Chantyman has had his fair share of problems since shedding his maiden in eye-catching fashion. A year later he still only has that single win to his credit but that can change at Greyville tonight when he steps out onto the poly again.

Since a barrier trial, Dennis Bosch’s charge has run close over the Scottsville shortcut although most recently a six-length drubbing in a Progress Plate. He faced a useful field that day with talented Red Chesnut Road and Dawn Calling ahead of him.

If anything, he faces slightly weaker this evening over what looks to be his optimum tip.

In the line-up is a promising youngster in top weight Desolate Road but Chantyman may just have the edge in fitness.

Chantyman (Candiese Marnewick)

Tony Rivalland’s colt has only had three starts, winning on debut and more recently finishing second to the smart Chimichuri Run. That last out in was some two months back and he may be caught short of peak fitness.

Of the balance Whorly Whory has put up two smart efforts over course and distance and with a 4kg claimer up must also have a shout.

In the opening leg of the Pick 6, Elusive Diva should take a power of beating. She improved nicely at her second local outing on the poly and is rated way better than anything else in the line-up.

Champagne Gold finished runner-up behind Oratorina on Wednesday. It was a smart effort in a race that was run at a pedestrian pace but she may not take her place here.

A weak field is carded to face the starter in the fourth where it may prove prudent for exotic bet punters to load up. Wendy Whitehead and Stuart Randolph teamed up for a double on Sunday and send out Sovereign Soldier. He was not far back from a tricky draw last run and has pulled a better gate here. He has consistent form over course and distance. Likely dangers are Slightly Scottish who is seldom too far back and has a decent chance in this line-up, while Haddington has been off form of late but he takes a rating drop and as a five-time winner warrants serious consideration.

Another wide-open affair faces punters in the fifth. Master Sam has dropped in the ratings and is also down in class which adds to his appeal. Caddy Master, who cased a major boil-over when shedding his maiden, has not been far back at recent outings. A light weight and a decent draw puts him strongly into the picture. Eccellerate is battling for another win but has dropped a long way in the ratings and could be competitive again while Lord Of Glencoe took an age to shed his maiden but did so in a competitive field and can follow up.

Anton Marcus is back aboard Fieldmarshal Fenix in the seventh who has been knocking at the door for some time now. He goes well over course and distance and with a decent draw can be rewarded.  Dangers are many but Subtropical has improved in blinkers and ran a cracker first up from a break over course and distance while Play The Night has been up against stronger since his maiden win and off his light weight should be ultra-competitive.

The last is another tricky race but Cherry Pop was a recent maiden winner but that form has been franked so she can go in again. Sheik’s Storm comes from a very much in form stable but does have a big weight while Mitra Music has her third run after a break and with a claiming apprentice up should be right there from a good draw.

By Andrew Harrison

Keagan de Melo, one of the more stylish jockeys around, took full advantage of a 9.5kg swing in the weights with hot favourite Fiorella to get Royal Frost home in the Pinnacle Stakes at Greyville yesterday. Although beaten, Fiorella warmed- up nicely for a crack at the Gr2 Ipi Tombe Stakes on G-Bets Summer Cup day next month.

De Melo was content to sit back in the early exchanges on Dean Kannemeyer’s filly but made his moved wide on the home turn as he realised that Fiorella was trapped behind runners on the inside rail and took full advantage of the situation.

Royal Frost got first run and although Fiorella, on the back foot at the top of the straight, got going late the bird had flown and Royal Frost coasted home with the balance of the field well beaten.

The contrast between racing at Happy Valley and Greyville yesterday was marked. There’s no holding back in Hong Kong as they go hammer-and-tongs from the jump and generally the fittest horse wins. In contrast, the Greyville ‘crawl’ was order of the day and some of the results were a lottery.

Jet Stream (Candiese Marnewick)

Odds-on favourite Mela Stregata was a victim, Jet Stream was good enough to over come the hurdle, but Flichity By Farr also succumbed to a funerial gallop.

After visiting second box for the 24^th time this season with Rocket Fire in the card opener and odds-on favourite Mela Stregata finishing in the scrum, Jet Stream put a wry smile back on the face of Duncan Howells.

Jet Stream was not facing the strongest of maiden fields but did it in style as he put one over the lightly raced All Aboard with the balance of the field strung out like the washing.

With stable companion El Cordorbes setting a pedestrian pace, Mark Khan raced in Marriott Road for much of the race with none too keen to let him in. But the favourite had too much class. In spite of racing green, he still had a full tank in the run home and All Aboard chased in vain.

Frank Robinson has hit a rich vein of form of late and there was some ante-post support for Top Classman in the fifth. The race was run at a muddling pace but Top Classman quickened best of all to get home ahead of Silver Rose and favourite Flichity By Far. The pace, coupled with the 4kg weight difference, was probably the deciding factor as Anton Marcus committed Flichity By Farr at the 800m mark and although she stuck gamely to her guns she was not able to hold the final sprints of her two lightly weighted rivals.

Warren Kennedy, one of the relatively unsung heroes of the weighing room and one of the best light-weight riders in the country, is a master of his craft and took his season’s tally of winners to 33 on Oratorina in the second. But he came a fraction short as Missibaba just failed to catch Fancifilly in the seventh.

Coughs and niggles were starting to get to Ashburton-based Louis Goosen who has been short of a few winners of late but he was fairly confident of Fancifilly’s chances yesterday after Marcus asked for the ride. This was the Fancifilly’s last chance as she had been a very sick horse last season but how often don’t horses come up trumps when on borrowed time.

“Sherman went like the clappers last time so she was entitled to compound, “said Goosen mid-week. “Anton (Marcus) was in the race. He clocked the gallop.”

It was close but Marcus got it right.

It was back to the drawing boards in the last for Dennis Bosch. After stretching Mutawaary over ground without success it was back to the gelding’s barrier trial first up for his new stable when close-up behind the speedy but since retired Doing It For Dan, matching the sprinter for most of the trial.

Back to a sprint yesterday, Mutawaary gave Warren Kennedy his double in the last as the pair pulled away comfortably from top weight Roy’s Magic.

By Andrew Harrison

Joey Ramsden is bidding to win the Cape Classic for the fourth time in six seasons at Kenilworth on Saturday and his Twist Of Fate is officially the best horse in the race. Yet the colt was originally to run in the Betting World Pinnacle Stakes instead.

“Twist Of Fate is very good but I thought maybe the 1 400m of the Classic was a little bit too far for him and I was 7-5 in favour of going for the shorter race,” Ramsden relates. “But Bernard Fayd’Herbe was extremely positive and it was his enthusiasm that tipped the balance in favour of the Classic.”

Twist Of Fate has not raced since finishing third to Mike de Kock’s pair Soqwrat and Alyaasaat in the Premiers Champion almost three months ago. Will he be fit enough?

“He ran a good race in that Premiers Champion despite having no prep but I would like to have got a little bit more work into him this time,” says his trainer. “He has only had the one gallop although he did gallop well.”

Fayd’ Herbe has not won the Cape Classic since scoring on Chief Warrior and Tobe Or Nottobe for Mike Bass in 2002 and 2003 and he has an outside draw to contend with. But it could be worth noting that Fayd’Herbe was already aware of the draws when he was pressing Ramsden to run. The colt was a 7-1 chance yesterday.

By Michael Clower

The final field for the Grade 2 Peermont Emperor’s Palace Charity Mile to be run on Turffontein Standside on November 3 was announced yesterday.

Meanwhile, the ante-post betting for the supporting features on the day has been out and the race of the day might well be the Princess Charlene Starling Stakes over 1400m as it has attracted what looks to be an exceptionally strong field.

The Charity Mile is always a difficult race to assess as some use it as a preparation event for the GBets Summer Cup.

Hat Puntano (JC Photographics)

Hat Puntano carried 61kg to victory last year and has the same weight this season. He comes in off the back of one moderate outing, as he did last year. Noble Secret is the favourite and this big, progressive sort will be capable of carrying 55kg but the Summer Cup, where he is also favourite, is likely his chief goal. Matador Man will have a huge shout carrying 56kg as he has proved his class as a miler and this is likely his chief Johannesburg mission. New Predator was beaten just 1,65 lengths last year carrying 61kg and now carries 55,5kg due to a below par sequence of runs. The joint topweight is Coral Fever who can always be relied on for a good performance, although the mile is on the sharp side for him. Near the bottom of the weights Arctica carrying 53kg makes some appeal at long odds.

In the Starling Stakes one of the talking horses of the season, the Mike de Kock-trained Isle de France, has been allowed to open at 14/1 by World Sports Betting despite landing a nice draw of eight in a field which has 37 entries still standing. This Var filly is out of the SA Oaks winner Ilha Bela, a daughter of the top class Ilha da Vitoria. On debut over 1450m on the Turffontein Inside track she found herself out of her ground but Gavin Lerena was not concerned as De Kock had told him that all members of this family loved to accelerate. Like other members of the family she is also not at all big, but has a big heart and a big action and she duly made up the ground in a matter of strides before ricocheting away to win by 4,10 lengths. However, it was not a great maiden field and next Saturday’s race is a big step up in class.

The deserved 5/1 favourite is the unbeaten Mighty High, who drew 14. The form of her Assessment Plate win over 1200m recently has been franked by the runner up Big Mistake winning a minor feature. The only concern is how well she will settle over 1400m as this Grade 1 Allan Robertson winner has plenty of pace. On pedigree she should love the 1400m as her sire won a Group 1 over that trip and her dam Bold Nimph (Shamardal) is a half-sister to Bluroute (Dubai Destination), who finished a close second in the Starling Stakes and later won over a mile.

Celtic Sea, 11/2 second favourite, did not have the run of the race in the Grade 2 Golden Slipper over this trip at Greyville but still won, although she has not raced since.

Ghaalla, 17/2 third favourite, ran a cracker over 1450m in the Joburg Spring Fillies and mares challenge when finishing  0,6 lengths behind one of the Summer Cup favourites Cascapedia on weight for age terms. She has pace and has drawn well in five.

Nafaayes and Firdoas have done little wrong and are 13/1 and 15/1 drawn in pole and 18 respectively.

In The Dance by Gimmethegreenlight is a half-sister to Capetown Noir and the 18/1 is tempting as she put in an exceptional winning debut, but she did draw 22.

There will be a lot of others with supporters in a classy line up.

By David Thiselton

The Vaal Inside track stages a ten race meeting tomorrow and the exotics look the best way to play it as the racing will generally be competitive.

The first leg of the Pick 6 is the highest rated race on the card, a MR80 Handicap over 1400m.

S’Manga Khumalo (Nkosi Hlophe)

It is a tricky race but Lone Survivor has won two of his four starts and looks to have talent. He can rise above his current 71 merit rating and S’Manga Khumalo keeps the ride over a step up in trip he should enjoy as he was staying on over 1200m in both of his last two starts. He has a low draw which is usually favourable at this track. Shortstop is distance suited and has dropped down to a competitive merit rating. He has a fair draw of seven and Dennis Schwarz knows him well. Chapel Jive doesn’t have a great record over this trip to date but has been seen to stay on well over shorter before so must be considered. Only To Win has been disappointing in her last two starts but ran some crackers before that. She has been lowered in the merit ratings to a competitive mark and has to be considered despite being up against the boys and having to jump from a potentially tricky draw. Blue Diamond Road is a consistent sort who has a good record over this trip and he has also been dropped two points from his last race so has a chance as long as the high draws are not too disadvantageous on the day. Cutting Edge is a talented individual but has his problems and he has plummeted from a merit rating in the 90s down to a 74 so he is interesting having his first run for a new yard over an ideal trip. William Nicol is better over 1200m but has run second three times over this trip so is another to consider from a nice low draw off a competitive merit rating.

In the first leg of the Jackpot Combat Muster could be the one to beat. He has had tough tasks in his last two starts in Assessment Plates and has not been disgraced. Back in a handicap here over a trip he stays from a nice low draw he can go close. Trip To Paradise lost one length over this trip last time and ran on well to be beaten just 1,95 lengths and with Strydom now up from a nice draw of seven he can go close off a one point lowered merit rating. Evolver is a talented individual who has been kept to further trips but he should be finishing strongly. Streetwear is back to his best trip and is only three points higher than his last win. Sovereign Rein has plenty of ability and is distance suited but has a tricky draw. The reserve runner Volcanic Sunset has always struck as one with some ability and from a plum draw over an ideal trip must be included if he gets into the field.

In the sixth race over 1600m Wine Festival brings Cape Town handicap form and horses from that stronger centre often have suppressed merit ratings so she is the one to beat from a good draw. Elegancia has a good draw for a change and is over her correct trip so can bounce back to form as she has undoubted ability. Bell Tower has shown ability and should be coming into her own being by Ideal World.

In the seventh race over 2400m Psychic went close in his only start over this trip and has a fair draw. Desert Sunset, Brand New Cadillac and Mighty And Magic have ability over this trip and have to be included too.

In the eight race over 2400m Glamarous Scandal is back in a handicap so should go close having had a tough task at the weights last time in an Assessment Plate. Goede Hoop also has to be included.

In the last leg of the Pick 6 over 1800m Ossetra is a progressive sort who is the one to beat and Itsmydarlin and Excalibur’s Return are the dangers over a trip which will suit. The risk averse can include New Zealand who has landed yet another tough draw but does wear first time blinkers, which can help her get to the front easier perhaps, and It’s Not Over is also worth considering from a good draw.

The first leg of the PA is a tricky 1400m maiden but Esemess caught the eye last time over this trip and the improving sorts Tidal Tussle and Ice Mint can also be included.

By David Thiselton