Tomorrow’s Winter Classic looks a straight fight between One World and Vardy. There was only a head in it in last month’s Winter Guineas and they meet on the same terms but One World is one of those tough you-won’t beat-me characters who puts his head down and battles whenever defeat is staring him in the face.

Indeed he has only been beaten once in eight outings and that was in the Cape Guineas in December when things did not go according to Vaughan Marshall’s plans – and the Milnerton trainer says that he has no concerns about tomorrow’s extra furlong.

Vardy, who had a race fitness advantage last time, tends to come off a straight line under pressure but he pleased Adam Marcus in his final piece of work yesterday.

Marcus said: “He has done exceptionally well since the Winter Guineas and he is in a very good place at the moment. The 1 800m is an unknown distance for him but, although he is by Var, I have always felt that the further he goes the better he will be. He has the ability to switch off in his races and he has a very good turn of foot.

“That said, taking on One World is never an easy task. He is the same style of horse as Jay Peg – they like to dictate and, if something comes, they dig deeper and keep finding more – but we will give it our best shot.”

M.J. Byleveld takes over from Marcus’s uncle Anton and in some ways he is on a hiding to nothing. If he wins everybody will praise the horse and if he gets beat they will blame the jockey. But MJ, who is bidding for his third Winter Classic, was three for three on the colt before being sidelined by injury and he is riding particularly well at the moment.

His mount has to be the selection – although generally odds-on you could still get evens (Betting World) yesterday morning – and the stats point to him. The last five Winter Guineas winners who went on to the Classic all won and the favourite has taken the last three runnings whereas no Winter Guineas runner-up has landed the Classic since 2010.

Majestic Mozart (best-priced 8-1) will be suited by the extra distance but he has nearly three lengths to find on the big two. Herodotus (9-1) will similarly be helped by the trip but he has even further to make up.

Helen’s Ideal looks good for the Stormsvlei Mile and Run Fox Run can extend her unbeaten record in the Olympic Duel.

BLOB Over the last 20 Cape Town racemeetings 33 (43%) of Michael Clower’s 76 selections have won, showing a profit of R195.90 to a R10 level stake.

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By Michael Clower

Chimichuri Run, beaten favourite in the Gr1 Computaform Sprint, is at the top of the boards for tomorrow’s Gr1 Tsogo Sun Sprint. But 4-1 with Track & Ball doesn’t inspire any confidence and a better option could be the 11-2 about top weight Undercover Agent.

Brett Crawford, successful with Pacific Trader in the Computaform, is not short of ammunition for the Scottsville showpiece with four runners, three of which are accomplished sprinters.

Last year’s winner Bold Respect has been winless since although close up during the Cape summer. Search Party was under two lengths back to Pacific Trader in the Computaform and Sunset Eyes, who warmed up nicely in a Pinnacle Stakes, is carrying joint bottom weight.

That leaves top weight Undercover Agent. He is the class horse in the field but there are concerns in some quarters that 1200m may be on the sharp side given his recent form. He was far from disgraced in the Gr1 L’Ormarins Queen’s Plate and the Gr1 Sun Met but it may have been his class that carried him so close. Prior to those races, his last win was in a 1200m sprint at Kenilworth before warming up for tomorrow’s event with a game win over Rainbow Bridge in the Gr2 Independent On Saturday Drill Hall Stakes over 1400m.

The testing Scottsville straight has found out many a good speed horse but suits a galloper with speed and a touch of stamina, a perfect profile for Undercover Agent.

Stable rider Corne Orffer, whether out of sentiment or choice, has stayed with Undercover Agent which is a further tick in the right box.

The balance of the field is evenly matched. The grey Mardi Gras appears to have had the ideal preparation. After running up a hat-trick of wins, he was given a short break by Johan Janse van Vuuren. His warm-up was at Greyville earlier this month where he gave away lumps of weight and he should strip at his peak.

Last year’s winner Bold Respect is handily weighted and carries only 1kg more than last year with the added advantage of Anton Marcus in the saddle.  He boasts solid Cape summer form so will have many supporters.

It is not surprising that Chimichiri Run is at the top of the boards given his recent record and cannot be left out of any calculations while fellow three-year-old Palace Chapel looks fair each-way value at 20-1.

The three other Gr1 sprints are equally difficult. Snowdance is a luke-warm ante-post favourite for the Gr1 SA Fillies Sprint. Justin Snaith has specifically targeted this race, believing that she is more of a sprinter than a ‘miler’. Like Undercover Agent, her stamina will come into play and she could land the odds.

She is up against last year’s Allan Robertson Championship winner Mighty High and recent Camelot Stakes winner Schippers. The two met recently in the Camelot Stakes with Schippers running out a comfortable winner. Schippers got a hefty shunt up the handicap for that win but they meet on almost identical terms here so Geoff Woodruff’s runner can confirm that form.

The Juvenile races are a completely different kettle of fish. With young horses maturing at different rates and full fields of 16 runners lining up in both the Gr1 Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion and the Gr1 Allan Robertson, it is something of a guessing game.

The unbeaten SA Fillies Nursery winner Basadi Faith will have her supporters in the Allan Robertson but she was hard pressed to hold on to her lead that day as Cavivar challenge hard. The extra 100m on the Scottsville track could find out Basadi Faith but they may all have to get to Travelling Light. Garth Puller, a multiple Gr1 winner as a jockey, has yet to repeat as a trainer but in Travelling Light he has a lively contender. She cruised home on debut beating the well-regarded Talia Al Ghul by nearly five lengths with the balance of the field a further five lengths back.

Owner Dave MacLean has four runners engaged in the Gold Medallion, all four in with chances. Recent Highveld awards winner Frosted Gold from the Mike de Kock yard is at the top of the boards but MacLean has three smart runners from the Duncan Howells yard which gives him a strong hand.

Dennis Drier bids for an unprecedented seventh win in this race over the past decade and pins his hopes on Cartel Captain and Master Of Illusion. The former may prove the pick which brings African Warrior and High Voltage into the picture.

In all, this will be a fascination day’s entertainment and a highlight of Champions Season.

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By Andrew Harrison

Scottsville’s holds its annual speed race meeting this Saturday with four Grade 1 races on the day that includes the Gr1 Tsogo Sun Sprint as the main feature.

The country’s talented sprinters from the Highveld, Cape Town and KZN will compete for the huge stakes pot.

Search Party is a horse that I have been following closely and he looks to come into this race with an ideal prep. In his last start in the Grade 1 Computaform Sprint, he jumped from a wide draw and was holding his line on the extreme outside. He did have some trouble in the running because he was switched from the outside to the inside and was low flying late and only hit top stride when the race was over. It was an eye-catching performance.

It’s never easy for a horse to keep finding especially when switching in sprint races. This won’t be an easy task for Search Party as there are some high-quality athletes in this race however the 55kgs on his back will help accompanied by a strong rider in Richard Fourie.

Brett Crawford has four runners in the race and all look to be in with a shout, however Search Party looks a solid place bet at the 28-10 that is currently on offer.

The South African Fillies Sprint looks open with Snowdance from the Justin Snaith yard topping the betting boards at 4-1. The second favourite Schippers from the Woodruff yard comes in with excellent recent form. The speedy daughter of Var will be ridden by Chase Maujean and comes from a yard who are famous for training top sprinters.

The place double Search Party and Schippers works out at inviting odds of 7-1.

The day hosts a variety of events like fashion shows combined with high quality racing not forgetting the two Grade 1 races for two-year-olds and racing pundits will be eager to see the unbeaten filly Basadi Faith in the Allan Robertson Championship.

Scottsville is the place to be come this Saturday.

By Devonne Govender

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Betting World is sticking its collective neck out with One World in the Winter Classic at Kenilworth on Saturday offering the Vaughan Marshall star at even money whereas main market rival World Sports Betting has the colt odds-on at 17-20.

WSB is more generous with second favourite Vardy despite clipping the Adam Marcus runner from 15-10 to 14-10 yesterday. The gelding has no more than a head to find with One World on Winter Guineas form and he is only 12-10 with South Africa’s biggest bookmaker.

The one that has been backed, though, is Greg Cheyne’s mount Majestic Mozart who was third, beaten nearly three lengths, in the Winter Guineas. His price has tumbled from 9-1 to 11-2 with WSB while Betting World was still offering 8-1 yesterday afternoon.

Marshall and his jockey M.J. Byleveld look set for a good day according to the market -they have three favourites and two joint favourites. WSB is taking no chances with Run Fox Run (Cheyne) who puts her unbeaten record on the line in the Olympic Duel Stakes and has opened her at even money. The Paul Reeves-trained Helen’s Ideal is, as expected, favourite for the Stormsvlei Mile at 5-2.

By Michael Clower

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Sean Tarry has a strong hand in all four of the Grade 1 features at Scottsville’s Festival Of Speed meeting on Saturday.

In the R1 million Tsogo Sun Sprint he has three contenders and has kept Lyle Hewitson aboard Trip To Heaven, who has had a new lease of life since the champion jockey first climbed aboard him towards the end of last season. He said loading him early had not helped his cause in the Computaform Sprint, as he had lost more ground than his customary couple of lengths, so he is hoping he is one of the last to load on Saturday. The 1200m trip allows him plenty of time to make up the ground and he is attractively weighted on his best form. 

Luke Ferraris has ridden Africa Rising twice for two wins so Tarry has put him back aboard this honest five-year-old gelding. Tarry said his win three runs back in the Grade 2 Merchants over 1160m at Turffontein had been impressive, while his following run could be ignored as he did not pull up well. His last outing was very much a preparation run for Saturday’s big race. 

The consequence of those two riding arrangements is that Raymond Danielson lands the ride on the ruling Track And Ball favourite, Chimichuri Run. Tarry pointed out Danielson had had Grade 1 success with him in the past.

Tarry said it had probably been a mistake to put the blinkers on Chimichuri Run last time as he had hung a bit worse than usual. He had originally thought of avoiding this race for the three-year-old due to his high merit rating but when he was surprisingly set to carry only 54,5kg, due to the presence of Undercover Agent, he kept him in. He said 1200m was arguably his best trip.  He added he was tailor made for 1200m around the turn or 1400m at Greyville but said there had been little wrong with his form down the straight. He finished third in the Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion last year. 

Tarry said all three runners had enjoyed good preparations.

Tarry believes the Johannesburg two-year-old form could well be the strongest in the country particularly among the fillies. He pointed out the time of the Grade 2 SA Fillies Nursery had been faster than that of the SA Nursery. He has thus kept SA Fillies Nursery runner up Cavivar against the girls in the Allan Robertson Championship, but has put his other good filly Spring Break in the Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion against the boys. 

He said Cavivar’s penultimate start could be ignored as she did not settle with a tongue tie on. He said watching her 0,3 length second in the SA Fillies Nursery, where switching inward might have been costly, he believed Scottsville might well be to her liking and hoped she could turn the tables on Basadi Faith.

Spring Break was much talked about before staying on strongly to get up on debut and she must have a shout receiving 2,5kg from the boys in the Gold Medallion.

Tarry said it would have been pointless putting his well beaten SA Nursery unplaced runners in this race. He decided instead to opt for Eden Roc who did admittedly win over the further trip of 1400m on debut but Tarry pointed out he had won effortlessly in that Juvenile Plate event.

He said all three of his SA Fillies Sprint contenders Celtic Sea, Green Plains and Exquisite Touch had been doing well and had enjoyed good preparations.

He said Celtic Sea’s most disappointing runs had been when stepping her up to a mile, so maybe he had misinterpreted her strong finishes over 1400m and had thus decided she might be effective over 1200m. 

“She is a very good filly and will be right there,” he said.

He believed Green Plains had hit the front quite early last time out when finishing a 2,75 length third in the Grade 2 Camellia Stakes with topweight and he believed she would benefit from a more patient ride. 

In that same race he pointed out Exquisite Touch was unable to get a run so it could be ignored. She had previously been doing well against the boys.

Green Plains ran a 2,40 length sixth last year and Exquisite Touch a 5,65 length ninth, while Celtic Sea was a half-a-length second in the Allan Robertson.

By David Thiselton

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