A massive entry of 106 sprinting thoroughbreds, including the first three past the post in the recent Grade 1 Computaform Sprint at Turffontein, have been entered for the country’s biggest and most prestigious meeting for speed horses that features four Grade 1 events over 1 200m.

It will all happen at the Tsogo Sun Sprint Racemeeting at Scottsville Racecourse in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday, May 26, where R3,25-million in stakes will be up for grabs for the four races that form the official Jackpot at the meeting.

Headed by the R1-million Tsogo Sun Sprint, the programme includes the R750 000 South African Fillies Sprint for fillies and mares at weight-for-age and the two R750 000 juvenile events at level weights, the Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion which is open to all two-year-olds and the Allan Roberston Championship which is restricted to the young fillies.

In the Tsogo Sun Sprint three fillies are among 33 entries where the Joey Ramsden-trained Western Winter gelding Attenborough will likely top the early betting after his impressive victory in the Computaform Sprint where he came on late under Richard Fourie to win by a length at an easy-to-back price of 16-1. The runner up in that race, Pinnacle Peak from the Dorrie Sham stable and Attenborough’s stable mate Speedpoint that finished third are also among the entries along with In Full Flight Handicap winner Bold Respect, the unlucky and often slow away Trip To Heaven, and others such as Sir Frenchie, Naafer, Sunset Eyes, Myfunnyvalentine, Always In Charge, Black Cat Back and Bishops Bounty.

Myfunnyvalentine has also been entered for the SA Fillies Sprint along with Sommerlied, Live Life that finished third in the Grade 1 Cape Flying Championship as well as Neptune’s Rain and Made In Hollywood that filled the first two places in the Strelitzia Stakes. Green Plains won the Camelot beating Myfunnyvalentine and Magical Wonderland is one of the many three-year-olds in the entries that won the Sceptre Stakes at Kenilworth in January.

Trainer Dennis Drier, who has an outstanding record in the Tsogo Sun Gold Medallion, has nominated three horses for the juvenile race – Immortelle, Crown And Country and Goliath Heron – in a bid to continue his domination of the race but faces some top-performing juveniles like SA Nursery winner William The Silent and runners-up Cirillo and Chimichuri Run. Cue The Music, Van Halen and Traces, first three past the post in the Godolphin Barb, are also among the entries.

The Allan Robertson Championship is not to be outdone in terms of a quality entry with the 22 fillies including the SA Fillies Nursery winner Ronnie’s Candy and runner-up Ghaalla along with top Strelitzia Stakes performers Inverroche, Canukeepitsecret, Petra and Star Flyer.

The Tsogo Sun Sprint meeting is the biggest held in the KwaZulu-Natal Capital and with the best sprinters in the country in thundering action it is a meeting that must not be missed.

By Richard McMillan.

SCOTTSVILLE – Saturday 26 May 2018

R 750,000    1200m    

SOUTH AFRICAN FILLIES SPRINT (Grade 1)

For Fillies and Mares at Weight-For-Age

WFA: 2yrs-9.5kgs 3yrs-1.5kgs

11 LIVE LIFE          (4F) 60.0 115   Candice Bass-Robin

12 THE SECRET IS OUT  (4F) 60.0 112 B Vaughan Marshall

15 EXQUISITE TOUCH    (4F) 60.0 109   Sean Tarry

4 SOMMERLIED         (4F) 60.0 108   Dennis Drier

2 GREEN PEPPER       (4F) 60.0 107   J A Janse van Vuur

6 JO’S BOND          (5M) 60.0 107   Justin Snaith

3 GIMME SIX          (4F) 60.0 106   Justin Snaith

14 MYFUNNYVALENTINE   (4F) 60.0  97   Sean Tarry

18 ANIME              (4F) 60.0  91   Dennis Drier

20 HOIST THE MAST     (5M) 60.0  90   Andre Nel

21 MAGICAL WONDERLAND (3F) 58.5 110   Candice Bass-Robin

7 NEPTUNE’S RAIN     (3F) 58.5 110   Duncan Howells

19 GREEN PLAINS       (3F) 58.5 108   Sean Tarry

8 ROSE IN BLOOM      (3F) 58.5 106   Joey Ramsden

5 TOO PHAT TO FLY    (3F) 58.5 105   Glen Kotzen

1 CASUAL DIAMOND     (3F) 58.5 102   Justin Snaith

16 PRINCESS PEACH     (3F) 58.5 101   Glen Kotzen

10 STATUTE            (3F) 58.5  98   Michael Roberts

17 MADE IN HOLLYWOOD  (3F) 58.5  97   Joey Ramsden

9 CALL TO ACCOUNT    (3F) 58.5  96   Joey Ramsden

13 WINTER’S FORGE     (3F) 58.5  96   Stanley Ferreira

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Dean Kannemeyer has a strong hand in the World Sports Betting 1900 with two talented horses, It’s My Turn and The Slade, neither of whom will have any problem seeing out the trip.

The five-year-old Dynasty gelding It’s My Turn won the Investec Cape Derby for Justin Snaith as a three-year-old and joined the Kannemeyer yard this season after being farm rested following joint chip surgery.

Kannemeyer said, “The surgery was very successful and he is very sound. I put him in a Scottsville race over 1400m to sharpen him up and he then ran a very good third in the King’s Cup. That was very encouraging. He will now be at peak racing fitness. It is a tough race but will be a good test for him. I think he is a 2000-2400m horse. He is a borderline for the Vodacom Durban July and is ready for the race and doing well. He galloped nicely recently at Summerveld, so is fit and Keagan de Melo knows him well.”

It’s My Turn does have quite a tricky draw of seven.

However, Kannemeyer said it could have been worse and he hoped for some luck in running.

Kannemeyer has now taken on De Melo as his first choice rider for the SA Champions Season following the unfortunate injury to Anthony Delpech.

He said, “He rides my first and second strings. He is a top man and is a light weight. He is beautifully balanced and has great potential.”

He said about the progressive four-year-old Philanthropist gelding The Slade, “He is looking exceptionally well. We had expected a better performance last time (1,8 length fourth in The Sledgehammer) but Anton Marcus said afterwards the slow pace had not suited him. It was also his first run since January and after he was switched out he kept on rolling all the way to the line. I have always thought him to be a 2000-2400m horse. I have kept him in the July because he has continued to improve. This will be a good test for him and will show whether he is good enough for the July. If not another route will be planned for him, like the Lonsdale etc, as I have always wanted to put him in staying races.”

Warren Kennedy rides from a tricky draw of nine.

The front-runner Crowd Pleaser could be the key horse in the field and Kannemeyer’s pair would both appreciate a good pace.

By David Thiselton

Paul Lafferty was bullish about the chances of his charge Dark Moon Rising in the Grade 2 World Sports Betting 1900 to be run on the Greyville turf on Saturday.

He said about the progressive four-year-old Ideal World gelding, “He only got going late in the Sledgehammer (0,8 length third) and now it is 100m further. His best trip will be 2400m. He is doing well at home and is improving all the time.”

This rangy sort is officially the worst weighted horse in the race, which is run under merit rated band conditions. He is 5kg under sufferance with the best weighted horse Fort Ember and 2,5kg under sufferance with the best weighted male horse, It’s My Turn. However, the merit ratings can be misleading due to the number of sub-rules which bind the handicappers. Furthermore, typical of the progeny of Ideal World, he is improving all the time and has cracked another plum draw of two. His Sledgehammer pilot Craig Zackey keeps the ride.

By David Thiselton

Featured Image: Dark Moon Rising (Candiese Marnewick)

Ante-post favourite African Night Sky is a notable absentee from the 13 declared for the World Sports Betting 1900 but he will still run at Greyville on Saturday.

Jono Snaith said: “He runs in the mile Pinnacle instead. Fred Crabbia (owner of African Night Sky) already had It’s My Turn in the 1900 and that one needs to qualify for the Vodacom Durban July. But most importantly African Night Sky is better weighted in the Pinnacle and, so far as his July weight is concerned, the right decision is to run in the Pinnacle.

“Furthermore Justin wants progressive distances for the horse and going for the Pinnacle means he can go 1 600m then the 1 800m of the Cup Trial to lead into the July over 2 200m.”

With Anton Marcus on the injury list Grant van Niekerk will ride the four-year-old for the first time on Saturday but Marcus has given the stable an assurance that he will ride one of the Snaith runners in the July.

African Night Sky has not raced since finishing a two-length six in the Sun Met and he has been noticeably weak in the July market so far this month, drifting from 6-1 favourite to 8-1 with Betting World whereas stable companion Do It Again has been all the rage since his Daisy Guineas win and is now as short as 5-1. You could get 20-1 last month.

However Snaith Racing is concerned that punters are latching on to Oh Susanna, currently joint second favourite at 8-1, in the belief that she is an intended runner.

Jono said: “Oh Susanna is only 50:50 to run in the July and we want punters to be aware of this. The owners are already thinking in terms of the next Cape season and going for a second Sun Met.”

The decision of the handicappers to re-assess the Premier’s Champions Challenge has important implications for the July as it means that Coral Fever and Abashiri, both 16-1 chances, will have a kilo less to carry. The actual big race weights will not be published until June 19.

The exciting Eric Sands-trained Rainbow Bridge has been hit with a wide draw in the Highlands Stud Winter Classic at Kenilworth on Saturday week. The unbeaten Winter Guineas winner has only one of the 16 entries outside him.

Last year’s Met winner Whisky Baron is now back in Newmarket, but this time with William Haggas, after his disappointing Dubai campaign.

Ridgemont racing manager Craig Carey said: “Things were hard for him in Dubai and he didn’t take it well so the owners (Craig and Ross Kieswetter) have decided to give him a break. They haven’t made any plans – they are waiting to see how he is.”

Markus Jooste, despite all his problems, is still part-owner of a number of high class horses with Aidan O’Brien at the famous Ballydoyle stables in Ireland. These include Rostropovich who won the Dee Stakes at Chester last week and who is owned by Jooste in partnership with Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and Sue Magnier.

The colt is a son of the legendary Frankel and is currently a 16-1 chance for next month’s Investec Derby. If he were to win, and with his pedigree, he would be worth upwards of £10 million with Jooste’s share making a significant contribution to the Mayfair Speculators debt.

By Michael Clower

Aldo Domeyer goes into tomorrow’s Kenilworth meeting needing just one winner to record his second century. He has mounts in seven of the eight races including two favourites and two second favourites.

He finished up last season on 99 but this time he is already certain to beat his previous best numerically (110 in 2015/16). He will be particularly keen to chalk up his ton here after both Callan Murray and Greg Cheyne hit that target over the weekend.

Perhaps his best prospect is on Ballad Of The Sea in the Book Your Seat Handicap (race three). This is a tricky contest but the Candice Bass-Robinson runner had the subsequent East Cape Derby winner American Landing behind when a close second over this course and distance last time. He seemed to appreciate the step up in trip and is lightly raced so may have more scope for improvement than some of this opposition.

Ballad Of The Sea opened 5-2 joint favourite with Rock My Soul with World Sports Betting. Grant van Niekerk’s mount is one of three for Joey Ramsden and it’s worth noting that William The Brave (15-2) was hampered on his most recent start while 33-10 chance Paddington appeared to be feeling the ground and so should be more effective after last week’s rain.

Whatever his fortunes in this race Ramsden can take the first, the 1 000m maiden, with two-year-old Montego Bay who was quickly supported at 7-2. He showed plenty of promise first time and is bound to have come on from that.

Favourite at 22-10 is Seventh Sea who has run well in his last two. But Ramsden has won 13 two-year-old races this season and Justin Snaith only one so this statistic alone points to Montego Bay.

Race two is difficult because it is such a modest maiden but Vase makes most appeal and has shortened fractionally from 19-10 to 17-10 since the prices were published.

Bernard Fayd’Herbe, who rides the Andre Nel runner, is in cracking form and he can win races four and five on Mind Blowing and Hammie’s Fan.

Mind Blowing (4-1) is preferred in the market for the Betting World Maiden by Domeyer’s mount Unrivalled (2-1 favourite) and Magnificent Seven (28-10), and he has a bit to find on ratings. But he has finished second in three of his last four and may be good enough.

Hammie’s Fan shares 3-1 second favouritism for the Play Soccer Maiden with Royal Kiss but Domeyer’s mount is badly drawn and the selection has run well on his last two. Magic Mary is 5-2 favourite and represents an obvious danger.

By Michael Clower