Justin Snaith galloped his four biggest SA Champions Season stars, Snowdance, Oh Susanna, Do It Again and African Night Sky, on the Greyville turf yesterday and was pleased with all of them.

He said Snowdance had needed the outing most.

“She was almost too well and needed to burn some of it off.”

He said he felt better about her after the gallop but added she would still not be at a hundred percent for the Grade 2 Daisy Fillies Guineas. However, he added, “But is she still good enough to win it? Yes.” He elaborated, “If she does win it those boys had better watch out!”

He was referring to another possible target of hers, the Grade 1 Rising Sun Gold Challenge, where she would face the best male milers in the land.

However, he emphasised all of his horses this Champions Season would be taking it one run at a time and there was no definite route for any of them.

Oh Susanna also looked well yesterday. Her huge stride creates an impression that she is bigger than she actually is.

Snaith, asked about her fitness levels, said, “She is always fit. She is just a naturally fit horse.”

She will be avoiding Snowdance by running in the Daisy Guineas against the boys. However, her chief target will be the Grade 1 Woolavington 2000.

Snaith believed she had a chance in the Guineas and said, “She hasn’t run since the Met and will be better suited to the 2000m of the Woolavington, but she is very talented.”

He added Oh Susanna’s chances of lining up in the Vodacom Durban July depended on the weights.

The four-year-old gelding Marinaresco won the July last year with top weight but Snaith said, “For a three-year-old filly to carry a big weight is a different story.”

Snaith said Cape Derby runner up Do It Again had “clicked” in Durban. “He is thriving.”

He certainly looked a picture yesterday.

He continued, “African Night Sky also put in an impressive gallop. He is loving it in Durban too.”

African Night Sky is the ruling 6-1 July favourite with Track And Ball. This four-year-old Dynasty gelding finished sixth in the Sun Met and thus escaped a merit rating raise, so is potentially well weighted.

Oh Susanna is at 8-1 for the July and Do It Again is a 16-1 chance.

By David Thiselton

Ashley Fortune, wife of former champion jockey Andrew Fortune, saddles her first runner as a licensed trainer tomorrow at the Vaal.

“It is a dream come true, I didn’t think it would happen so soon, or ever, actually.

“I feel blessed and grateful for the support from those who have backed our stable so early.”

The Vaal-based trainer sends out the former Brett Crawford-trained Mambo In Seattle filly Pachanga in the last race of the day, a Maiden for fillies and mares over 1700m.

She said she did not quite know what to expect, but felt the bay filly would go close “on paper.”

Andrew acts as assistant and was more bullish.

He said, “She is doing well and her work has been really good. I will be disappointed if she doesn’t run in the first three and I think she will win.”

Ashley is from Zimbabwe and is now South African by naturalisation.

She started her career in racing as assistant trainer to successful Zimbabwean trainer Noelene Peach.

She met Andrew when he came out to ride in Zimbabwe and later became assistant to the top trainer Joey Ramsden when moving to this country in 2008.

She has also worked on stud farms.

TABnews reports that Ashley received a massive vote of confidence with leading owner Hassen Adams transferring all of his Gauteng based horses to her care.

The standout among these is Gr2 winning stayer Let It Rain, who has been nominated for the Gold Bowl at Turffontein on May 5.

“I have also received two Cape horses from Mr Adams in the form of Red Light Girl and Emerald Gal, and would like to thank him for showing such faith in me,” she said.

Andrew was sad to declare yesterday his jockey career “done and dusted” on the advice of his doctor.

He has had five operations to his right knee, including a partial knee replacement, and also has arthritis.

However, he added, “I am still able to ride horses, I just can’t ride short like a jockey.”

He therefore plays an important role as work rider in the yard.

Those familiar with South African racing will know of Andrew’s highly entertaining post-race interviews and contributions to panel discussions and will not be surprised to hear that he also does the “talking” for the yard.

Andrew has also worked with top trainers in his career like Ramsden, Dennis Drier and Charles Laird, so will have learnt a lot about varying methods that have produced good results.

The couple already have 20 horses just two months after Ashley wrote her trainer’s license examination and are also active at the current National Yearling Sales.

They work as a team at the sales spotting yearlings and Andrew added, “I often ask for a third or fourth opinion, I am not scared to ask for help.”

He seeks on-hands advice or via phone calls to trainers and others with vast sales experience.

By David Thiselton

The Vaal stages a low key nine race meeting tomorrow and the Tote exotics could be the best way to play it.

The PA starts with a tricky race over 2000m although there could be a possible banker in Sheema. This Archipenko filly is having her third run for Mike de Kock after a long layoff and stayed on well over 1600m last time so should relish this step up in trip. However, it is never easy against the boys and the risk averse should consider a few others including Tirzan, who was found to be striding short last time in soft ground on the Classic course. If bouncing back to the form of his previous two runs, which were both over this course and distance, he will go close and he has the added bonus of jumping from pole position.

The next leg of the PA also has a potential banker in Fragrant Miss. She struck as one who would stay further than 1200m early in her career. However, she has deceptive pace and as one who can stay on over this trip seems best suited to sprints in retrospect. She duly got off the mark in her second start after being dropped back to this trip and in that race she showed good early pace and stayed on well. She is now having her first run out of the maidens but looks to have been leniently treated by the handicapper starting off a mere 64 merit rating. Fictitious will be the main danger if repeating her penultimate start, which was over this course and distance. Her low draw will be on her side by trends. Pretty Popular was a revelation last time when the tongue tie was fitted and she won at long odds. Now that the possible key to her has been found, she could go close again. For Pick 6 purposes all three should be included.

The first leg of the Jackpot also looks to be a three-cornered contest. Silver King represents the in- form Sean Tarry yard and having found little extra on soft ground on the Outside course over this trip he now has a potentially favourable low draw off a two point lower mark and he will appreciate the faster ground which the weather forecast predicts he should get tomorrow. However, Blue Diamond Road must be included as he returned from a layoff to go close over this drop in trip last time and the same 4kg claimer remains aboard. The Tin Man is talented but has breathing issues. He beat Silver King in the soft going the last time they met, but on this occasion might have a tricky draw, although he does have a 4kg claimer aboard.

Pretty Penny looks to have been given a reasonable merit rating in her first start out of the maidens in the sixth race over 1200m. She is well regarded and can follow up. However, Inyanga will be a threat, as the form of her second place last time has been franked and Strydom stays aboard. Nautic Spirit is on the up too.

Highlander is in good form and is course and distance suited and well drawn in the seventh. Wonderous Climber has ability and is facing a weaker field than he’s been meeting lately. Lock Him Up has a fair draw for a change and with the blinkers off over a step up in trip could go close.

The eighth looks tough although Stop And Stare and Mighty And Magic look the main players. Bosphorous will go close too if able to settle from a good draw with the blinkers still on over this step up in trip. Running Fury should enjoy the step up in trip. Hurley can earn if repeating her penultimate start, which was over 1800m as opposed to 1700m here. Agent Kay has become disappointing after looking promising and has been reported to make breathing noises.

In the last race over 1700m Pachanga is a first runner as a trainer for Ashley Fortune, the wife of the jockey legend Andrew Fortune, and she has a chance having shown fair form in the strong centre of Cape Town. Tricia and Candela both have form chances too.

By David Thiselton

Everybody in South African racing wants to have a runner in the Vodacom Durban July and for Harold Crawford the dream could finally become a reality after 42 years as a trainer.

Perovskia is among the 250-1 longshots at the moment but the much-improved four-year-old has won his last three including the Jet Master, Crawford’s first feature success since Native King landed the 1993 Langerman and followed up in a Port Elizabeth Listed race the following year.

Crawford, 65, has had to fight his way for most of his career and he is realistic (“at the moment I don’t think he will get in unless he runs well in another feature”) but he is determined to go down the right path – “I’m running him in the (Independent on Saturday) Drill Hall on May 6 even though that is not the right race for him and then maybe the Cup Trial on June 9.”

African Night Sky heads the market at 7-1 now that World Sports Betting has opened its book on the great race – some of the early operators had him at 6-1 last week – with Oh Susanna second favourite on 10-1.

The connections of the Sun Met winner have been careful not to say that the filly is going to run but, if she wins the Woolavington on June 2, the temptation to do so could well become irresistible as she is so favoured by the conditions.

She is the highest rated horse in the race (on 121) but the conditions stipulate that, as a three-year-old filly, she cannot carry more than 56kg. The top weight is 60kg and, with the weight-for-age allowance for three-year-olds being only 2kg over the trip in July, she could end up with quite a bit in hand.

• After Glow, many punters’ idea of a stand-out at Kenilworth on Wednesday, will not now run.

Adam Marcus said on Saturday: “She has come on a lot and she worked beautifully this morning. I thought ‘This is it.’ But then, when she walked away, I noticed that she wasn’t striding out quite right behind. We think a lot of her so I am not going to risk her. She will wait for another 1 400m race next month.”

By Michael Clower

Sheikh Fahad’s Qatar Racing – “Our ambitions include competing against the very best in the world all over the world” – had one of its first South African winners at Kenilworth on Saturday when the Donovan Dillon-ridden Tarsus became the first two-year-old to beat the older horses in Cape Town this season.

Qatar Racing is a major force in Britain where it has some 90 horses in training and its handful campaigning in the distinctive gold-braided claret in South Africa includes the Snaith-trained certain future winner Frank Lloyd Wright.

Joey Ramsden said: “I train two for them and I have a slight family connection as Jamie Spencer rode for them. I would like to think that Tarsus will stay a little further. These Vars are not all about sprinting. I have had a bit of luck going further with them (notably Variety Club) and I have enjoyed the challenge of trying to do that.”

Qatar own this one in partnership with the colt’s breeder Maine Chance who were also on the mark with the Vaughan Marshall-trained Sequined on whom M.J. Byleveld made all in the Interbet.co.za Handicap.

Santa Clara, out of a full sister to champion sire Silvano, put herself in line for a crack at the Irridescence at the end of June by leading over a furlong out under Aldo Domeyer in the opening maiden juvenile fillies.

Candice Bass-Robinson, winning her ninth two-year-old race of the season, said: “She shows quite a bit of pace and she travels comfortably.”

The start of the other two-year-old race – won by Corne Orffer on the Glen Kotzen-trained 12-1 chance Crown Guardian – was delayed for almost ten minutes after one of the riders reported an “indentation” on the way to the start. The ground staff searched the area as carefully as the Turffontein diamond seekers but the hollow proved to be an optical illusion. Even so the jockeys promptly avoided the area like the plague.

The Andre Nel-trained East Lynne (“Tiny, not much bigger than a pony”) and Bernard Fayd’Herbe spoiled Piet Steyn’s 60^th birthday celebrations by readily beating Hammie’s Fan in the Tabonline Maiden.

In the early part of the season Louis Burke was being hailed as the next star apprentice but then it all went cold and the Mike Stewart-trained Al Wahed in the fifth was the still-talented Burke’s first winner for over five months. Jason Smitsdorff also knows what it feels like to go out of fashion but it hasn’t stopped him battling and he was rewarded with his first success since before Christmas on Kotzen’s Star Of London in the Supabets Handicap.

But it was Morne Winnaar who provided the biggest surprise of the day when leading over a furlong out on 16-1 shot Piracy, trained and part-owned by Geoff Woodruff, in the last.

• The Betting World screens showed nothing more informative than a new place rule throughout the afternoon. “It’s a national problem,” explained the long-suffering girl on the desk when asked, for the umpteenth time, what had happened to the prices.

By Michael Clower