The Vaal has a nine race meeting tomorrow and on paper Perfect Tigress stands out as a Pick 6 and Jackpot banker in the eighth race but a closer look shows that Chariot Of Gold and perhaps Crystal Stream should also be included. 

The Where’s That Tiger filly has always been well regarded and is starting to fulfil her potential. She ran on strongly in the Grade 1 SA Fillies Classic over this trip to finish a 2,75 length fifth. According to official merit ratings she is 5,5kg better off than any other horse under the conditions of this race and she is drawn well in two. The one concern is that she did take a while to get going, so a slow pace will be against her, but she should be improving all the time. Chariot Of Gold is second best in at the weights and will be dangerous as she will likely be the one dictating the pace. She has run some decent races including finishing just four lengths behind Horse Of The Year Oh Susanna at level weighs when sixth in the Grade 1 Woolavington 2000. Crystal Stream is one with improvement in her and is another one to consider. She is drawn ideally in pole position for her front-running style and last time was looking for company in the straight. When a horse did pass her she picked up again and won going away, suggesting she is better than her bare form. However, she is 8,5kg under sufferance with Perfect Tigress.

In the first leg of the PA over 1200m Country Squire only just failed last time when handy throughout over 1000m. The impressive part of the run was that he jumped from the usually unfavourable draw of one down the Vaal straight. He nearly led from start to finish over this trip before that from this same number 12 draw and this field looks less inspiring. However, Tequila Man ran on well after a slow start over 1160m last time and could do the same from a high draw here, so he can also be included.

In the first leg of the Pick 6 over 1200m Boundless Deep had good form in the stronger centre of Cape Town over 1400m and is the one to beat having also run some fair sprints in KZN. However, this is his first run for the Botes yard and he returns from an 89 day layoff. He is also wearing a first-time tongue tie, so there are some negatives and he can’t be bankered. Varquera caught the eye on debut but then had to overcome draw ten out of ten on the Turffontein Inside course last time over this trip. He wasn’t disgraced and Gavin Lerena is now up. Catch A Glimpse has some fair recent form over course and distance and can also be included.

In the first leg of the Jackpot over 1200m Palace Chapel has a touch of class and looks capable of rising above his 95 merit rating. He has Lerena up but does have a low draw, so others have to be included. Life Is Good represents the flying Magner yard and looks to be off an attractive merit rating. Topweight Clever Guy has not been disgraced against some top horses lately and can also be included.

In the sixth race over 2600m Lerena is aboard Highlander who can always be relied on to finish strongly and stays the trip well. Master And Man disappointed last time but did not find cover the whole way and with better luck in running can go close. The Honey Badger is an improving sort who stays and he is the type who needs a good draw. He gets a good draw here and looks to be off a reasonable merit rating. Indy Ice was not disgraced last time in the Derby Trial and is interesting stepped up in trip as one who has stayed on over trips from 2000m to 2400m. Earth Sky is better than his last run and if bouncing back has a shout and Kings Cup has to be included in the Pick 6 and Jackpot.

In the seventh race over 2000m the R1,2 million Twice Over colt Palace Green won his maiden well and starts off on a reasonable mark with Lerena up from draw two. Pole position drawn Powered Beauty looks to be the one capable of upsetting him.

In the last race over 1700m I Am Batman caught the eye finishing with long strides over 1400m and should relish the step up in trip from a good draw. Culture Trip is also a longs-striding sort who should enjoy the trip from a good draw. Tarry horses make most appeal. Toastmaster is going the right way and is distance suited but has a wide draw to overcome. Wild Fire improved dramatically with blinkers and has to be considered and Manhattan Cocktail ran on well over 1400m last time so could also be thereabouts.

By David Thiselton

Robert Fayd’Herbe, one of the lynchpins of the Bass Racing organisation for most of the last 16 years, is moving to Madagascar and going into the construction industry.

He said: “I have always wanted to end up back in Madagascar. My family are there – it is only Bernard and I who are in South Africa – and when I was I last on holiday there my cousin said that his construction company needed to open a branch in the capital and did I want to run it. I don’t see a future for myself in racing the way things are going and at 35 I’m not getting any younger.”

Fayd’Herbe, as a grandson of the legendary Tiger Wright and younger brother of Bernard, naturally had race-riding ambitions. He showed talent and rode winners but his frame was too big for him to make it a career.

At Bass Racing he quickly became recognised as a safe pair of hands when horses travelled to race in other parts of the country. Those he had charge of included English Garden when that horse won  the 2011 SA Classic and Jeppe’s Reef (2013 Gold Cup), the 2017 Durban July winner Marinaresco and of course the mighty Pocket Power for whom he often doubled up as a night watchman to provide added security on the eve of big races.

In 2013 he decided it was time to train on his own account and entered into a partnership with his old mentor Neil Bruss. The combination had winners at Kenilworth and Durbanville – appropriately Bernard Fayd’Herbe rode the first of them, Africa Blue – but the partnership was not economically viable and the younger Fayd’Herbe returned to his old job.

He said: “Of course I will miss the racing – I have been in it since I was 16 and it is all I have ever done – and I have put back my departure by four months. I was supposed to be leaving at the end of this month but Candice has been struggling to find an assistant to do the Durban season so I told my cousin that I will see that out for the last time and then join him.”

By Michael Clower

Punters face a tricky card on the Greyville poly today, the opening leg of the Pick 6 an example with any one of the nine runners in with a winning chance. Michael Roberts saddles Kingsmead who reverts to his favourite course and distance and who looks due for a change of fortune after a string of runner-up berths on the poly.

Kingsmead finished behind Cumulus – also in this race – last run but the former has shown his best form over today’s course and distance and can turn the tables. Louis Goosen is a wizz with sprinters and Di Mazzio is quick and goes well on the poly. Apprentice Jason Gates is full value for his 2.5kg claim if he can keep it all together, but Di Mazzio is still 2.5kg worse off with Kinsgmead given their last meeting.

These three look the principal contenders but a win for any of the field would not come as a major surprise.

In the first race, the Chesney van Zyl-trained Clear Horizons trialled well and then made a smart debut proper when a close-up second to the well-regarded Highveld raider Sarah from the red-hot Paul Peter yard. The experience could give her an edge over first-timer Naoshima and Nymeria who comes from a Highveld stable that does well with juveniles and she has improved with each outing.

If the ratings prove correct, the opening leg of the Pick 6 looks a straight fight between Moschino and Master Of The Sea. Both step up in trip and there was little more than a length between the two when last they met. Moschino is proven on the poly while Master Of The Sea makes his poly debut for Paul Gadsby.

The fourth looks a little more difficult. There should be little between Jamaican Bay and Orient Express, the pair finishing on top of each other in their last outing. Both have consistent form but the latter may just be the right one although Belle Of Paris found strong market support at her last start. This possibly because Marcus was riding and the filly sporting blinkers for the first time but she had some fair form prior to that and now has a 4kg claimer aboard.

The fifth is another tricky race although Forehand impressed with her last win. She still looks capable of better and can follow up but Sweet Mary Lou has been racing in strong feature company and takes a major drop in class. She is back over what looks to be her optimum trip and Forehand will need to make the necessary improvement.

In the sixth, Legend is the class act and if he is ever going to win another race it is this one. He has a fair weight but takes a major drop in class and has also come down a further two pounds in the ratings. Samsonite was not far behind Legend when last they met and this will be his second run after a break so could make further improvement while March Preview showed up well after a lengthy break and is another than can improve off a light weight.

If Nymeria doesn’t do it for Paul Matchett in the first race, Atrevete can supply the travelling expenses in the seventh. She was ante-post favourite for her poly debut before being scratched (no transport) and her Highveld form is promising. The danger could be Spanish Oasis who showed major improvement when tried on the poly in PE. She is lightly raced and should feature here.

If Spanish Oasis obliges, Andre Nel will be looking for a double with Selailai in the last. He is lightly raced and showed up well first up in his local debut on the poly. He looks a live-wire. Ruby Spirit won well in the maidens from a tricky draw. He too showed up well on the poly in his barrier trial so could feature prominently.

By Andrew Harrison

And then there were four. The number of trainers at Philippi has dropped to the lowest that any of the present trainers can remember. The only ones left are Brett Crawford, Mike Robinson, Mohammed Allie and Justin Snaith who has his own place across the road but rents a 30-box yard and makes use of the facilities.

“When I started training (in 1974) the place was at the height of its popularity and it was full,” recalls Stan Elley. “I had to take a yard down the road and I had my name down on a waiting list for what seemed forever. When I did eventually get in there were ten trainers and there were still six or seven when I finished in 2015.”

Robinson moved to Philippi from a private trainer’s job at Drakenstein to become a public trainer in 2013. He mentally ticks off those who are there no longer – “Stephen Page emigrated (to Australia where he now assists Winx’s trainer Chris Waller), Stan retired and so did Carl Burger and now Riaan van Reenen has joined Glen Puller.”

Crawford set up shop there in 2009 with not much more than an empty stable and a huge reputation. He has built on the latter and now has one of the biggest and most powerful strings in the country. If ever Philippi needed an advertisement, his success is it.

“The tracks are the best in Cape Town,” says Robinson who operates with a string of 30. “They are all sand and we have a light track and a heavy one plus an 800m circular one that we use for hacking. The horses love the sand, the open spaces and there being plenty of room.”

Elley indicates that he also considers it better than Milnerton and adds: “The tracks are better and, while it may not be aesthetically pleasing, the fact is that horses thrive there.”

“The tracks are the kindest in the country. It’s virtually impossible to break a horse down on them,” says Chris Snaith. “And look how well Dennis Drier does from there every Cape season.”

So why has it become unpopular? “I don’t think it has,” says Robinson. “It’s just that the numbers have been dropping. We need to persuade more owners to bring their horses here,” and he adds, tongue in cheek, “but not to Brett and Justin – they have got enough!”

Van Reenen’s decision to hand in his licence was based on economics and has triggered a flood of website suggestions about limiting the number of horses that a trainer should be allowed and, even worse, the number than any one owner can have with a single trainer. Any such move would surely sour the bigger owners at a time when racing needs them like never before.

Unless he is unbelievably good, a trainer needs to be a salesman and his principal product is himself (or herself). “Horses don’t come to you, you have to go out looking for owners,” says Chris Snaith whose lessons have been learned over almost half a century that includes the 1991 July winner Flaming Rock. “You also have to give your owners the information about their horses that they are looking for. If you don’t, they will move them to someone who will.”

By Michael Clower

There will be a feast of racing this Saturday with the Dubai World Cup meeting coinciding with the SA Derby meeting at Turffontein.

The highlight of the local meeting will be the appearance of the Mike de Kock-trained Hawwaam in the Derby. He is not the highest merit rated horse in South Africa, but was accorded the highest ranking among SA horses in the first edition of the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings for 2019. The ranking assessments were made on three-year-olds and upwards which raced between 1^st January 2019 and 10^th March 2019.

He was assessed to have put in the tenth best performance in the world for that period and was given a rating of 119. Do It Again, Rainbow Bridge and National Park were given 118 ratings.

The South African handicappers have him on a 121 merit rating, behind all of Do It Again (125), Rainbow Bridge (124), Soqrat (124) and Head Honcho (122).  

Matthew de Kock has no doubt Hawwaam will get the 2450m trip on the basis of his pedigree and physical capacity.

However, there is a concern about his “his attitude”, but Matthew added, “We seem to be winning the battle.”

The Silvano colt over-raced a bit in both the Three Troikas over 1400m and the Gauteng Guineas. 

However, he settled in the Grade 1 SA Classic last time over 1800m and this enabled him to produce the same devastating turn of foot he had found in the Dingaans. He won the Dingaans by 3,40 lengths and the SA Classic by 5,75 lengths.

Mike de Kock thanked renowned bit expert “Bomber” Nel for his assistance in getting Hawwaam to deliver his best in the SA Classic. 

He was quoted on www.turftalk.co.za saying the day after the SA Classic, “The way Hawwaam threw his head around after the Guineas was a bit rank, so I called in Bomber’s help, he’s an authority on bits and exports his equipment all over the world. Bomber and I spent a day together, it was fascinating to tap into his knowledge. He made an adjustment to Hawwaam’s bit and it’s the little things that make a big difference, as Hawwaam showed yesterday.”

The legendary De Kock-trained SA Triple Crown winner Horse Chestnut went into the SA Derby with some questioning his stamina, but won at a canter by almost ten lengths. Hawwaam is out of contention for the Triple Crown as he finished second in the Gauteng Guineas, his only career defeat, but it is clear De Kock also rates him something special.

“I came off my chair, I got goose bumps,” De Kock told Turf Talk from Melbourne, Australia, from where he watched the SA Classic in a TAB outlet in the Victoria capital. “I don’t know what to say. It was spooky, actually. That was the Hawwaam I know and he’s a proper horse, even more so because I think the runner-up Barahin is top class, I know what I think of Barahin,” De Kock added.

World Sports Betting are taking no chances and have Hawwaam at 1/6 for Saturday’s race.

Of the other contenders the Tyrone Zackey-trained Gift For The Gap, at 22/1, makes appeal as one who will get the trip and who is on the up.

He caught the eye in his penultimate start over 2000m on Turffontein Standside when getting going late and surging in the closing stages. 

Then in his last start over that same 2000m course and distance he came from near the back of the field with a strong finish to win the Listed Derby Trial by half-a-length carrying 56kg off an 85 merit rating.

However, the most impressive aspect of the win was the horse’s obvious immaturity.

Here is a 16 hands plus individual with plenty of scope for improvement.

Zackey said, “He still has a lot to learn, how much I can’t tell you, but he is one of those nice horses who is going to win a good few races if I place him right. He is going to be a good stayer, I know he will be up against some good horses in the Derby but we like to have a go, we really enjoy it. When you’ve got a stayer it’s a big plus. For races like the July and the Gold Cup you need that type of horse and he’s also got to have a nice turn of foot. When you’ve got one who is able to come from the back the way he did on in the Derby Trial, you know you’ve got a fair horse. We had a big downpour beforehand too and he only has small hooves, so he did very well.”

The Zackey yard’s most loyal supporters are Kevin and Nadine Backos, his son-in-law and daughter respectively, and they have a share in Gift For The Gap.

Zackey recalled, “We went to the sales and Nadine came to me and told me she had seen a Master Of My Fate colt she just loved and I had to come and have a look. She is a lucky girl and has a good eye for a horse. The horse was this lovely dark brown colour and had a very nice walk but I told her and Kevin I thought he would go for a lot of money. She replied that whatever it takes we must get him and she would then set up a syndicate.”

They secured him for R200,000.

Hawwaam’s attitude will be tested from draw 15 of 15, while Gift For The Gap also has a tricky draw of ten.

However, acceleration is a weapon in the arsenals of both horses and jockeys Gavin Lerena and Marco van Rensburg respectively can afford to drop them out.

By David Thiselton