Head Honcho, backed like there were no seconds on July day last year, scraped home by the narrowest of margins, much to the relief of many a punter who had braved the early morning chill at the official gallops, where Andre Nel’s runner had put up a particularly eye-catching piece of work.

That was then, in two months’ time he could be taking his place in the Vodacom Durban July proper as he turned in a battling display yesterday to deny Pack Leader and Dark Moon Rising in The Sledgehammer (Listed) in the race moved from Scottsville to Greyville.

Head Honcho (Candiese Marnewick)

Greg Cheyne took over in the saddle from an indisposed Keagan de Melo and he rode the perfect race as he had Head Honcho handy throughout and took up the challenge at just the right time.

Pack Leader came at him hard over the final furlong but Head Honcho kept finding gamely to just hold off the Investec Derby third.

Dark Moon Rising ran on late for third while the well supported The Slade had every chance in fourth but is likely to improve, this being his first outing in three months.

Brett Crawford may not have much luck with his first foray overseas as his Sun Met winner Whisky Baron never found his feet, but Crawford’s run of form continues back home as he landed both The Scarlet Lady and Natal Carbineers Highland Night Cup.

Parabola was the subject of some inspired market support for The Scarlet Lady and it proved to be money on the button as she came home hard under Corne Orffer to edge out top weight Premier Dance who was also well supported to edge out Ngaga at the top of the boards.

Ngaga was caught three deep throughout and was never a factor in the straight.

Blinkers or not blinkers, Hero’s Quest has taken a new lease on life since arriving in KZN and made most of the running to win the shortened Natal Carbineers Highland Night Cup. Orffer rode a forward race on the gelding who kept rolling stoutly in the home straight to win rather handsomely.

Favourite Kapen Pride threatened briefly at the top of the straight but was one-pace the last furlong with a blanket covering second to sixth.

On that showing, Kapen Pride does not appear to stay further than a mile while Hero Quest, racing without his customary blinkers, underlined his chances in the big staying races due in the next three months.

Vaughan Marshal opened his winter season account in the fourth as Lord Balmoral defied top weight in a driving three-way finish to hold off Summer Sky, who came from a long way back, and Tribal Fusion who came up short the last 50m.

By Andrew Harrison

Visiting trainers have yet to make a major impact in the races leading up to Champions Season and although Dean Kannemeyer is still regarded as a ‘Cape’ trainer he has an active Summerveld satellite yard. Kannemeyer’s Clifton Crusher clashes with Vaughan Marshall’s Provocateur in the second on the poly at Greyville tonight in the meeting postponed from Wednesday.

Anton Marcus (Liesl King)

Clifton Crusher has the benefit of having raced around the Greyville turn where he started favourite only to run into the highly rated Goliath Heron. That was in soft ground but Kannemeyer runners have good form on the poly and with that race under his girth, a plum draw and Anton Marcus aboard, Marshall may have to wait a little longer for his first KZN winner this season although that is no foregone conclusion.

Provocateur was allowed to start at long odds in his Durbanville debut and was running on strongly behind winner Sacred Arrow. It was a smart debut from a colt with an A-division pedigree and Clifton Crusher will not have things his own way.

The card is littered with lowly handicaps that have attracted full fields so punters will have their work cut out finding winners.

Either Clifton Crusher or Provocateur should suffice in the opening leg of the PA but the opening leg of the Pick 6 is a lot more difficult but London Knight is consistent and goes well on the poly. He also takes a big drop in class so has something going for him.

Sunny Bill Du-Toy shows promise and looks the right one in the fourth when he steps up to what should be a more suitable trip. He could be worth banking in smaller perms but Monsieur Blanco found a ton of market support at his second start and is likely to make further improvement.

The fifth is wide open and it may be prudent to load this leg of all exotics although Agencefrancepresse was out-paced late by the rejuvenated Tuscan last time out and will prefer the extra furlong tonight.

Similarly, the sixth but Sea Urchin is down in class and the blinkers come off over this extended trip that should suit.

Northern Storm could snap a sequence of runner-up places in the seventh but the form goes a lot deeper with the likes of Zinzara, Roy’s Snowdrops and La Suerte De Matar possibly best in another tough line-up.

Pink Cadillac and Escape Club are the pick of the final event with Lady Jay a trifecta possibility.

By Andrew Harrison

Turffontein Standside tomorrow features the Grade 1 HSH Princess Charlene Empress Club Stakes over 1600m and Folk Dance could upset Nother Russia.

Nother Russia (JC Photographics)

Folk Dance has a fine action which enables her to find gears in the straight at the right time. However, she can be a bit strong in the running so is at her best when well drawn. The last time she had a good draw was in the Fillies Mile and she hacked up. She now has a draw just one higher than her draw in that race, so Keagan de Melo will have a chance of finding good cover. If he does she will have a chance of defeating a similar type in Nother Russia. The latter is also able to find gears in the straight and is drawn in pole. She is coming off a fine second to the imperious miler Legal Eagle so is not surprisingly the 14/10 favourite with WSB in the early market, whereas Folk Dance is good value at 25/1. Cascapedia is the unknown factor. She has won five of six starts including two Grade 3s but has never been tested at this level. She was fancied for the Sun Met but was scratched after travelling down badly from Johannesburg.

She has improved since the blinkers were fitted and is undefeated with the headgear on. All of those races were over 1800m but she won her debut over 1400m and has been seen to over race a touch before, so this trip should be ideal running fresh. On the downside she is drawn wide. Silvan Star from the Cape has always struck as having plenty of class and has not had the luckiest of careers. However, she showed she can mix it with the best when running a 2,1 length fourth to probably the best miler filly in the land, Snowdance, in the Grade 1 Klawervlei Majorca Stakes. She has a plum draw of three and will make her presence felt. Orchid Island was most disappointing in the Horse Chestnut when finishing more than 15 lengths behind Nother Russia, but if bouncing back to her best could feature, although she would prefer further. Al Danza has come into her own and is a dark horse over an ideal course and distance.

Simply Royal is another one who could surprise as she is well-bred and oozes class, while being a daughter of Silvano she will be improving all the time. Gimme Six has finished narrowly behind Silvan Star in her last two starts over 1600m and 1450m and has a wide draw to overcome. But she does have a fine turn of foot. Heaps Of Fun won the Gauteng Fillies Guineas but has not reproduced that effort over a mile to date. She’s A Giver finished second to Bela Bela in the Garden Province, although her wide draw will be against her as one who only just gets a mile. Safe Harbour can be a factor if reproducing her form of last season. Fish River proved her class in the Three Troikas over 1400m and is interesting with first-time blinkers on. Tahini looks held at this level but often surprises.

By David Thiselton

Joey Ramsden’s repeated bid to overcome what he regards as a miserly weight allowance with a two-year-old should be rewarded with victory for Tarsus in the Betting World Maiden at Kenilworth tomorrow.

It is quite common for juveniles to beat the three-year-olds in maidens towards the end of the season but less so in April. They receive only 3kg over 1 000m whereas the weight-for-age scale says they should be getting almost three times as much – the reasoning being that a good two-year-old should already be six lengths better than a three-year-old who is still not good enough to win after racing for over a year.

Joey Ramsden

Indeed only interference coming out of the pens stopped Ramsden’s Yolta doing it last Saturday while on Tuesday stable companions Carnage and Sans Regrets were second and third. Tarsus has the form to collect and is a confident choice.

Riaan van Reenen and Carl Burger are doing it the other way round with Celestial Storm in the first. They pitched her against older horses on debut and she led them a merry dance, quickening at halfway and looking like holding on until Capaill finished fast to catch her 50m out.

Punters have been unimpressed, so far at any rate, and have allowed her to drift from 9-2 to 13-2 but the booking of Bernard Fayd’Herbe is a major plus and she can beat Santa Clara who is 13-10 favourite with World Sports Betting.

Captain Of Tortuga is very short at 11-10 for his debut in the TAB Telebet Maiden Juvenile – he is a R4.5 million Captain Al out of triple Grade 1 winner Ebony Flyer and so a half-brother to Cot Campbell – and 22-10 shot Shadowing is chosen to confirm last time’s placings with Perfect Symmetry.

The TAbonline.co.za Maiden (race three) is more difficult because there is so little between 16-10 favourite East Lynne, Hammie’s Fan (17-10) and Everdene (5-2) who has more scope for improvement than the other two. Maybe Hammie’s Fan.

The much-improved Northern Corner has won three of his last four and is on a hat-trick in the Winter Series Handicap. A little surprisingly he has only been raised three points for his last win and, with the capable Sandile Mbhele still able to claim 4kg, the 28-10 favourite may be able to defy top weight. Pillar Of Hercules, 7-2 and only raised a kilo for his most recent win, together with Virtue (7-1) look the most obvious dangers.

The handicappers must have been feeling generous recently because Omega Force was not raised at all for last time’s second and Grant van Niekerk’s mount looks good for the Supabets Handicap.

By Michael Clower

Geoff Woodruff will be aiming Wilgerbosdrift SA Fillies Classic third-placed Secret Potion at the Grade 2 R1 million SA Oaks over 2450m on Champions Day on May 5.

Woodruff said, “I am hoping she will get the trip. Being by Elusive Fort you would think she would get it and on her style of running too, she is not an aggressive runner. If she can get a draw I think she will be a big runner.”

Geoff Woodruff

The long-striding filly is out of an unplaced Parade Leader mare who is a half-sister to Grade 3 Langerman (1500m) winner Heat Of The Night and Grade 3 Winter Classic winner (1800m) Naughty Prince.

Secret Potion enjoyed the quicker pace of a Grade 1 in the SA Fillies Classic as she takes a while to hit top gear in the straight.

Secret Potion will be one of the horses standing between Takingthepeace and the completion of the Wilgerbosdrift SA Triple Tiara, which carries with it a R1 million bonus.

CORAL FEVER UP FOR THE CHALLENGE

Robbie Sage will take it one step at a time with his Grade 2 Colorado King Stakes winner Coral Fever and he will see how he goes in the Grade 1 Premier’s Champions Challenge on May 5 at Turffontein before deciding whether there will be a SA Champions Season campaign for him.

Meanwhile, one of his two best three-year-olds, Vacquero, has been sold to race in Hong Kong and the other one, Seerite, is a pending sale to the same country.

Sage said about the five-year-old Judpot gelding Coral Fever, “He is just off the best but is an honest horse who always tries his best and a horse like that always has a chance.”

He added the chestnut had come out of his victory on 31 March well.

He is at odds of 10/1 with World Sports Betting in the Champions Challenge ante-post market.

Vacquero, a long-striding Silvano colt, finished third in the Dingaans and fifth in the Gauteng Guineas. Seerite, a Curved Ball gelding, was a narrow runner up in the Dingaans.

By David Thiselton