Unbeaten since Mark Dixon decided on blinkers, Isingamoya returns to what is arguably her best course and distance when she lines up in the Pinnacle Stakes at Scottsville today.

The mare will be bidding for the eight victory of her career, five of which have been over course and distance and under the conditions of the race, is fairly favourably weighted.

She shows tremendous pace and plenty of intestinal fortitude as she displayed when holding off the attentions of Kiteecador on the Greyville poly last time out.

She appears much better suited to the turf track and Scottsville in particular and although she faces some seriously talent opposition, she has a lot in her favour.

The dangers are many but Lunar Rush, Too Phat To Fly and Statute look the most likely threats.

Lunar Rush has done her connections proud as victory today will see her earnings breech the R1 million mark. She is just below top class as her recent form suggests but Duncan Howells has been astute in picking her races and although she will shoulder top weight, her last win came at the expense of Isingamoya back in September last year.

Young apprentice Luke Ferraris has got his fledgling career off to a flying start and came within one race of riding the jackpot at Turffontein last Saturday. He partners Too Phat Too Fly for Glen Kotzen but will only be allowed to claim 2.5kg.

She was running on strongly in the recent Post Merchants, finishing three lengths off the winner Sniper Shot who is one of the fancied runners in Saturday’s Gr1 Mercury Sprint.

The lightly raced Statute has had a bit of and in-and-out career so far but she has twice won convincingly over course and distance. She is obviously talented and looks to be over her preferred course and distance.

Ferraris will be aboard Cumulus in the opening leg of the Pick 6 and Nathan Kotzen’s charge should make a bod bid. The gelding has yet to run a bad race and was just in need of his last outing when two lengths back to Unbelievable Lad. The latter is again in opposition but is now 2.5kg worse off at the weights, taking the apprentice allowance into consideration.

A bigger threat could be Amazon King who was a neck behind Unbelievable Lad in the same race and appears to have found his better form in blinkers.

Silvan Saint is due a change of luck in the fifth after finishing close-up in his last two outings where he started favourite. He has a plum draw and is taken to get home ahead of the giant Haddington and the temperamental filly High Altar who put her best foot forward to win last time out.

Rio De La Plata takes a drop in class in the sixth where he is way better than his last effort after finding traffic and can do better here. Season trainer Ormond Ferraris is giving his grandson Luke plenty of opportunities and American Indian makes the trip after finishing second in a strong handicap field at Turffontein and looks a serious threat.

Trojan Harbour and Baltic Amber have been scratched from the seventh where Captain Courteous can make amends from being a beaten favourite last run. Justin Snaith’s runner only got going late in that race and he can do better over this extended trip. The Ferraris’s team up again with Shogun who was an easy winner on the Highveld last time out. With a light weight from a good draw he can make it tough for Captain Courteous.

By Andrew Harrison

Craig du Plooy has been forced to bring down the curtain on his riding career after more than 12 months of trying to find a workable solution to his ongoing back problems.

He said: “I haven’t been able to ride in races for well over a year and I have been told that I now have to have an operation on my back so I’m finished as a jockey.”

Du Plooy,43 , has broken a lot of bones in his career including both arms, a shoulder and a foot but it’s the legacy of a fractured spine that has caused him the real problems. There is a tear between discs and repeated cortisone injections have done no more than relieve the pain.

But the problems have not stopped him teaching work riders the elements of race-riding at the Western Province Groom School and he intends to expand on this.

He said: “I love the racing game. I have been in it for the best part of 30 years, I have learned a lot and I have a lot to pass on.”

He calculates that he rode more than 100 winners, despite all the injury-interruptions, and big race successes include the 2006 Cape Nursery on Avon Wood, the 2010 Fillies Nursery and Perfect Promise on Madrisa and the Final Fling of three years ago on Cat And The Moon. The best he rode was African Night Sky who he partnered to victory in the horse’s first two starts.

He added: “I have had a lot of highlights including working on my race-riding with Felix Coetzee who changed my whole outlook. I just wish I’d had the benefit of his tuition earlier on in my career but working with the Snaith team in the last few years has been awesome.”

By Michael Clower

National champion jockey elect Lyle Hewitson will not be riding on Gold Cup day.

He described missing the meeting as “heartbreaking” and said the mount he had been looking forward to most, among a good book of rides, was Return Flight, whom he felt would win the Grade 1 Thekwini Stakes.

Hewitson took a fall on the way to the start of the first race at Fairview last Friday and an x-ray revealed a fine chip on his left knee.

He will know the full prognosis after an examination tomorrow (Wednesday).

However, he confirmed he would not be riding “for a while”.

Anton Marcus is set to replace Hewitson on Return Flight. Raymond Danielson will replace him on Witchcraft in the Grade 3 ELan Gold Cup, Karl Zechner will replace him on Whitehaven in the Grade 1 Premier’s Champion Stakes, Ashton Arries will replace him on Trip To Heaven in the Grade 1 Mercury Sprint and Yeni will replace him on Bulleting Home in the Grade 1 WSB Champions Cup.

Hewitson has wrapped up the championship already, with just over a week to go, as his 185 winners are 41 clear of second-placed Yeni.

He will become the first rider since Gerald Turner to receive the national championship trophy as an apprentice. In the first of Michael Roberts’ eleven championship-winning seasons he started the season as an apprentice but was a fully-fledged jockey by the time he received the trophy.

Hewitson has already smashed the record for the number of winners as an apprentice despite having only made his professional debut on March 6, 2016. However, he did have the advantage of race-riding experience as he had ridden 23 winners in workrider races before joining the South African Jockeys Academy.

By David Thiselton

Catching the elusive Pick 6 will be one of the punters’ aims at the big meeting on Saturday and one of the potential stumbling blocks is the Grade 1 Thekwini Stakes for two-year-old fillies.

This race is always tough to analyse and this year is no exception as it brings together Johannesburg form with SA Champions Season form.

The favourite is the Pomodoro filly Return Flight who is coming off a 0,6 length third over 1400m at Turffontein Standside where she gave 2kg to the pair in front of her Dagmar and Railtrip. She will relish the step up in trip as she was slightly hampered in the latter race but picked herself up and was staying on strongly. Her previous race was in fact over 1600m and she won by 8,2 lengths, albeit against an uninspiring field. She does not quicken instantaneously but builds up momentum, so some will argue that the tight Greyville track will be against her. However, the man who was supposed to ride her before being sidelined by injury, Lyle Hewitson”, had no concerns and was highly complementary about her ability before saying, “She will win.”

Dagmar is by Querari out of a Silvano mare who won seven times in PE from 1400-1800m so she should stay the trip. She showed fine gate speed in that last start and quickened well in the straight. She is not as big and rangy as Return Flight but the Silvano influence should see her improving.

Railtrip was half-a-length behind Dagmar and was staying on strongly from a wide draw. She is by Trippi and is a half-sister to SA Derby winner Hero’s Honour so will relish the step up in trip.

Return Flight jumps from draw three, and if the reserve runner comes out Railtrip has draw seven and Dagmar draw eight.

Johannesburg fillies Storm Destiny and Long Pond look held on form by this aforementioned trio.

Sand Princess by Crusade is a half-sister to Matador Man and on the evidence of her two starts, both over 1200m, will relish the step up in trip. Fifth place in her last start over 1200m on the Greyville poly does not augur well for her chances here, at least on paper, but she was doing her best work late and is a big, scopey sort who will improve over this trip.

Perfect Tigress finished strongly to win on debut over 1200m and on pedigree should enjoy this trip but the form doesn’t look strong enough.

The SA Champions Season results bring Mazari and Can You Feel It in to the race with good chances.

Mazari had a good draw in the Grade 2 Golden Slipper over 1400m on Vodacom Durban July day and just failed to hold on from Celtic Sea She moved up well from the back half of the field that day and is a relative of Premier’s Champions Stakes winner over course and distance, Kochka. However, she does now have a wide draw to overcome.

Can You Feel It had a wide draw in the Golden Slipper and stayed on in eye-catching fashion for third. She is a big, scopey sort who should improve further. She is out of a Windrush mare and there is quite a lot of speed in the female line, but she is by Jackson so should stay the trip. She now has a plum draw of four and in form Warren Kennedy rides.

Believe The Best is well regarded and is better than her Golden Slipper run, where she ended up near the back and was eased out of it after making little impression down the inside.

Runaway Gal was well beaten into fourth over this trip at Scottsville in a strong Juvenile fillies event and only finished fifth in the Devon Air Stakes over 1400m. She is held on formlines.

Beat It was beaten in a Juvenile Fillies Plate over this trip at Scottsville and this looks stronger.

Pearl Tiara looks held on Devon Air Stakes form. She will relish the step up in trip, but she does have the widest draw of all to overcome.

Gimme A Brake Nate won her maiden well over 1500m in April and can improve if settling better than she did that day. On strict collateral formlines she is held by Believe The Best.

In conclusion, Return Flight looks the one to beat. Railtrip has been one of the most eyecatching and could be the chief danger. Can You Feel It, Mazari and Dagmar are the others who look to be possible winners on form. However, it is well known that two-year-olds improve at different rates and an upset is always a possibility. In this light the dark horse could be Sand Princess who will relish the step up in trip and could well be staying on strongly.

By David Thiselton

Summerveld trainer Paul Lafferty is confident of the chances of Dark Moon Rising in the R1,25 million eLan Gold Cup over 3200m at Greyville on Saturday.

Jockeys Anthony Delpech and Anton Marcus once told Lafferty he would “not train a better stayer” than this Ideal World gelding.

Lafferty said, “We have Keagan de Melo who has done very well on him before. He has always reminded me of a very good stayer. I don’t think there will be a great pace. I have respect for the top two, Made To Conquer and It’s My Turn. But we are in with a big chance. I know I said that for the Vodacom Durban July but it was just the most amazing pace which disappeared after a furlong. The muddling tactics in the July certainly didn’t help. But he’s doing very well at home, his stamina is good and I am confident he will get every inch of the trip.”

Asked on his draw of six, Lafferty said, “I’m very happy. I don’t think it is the worst draw in the world. In a race like that, unless you have an out and out stayer, you can get a position as they have so far too run, so I think he will sit maybe in midfield around there. And if he gets a clear run towards the outside he really runs on strongly. The race will tell but I am confident.”

Dark Moon Rising carries 57,5kg and is only 2,5kg better off with Made To Conquer for a 7,60 length beating in the July.

He is priced up at 16/1 by WSB.

By David Thiselton