Apprentice Lyle Hewitson is well on his way to emulating the great Michael Roberts who was the first apprentice to be crowned National Champion Jockey. The circumstances leading to their championship were vastly different but that’s not to take away from Hewitson’s achievement. He is 12 clear of Anthony Delpech, currently side-lined through injury and not expected back in the saddle this season, and 40 winners clear of Muzi Yeni.

Hewitson can add another to his growing total when he partners On Your Life for John Nel in the fifth at Greyville today. On Your Life has been running consistently since his maiden win without much luck. But the handicappers have been giving him some relief, little by little, and he is down from 66 to the 58 he races off today. At his new mark he should be a lot more competitive.

Lyle Hewitson

He is currently on offer around 7-1 with Track & Ball who have Honest Prince and Elegant General priced up as joint favourites. Honest Prince has finished in the money in all four starts since being tried in blinkers and he could prove better over this shorter trip. Elegant General, narrowly beaten last run, has a big weight but gets 4kg off his back courtesy of apprentice Luke Ferraris.

Hewitson has another good ride for one of his main stables, although Sean Tarry’s filly, Cals Crush, faces a stiff task in the Lightning Shot Bar Handicap. She boasts some strong Highveld form and although beaten last time out she does take a drop in class. She takes to the poly for the first time but from a good draw should have every chance.

She is a 3-1 chance with Track & Ball, joint favourite with Princess Vicky. The word was out that Glen Kotzen’s filly was home and hosed after putting up a smart barrier trial, and the money was on the mark as Richard Fourie rode a confident race to get the even money favourite home. The opposition is a lot stronger this time around by Princess Vicky was only penalised a kilo for her victory and should be competitive again.

Interesting runner will be Val-A-Ree. Doug Campbell’s filly suffered her first defeat in the Strelitzia Stakes behind Saturday’s Allan Robertson third Inverroche and that form could be good enough to see her home here.

Surprisingly it took Johan Janse van Vuuren longer than expected to register his first Gr1 victory but he got that monkey off his back at Scottsville on Saturday when he won the Allan Robertson. Van Vuuren saddles the Australian import Deerupt n the opening leg of the Pick 6 and she is likely to be a popular exotic bet banker. Track & Ball have her short at 7-10 with first timer Believe The Best finding some support after a smart barrier trial. She comes from the powerful Glen Kotzen yard so any support needs to be taken note of.

Kom Naidoo has taken to his new surrounds at Ashburton and Innocently Naughty can fly his flag in the Itsarush.co.za Maiden place. She is rated way higher than any of the exposed runners and her biggest threat could come from Garth Puller’s filly Tuulikki that has been priced up favourite. Puller gave her two barrier trials before stepping into a race proper and she surprised by finishing a close-up second at long odds. In contrast, she is on offer at around 15-10 this afternoon and Mandla Ntuli stays with the ride.

By Andrew Harrison

Racing enthusiasts throughout the country and particularly those on course for Daily News Raceday at Greyville on Saturday, can look forward to three very exciting races where a host of Vodacom Durban July hopefuls, including four in the top six of the big race betting, will be in action.

Pack Leader

At the final acceptance stage for the R2-million, Grade 1 Daily News 2000, the R1-million, Grade 1 Woolavington 2000 and the R300 000, Grade 3 Lonsdale Stirrup Cup, there were no July entries of significance that were withdrawn but Sean Tarry elected to run his Silvano filly Chariot Of Gold in the Woolavington 2000 and not the Daily News 2000 where she had also been a nominee.

Justin Snaith’s Twice Over gelding Do It Again, second favourite for the Vodacom Durban July on July 7, heads the 13-horse field for the Daily News 2000 with regular pilot Bernard Fayd’Herbe in the irons and the very inside draw from which to jump. While official betting for Saturday’s feature races were not available at the time of writing, the Daisy Guineas winner is likely to start the short-odds favourite.

The Glen Kotzen-trained Philanthropist colt Pack Leader that impressed in both the Investec Cape Derby where he finished third and the Sledgehammer at Greyville has drawn toward the outside while the Trippi gelding White River from the Brett Crawford stable will make his bid from the mid-field draw.

Snaith’s star filly Oh Susanna has stood her ground for the Woolavington 2000 and is likely to be on offer at prohibitive odds when official betting opens. She is drawn one from the outside of the 10-horse field and will undoubtedly be the exotic bet banker for most punters. However, the Duncan Howells-trained Captain Al filly Fiorella is not a runner to be ignored and with Muzi Yeni in the irons there will be some who believe she can beat Oh Susanna after having upstaged the Snaith stable companion, Snowdance, in the Daisy Fillies Guineas.

The Lonsdale Stirrup Cup has trimmed down to 12 runners with Dean Kannemeyer withdrawing four of his five nominees and leaving only the Silvano gelding Mr Winsome to fly the stable flag while Justin Snaith will campaign with three runners including the Dynasty gelding Made To Conquer that has won his last three starts.

Brett Crawford runs his Highland Night Cup winner Hero Quest while champion trainer Sean Tarry competes with Hyaku that finished second in that race and his four-year-old Dynasty colt Shenanigans that ran a good second over 2 000m at the Vaal last time out. Here are the final fields below.

By Richard McMillan.

Jockey MJ Byleveld has no concern whatsoever about the 2000m trip for Tap O’ Noth ahead of the Grade 1 Daily News 2000 at Greyville on Saturday.

Byleveld was somewhat annoyed people had written the horse off as a non-stayer after just one run.

He said, “As a specimen from day one he has looked like a horse who would go a trip and I have no doubt he will stay.”

MJ Byleveld

Furthermore, the Captain Al colt is a half-brother to the useful stayer Strathdon, who has won a Grade 3 over 2500m and a Listed race over 2400m.

At the time of his run in the Grade 1 Cape Derby the Marshall yard had a problem with a virus which was affecting many horses.The yard were unable to find the reason for his well below par run in the Cape Derby but Byleveld pointed out he was not travelling well virtually from the off so was clearly not himself and the yard believe it had nothing to do with him not staying.

Tap O’ Noth’s SA Champions season pipe opener in the Grade 2 Daisy Guineas at Greyville was his first run since the Cape Derby and his 2,25 length third was also a touch disappointing considering he started favourite. However, Byleveld pointed out that being on the rail had not really suited him and both of his eyes were closed the next day too due to the kickback on the night. Tap O’ Noth is indeed a big, rangy type and would likely prefer some room to use his action.

Last week Tap O’ Noth was looking a picture at Summerveld and despite the cold weather had a gleaming coat.

Byleveld confirmed he was fit and doing very well and added, “We could not have him any better.”

Byleveld finished fourth for Marshall in two of the four Grade 1s on Saturday at Scottsville and eighth in the other two. He said about the two-year-old filly Canukeepitsecret, who finished fourth in the Allan Robertson and whom Marshall rates as good as her two Grade 1-winning sisters The Secret Is Out and All Is Secret, “She might just need blinkers. When the gap opened she fired but was a bit green.”

By David Thiselton

There are no plans – for the moment at any rate – to extend barrier trials to Cape Town and Johannesburg.

Phumelela boss Clyde Basel said: “It hasn’t been discussed yet but there is nothing on the table. We want to see what the upside is of the barrier trials in KZN.”

Racing there is run by Gold Circle which made the trials compulsory from March 1 for all newcomers and for any horse returning from a 150-day break. Phumelela runs racing in Cape Town and Johannesburg. A straw poll of trainers and punters at Kenilworth last Saturday revealed mixed views.

Picture supplied by Liesl King

Some of the older trainers said that the concept was tainted by the barrier trials staged in the 1990s when one unscrupulous trainer (long since dead) ran several horses in each one and manipulated them for the express purpose of hoodwinking the public and so getting a better price when his horses ran in an actual race.

Another said that in the summer the ground at Kenilworth is too firm to risk horses more than necessary but another was all for it and proposed staging them on alternate weeks at Kenilworth and Durbanville, the latter being filmed if the trials did not coincide with a racemeeting.

In the betting hall they still remember the villain of the 1990s – “He certainly didn’t help the punter. He was the biggest crook of the lot” – but they thought such trials would help with assessing two-year-olds.

Up in the Pocket Power lounge one racegoer, who seldom misses a meeting, ruled out any repeat of the old villainy, saying: “Things are more transparent these days, and anything that can be done to improve things for the punter would be welcomed.”

The trials would have obvious benefits with unraced horses – for punters, trainers and the animals themselves – particularly as the Cape Town training facilities are inferior to those at Summerveld. They would also be beneficial with horses returning after a break.

So often punters hear, or read, that a horse is “just having a gallop” and they are immediately placed in a quandary. The message is clear – the horse is not that busy. But such horses sometimes win, and often they are placed. They cannot be safely ignored. If the horse could be sidestepped into a barrier trial (where there is no betting), everybody would benefit.

By Michael Clower

Vaughan Marshall steps into the season-long two-year-old battle between Joey Ramsden and Candice Bass-Robinson at Kenilworth today and he just might beat them both with One World in the 1 400m Juvenile Plate (race four)

The Cape Town score stands at Ramsden 14 and Mrs Robinson 13 whereas Marshall has had only seven but One World made a huge impression when winning on debut at the end of March. Heavily backed, he led two furlongs out, was ridden clear and won by three lengths pulling up. Marshall (“I didn’t think anything could beat him”) promptly started talking in terms of the Langerman.

Vaughan Marshall

The form was nothing to write home about – the second horse was perpetual bridesmaid Frozen Tune and none of those behind has won since – but the impression was memorable.

There is no question that Arabian Air’s form is stronger and he has been backed from 18-10 to 15-10 favourite with World Sports Betting which has One World on 17-10. The Ramsden horse looked a bit special when easily beating older horses on debut and 11 days later went down narrowly to stable companion Twist Of Fate (disappointing at Scottsville on Saturday) after hanging in the last two furlongs. He had the third three lengths back and his trainer said afterwards: “He is a very good horse but he had the worst preparation.”

Ramsden runs four others, the shortest-priced of which is the 11-2 shot Lucky Dancer who was also second to Twist Of Fate last time but was beaten two and a half lengths. That said, he met the stable companion at levels whereas Arabian Air was receiving 2kg.

For once the Bass-Robinson runner does not look good enough. Sacred Arrow (11-1) won at Durbanville and only by three-quarters of a length. While the form book says Arabian Air the memory goes for One World.

In the Betting World Juvenile Fillies Ramsden (four runners) and Bass-Robinson (two) have it between them. With no Go The Distance ( lame and scratched), it looks a straight fight between 9-10 favourite Sans Regrets and Cruise Along (22-10) whose second to Canukeepitsecret reads well after Scottsville. Marginal preference is for Sans Regrets.

In the opening Juvenile Fillies the Brett Crawford-trained Vodka Lime may have come on sufficiently to beat the equally lightly raced Margrethe while Blue Roller’s seconds to Rainbow Bridge and Arabian Air suggest she is a stand-out for TAB Telebet Maiden despite the strong recent form claims of the busy Seventh Sea.

Flower Of Carmel’s below-par last effort is apparently something of a mystery to her stable and so Clifton Beach is preferred in the Tabonline.co.za Maiden.

By Michael Clower