Louis Goosen is a bit of a Wizz at training sprinters and his charge Di Mazzio has taken to the poly track. The Aussie-bred with an American dirt pedigree is lightly raced but also unbeaten over 1200m on the Greyville poly in two outings and looks the part when he contests the Itsarush.co.za Handicap over course and distance this evening.

Last time out Di Mazzio was runner-up to the smart Wynkelder in the competitive Chapter Challenge 1200m final at Scottsville but in two starts prior to that he had galloped the opposition into the ground on the poly. He was only given a one-point penalty for his last effort and back on his favourite surface he should take some beating.

Di Mazzio (Candiese Marnewick)

Alistair Gordon’s stable is turning the corner after a spell in the doldrums and Marshall That led the field a merry dance when winning his last race over course and distance. He has not been the most reliable but is useful on his day and a repeat performance can see him give Di Mazzio supporters a fright.

Of the others, Autumn In Seattle and Al Ciberano warrant consideration.

Johan Janse van Vuuren makes the trip down from the Vaal with Torio Lake in the Track & Ball Fixed Odds Handicap with some fair Highveld form to back his claims. He was run out of it late in a Novice Plate last time out after showing good pace and the poly track could suit although he will have some stiff opposition from Graduate. The pricey son of Oratorio won well enough on debut although second-placed Bravo Zulu is no great shakes and is yet to shed his maiden. Last time out Graduate finished with a rattle, making up many lengths on eventual winner Burra Boy. That was over 1200m and given his last showing he should be more at home over the extra two furlongs and will be a serious threat to Torio Lake.

The Yogas Govender-trained Fonteyn has had many chances but has shown useful form at recent outings. She was a beaten favourite at her last two and can make amends in the Soccer 6 Qualified Maiden. Likewise, Symphony In Seven has been knocking at the door for some time now but could do better over this extended trip although she has the worst of the draw to overcome. Golden Minaret is starting to improve for Nathan Kotzen, catching the eye last time out, and is a must inclusion in all exotics.

Frank Robinson took Roy’s Riviera up to Turffontein on Summer Cup day and she was not far back behind Folk Dance. She was a smart third behind Hashtagyolo prior to that and a repeat should see her difficult to beat although Parabola made a smart local debut and takes to the poly for the first time. Charles Laird is due to retire next month and he will be looking to Bridal Veil for an early send-off. She has a light weight and should appreciate the step up in trip.

Lowan Denysschen had his first winner for some time when High Green won last Friday and he saddles Zilla in the Gold Circle YouTube Handicap. It often only takes one horse to break a drought and Zilla has all the right credentials to give the stable another winner.

Of the balance, Star Of Ceasour has been coming to hand slowly although she has a tricky draw while Jingle Belle needed her last run and had some fair Cape form before that.

By Andrew Harrison

Klawervlei owner John Koster is full of anticipation for the forthcoming Investec Cape Derby, where the late great Klawervlei Stud stallion Captain Al will attempt to make it a clean-sweep of the Cape Summer classics.

Captain Al’s second last crop will be at the Sales this year and Koster described it as “by far the best” of any of his crops from a pedigree point of view.

Klawervlei will be sending one of their strongest ever drafts to the forthcoming CTS Cape Premier Yearling Sale (CPYS).

Captain Al (FreemanStallions)

Included in this draft are two by the legendary Frankel and one by the sensational speed stallion Scat Daddy. The latter was the leading North American freshman sire in 2011, and in 2015 he broke the North American record for the number of juvenile stakes winners in a season with nine. The Group 1-winning colts Carravagio and Sioux Nation and the Group 1-winning filly Lady Aurelia have seen Scat Daddy dominating the big Royal Ascot sprint races over the last two seasons. His son Mendelssohn also recently won the Group 1 Breeders Cup Juvenile Turf. Scat Daddy’s yearling filly on offer at the CPYS is out of a Myboycharlie mare who won once over seven furlongs in Ireland. However, she is in turn out of the Paris House mare Misty Eyed, who won a Gr 3 over five furlongs as a juvenile and later finished second in the King’s Stand Stakes. This Scat Daddy filly (lot 140) will be packed with speed, so should be suited to South African conditions, considering the Royal Ascot going this year was good to firm.

Equus Champion Sprinter Captain Of All will have his first progeny on sale at the CPYS.

Koster said the sales inspectors had been full of praise for the yearlings of this magnificent looking son of Captain Al.

Six of his ten lots will be consigned by Klawervlei.

Klawervlei will also be creating what Koster believes is South African breeding history at CPYS by consigning two Argentinian-breds.

Argentinian-breds running in South Africa are invariably imported.

The first of the two lots is by Equal Stripes, sire of the like of South African Grade 1-winner Bambina Stripes, out of a dual Grade 2-winning mare by Not For Sale. The second is by Exchange Rate out of an unraced half-sister to a Grade 1-winner.

The Captain Al’s will be one of the CPYS highlights and Klawervlei are consigning 16 of his 27 lots.

The one Koster is most excited about is Lot 35, who is a half-brother to Antonoe, a Group 1-winner in the USA. Also among their Captain Als are a half-brother to Via Africa, a full-brother to All Is Secret, a full-brother to Like A Panther, a colt out of a half-sister to Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos and a filly out of a three-quarters sister to Kentucky Derby winner Giacomo.

Meanwhile, Captain Al’s Cape Guineas-winning son William Longsword has excellent fertility and among the 80 top quality mares he covered in his first season are the respective dams of Via Africa, Like A Panther, Edict Of Nantes, Fly By Night, Trust Antonia, Paterfamilias and Gibraltar Blue.

Klawervlei’s new chestnut stallion Coup De Grace, a Group 2 winner in the USA who is the only son of Tapit to have stood in South Africa, has really stamped his first crop.

“They are like peas in a pod,” said Koster.

Captain Al has scored a rare Grade 1 Cape Fillies Guineas and Cape Guineas double with Snowdance and Tap O’ North this season.

His best chances of winning the Cape Derby will be through Tap O’ Noth and Cape Guineas third-placed Like A Panther, but they will face strong opposition.

By David Thiselton

The switch from the Scottsville turf to the Greyville poly track yesterday resulted in a plethora of scratchings but the move will have been music to Dennis Bosch who saddled Sir Bernadini in the Blinkers Bar Handicap.

Well fancied over a mile on debut, the Australian-bred gelding with a touch of an American dirt pedigree, revelled on the synthetic surface and landed the odds in good fashion.

Sir Bernadini was given a hefty rating by the handicappers but their assessment proved fully justified as the favourite kept a clean sheet, this time under Anthony Delpech, keeping a charging Verdier and the fancied Archilles at bay. The former was having his first outing for Mark Dixon after showing some useful form in the Cape behind the much-touted African Night Sky in the Winter Series and he is definitely one for the notebook or the ‘Follow Me’ app available on TABgold.

Sir Bernardini (Candiese Marnewick)

Louis Goosen had Archilles lined-up for a crack on the Scottsville turf but the switch of surface dampened his confidence as he expressed candidly in his post-race interview in the winner’s box after Gratuity continued her good form in the Rockafellas Restaurant Handicap.

Not always easy to handle, Gratuity was given a copybook ride by Gunter Wrogemann who had piloted her to her most recent victory over course and distance beating smart stable companion Captain’s Girl.

Shifting Gears is another Goosen runner that has taken to the poly but this time around she found one too good in the form of Pearl Glow. Dean Kannemeyer’s filly made amends for her penultimate disappointment when a beaten odds-on favourite by shedding her maiden next time out. That form looked compromised by second-placed Holy Flame running a dismal race next time out but Duncan Howells reported to the stipendiary stewards that she had returned with a swollen eye from a clod in the face which would have accounted for that below par performance. However, Pearl Glow did start at the top of the boards.

Anton Marcus looked to have timed his run to perfection on Miziara in the sixth, making his move at the top of the straight, but in spite of giving his mount a breather after the subway, it was not enough as Keagan de Melo steamed home aboard the Yogas Govender-trained Komeshans Flight, nailing Miziara on the line.

Dixon may have had to settle for second with Verdier but there were no mistakes in the Racing. It’s A Rush Handicap as the run of winning favourites continued. De Melo had no hesitation in taking top weight Fantasy Lady to the head of affairs and she was never in danger as all challengers wilted around her.

By Andrew Harrison

The Vaal Classic Track stages a nine race meeting tomorrow and Kilrain could make amends in the highest rated race of the day, an MR 87 Handicap over 1700m.

In his penultimate start over 1700m the six-year-old gelding by Dynasty was staying on well over 1800m when he and most of the field were taken out by the hanging antics of the runner up Hidden Agenda. Tomorrow he faces Hidden Agenda on 1,5kg worse terms despite being beaten by him in that aforementioned race, but he could well have beaten the latter with a clear run that day. His only run since then was not a bad 3,6 length fourth in the Michaelmas over 1900m on the Greyville polytrack, considering he was found to be coughing.

Gavin Lerena

Gavin Lerena up is a bonus and as a hold up type the tricky draw of six in a nine horse field should not be too bothersome. Tommy Waterdevil has improved with the application of cheek pieces and went close from a similar draw last time over 1600m in soft going at Turffontein despite being bumped twice. He did make a respiratory noise that day though and also has to overcome a two point merit rated raise. Hidden Agenda is distance suited and should be right there but he has had a busy campaign. This will be his third run with blinkers on. Malinga rose through the ranks last season with three nice handicap wins from 1800-2000m. However, he was well beaten by Hidden Agenda over 1800m in May, when reportedly making a breathing noise. He is better than that run and as a son of Silvano should still be capable of improvement as a five-year-old.

However, this is his second run after a layoff and the trip is sharper than ideal. Rushmore River is a six-time winner who has dropped to an attractive merit rating on his best form and this is his third run after a layoff. However, that layoff was over a year long, so he obviously has his problems. Tandava has shown signs of class on occasion so is interesting with the blinkers removed over a trip which is longer than he is used to running over. Bold Viking has talent and appears to be effected by breathing issues so can’t be relied on. However, he is tough to ignore off a 78 merit rating. Street Flyer looks likely to be stretched by the trip. Odd Rob would prefer further and his resolve is sometimes questionable as he  moves up well but then does not find a lot.

The best bet of the day could be in race 8, where Star Of Joburg runs in a MR 66 Handicap over 1200m. When he won his maiden last time in an uninspiring field he was drawn on the wrong side of the track and only won by half-a-length. Therefore his 74 merit rating could be lenient and this time he is well drawn with Gavin Lerena up.

In the previous race the talented Alex The Great could also provide a winner for Championship-chasing Lerena. He has been dropped a further point by the handicapper and has his third run after gelding from a good draw over a suitable trip.

By David Thiselton

…who raised him only half a kilo to 107 for his narrow defeat in last Saturday’s Premier Trophy. Legal Eagle is rated 123 and Edict Of Nantes 118.

Dean Kannemeyer

But Dean Kannemeyer was unruffled by this news yesterday, saying: “He is improving and he has come out of the race fine. My feeling is that he will go straight there as I would rather have fresh legs for the Met. I don’t want to rip his guts out in the Queen’s Plate in the interim.”

This year’s Cape Guineas was a couple of kilos or so below last year’s race when William Longsword came out of it on a mark of 109 and second-placed Gold Standard was rated 108.

The handicappers have raised Tap O’Noth five points to 104 and runner-up White River 11 to 103. Like A Panther (third off 94) and Cot Campbell (fourth off 87) have both been re-assessed at 100.

Matthew Lips said: “The winner may well be better than this but he seems to be one of those that doesn’t win by big margins. Also there weren’t too many highly rated horses going into the race and many of them finished in a heap.”

Tap O’Noth was reported in good shape yesterday by Vaughan Marshall who confirmed that the colt will not run again before the Investec Cape Derby on Met day. “Years of experience – never rush things,” he said.

Bold Respect, who warranted a stipe-ordered veterinary inspection after dropping out rapidly in the final two furlongs to finish with only two behind him, was also reported fine. “He pulled very hard and didn’t settle,” said Brett Crawford who now intends dropping him in trip.

Last Winter

African Night Sky is as short as 17-2 for the Met and so his 1 400m gallop before racing at Kenilworth last Saturday was particularly interesting. Bernard Fayd’Herbe rode the Winter Series winner who was tucked in behind as Robert Khathi set a decent pace on Heartland from Star Chestnut (Grant van Niekerk). Another Night Sky moved up well early in the straight but he tired before the end and couldn’t get past the other two.

First impressions were not encouraging but Chris Snaith pointed out that he was giving away up to 10kg to the other two and Fayd’Herbe said: “It was a good gallop and I am sure he will progress from this. He is still a bit heavy but then that is why he was galloped.”

Justin Snaith added: “It was what I expected. I deliberately made it very hard for African Night Sky – the other two are the best 1 400m horses I have and they were super ready. I think a lot of him and I wouldn’t be doing all this if I didn’t think he has a chance in the Queen’s Plate and the Met.”

Brother Jonathan, an astute student of the form book, reckons that the four-year-old is a better horse than his 102 rating would suggest although he makes the point that the gelding is “more of a Met horse than a Queen’s Plate horse.”

By Michael Clower