The Vaal straight course has a competitive eight race meeting tomorrow, although the exotics look catchable.

The first race will form the first leg of the Bipot and some of the many first-timers look to be the ones to side with. Upcloseandpersonal by Captain Al, Blessed Rain by Soft Falling Rain and Capetown Dream by Capetown Noir are the three which make most appeal on pedigree.

In the first leg of the PA In The Dance can be bankered. This Gimmethegreenlight filly has an exceptional turn of foot, like her half-brother Capetown Noir, and is weighted to win this Assessment Plate over 1200m easily.

In the first leg of the Pick 6 over 2000m both Julep and Hit For Six are up and coming three-year-olds who will relish this step up in trip and they can fight it out with Mighty Rock who is proven over the trip.

In the first leg of the Jackpot over 1600m Latin Opus is a scopey son of Pomodoro and he should relish the step up to this trip after staying on last time over 1400m. He is still maturing so should continually improve and is the one to beat. He could be a banker consideration from a good draw. Verdi ran well in his penultimate start over this trip but has a wide draw to overcome. The Makwakkers was beaten by Verdi in that race but was a touch unlucky and could reverse form from a plum draw here, so he can also be included. The Greatest Wish has shown signs of ability and should be ideally distance suited so he warrants consideration from a good draw. Colonel Caramel is a long-striding sort who is capable of a strong finish and he is a probable outsider to include.

In race five over 1600m Approach Control makes appeal from a fair draw. He was not disgraced in either the Gauteng Guineas or SA Classic and before that was touched off by useful sorts Green Haze and Hero’s Honour in two respective races over this trip. Officially he is 3,5kg under sufferance with Alyaasaat but he beat the latter at level weights in both the Guineas and the Classic and now receives 3kg from him. Alyaasaat beat Soqrat over 1450m at the beginning of the season but has disappointed in the Graham Back, Guineas and Classic since then. He could bounce back in this lesser company. Protea Paradise is a progressive sort who will find this a touch sharp but he should be running on and can be considered. Ghaalla is the best weighted horse but gained her rating from her Grade 3 Fillies Mile win where the form could be questioned as second-paced I Like it was lowly rated and third-placed Ronnie’s Candy did not have luck in running that day. She was also well beaten into third when well weighted on Saturday, although she was nearly brought down in that race so could be forgiven. Anjom disappointed badly last time having struck as one who did have scope for improvement.

In the sixth race over 1600m Dame Kelly has always struck as one with class and she won going away in commanding fashion last time over this trip. She can follow up off a merit rating of 82, which she has proven before to be better than. My Dream Chaser also has a touch of class and is progressing. She can rise above a 77 merit rating and is well drawn. Flying Fable carries topweight but has ability and is well drawn over a suitable trip. Believe Me is progressing in the typical style of a Silvano filly and is capable of coming from off the pace from a tough draw, so she has to be included in the Jackpot and Pick 6. Only To Win is an honest sort who can’t be ignored either, despite a wide draw, and Lady Val is well regarded so could also be in the shake up. State Star should be right there too.

In the seventh over 1000m Dalai’s Promise caught the eye in the preliminaries last time and then only just failed behind the promising Mr Whatson, so she should go close with a 2,5kg claimer up. Miss Khalifa is well regarded and this speedster will have a chance of blitzing the field now that she is back on a relatively quick Highveld track. Dancing Queen has come into her own and can go close too. For wider Elbi, Opera and Ulla can also be considered.

In the last race over 1200m Palace Assembly is capable of still improving and gets the vote over an ideal trip. Certifiable has to be included over a course and distance he enjoys. Sugoi is a well built sprinter and on pedigree he should enjoy stepping up to 1200m. Moon Warrior is close to Certifiable on form and Sporting Monarch also has to be included in the Jackpot and Pick 6 over an ideal course and distance.

By David Thiselton

Joey Ramsden is aiming Fresnaye at the Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes at Turffontein on April 13, hence the filly’s run in a 1 400m conditions plate at the Johannesburg course nine days ago when she ran on into third behind Celtic Sea.

Ramsden said: “I was very pleased with that. I had done nothing with her yet she quickened quite nicely.”

The Empress Club has proved a happy hunting ground for Cape Town horses on occasion in the past. Justin Snaith won the mile Grade 1 with Dancer’s Daughter ten years ago, Brett Crawford scored with Thunder Dance in 2013 and Mike Bass won with Inara three years later. Fresnaye, who carries the same Drakenstein colours as Inara, has a string of recent high class performances to her name winning the Victress, Stormsvlei Mile and Winter Oaks last year while this year she was fourth in both the Paddock Stakes and the Majorca.

Ramsden has a 24 % strike rate in Gauteng this season (“I must be picking the right ones to send up there”) and he is targeting a second Computaform Sprint on May 4 with last year’s first and third, Attenborough and Speedpoint. The plan is to give both just one prep run beforehand.

On the Durban front Cape Guineas runner-up Twist Of Fate (winner of the Cape Classic, Politician and nearly R2 million) leaves Cape Town at the end of this month and will probably begin his campaign there in the KRA Guineas on May 3.

BLOB The stable’s recent Prix Du Cap winner Rose In Bloom (also second in the Sceptre and third in the Majorca) looks like staying with Ramsden for the rest of her racing career after being bought for R800 000 by stud owner Stefan Moller at Saturday evening’s small Central Route Trading sale.

By Michael Clower

Marinaresco steps up to two miles on Saturday when the 2017 Vodacom Durban July winner tackles the Dubai Gold Cup and regular rider Bernard Fayd’Herbe is expecting a big run.

He said: “It’s his first time over the trip and he is obviously taking on the best but he is fit and doing really well. We are expecting him to run a game race and if we run in the money we will be very happy – but we will take the win!”

The six-year-old has, somewhat understandably, taken time to find his form after extensive travel and quarantine following his last South African run when third in the 2018 Sun Met. He has had three runs at Meydan, all in Group 2 races – finishing an always rear ninth of 13, fifth of nine when weakening in final furlong and a sixth of ten nearest at finish – but his jockey’s enthusiasm bodes well. 

Fayd’Herbe was in double form on his brief return home to ride at Durbanville on Saturday when he won the last for Mike Stewart on Dave Curran’s Icon Princess and steered four-year-old Ancestry to victory for the first time since the horse’s heady juvenile days when he came within little more than half a length of wining both the Premiers Champion and the Durban Golden Horseshoe.

A delighted Joey Ramsden said: “Ancestry is a hard horse to ride. He just drops the bit and he has been doing that ever since he came back from Durban as a two-year-old.  Running him over a mile and a half here was a last resort.”

Saturday was a red-letter day for the able Sandile Mbhele who rode his 40^th winner on Miss Plumcake (backed from 8-1 to 10-30) and reduced his claim to 1.5kg. “I think there is plenty more to come from this kid – he is a natural,” commented Stan Elley who knows talent when he sees it.

This was the second leg of a double for Marinaresco’s former trainer Candice Bass-Robinson who was also on the mark with the Aldo Domeyer-ridden Naturalist in the first and whose initial Durban contingent arrived at Summerveld on Friday. They include Santa Clara and What A Summer while Clouds Unfold is among those still to travel.

Sorry to relate, Je Ne Sais Quoi cost favourite backers dear for the fourth successive race. Morne Winnaar had her well away in the Tellytrack.com Maiden  but she got shuffled back into the rear of mid-division and, while she quickened well when the tap was turned on, the 21-10 shot couldn’t match 9-1 chance Big Suze and was beaten an expensive fifth of a length.

“It was a slow-run race and that didn’t suit her,” Winnaar reported. “She then took time to get going but, if it had been a true-run race, I would have won.”

Big Suze’s Brett Crawford-Corne Orffer combination were also on the mark with Middle Word 35 minutes earlier whereas the Justin Snaith-Richard Fourie team had to be content with just one, Spirit Festival, and that was a tense affair for the man in the irons – “As we jumped out of the gates my saddle slipped backwards. I thought ‘I’ve got to be cautious, sit tight and just look pretty.’”

MJ Byleveld attracted plenty of favourable comment for his handling of Kenny Trix in the Interbet.co.za Handicap. Intriguingly Jane Truter revealed that the Vaughan Marshall-trained five-year-old was named after her husband but he was more impressed with the way the horse had regained his form after being off for nearly 18 months through injury – “To be honest, I didn’t think he would make it back.”

By Michael Clower

The Paul Lafferty-trained Dark Moon Rising was considered once to be a staying prospect but he has turned out to be a useful miler and yesterday produced his usual strong finish to land the Listed Kings Cup over 1600m at Greyville under Keagan de Melo.

The five-year-old Ideal World gelding’s two previous best runs this season were over the same course and distance, an easy win in November and a third in the Listed Christmas Handicap,

Yesterday, he was 1,5kg better off with Christmas Handicap-winner Matador Man for a 1,6 length beating and shortened into 26/10 favourite, while Matador Man drifted out to 4/1.

Matadotor Man was dropped out to his usual last place and Dark Moon Rising, who likes to run around horses in the straight, was just ahead of him.

Royal Armour set a steady pace.

Dark Moon Rising and Matador Man rounded the field together at the top of the straight. The 16/1 shot Roy’s Riviera burst through a gap just inside of them and Platinum Prince was running on down the inside.

However, it turned into a thrilling tussle between the trio on the outside. Dark Moon Rising found the necessary extra to deny topweight Matador Man a head with Roy’s Riviera a head further back. 

It was a double for Lafferty who had earlier teamed up with Warren Kennedy to win with Romanesca.

Dark Moon Rising should also be effective over further and it will be no surprise to see him having another crack at the Vodacom Durban July.

Roy’s Riviera’s settled well for the first time since donning blinkers three runs ago. The SA Champions Season fillies mile division will be competitive but she could surprise one or two pundits as she has blossomed.

Earlier, Andre Nel’s Silver Rose won a strong Pinnacle Stakes race over 2200m under a clever ride by Gareth Wright. The slow pace did not suit the favourite Flichity by Farr, who ran a bit flat in third, but she remains a useful staying prospect for Champions Season.

Dean Kannemeyer’s The Sultan’s Bazaar won a MR84 Handicap over 1900m in fine style.

Dennis Drier and Sean Veale got the meeting rolling with the R900,000 two-year-old Master Of My Fate first-timer Master Of My Illusion. The gelding stretched out well late to just get his nose down in the 1200m Juvenile Plate event.

Tony Rivalland and Stuart Randolph then teamed up to score with the progressive Extravargant, who has now won two from three starts.

There were also wins for Alistair Gordon and Anton Marcus, Wayne Badenhorst and Jason Gates and Sean Tarry and Lyle Hewitson.

By David Thiselton

The start of Champions Season is still over a month away but the Kings Cup heralds the dawn of three months of championship racing. So too do the hoards of Western Cape raiders that have been arriving by the float-load at Summerveld this past fortnight.

Justin Snaith sends out his first local runner with Platinum Prince lining up at Greyville on Sunday, but Highveld raider Sean Tarry appears to hold the best hand as he saddles Matador Man and Captain And Master who could prove the two to beat in a competitive handicap.

Matador Man is over what is arguably his best course and distance and can follow up in his Christmas Handicap win in spite of top weight. Prior to that he ran an inexplicably bad race behind Dark Moon Rising failing to quicken went popped the question by Anton Marcus.

He does however have to give lumps of weight to his rivals, including 2kg to stable companion Captain And Master. A close-up fourth in the Hawaii Stakes, Captain And Master was sent out a short-priced favourite over the Greyville 1400m last time out, but took time to get into stride by which time the handily weighted Tristful had flown the coop.

He stays the mile comfortably but one assumes that regular stable rider Lyle Hewitson will have had the pick of the rides in spite of Marcus’s presence on Captain And Master.

Platinum Prince is no stranger to Greyville, having run here four times, and he should strip close to peak fitness after two warm-ups at Kenilworth. Richard Fourie is up for the ride and the ever competitive Snaith will like nothing better than to start his KZN winter campaign on a winning note.

Dark Moon Rising was something of a controversial runner in last season’s Vodacom Durban July but Paul Lafferty will no doubt have his charge headed for another dip in the well come Saturday, July 6 and victory here will enhance the gelding’s chances of making the final 18-horse field.

A possible exotic bet banker could come in the form of the filly Flichity By Farr. Second in the SA Oaks and the Gold Vase last season, she has come back well since a break. Her recent win came over a trip many thought would be short of her best but she took full toll of her advantage in the weights.

She is again well weighted in another Pinnacle Stakes over 2200m and can put the boys to the sword again over what should be a more suitable trip. Byron Forster does duty for Andre Nel in KZN and his two charges Silver Rose and O’Keeffe will be threats. O’Keeffe has yet to finish out of the first two since stepping out on the poly but she jumps in trip here and is back on the turf. Stable rider Gareth Wright has elected to partner top weight who stays well but does come off a three-month break.

The Gold Circle Podcast Handicap looks a tricky affair although Ollivander has been battling the handicapper for all of his career and is due another win. He makes his local debut off some smart staying form in the Cape and has his first start for a new stable. He will have a big chance on his best form. The Sultans Bazaar has been consistent over sorter but may now be looking for this trip. He also looks well weighted and along with Paths Of Glory looks the biggest threat to Brett Crawford’s runner.

By Andrew Harrison