Anthony Andrews, the missing man of the Cape Town weighing room, expects to be out of action for a further two months.

When his right foot was crushed in the pens by a panicking Happy Girl at Kenilworth on April 28 x-rays revealed only soft tissue damage and Andrews expected to be out for not much more than a week. But the real damage proved to be in his right shoulder.

He said yesterday: “The foot was swollen for quite a long time – a week and a half to two weeks – as the ligaments were damaged.

“Initially I only had a bit of a niggle in my shoulder but, when it didn’t go away, an MRI scan revealed ligament and tendon damage that required an operation to repair. When the horse reared and fell, trapping my foot between her and the metalwork, I grabbed whatever I could to pull myself clear and that is when I did the damage. With the adrenalin pumping I didn’t realise anything was wrong.

“The doctors said I would be out for three or four months. It was four weeks ago that I had the operation, and I am doing intense physio three times a week, so I should be back in the saddle two months from now.”

By Michael Clower

Picture by Liesl King

Smart filly She’s A Dream is back to a sprint and could be the right one in a competitive line-up for the Capital Security Handicap that heads the field at Scottsville today.

After an easy maiden win, Mark Dixon’s filly was most impressive in her handicap debut, stamping herself as a filly with above average ability.

Given a break and it was a barrier trial and then two feature events over further. “There were not other races,” said Dixon candidly.

“She is back over what looks to be her best distance and with a low weight I give her a big chance.”

She’s A Dream (Candiese Marnewick)

Dixon also saddles the mare Isingamoya and his pair could make it a one-two over the boys. The daughter of Muhtafal is rarely far back and has been up against some smart opposition at recent outings.

However older horses that seem to have gone a little flat often produce their best when fitted with blinkers for the first time and Isingamoya fits into this category. She has won five races and has competed against some of the best fillies around including the Poinsettia Stakes over course and distance last time out where. Although finishing mid-field, was beaten three lengths by Sommerlied, Neptune’s Rain and Magical Wonderland.

Isingamoya has a big weight to shoulder but that form can see her finish ahead of the two gelding’s Wynkelder and Rock Of Africa, who finished together behind subsequent Tsogo Sun Sprint winner Bold Respect in the In Full Flight Stakes. That’s useful form in anyone’s book but the talented She’s A Dream with only 52kg on her back could prove too quick for them all.

The Vaughan Marshall-trained Jardin can get the ball rolling in the first. He ran out a facile winner on debut after trotting up in a barrier trial and he looks more than just useful.

Pickawinner hacked up in his barrier trial and the bookies were wide awake as Track & Ball have him 18-10 favourite for the second ahead of JJ’s Captain, second to Jardin last time out, and fellow debutante Roman Dancer next in the market.

Silver Raisin is short-priced to break a string of runner’s up berths in the opening leg of the Pick 6 and could give Duncan Howells a quick double. Silver Raisin has made marked improvement in blinkers but has a tricky draw to contend with and it may be worth including Louise Goosen’s runner Linnger Longer who has her third outing after a break and a better draw. MJ Byleveld takes over in the irons from an injured Gunter Wrogemann.

Howells has a chance of a treble as he saddles Sorceress in the fourth. She has a difficult draw in the extreme outside gate but has been up against the likes of Lady In Black and Dawn Calling at recent starts and has been far from disgraced.

However, Howells will know exactly what he is up against as ante-post favourite Ashfahan got the better of the Howells-trained Girl In Gold at her penultimate start and has since finished a close-up second to the well thought of Miyabi Gold. Ashfahan has the better draw but the early money has been for Sorceress and along with Breaking Barriers, may be the three to get you through this leg of the exotics.

From there on things get a lot trickier. Lovely Lucca is the marginal 7-2 favourite for the sixth. Doug Campbell’s filly has yet to finish out of the money and with four-claiming apprentice Luke Ferraris in the irons, she may be the right choice.

A Graduation Handicap (a handicap for two-time winners) could turn into a boat race between the improving Antony Hotspur and Gat Henshaw, the two having met early in their careers although a lot of water has flowed under the bridge since. Tom Collins and the filly Meryl could also feature.

The now blinkered Crown Charka and top-rated Press My Button could fight out the last but it’s not a race to go light in.

By Andrew Harrison

Glen Kotzen said he expected a good performance by Gold Standard in Saturday’s Rising Sun Gold Challenge over 1600m at Greyville, although he felt he might still need the run.

He said about the four-year-old Trippi colt, “He has been syndicated to go to stud and my instructions from the partners was to not run him unless he was really moving well. The good news is he has never moved better his season. He has had three gallops at Greyville and the Trippi’s enjoy running fresh although I’m not sure whether he might just need it running against the best who will all be tuned up.”

Gold Standard (Liesl King)

However, Kotzen expected the race to bring Gold Standard to his peak for a tilt at the Vodacom Durban July. However, he said if Gold Standard did win the Gold Challenge he would probably skip the July and go for the Grade 1 Champions Cup.

He said, “It is important to land a Grade 1 for the stud syndicate, although all 50 of the shares have already been bought.”

Gold Standard will stand at Drakenstein Stud together with his father Trippi.

The big bay proved himself a top horse as a three-year-old. He finished a narrow second in the Grade 1 Cape Guineas with the rest of the field well beaten and followed that with an unlucky fourth in a vintage Sun Met field.

However, he did not race again that season due to a chip in the fetlock and has been a touch disappointing this season.

He finished fourth in the Grade 3 Matchem Stakes and eighth and ninth respectively in the L’Ormarin’s Queen’s Plate and Sun Met.

Meanwhile, Kotzen said Pack Leader was still on course for the July. On Saturday the Philanthropist colt finished sixth in the Grade 1 Daily News 2000 but was only beaten 3,5 lengths. However, Kotzen said he had suffered a rough race and might just have needed it. He said he had been knocked around “like a ping pong ball” at the top of the straight and had then moved up to win the race but then looked like he needed it as he found no extra late. He surmised the reason must have been the combined effect of the colic incident which had caused him to be scratched from the WSB 1900 and the fact he had missed that race, because he had felt before Saturday’s race he had him ready. However, he now expected him to be “spot on” for the July and as he escapes a merit rating raise his July weight will be “bang on” the one they had wanted for him.

By David Thiselton

The Drakenstein Stud-owned and Justin Snaith-trained pair Legislate and Oh Susanna will not take part in the 2018 Vodacom Durban July.

Kevin Sommerville, the racing manager for Drakenstein Stud said, “Oh Susanna will stay in training and will definitely be racing in South Africa again, There are no plans to take her overseas. The plan in Durban was always the Woolavington, although we would have loved to have been able to have a preparation run going in. If she had won stretching away very comfortably, we would have considered the July. But the weight conditions are just not in her favour. We will aim her again at the Paddock Stakes and Met. She seems very happy in herself.”

Legislate (Liesl King)

Oh Susanna’s win in Saturday’s Woolavington 2000 at Greyville was her first run since her wins in the Cartier Paddock Stakes and Sun Met in January. Those three successive Grade 1 victories have made her the favourite to be the first female Equus Horse Of The Year since Igugu in the 2010/2011 season. The Australian-bred daughter of Street Cry gave her supporters a few anxious moments on Saturday when over-racing as they reached the first turn. However, such is her class she still managed to keep Fiorella and Lady In Black at bay in the straight and her giant stride carried her to a half-a-length victory under Grant van Niekerk.

The Snaith yard sent out a press release to announce the July scratchings and said the seven-year-old Dynasty entire Legislate would take his place in the Grade 2 Post Merchants over 1200m at Greyville on January 15 with Bernard Fayd’Herbe up.

Sommerville said, “”Legislate is very well but just needs more mileage. The Post Merchants should do him a world of good and won’t do him any harm. It will be a learning curve and will tell us whether he is able to take part in another big race.”

Sommerville named the Grade 1 Champions Cup as a possibility.

Legislate won the 2014 July and was named Equus Horse Of The Year for that 2013/2014 season.

Legislate proved to have a below average fertility rate at stud due to a low sperm count. Sommerville said his rate of getting mares in foal per cover was about 32% and his rate based on three covers was 58%. The accepted rate for the latter is 60% and above.

Sommerville said, “Every season a mare misses is costly for the breeder and he might have lost support due to that risk so it was decided to see how he would go back in training.”

The Grade 1 Daily News 2000 winner Surcharge has been scratched from the Vodacom Durban July.

This was not a surprising decision by the connections of the Stuart Pettigrew-owned Gimmethegreenlight colt as he has had an ultra-tough season.

He was asked to overcome wide draws in the Emperor’s Palace Ready To Run Cup and in all three legs of the Triple Crown.

He still managed to finish second in all three legs of the Triple Crown and before that won both the Listed Secretariat Stakes and Grade 3 Tony Ruffel Stakes, both over 1400m, when giving weight all around.

On Saturday he finally landed a good draw and duly won the prestigious R2 million classic event under Gunther Wrogemann.

Surcharge was quoted at 9/1 in Betting World’s July market at the time of his scratching.

By David Thiselton

Grant van Niekerk, given a 14-day suspension on Friday for an interference offence at Fairview on March 2, said yesterday that he will not appeal.

As the Review Board does not sit again until August 3, when the members can be expected to impose a ban that will have almost immediate effect, he will be free to take his big race mounts in much of the rest of the KZN season.

Grant Van Niekerk

The Fairview suspension was Van Niekerk’s first since January although he does face an inquiry as a result of the interference suffered by Made To Conquer when Strathdon (Van Niekerk) came in on him in the closing stages of last Saturday’s Lonsdale Stirrup Cup.

Candice Bass-Robinson, who won the Cape Of Good Hope Nursery and the fillies equivalent with Dutch Philip and Magical Wonderland 12 months ago, again has a strong in the two features at Kenilworth on Saturday.

She runs half the field in the Kenilworth Fillies Nursery with Nous Voila (Aldo Domeyer), Mixed Signals and Santa Clara. Nous Voila was second in the Perfect Promise and the other two won last time out. In the Cape Nursery she and Domeyer rely on Clouds Unfold who has won two out of three and was immensely impressive last time.

Joey Ramsden, last successful with Kingvoldt four years ago, runs three in this six furlong test and all his three runners finished behind One World a week ago – Carnage who was beaten only a fifth of a length, Lucky Dancer (fifth) and Arabian Air who started favourite but finished fourth and was found to be not striding out.

By Michael Clower