the mile maiden. “I am going to go back to the drawing board with him and try to find out what went wrong,” said the mystified trainer.

Joey Ramsden, still buoyed by Dynasty’s Blossom’s eLan Gold Cup and last season’s successful campaign (“with only 40-plus horses it was pretty special”), got off the mark for this term with the Ossie Noach-ridden Celtic Voyager.

By Michael Clower

Jockeys are supremely fit athletes and anyone who doubts the skills required in getting the best out of a racehorse would do well to watch replays of the two ‘non-professional’ races run at Hollywoodbets Scottsville yesterday.

Aron Xabendlini is a seasoned work rider and is vastly more experience than his fellow participants in the KZN work rider’s series. That experience held him in good stead as he wrapped up all three legs in a tight finish on Dennis Drier’s charge Liquidity. But he was a tad lucky as the inexperience and lack of racing fitness took its toll on Tristan Mustard who went down by the narrowest of margins on Kom Naidoo’s runner Juniper Lane.

As the line loomed, Xabendlini kept the favourite together while Mustard tried to get there before his mount, losing rhythm as his condition gave out and becoming unbalanced. It was valuable experience for the grandson of ex-jockey Leslie Mustard, successful on the Dessie Rich-trained Lightning Shot in the 1977 July.

It was a no-sticks-allowed contest as was the Qatar National Stud Apprentice Cup. The SA Jockey Academy is currently hosting a number of Qatari apprentices who have been riding out in the mornings although many trainers have been reluctant to use their services, mainly due to a language barrier.

But they have been well schooled in other areas at the academy and the Apprentice Cup was the culmination of their South African venture.

Favourite Celebration Rock was possibly an unlucky loser but his rider Salah Salem made a full tour of the Scottsville straight, his piece de resistance left for last as he cannoned into eventual winner Harmonica. Riding to instructions from Duncan Howells, Abdulla Rashid kept his head down and pushed all the way to the line to record an indelible memory, his first race ride being a winner.

It was something of a rat-race behind these two with no quarter asked and there were a few heated exchanges amongst colleagues back in the weighing room and a stern talking to by the stipendiary stewards.

By Andrew Harrison

Winter Is Over looks nailed on for the Betting World Maiden at Kenilworth tomorrow even though the price is unlikely to do a great deal for your finances.

This grey gelding – as short as 15-20 yesterday – looked a certain future winner when, despite showing understandable signs of greenness, he ran on strongly to be beaten less than a neck by the more experienced Ashbury Park on debut last month. Significantly the ground that day was soft.

Winning Ways singled out the Justin Snaith runner as one to follow and Luke Ferraris’s mount, odds-on yesterday, should have few problems confirming the form with Brother Louis who was over a length behind and has far less scope for improvement.

Grant van Niekerk was a talented jockey long before he went to Hong Kong – horses really run for him – and it will be interesting to see how a season in that pressure cauldron has improved him but I think the bookmakers are going overboard if they expect him to justify favouritism in four races out of six.

Most of his supposed best chances need to find a bit but Doppio Oro can start his ball rolling in the first despite being drawn one from the outside. The going on the sprint course last Saturday was significantly faster on the inside than in the middle or the outside.

The Candice Bass-Robinson runner has marginally the best form although it is a concern that we have no idea how he will handle the soft. Watch out for newcomer Bag Of Tricks. This is a Ridgemont runner, he has already been nibbled at and Brett Crawford won with a few first-timers last term.

In race two Van Niekerk’s mount Larentina ran well in the soft on debut but Calypso Beat, although untested in this going, also showed plenty of promise first time. She is a slightly better price and at the odds may prove a better bet. Missisippi Burning also has claims but 13 out of 14 means Craig Zackey is going to have to get across.

Snaith is responsible for 19 of the 74 runners (25%) and in the 1 000m Tabonline.co.za Maiden he has four out of seven but original favourite Tambora has been scratched. The Joey Ramsden runner Celtic Voyager accounted for all except the show-stopping Yorktown in the soft over a furlong further a fortnight ago and looks the one they have to beat.

BLOB Michael Clower’s winning run faltered when the ground changed and the profit on his tips to a R10 level stake in the last six months of the season dropped from a high of R307.40 to R195.40.

By Michael Clower

The drop in class from Champions Season fields to bread-and-butter fare is dramatic but there are always a few nuggets to be mined no matter what.

Coldhardcash rounded off what for him was a disappointing season at Hollywoodbets Greyville last Wednesday, but Duncan Howells can turn the page for the new season as he saddles a few with definite chances at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Sunday.

Best of these could come in the last race of the day where stable companions Candy Apple and Rocket Fire could have the race to themselves.

Howells rated Candy Apple as one of his better two-year-olds last season but the colt ran way below expectations in the Gr1 Gold Medallion. He had shown promise before that and races in first time blinkers which could bring out the best in him. Stable companion Rocket Fire was not far back first start out of the maidens, his first run in nearly six months. The spectre of the ‘second-run-after-a-lay-off’ syndrome looms large but he looks a likely threat.

Bravo Zulu was second best behind Coldhardcash on Wednesday but trainer Louis Goosen is confident of another forward showing. “The stable has turned,” he said yesterday, “and Bravo Zulu is my little ATM.”

Bedazzled Joker is another that should be in the firing line as he is holding form well.

Howells saddles the mare High Altar in the sixth where she faces half-a-dozen opponents. She loves this course and distance and was running on well last start over a trip arguably short of her best. Andre Nel saddles the consistent Agenteus who seldom runs a bad race. But she has been off the track since February and if it comes to a tight finish she may just be found wanting.

Of the balance, Classic Guard is lightly raced but has steady form over shorter while Roy’s Pony was only run out of it late by Jamaica Bay on Wednesday. She has a handy galloping weight and can turn the tables on Irish Wonder Girl who got up late to touch her off when tried in blinkers for the first time.

Dennis Drier is the perennial master in KZN and finished on top of the pile for the third season running with his 61 local winners.

So his charge, The Master, is well named and has good form over Sunday’s 1600m trip and has yet to run a bad race. From the best draw he should be right there again although he will face stiff opposition from Farland who has run two promising races over course and distance and his stable is finding form while Noble Joshua, who was an easy winner last start, can go in again.

Howells holds another strong hand in the seventh with his two fillies Wildly In Love and Starlight. Wildly In Love was much improved when tried in a tongue-tie last time out and was only caught late for second, finishing ahead of stable companion and favourite Marsanne. A repeat will see her go close. Miss Calypso has been in good form since returning from a lay-off and was a comfortable winner over the Greyville 1400m on the poly last time out. She showed good pace that afternoon so this 1000m should not be a factor against her.

Of the balance, French Legend found good market support at her last start and has been consistent while Starlight has been in good form since her maiden win and has a light weight.

There are two novel races on the day, the first a work riders plate where Aron Xabendlini will be looking to make it a hat-trick of work rider wins and the second for Drier where he partners Liquidity. The gelding gets first time blinkers and a tongue-tie and he could prove a little too quick for Dancing Princess and Class Of Eight.

The SA Jockey Academy is currently hosting a party of apprentices from Qatar and they get a chance to display there skills in the tenth race, although it will be run between the fourth and fifth races and is not included in any of the exotic bets.

Abdulla Saleh won this race two years back for Paul Lafferty and he will be aboard Lafferty’s runner Mokoko on Sunday but Krishnies Jet and Great Dictator look better propositions.

By Andrew Harrison