There are likely to be plenty of losing tickets in the Win-if-you-Lose boxes at Greyville tonight where punters face a tricky card. That said, the rewards will be great if you back a winner or find the right combinations in the exotics. Failing that, you get a second chance if your losing ticket wins you one of the R30 000 worth of prizes on offer on Prize Nite.

Turffontein-based Paul Peter is in town for the evening with five runners and given his current form he is unlikely to return home empty handed. However, his five runners all face strong local opposition so it will not just be a case of smash-and-grab.

Of all his runners, Arabian Beat looks the most likely to land the spoils especially after the scratching of the crack three-year-old Trojan Harbour (not eating up). Older runners with some mileage on the clock often take to the poly surface and the five-year-old makes his poly debut in the Sachin Bharat Handicap. He also brings some consistent Highveld form into the race and although he steps up in class he has the benefit of a handy weight and a pole position draw.

Keagan de Melo is a regular pilot for Peter and has partnered Arabian Beat in his last two starts on the Highveld. He also rode Trojan Harbour at the colt’s seasonal debut so if you believe in conspiracy theories!

Prince Ponti and Midnight Messenger look the most likely to fight out the Jazmin Hawkesworth Qualified Maiden. Prince Ponti has been disappointing but was not far back when making his seasonal debut racing in pacifiers. Charles Laird’s runner will appreciate the step up in trip and also jumps from an inside gate. The draw could prove to be the Achilles heel for Midnight Messenger who will be dodging cars on Marriot Road but he gets the benefit of Anthony Delpech and with Anton Marcus aboard Prince Ponti we could be in for an intriguing tactical battle.

Winning first up out of the maidens is never easy but recent maiden winners Regent Seven and Slightly Scottish get the opportunity in the Docter Ngoyo Handicap although they will be up against it. Both made steady improvement leading up to their wins but Regent Seven strikes as the more progressive and landed an inspired gamble when shedding his maiden.

But the list of possible winners is a long one with the Peters-trained Seventh Of June in the line-up along with Plymouth Rock, Spanish Captain and Waltzed Home all in with good chances.

It could be Delpech against Marcus again in the Rebecca Saneka Handicap as Gadget Man comes up against Air Chief Marshall. Gadget Man made a cracking local debut when slamming course and distance specialist Fire The Rocket. This was the first run on the poly for Dean Kannemeyer’s charge and bodes well as he steps up to what looks to be a more preferable trip this evening even though he takes a rise in class.

However, Air Chief Marshall has been improving steadily and looks cherry-ripe for this encounter. His last two outings were over course and distance and a drop in class is also in his favour.

Of the balance, Graduate was well supported on debut and won with the minimum of fuss. He could be anything but that form does appear to be a little suspect. Kings Empire, Late Autumn and Scrabble are others that warrant attention.

By Andrew Harrison

In last year’s Grade 1 WSB Cape Fillies Guineas a relatively unexposed horse, Just Sensual, came from handicap form against older horses and beat the horses who had Graded form against their own age, so Saturday’s race is far more open than the betting suggests.

The favourite Snowdance overcame a wide draw to lead from start to finish in the Grade 2 Western Cape Fillies Championship (WCFC) over 1400m. She loped along in front before displaying a fine kick and it was race over. She was allowed an easy lead and Magical Wonderland was stuck in midfield before running on well. The latter will not be caught napping again on Saturday and there is little in it.

Both have good draws but both fillies have stamina concerns on pedigree, although Magical Wonderland’s racing style suggests she will stay the trip.

Mayfair Speculators retained jockey Anton Marcus is not aboard Magical Wonderland, but instead rides stablemate Rings and Things, who is amazingly the biggest outsider in the betting despite running on in eyecatching fashion last time out in a 1400m handicap. She is now having her third run after a layoff from a good draw of eight.

Silver Thursday caught the eye staying on strongly in the Grade 3 Starling Stakes over 1400m last time out at Turffontein. Subsequent form points to the runner up Folk Dance having needed the run. However, Silver Thursday will relish this trip on pedigree. She jumps from last year’s winning draw of 12.

PE raider Via Seattle won the Starling Stakes, but unlike Silver Thursday has a slight stamina doubt on pedigree.

Lady In Black won a Grade 1 over this trip as a two-year-old. The form of that race is muddled, but it should be taken into account that the race did not pan out for her. In the WCFC she was caught hopelessly wide but should come on a lot from the race and now has a good draw of five.

Love Supreme is by Silvano out of dual Grade 1-winning miler Thunder Dance and this big, strong, long-striding sort must have a big shout from draw nine as she was still green when winning comfortably over this trip last time off an 82 merit rating.

Lanark is in a similar mould and won well from the front in a handicap last time.

Midnight Moonlight also won well in a handicap over 1700m coming into this race.

Long-striding Oh Susanna had no luck in the WCFC but stayed on in eyecatching style.

Elusive Heart beat Snowdance two runs ago and if settling better than she did in the WCFC has a shout.

Rose In Bloom stayed on from a handy position in the WTFC but has a tough draw now.

Fresnaye needs further and Princess Peach might not stay. Too Phat Too Fly looks held and Rockin Russian has to reverse form with Lady In Black from the widest draw of all.

Love Supreme and Oh Susanna are hard to separate and are taken for the boxed exacta ahead of Lady In Black, Silver Thursday and Snowdance.

By David Thiselton

Glen Kotzen is expecting a good run from Gold Standard in Saturday’s WSB Green Point even though last year’s Cape Guineas runner-up has only had one run since finishing fourth in the Sun Met.

Kotzen said: “We galloped him at the course last Wednesday, we are really pleased with him and he is ready. I think he will give them all a run for their money.”

Interestingly the Woodhill trainer, who won the 2011 Fillies Guineas with Princess Victoria, believes the Snowdance form just might be a little suspect, reasoning: “There were so many hard luck stories that I’m just wondering about it even though Snowdance is obviously a very talented filly.”

He runs 25-1 chance Too Phat To Fly – who was fourth to Snowdance in last month’s Grade 2 test – as well as 40-1 shots Princess Peach and Elusive Heart who is the only horse ever to have beaten Saturday’s favourite.

He said: “Too Phat To Fly worked like a steam train on Tuesday and I’m expecting her to run a super race. We think a lot of Elusive Heart who was caught wide in the Western Cape Fillies. I’m not quite sure whether Princess Peach will get the mile but, if she does, she will be competitive.”

Joey Ramsden, in the winner’s box with Just Sensual 12 months ago, is under no illusions about the chances of a follow-up – “Snowdance looks pretty special and Rose In Bloom (16-1) has a lot do from draw 15. She is certainly Grade 2 material but it’s a tough ask.

“Fresnaye (50-1), though, has a lovely draw and the new course will suit her. She wants a bit further but she could surprise and run into a place.”

Ramsden expects both 10-1 shot Attenborough and Brutal Force (14-1) to run well in the Cape Merchants, saying: “Brutal Force always needs one run and he has had that while Attenborough ran a great race last time. On his day he is the real deal.”

By Michael Clower

It’s rare for Mike de Kock to run horses in Kenilworth maidens and so punters seem sure to seize on Afdeek in the Bradbury Finance Maiden at the Cape Town course tomorrow.

The Australian-bred has twice gone close at the Vaal in races over 1 200m and the booking of Bernard Fayd’Herbe underlines the impression that the maestro means business. The only drawback is the price because World Sports Betting opened the gelding at 11-20 yesterday and the chances of him easing to a more backable even money are just about zero.

Second favourite at 22-10 is newcomer Power Of Peace. This Dynasty colt is a well bred sort and Joey Ramsden has shown a few times this year that he is not averse to having a horse ready to collect first time.

The Glen Kotzen-trained The Goon Show is interesting at 7-1 as he was an encouraging third to Red Eight in the middle of the month and looks an obvious danger.  However Milden Spell (10-1) has been off since January.

Another stand-out is Billy Silver in race nine, not least because Anthony Delpech is in town for just this one ride. Sadly Dennis Bosch’s Cape Classic fifth is already odds-on but he should beat 9-2 second favourite Bobby Dazzler who is on a hat-trick.

This is the meeting that France Galop asked to be switched from the previous day and extended to 11 races so that their punters have something to bet on each side of the French meeting. The National Racing Bureau has done well to come up with ten, albeit with gaps of between 30 and 55 minutes between races.

Four of the ten are maidens, a category that has proved difficult for punters at this course in recent weeks, but Flower Of Carmel should start the ball rolling in the opening Samson Foundation Maiden Plate. The Candice Bass-Robinson filly had U For Me three and a half lengths behind when both made their second starts over this trip at the beginning of the month and, although third-placed Vase has since let the form down, there was a valid excuse for that filly’s run.

The Ica Laboratories Maiden half an hour later is more tricky and presents punters with the perennial problem of whether to go for a lightly raced horse that has shown considerable promise or one who has a lot more experience but doesn’t appear to have as much potential. Surprisingly, and frequently costly, it is the latter which often comes out on top at Kenilworth.

That said Hello Summer gets the vote in preference to Love Dove and Bikini Model as the Andre Nel filly was beaten a lot less on debut than the ground she lost at the start. Star Burst, third in a big field last time, can also pose a threat.

By Michael Clower

Alistair Gordon is probably going to give his Investec Dingaans winner Monks Hood a short break before aiming him at the Grade 2 Betting World Gauteng Guineas on March 3 next year.

Monks Hood became the first KZN-trained horse since the Gavin van Zyl-trained The Apache in 2010 to win the Dingaans. However, The Apache was trained out of a Johannesburg satellite yard and historians would probably have to go back to the David Payne-trained Sealegs in 1987 to find the last horse before Monk’s Hood to successfully raid the Dingaans from KZN.

A study of thoroughbreds racing at altitude has never been done, because South Africa is the only country affected by it.

Trainers rely on anecdotal evidence to form their own theories and once those theories are established they tend to stick to them.

Monks Hood travelled up to Turffontein on Friday night and arrived on Saturday morning. This follows the popular theory, also used in sports like rugby, that it is best to arrive as close to the race as possible when raiding altitude from the coast. However, it should be pointed out Summerveld is already a third of the altitude of Johannesburg, so in theory it should be easier for a Summerveld-trained horse to raid than a Port Elizabeth or Cape Town horse. Highveld raiders can usually get away races over a mile and shorter too.

Gordon was not overly concerned when the meeting was postponed to Sunday for two reasons. Firstly, in his opinion, KZN raiders perform better on the Highveld in wet conditions than they do in hot, dry conditions. Secondly, he recalled a Germiston November Handicap meeting of many years ago, which was postponed for a whole week after the KZN raiders had arrived and the KZN horses had gone on to fill the first five places, thus throwing all of the altitude theories out of the window.

Gordon was unable to go into the Dingaans confident as the recent Selangor Cup had put the result of the Grade 1 Premier’s Champions Stake, run on Gold Cup day at Greyville, into question. Monk’s Hood had run a fine 0,65 length fourth in the latter race, especially considering he had jumped from the widest draw of all.

The Selangor result had Gordon worried. However, he was given renewed hope after talking to jockey Bernard Fayd’Herbe who told him Ancestry, runner up in the Premier’s Champion Stakes, was a much better horse than his five length eighth in the Selangor suggested.

Gordon was not too concerned by Monks Hood’s disappointing third in a 1200m polytrack preparation race two weeks before the Dingaans and pointed out it was the second time he had run below par on the poly. He probably just does not enjoy the surface. Gordon added, “A 1200m poly race at Greyville is a lot different to 1600m on turf at Turffontein.”

Monk’s Hood was taken for a walk from his Turfffontein stable on Saturday and again on Sunday morning.

Gordon was pleased with how the race panned out from the off and was full of praise for the reigning SA Champion Jockey Anthony Delpech.

“From a high draw at Turffontein it is better to give a horse a chance and to sit coming up the hill. Turning for home I could see Anthony still had plenty of horse underneath him. When he let him down he came through well. He had had enough by the line but Turffontein in the soft is one of the toughest miles in South Africa. It was a peach of a ride.”

The impressive part of Monks Hood’s win was that the cover he had coming up the hill disappeared when they passed the false rail and he had only daylight in front of him for the last 700m. With a better draw in the Gauteng Guineas, he could improve on this performance.

Gordon was grateful to owner Mary Slack of Wilgerbosdrift Stud for giving him an opportunity to train such a good quality thoroughbred.

Gordon has trained a lot of top horses in the past, including the great Scarlet Lady and others like Extra Cover and Brer Rabbit.

Another good horse he trained was ironically called Mauritzfontein, the name of the stud farm founded by Slack’s parents Harry and Bridget Oppenheimer. This horse was raced in the UK by the Oppenheimers and Gordon’s connections bought it from them and imported it to South Africa, where he won five races, including the 1985 Grade 1 Mainstay International over 1800m at Clairwood (today’s Champions Cup).

Gordon first trained horses for the Oppenheimer family after they had a split with Dennis Drier, but Monks Hood is the first black type winner he has had for them.

Expert bloodstock agent Jehan Malherbe found Monks Hood and Gordon was then asked for the go ahead.

“He was an outstanding yearling,” he recalled. “He was big and strong, very nice looking, and had a lot of scope and his sire Querari had been doing pretty well. The female line was not the strongest up front and he sold for that price (R375,000) because of what he looked like. The female line looks better now!”

Monks Hood is out of the Camden Park mare Amber Bouqet, who won three races from 1100m to 1400m and finished third in the Listed Lady’s Slipper Stakes over 1400m at Fairview.

Gordon was pleased for Monks Hood’s Eastern Cape-based breeders Arne and the late Ben Botha, especially as there is a full-brother to Monks Hood on the forthcoming National Yearling Sales in April next year.

Monks Hood has won two races with four places from six starts and stakes of R439 625. He also banked the BSA Added Value Stakes Bonus of R102 500.

The Dingaans has muddied the waters for analysts attempting to assess how good this three-year-old crop is and how good last year’s two-year-old Graded form was.

As Gordon said, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.”

By David Thiselton